50 F1.4 durabilty question

[Kristofgss]

The original is sent to canon for repairs, so I'll keep you guys informed of what the cost here (Europe- benelux) is. The store said it could take up to six weeks and they'll keep me informed of the cost before doing the actual repair. if the cost would be too high, I can forfeit the lens and they would not charge examination costs (50 euro)

 

[eosuser1234]

I have a 35mm F/2.

I dropped it once, and the focus mechanism jammed up.
I read somewhere if you drop it again it may fix it. I dropped it twice on my carpeted floor from 2 feet.

Focus fixed.

Thank you Canon.

 

[J.R.]

It's amazing what a lens hood on a 50mm f/1.4 can do for its durability.

 

[tdrive]

The focus ring on my 1.4 also got bent inside a suitcase . Any force whatsoever to shorten the lens will bend it and i strongly suggest permanently leaving a hood on there. I did find this web page and followed it to the letter to fix my lens myself and it worked. Allow yourself a couple of hours of time to do it however.
http://image23photographic.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/fixing-stuck-focus-ring-on-canon-50mm.html?zx=518f552364f8185d

 

[CANONisOK]

I swear 50% of the "build quality" of L lenses is purely a marketing tactic. They could have just as easily made plastic the "premium" material and dubbed it with some fancy name like "ultralight" line. Metal has just as many downsides as it does positives, if you ask me.

I know one anecdote does not a study make... but about a month ago my stomach turned as I saw my 85L get knocked over and roll off a table and fall 3 feet onto the (carpeted) floor. Lots of pics since then have confirmed that it is no worse for wear WRT functionality and focusing accuracy.

Maybe the circumstances (fall distance, impact velocity/rotation/angle, floor material, etc.) were "ideal". Maybe it was just plain old luck. I don't plan on performing any more tests to see if I can duplicate the results under different conditions!

 

[BozillaNZ]

Yes it's durability is very bad.

The problem is not only a front push would deform the helicoid, but also a side squeeze will do the damage too. It is badly designed.

Taking it apart you can see that the thin aluminum focus helicoid is sandwiched between two plastic rings with little to no tolerance. A simple squeeze will deform the helicoid and make it jam up with either inner or outer ring of plastic.

If you want to try it, simple squeeze the lens around front of focus ring and try to AF, it won't! LOL!

 

[Kristofgss]

I finally received the repaired lens, 172 euro, replacement of focus gears, barrel and cleaning of the lens elements. It works like a charm, though to my ears the focus sounds different now. I tried it next to the replacement 50 F1.4 and the results were identical when it cames to focus performance, so I guess the repair really made it as good as new.

 

[ecka]

Do not drop your lenses! - Problem solved

 

[Dylan777]

Do not drop your lenses! - Problem solved

+1....dropped my 85L II yesterday

 

[ecka]

Do not drop your lenses! - Problem solved

+1....dropped my 85L II yesterday

OMG ... is it fine?
Originally, I wanted to ask the OP - "Are you wondering if an L lens would allow you to drop it continuously?", but then I remembered about the warning I've got from the "trolling rights watch" (no offense ). So, is it the first time you've dropped it?

 

[Kristofgss]

Originally, I wanted to ask the OP - "Are you wondering if an L lens would allow you to drop it continuously?", but then I remembered about the warning I've got from the "trolling rights watch" (no offense ). So, is it the first time you've dropped it?

Yes, it was the first time I dropped that particular lens, and that was from only one metre high onto a wooden floor. It was however the second time I destroyed a 50F1.4 as the first one died with exactly the same problem when a handheld scanner slipped out of my hands and hit it while it was on a camera. I have lots of other lenses (both L and non-L) and never had any issues with those, even though they are used in averse conditions (having people bump into you, backpack on bike, doorframes. tripod failure,...)

So my question was rather than "can I drop it continuously", "Do the L Lenses with internal focussing offer better protection against deformation" Because If I have to baby the 50F1.4 every time I throw it in a backpack, I might as wel save up for the 50 1.2L as i'll end up destroying more 50F1.4's in the end (Now on my third copy of the lens already)

But no offense taken for your original question, it was more about the fact that the particular lens I have is apparently very prone to issues due to the construction (so Next time, I'll replace it tiwth the L anyway)

 

[ecka]

Originally, I wanted to ask the OP - "Are you wondering if an L lens would allow you to drop it continuously?", but then I remembered about the warning I've got from the "trolling rights watch" (no offense ). So, is it the first time you've dropped it?

Yes, it was the first time I dropped that particular lens, and that was from only one metre high onto a wooden floor. It was however the second time I destroyed a 50F1.4 as the first one died with exactly the same problem when a handheld scanner slipped out of my hands and hit it while it was on a camera. I have lots of other lenses (both L and non-L) and never had any issues with those, even though they are used in averse conditions (having people bump into you, backpack on bike, doorframes. tripod failure,...)

So my question was rather than "can I drop it continuously", "Do the L Lenses with internal focussing offer better protection against deformation" Because If I have to baby the 50F1.4 every time I throw it in a backpack, I might as wel save up for the 50 1.2L as i'll end up destroying more 50F1.4's in the end (Now on my third copy of the lens already)

But no offense taken for your original question, it was more about the fact that the particular lens I have is apparently very prone to issues due to the construction (so Next time, I'll replace it tiwth the L anyway)

That makes sense. However, you would throw away a lot more $ if you destroy a 50L . You've said that you love the manual focusing ring, then maybe a pure manual prime is what you need?

 

[Dylan777]

Do not drop your lenses! - Problem solved

+1....dropped my 85L II yesterday

OMG ... is it fine?
Originally, I wanted to ask the OP - "Are you wondering if an L lens would allow you to drop it continuously?", but then I remembered about the warning I've got from the "trolling rights watch" (no offense ). So, is it the first time you've dropped it?

The lens was dropped from 3-4ft to firm carpet floor. I tested the lens and it seems working fine. The lens is currently in Canon Service Center, Irvine, CA for over all check up.

That was my 1st time dropping the lens...and I DO NOT have any plan to drop it again

 

[Kristofgss]

A lenscaot for non-wildlife lenses would be great. Not to hade it,j but rather to protect it. Or seomething based on crazy aarons thinking putty?