Loose ring on 70-200 2.8 IS II

[iodiodio]

Hi,
my 70-200 2.8 IS II become loose around the zoom ring as in the photo attached, the gap is not much around 0.5-1 mm, but nevertheless pretty annoying.
I brought the lens to CPS Germany and they asked me 700€ for the repair (supposedly they have to change the AF ring) and they say this kind of repair is not covered by warranty.
Now the lens seem to be ok optically, I didn't notice any performance degradation in image quality nor in AF, so I'm a bit reluctant to spend all that money.
Did anybody had a similar experience?
It's the third lens I had repaired at CPS and strangely the cost of the repair was always 1/3 of the original price no matter what, I'm starting being suspicious.
Thanks for your help,
Vittorio

 

[procentje20]

Whenever I have something that annoys me about my gear, I sell it, and buy something else. You can probably fetch 2/3 of the new price for this lens, and buy a brand new one.

As you said, optically there is nothing wrong, and focus and IS probably is fine to. So its just annoying to you, and maybe not so much to a potential buyer.

 

[Loswr]

It's the third lens I had repaired at CPS and strangely the cost of the repair was always 1/3 of the original price no matter what, I'm starting being suspicious.

I believe Canon USA has fixed 'per lens' prices per repair.

 

[Maximilian]

It's the third lens I had repaired at CPS and strangely the cost of the repair was always 1/3 of the original price no matter what, I'm starting being suspicious.

I believe Canon USA has fixed 'per lens' prices per repair.

A friend once had a 24-70/2.8 for repair in Germany because of sand/dust issues after a sandstorm in Nevada (no CPS and CPS in Europe looks different than in the US).
The German Canon CPS repair center (in Reutlingen) charged costs for cleaning and adjusting as well as for the exchange of some defect parts of the IS. Price was rasonable (below 300 Euro) and as the positions in the bill were shown in detail it looked all fine to me.

Edit: It would be nice to have a 24-70/2.8 IS but it was something about the AF electronics

 

[Marsu42]

I believe Canon USA has fixed 'per lens' prices per repair.

The German Canon CPS repair center (in Reutlingen) charged costs for cleaning and adjusting as well as for the exchange of some defect parts of the IS.

Canon at least in Germany (CPS Berlin) definitely doesn't have fixed prices per repair, and even absolutely refuses to make any rough estimation from experience w/o looking at the specific lens and being paid €25 for their troubles. In essence, it's surprise party every time the repair estimate arrives.

 

[mackguyver]

It's the third lens I had repaired at CPS and strangely the cost of the repair was always 1/3 of the original price no matter what, I'm starting being suspicious.

I believe Canon USA has fixed 'per lens' prices per repair.

That's been my experience though there seems to be a bit of variability in it. I recently had a TS-E 24 f/3.5 II repaired for ~1/6 the price of the lens, but most of mine have been within plus or minus 10% of 1/3 the retail price. I have the same repair done to the same lens twice and was charged about $100 more the second time, so I haven't quite figured it out. I have had minor repairs that cost a whole lot more than I'd like and major repairs that seemed cheap. The general rule is that you'll feel a bit ripped off for minor repairs and quite relieved for major ones.

 

[Marsu42]

The general rule is that you'll feel a bit ripped off for minor repairs and quite relieved for major ones.

... probably due to the labor fee being about the same as the tech has to inspect the lens, disassemble and assemble it even in minor cases. And for major repairs, the part prices Canon service pays are probably nowhere near what we might think looking at the lens' original price, so even when making a healthy profit this might account for the "relief" you described.

 

[iodiodio]

Ok, thanks for the reply, just one more question, I'm thinking of not repairing the lens right now due to the high reparation costs and the fact that the lens seem to be ok optically. Does anybody know if it can be dangerous for the lens on the long run?

 

[zombiePix]

Hi,

My 70-200 2.8 II does not have a loose zoom-ring and the gaps on both sides are about 0,2 - 0,3 mm (very rough visual measurement). What my lens has though, is zoom-creep. I thought these lenses with internal zoom were less prone to zoom-creep than lenses that extends when zoomed out. It happens when I carry the lens on camera, front of lens pointing down. After walking for some minutes, the lens has zoomed from 200mm, sometimes all the way to 70 mm. It is not very annoying, but a bit inconvenient as I most frequently shoot at 200mm.

Anyone having the same experience, changing focal-length when carried in vertical position ?

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Canon USA has fixed prices for repairing the low end consumer lenses, and I've heard that there are price levels set for different types of repairs for the pro lenses.


For a 50mm f/1.4, for example, you can use the canon website to get a repair ticket, pay your fee, and then ship it to them. Unless its a fatal issue, like water damage, they will fix it and return it.

I've always thought that water damage was pretty much fatal to electronics, so I was surprised when my remote Bluetooth microphone used with my hearing aid went thru the washer and the dryer last week, and is working fine. That is still hard to believe. Its nice and clean too.