Broken 70-200mm f/2.8

[grey4]

So I more or less, inherited a canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS (mark i), the glass is super sharp however before i got it, the lens was dropped from a tree. Because of this, the internal USM focusing motor is loose on the inside of the barrel. This causes a lot of shots to go out of focus, (duh) but all I have to do is tip the front element up towards the sky and the USM will fall back into place and I can keep shooting. The opposite is also true, if i point the lens towards the ground the USM will fall out of place and the lens wont focus on anything. Also due to the loose elements, a lot shots just end up soft from time to time.

First question, has anyone experienced a similar phenomena with this lens or any other for that matter?

Next, I'm ready to get the lens repaired, I have no experience shipping things off to canon. Does anyone have any idea how much a repair like this would cost? Also, what's the next step in contacting canon and shipping the lens back to the mothership?

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Canon obviously cannot estimate the cost, it depends on how much is damaged. The repair cost might be less than you think, but likely at least $300, the sky's the limit. As far as I know, they still have parts, but use the online form to make sure that they will repair it. If not, it can go to a third party repair shop.

I believe that Canon now uses some sort of a fixed price with 3 levels of repair, easy, medium, and major. This is likely easy or medium, but if the AF motor is broken (attach points), it might have to be replaced, and that's expensive. I bought a really nice used one, still in its box and only used a few times last summer for $300. It had been to Canon for cleaning 7 years ago and put away. The owner used it for film, so it was a early date code. The MK I non IS lenses are very nice, and well worth repairing.

 

[Menace]

As you have i inherited the lens, a repair cost of around $300 is still a very good deal. Get it to Canon asap and start enjoying this lovely lens.