Canon 300D (Digital Rebel) Mirror does not move (err 99) after 97 shots

Got my Drebel only this Tuesday with a Canon 28-135 and a Tokina lens. Everything worked fine until I tried bulb tonight in my house. I started with the smallest aperture (f/22) with the 28-135 lens and held the shutter for several seconds, and got a completely black picture. I stopped up several times and still got black picture, until I got err 99.

Tried everything I could, and it's always err 99. Somehow I found out that the mirror is dead. Not any mode, any parameter, even Sensor Clean doesn't make it move. I can only flip it up manually.

And when I tilt the body up for about 60 degrees, or left/right for about 45 degrees, I can hear a slight rattle sound coming from inside the body.

The only conclusion I can get is that the mirror flipping mechanism is fried. Maybe it's caused by bulb.

If that's indeed the case, I have to say it is the biggest piece of s*** I've ever bought in my life. My last dc is Canon Pro 90 IS, which I used for 4 years and shot may be more than 10K pictures, never had any problem. I'm so sorry that I fell for the stupid rebate and bought 300D instead of 10D.

Anybody with similar experiences? Any idea/suggestion would be greatly appreciated!

Well, things break. Call Canon up.

Regarding the noise you heard, it may have just been the orientation sensor in the camera. It's normal on some camera's to be able to hear it slightly although I've never noticed it myself.

Error 99 is definetely not good. Often, it can be caused by bad contact between the camera and the lens. Try putting the other lens on it and see what happens.

I understand your frustration.

TKS Trevor for your quick response!

I tried my only other lens, a Tokina 80-400, same result. No other function, such as AF, AE, image viewing, menu, etc. has any problem, so it really looks like a simple but devastating mirror mechanical problem to me. Will call Canon up.

You're probably right about the noise. The manual does mention that the orientation sensor makes a noise when the camera orientation changes.

I've read that removing the battery for a few minutes will take care of this. I think there is also a firmware upgrade to fix it...but I haven't been keeping on Canon tech stuff lately.

Error 99 is a generic error code. Many things could be wrong and/or fix the problem. Try everything people tell you to try as long as it's not damaging :) If it comes back, contact Canon or exchange it.