Scratches on front element of G11 - caused by lens cover?

[gmrza]

A while ago I noticed some scratches on the front element of my G11's lens, which seem to be getting progressively worse.  It would appear that the lens cover/shutter blades which close when the camera is switched off may be causing this.

I have seen a number of discussions on Flickr and other forums to the effect that the lens cover/shutter is causing this.

Has anyone else experienced this?  If so, have you approached Canon about this, and what was their reaction?

[mrmarks]

Could you post a photo of the scratches?

[gmrza]

Could you post a photo of the scratches?

Here are some quick and dirty photos... The crops give a fairly good view of the scratches.  As you can see they run in the vertical direction - which is the same as the movement of the shutter/cover blades.

I am suspecting that Canon sailed a little too close to the breeze in designing the tolerances between the lens and the cover.  The camera in question is not heavily used (just under 11k shutter releases in just under 3 years).  My wife and I are very careful with our cameras, making sure never to touch lens elements.

[Mt Spokane Photography]

That made me grab my wife's G11 and check it.  It is clean with no marks, but the cover is close.  I do not think that the plastics in the cover are hard enough to scratch glass. Its more likely that a grain of sand or two somehow got behind the cover and is grinding away.  Sand in point and shoot lenses mechanisms is a problem, it can blow in while you are using the camera and work its way into bad places.
I'd have it cleaned at a local camera shop.

[gmrza]

That made me grab my wife's G11 and check it.  It is clean with no marks, but the cover is close.  I do not think that the plastics in the cover are hard enough to scratch glass. Its more likely that a grain of sand or two somehow got behind the cover and is grinding away.  Sand in point and shoot lenses mechanisms is a problem, it can blow in while you are using the camera and work its way into bad places.
I'd have it cleaned at a local camera shop.

Even though the shutter blades are much softer than the lens, the camera has been power cycled probably somewhere close to 2000 times at least - if you assume an average of 5 frames each time it is switched on.  I wouldn't be so sure that the cover/shutter blades wouldn't scratch the front element with that many passes over it.

I don't even know what a good life for a P&S camera is - this one has done close to 11k shutter releases, but I would think that at least 20k to 50k would be a reasonable expectation, given that it doesn't have a mirror box or focal plane shutter.

[Mt Spokane Photography]

That made me grab my wife's G11 and check it.  It is clean with no marks, but the cover is close.  I do not think that the plastics in the cover are hard enough to scratch glass. Its more likely that a grain of sand or two somehow got behind the cover and is grinding away.  Sand in point and shoot lenses mechanisms is a problem, it can blow in while you are using the camera and work its way into bad places.
I'd have it cleaned at a local camera shop.

Even though the shutter blades are much softer than the lens, the camera has been power cycled probably somewhere close to 2000 times at least - if you assume an average of 5 frames each time it is switched on.  I wouldn't be so sure that the cover/shutter blades wouldn't scratch the front element with that many passes over it.

I don't even know what a good life for a P&S camera is - this one has done close to 11k shutter releases, but I would think that at least 20k to 50k would be a reasonable expectation, given that it doesn't have a mirror box or focal plane shutter.

I'd agree with you on the expected life,  I have dismantled a few point and shoots most all with damaged lenses.  All had sand  or dirt in the works, so its a probable issue.  I think that the lens mechanism is more of a life limitation than the leaf shutter or anything else.  When P&S bodies used CF cards, the pins on the CF socket in the camera body failed as well.  SD contacts last longer.
Its likely that you will never know for sure, unless you have it looked at.  If its scratching the glass, the plastic shutter would be badly worn, since it is so much softer.  if its sand, it might fall out or into the body and never be seen.
 
BTW, my wife's camera has no where the usage of yours, so other than checking it out of caution, I really did not expect to see wear.
 
Good luck.

[Jotho]

A while ago I noticed some scratches on the front element of my G11's lens, which seem to be getting progressively worse.  It would appear that the lens cover/shutter blades which close when the camera is switched off may be causing this.

I have seen a number of discussions on Flickr and other forums to the effect that the lens cover/shutter is causing this.

Has anyone else experienced this?  If so, have you approached Canon about this, and what was their reaction?

Hi gmrza

I have a G11 and have had the same problem. I got the lens replaced by my dealer, not involving Canon as I wouldn't expect them to care about scratches on my two year old camera. Conclusion is that the construction itself is very sensitive to sand and dust. I instantly promised myself to make sure to clean the lens after having used the camera at the beach and similar, but have yet to do it...

[CANONBALL]

Hi Gmrza,

I had the same problem with G11, and now with G12 ! I also think the cover is too close to the lens, and sand will scratch it when open/close.
I've send the camera yesterday back to CANON FRANCE for service, wait and see.....

[verysimplejason]

So far so good for me.  No scratches at all.  I guess the filter I've put (pasted) in front helped take care of the lens.  Notice the thin glass in front of the lens.

[malcolmveitch]

Hello.    This is the first time I have seen this blog.
I have had already replaced the lens on my G11 last year and was hoping the scratches were an aberration. but no there are two new scratches on my new lens and I paid particular attention to check there was no dust about but it seems there is no way to prevent the scratches from happening the camera is turned off.
Interestingly I asked Lehmanns of Stoke (who carried out the repair),  if there was any coating I could put on the front of the lens and they said none.  Now I have heard someone on this blog who has put a clear film over the front of the lens.  What is it and does it work, where can I get it?
I wouldn't recommend this camera to my Son who is wanting a high quality camera for his better shots, if there is no remedy.  At £200 per new lens kit a time it is an expensive replacement repair. Otherwise I am very please with the performance.

[na1414]

Unfortunately, I got the scratches.  I take really good care of my camera equipment, and make sure there is no sand, etc in the lens area.   And the camera had barely been used before the problem started....

I called canon and explained what was going on, and they agreed to "repair" it.  They must have just replaced the glass without actually fixing the problem, because sure enough, the scratches reappeared in the exact same place.  I had barely used the camera after the repair before the scratches reappeared in the exact same places.

So I called them again, and they told me to send it in and they would fix the problem.  But this time they want $200 to fix it!  Even though they supposedly fixed it before.  They refuse to take any responsibility for the design flaw and shoddy repair work, and want to charge me more than the camera is worth to fix it.   

So frustrating to have dropped $500 on a camera that I was barely able to use.  I've been through a lot of canons (pro DSLRS & lenses and point and shoots), and haven't had any problems until now.  It makes me rethink the thousands of dollars I was about to invest in upgrades...

Shame on you Canon