EOS 500 n - Battery-Error During Exposure.?

[Oneirophile]

Hello! I'm experiencing an annoying problem with my Canon EOS 500 n:

Sometimes when taking a picture (self-timer or manual), I hear the shutter open, and there is a single second click after about 5 seconds (it always takes the same couple of seconds, whether I'm taking a 30 second exposure pic or a quick one) and then nothing happens, the viewfinder remains dark, and the little display tells me the battery is empty. When I switch the camera off, the view is clear again and the picture simply hasn't been taken, no film was exposed.

I've tried different brands of batteries, and I figured the camera was simply defective, so I bought another one (used, for 10 bucks, they're pretty cheap these days) - and, amazingly, the error happens on that one too!

What on earth is causing this? Is it my lens? I mostly use a Tamron 70-300 mm, recently combined with a teleconverter. But the error doesn't happen every time, and why this battery message? It seems pretty much random to me.

So what's going on here?

[MiloHDD]

I just encountered this issue too, and yeah this 100% seems to be it. Best workaround I've found is just *slightly* turning the lense in the mount so the electrical contacts don't touch and then the camera works perfectly with manual focusing!

[deebatman316]

This is an incompatibility with a 3rd Party lens. Often times the aperture motor would draw too much power and lock up the camera. EOS film bodies showed an error by a blinking battery symbol. Doing what you’re doing will not allow you to control aperture. Since the lens contacts aren’t lining up with the camera’s.

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

Yikes.  🫣 8 yr old topic.  29 yr old camera.

I want to be respectful of someone's circumstances and budget.  

I'm all for the vintage thing but not the defective (lack of function) side of things.  It sounds like you have a camera that's malfunctioning either due to incompatible hardware or age.  If the goal is to tinker, Then I guess it's a success.  However, if you want to enjoy film and take pictures, I might suggest buying a functioning camera with accompanying gear.  You shouldn't have to use the lens slightly (released) offset so you can use the camera in full manual mode.  This is an accident waiting to happen.  As my colleague pointed out, it's severely limiting and defeats so much of what photography is about. 🙂

[MiloHDD]

I simply happen to have this camera, and to have encountered the same issues as the original poster as well as a workaround if they still wish to use the lense which is causing the error.

As Demetrius helpfully added this is indeed a lense compatibility issue, and I will be using contemporary lenses for the camera from this point on. 

Thank you for you input, but implying I am simply not spending enough money to enjoy photography is not a helpful suggestion, and I do not know why you felt it was necessary to add it to this conversation.

[deebatman316]

Are you talking about Sigma Contemporary lenses by any chance? I've found newer 3rd Party lenses to be INCOMPATIBLE with EOS Film Bodies. I've found sticking with Canon brand EF lenses work just fine and have no compatibility problems. It doesn't have to be the newest EF lens either old ones work fine too. Also it doesn't matter the AF motor type. All EF lenses work regardless of AF motor type. I've used new STM lenses on the oldest EOS film body the EOS 650 and they work with full functionality including IS. If the lens has IS built in that's a feature of the lens not the camera body. Just stay away from EF-S lenses they're NOT COMPATIBLE with EOS film bodies. Over the years Canon has changed AF & Aperture control the last time it happened was in 2009 with the release of Dual Pixel AF (DPAF). Lenses released from 1987-1992 AF & Stop down sequentially. Except for USM lenses they do both at the same time. Which is what all lenses went with later on when Canon switched from Arc Form Drive to Micro Motor.

[MiloHDD]

Thanks for the extra info, much appreciated!

[deebatman316]

What camera do you have by any chance? If its new enough modern EX series speedlites will work on your camera. But some limitations do exist when it comes to off camera wireless flash systems. But stick with Canon EF lenses 3rd Party lenses have to many unknowns especially the larger the gap in time.