Broken 24-105...what should I do??

[aznstuart]

So my 24-105 with 5D Mark III fell in the pool and was fully submerged. Both lens and camera stopped working. I sent both into Canon and they fixed the 5DIII for free under warranty. But they said that there was too much corrosion in the 24-105 and that it would cost me $400 in parts and $400 in labor to fix it. I politely declined since I purchased the lens for $800. I had an engineer friend look at it and he said that the computer chip is just corroded but everything else looks fine.

The lens is less than a year old (got it last Christmas) and it looks pristine on the outside, zero scratches or dents. What should I do? Is there a cheaper place to get it fixed than Canon? Where could I get that chip to replace it?

I read somewhere than if you have a lens that's beyond repair you could exchange it for a refurbished one with Canon for a cost.

Have any of you ever had a lens that was broken? How did you fix it?

 

[7enderbender]

I'm amazed that they fixed the Mark III under warranty. If I were you I'd consider myself extremely lucky and move on. I personally wouldn't have my 24-105 fixed or replaced. I'm pretty sure it'll break one day and that's that. My zoom ring is already starting to become loser after two years of moderate use. The IS is bound to fail also I suppose. So you basically just took the shortcut here.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Send it to Canon. As long as it was fresh water, it might be repairable. Thats the only way to know. Local or small repair shops are not going to be able to deal with this.
Even if its not practical to repair, it might be usable for parts and is worth something, sell it on ebay.
Your engineer friend just looked and magically could tell it was a chip? Could he magically look at the IS and the AF motors and see they were not ruined?? Being a electrical Engineer as well as repairing simple failures in my camera lenses, I can not look in a lens and decide exactly whats good and whats failed. Its likely he did not even tear it down far enough to look at the AF motor or IS unit, much less check the brushes for the AF or check the aperture motor.

 

[preppyak]

Send it to Canon. As long as it was fresh water, it might be repairable. Thats the only way to know. Local or small repair shops are not going to be able to deal with this.

Well, he said Canon told him it'd be $800 to repair. If its a pool, you're talking all sorts of chemicals as well, so who knows what else is wrong. I'd say at that point you are looking for a new lens. A quick google search brings up other repair options, but, can't say they'll be any cheaper

http://www.unitedcamera.com/canon-ef-24-105mm-f/4l-is-usm/
http://www.precisioncamera.com/canon-camera-repair.html

 

[aznstuart]

That's actually what I did. I got a new one off eBay when that one seller was selling them for $800.

It just seems like such a waste. The exterior is literally pristine...maybe I'll make one of those Canon lens mugs out of them.

The problem is corrosion. I was in India when this happened, so there was no way of letting it sit out and dry since it was so humid. I believe Canon said most of the electronics were corroded and needed to be replaced. I guess I'm just surprised at how expensive they are. You would think the glass are the parts that are expensive.

 

[pwp]

Tough! Put it down to experience, make the 24-105 mug and get another one.

-PW

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

That's actually what I did. I got a new one off eBay when that one seller was selling them for $800.

It just seems like such a waste. The exterior is literally pristine...maybe I'll make one of those Canon lens mugs out of them.

The problem is corrosion. I was in India when this happened, so there was no way of letting it sit out and dry since it was so humid. I believe Canon said most of the electronics were corroded and needed to be replaced. I guess I'm just surprised at how expensive they are. You would think the glass are the parts that are expensive.

I noticed you said it was less than a year old. If you bought it with a credit card, some of them have disaster insurance that might cover all or part of the cost of repair or replacement. Many forget to check with the cc company.
Otherwise, Put it on ebay for sale. you might be suprised at the bidding. You will at least get something out of it. There are lots of people looking for parts, or may have parts to fix it from a lens that was dropped.

 

[TexPhoto]

Try this place: http://www.sp-ts.com

Also if you don't have insurance now might be a good time to think about it. Homeowners/renters insurance usually cover this type of thing and is cheap vs. camera replacement.

It's too bad there is not rice in india. Put the camera in a sealed bag of dry rice, and the moisture will be gone in hours.

 

[pwp]

It's too bad there is not rice in India.

Ummm, please tell us you're not serious. India? Rice? (cough cough)
No pasta in Italy? No sashimi in Japan? No coconuts in Tahiti? No haggis in Scotland? No cheese on the moon?

But yes, dry rice is helpful. I've also used the larger packs of silica gel successfully with a very damp point & shoot.

-PW

 

[PeterJ]

It just seems like such a waste. The exterior is literally pristine...maybe I'll make one of those Canon lens mugs out of them.

I'd try putting it on e-bay with an accurate description, I've seen a few broken things there go for a lot more than I expected. You might find someone with a broken front element or similar that fancies their chances of getting one good lens from the pair.

 

[Northstar]

That's actually what I did. I got a new one off eBay when that one seller was selling them for $800.

It just seems like such a waste. The exterior is literally pristine...maybe I'll make one of those Canon lens mugs out of them.

The problem is corrosion. I was in India when this happened, so there was no way of letting it sit out and dry since it was so humid. I believe Canon said most of the electronics were corroded and needed to be replaced. I guess I'm just surprised at how expensive they are. You would think the glass are the parts that are expensive.

I feel your pain...I did the same thing with my iPad and now it's useless...beautiful, but useless. I'm thinking of doing a youtube "crash" video of some sort with it.

I tried the silica gel packs...it's it gets too wet, nothing will save it.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

It's too bad there is not rice in india.

Thats a unique view. No rice in India?? Only China consumes more rice than India.

 

[PhotoDr]

Sell it on eBay. I got $250 for a water damaged 40D that was 5 years old.

 

[KyleSTL]

As someone who buys not-working/for parts cameras and lenses regularly on eBay, I would say you could get about $250-350 for a submerged 24-120mm. That'll be a nice little chunk of change for a new replacement.