Canon Lens Repair

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speedbird2639
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Joined: Wed 13 Jul 2011, 11:35 am

Canon Lens Repair

Post by speedbird2639 »

I have a "Canon Zoom Lens EF 100-300 1:4.5-5.6" which has developed a fault. When used below about 200mm it is fine but when I zoom beyond 200mm you can hear a slight 'click' and the camera then shows an error message and suggests cleaning the contacts but these are fine: clean and undamaged. I've tried it on several bodies with the same result. I am guessing that the click is one of the flexible circuits in the barrel of the lens which is able to make contact when the lens is at its shortest zoom but gets separated breaking the electrical contact when extended. As optically this is still quite a good lens can anyone recommend a lens repairer who could trace the fault and quote for repair. Conversely are there any charlatans I need to avoid.

Supplementary question:

Initially to replace the above lens I purchased off eBay a 75-300mm lens but this lens is very 'soft' focus compared to the 100-300. Canon do a 70-300mm lens with IS (£400 at Jessops) - is this basically a 75-300 with IS slapped on it or is it optically better. Or would I be better off putting my £400 towards a 2nd hand L series - given that it would mainly be used for airshows and therefore be at its maximum focal length I was thinking maybe go for a 300mm prime rather than a zoom.

All assistance and thoughts on the above much appreciated - thanks in advance.

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Brevet Cable
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Re: Canon Lens Repair

Post by Brevet Cable »

Canon did the original IS lens as a 75-300. which was essentially the old 75-300 with IS added on.
The 70-300 IS is a different lens & is superior to the 75-300.
They brought out an updated version last year which has a better IS system.
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Talldan76
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Location: Colchester

Re: Canon Lens Repair

Post by Talldan76 »

If you are looking to repair it, then there is Colchester Camera Centre.

http://camera-repair.co.uk/

Canon accredited repair company.

NigeF-51
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Joined: Mon 01 Sep 2008, 6:23 pm

Re: Canon Lens Repair

Post by NigeF-51 »

Also, as a satisfied customer, I can recommend Fixation in London. They repaired my 24-105 under quote and also quicker than originally suggested.

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speedbird2639
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Re: Canon Lens Repair

Post by speedbird2639 »

Thanks for the replies gents - I'll have a look into the suggestions.

alisdairanderson
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Re: Canon Lens Repair

Post by alisdairanderson »

Talldan76 wrote:If you are looking to repair it, then there is Colchester Camera Centre.

http://camera-repair.co.uk/

Canon accredited repair company.


I've used Colchester Camera Centre a couple of times, and always been very happy with their work.
Rgds
Alisdair

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Go4Long
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Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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Re: Canon Lens Repair

Post by Go4Long »

Depending on the repair estimate, something like a 300mm F4 might be a more worthwhile investment.

For MotoX I usually tell people to go with a 70-200mm to start off, but it's just not long enough for Airshows (despite the appearance at photo pits across the globe)

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LN Strike Eagle
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Re: Canon Lens Repair

Post by LN Strike Eagle »

The Canon EF 70-300 IS is a good lens - much better than the range of old 75-300s. I had one for many years, only recently sold it. Many of my photos on here were taken with one.

There's a new MkII version out now - it gets favourable reviews for image quality and speed of auto focus (new nano-USM tech), but doesn't manual focus without power. I looked at the upgrade from the MkI, but for an RRP of nearly £500 decided that the 70-300 L was a better buy.

Dustin Abbott's YouTube channel has some good videos on the MkII:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHdu4hxCOnY[/youtube]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4mpofxRlws[/youtube]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mTmcVMl-qY[/youtube]
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speedbird2639
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Re: Canon Lens Repair

Post by speedbird2639 »

Cheers for the links Strike Eagle - much appreciated.

Droptank
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Re: Canon Lens Repair

Post by Droptank »

Hi Speedbird.

I know you received a lot of suggestions regarding having your lens repaired, depending on your location A H Lehmann in Stoke are excellent for
anything to do with Canon and a lot of the Canon repair specialists send their work on to them.

They have a walk-in service too and are located five minutes off Junction 15 of the M6. ST4 5AA is the post code.

Droptank.

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