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Advice needed: fixing a 500mm F4 L water damaged lens

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HAbba

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Dear canon slr lens users,

I have been offered a Canon 500mm F4 IS L that fell in water for a short period - the IS seems to work but not the auto focus and there is condensation inside.

I would love to have this lens for my wildlife hobby but cannot afford the high price tag and am thinking how big a risk would this route of acquisition be.

My questions:

1. Has any one got experience or know of repairing this lens from water damage.

2. Is this something that can be under taken by some at home as a project or should be left to the professionals at canon (i am mechnically inclined to fix things - and good with a soldering iron).

3. Any other suggestions are welcome.

your suggestions and knowledge is most welcome.

regards.

Hassan
 
My advice...just walk away from it...
HAbba said:
Dear canon slr lens users,

I have been offered a Canon 500mm F4 IS L that fell in water for a short period - the IS seems to work but not the auto focus and there is condensation inside.

I would love to have this lens for my wildlife hobby but cannot afford the high price tag and am thinking how big a risk would this route of acquisition be.

My questions:

1. Has any one got experience or know of repairing this lens from water damage.

2. Is this something that can be under taken by some at home as a project or should be left to the professionals at canon (i am mechnically inclined to fix things - and good with a soldering iron).

3. Any other suggestions are welcome.

your suggestions and knowledge is most welcome.

regards.

Hassan
Click to expand...
--
Bruce
 
If you are willing t bring it state-side I can give you 100 USD cash for it ;-)

Even being handy involving fine electronics and such, I think this is better left to Canon service. The groups of elements probably have to be cleaned and dried, plus the electronics are prone to degradation. I am not sure but I expect it has a chip that could be damaged. Even if it is not evident now, it may become a problem down the road.

If you are getting it as a freebie, you will make out like a bandit on the deal, even with Canon service. If this is a purchase, take meaure of what you will need ot pay for the lens + the service.
--

I started in the 50's - my first picture was taken with a Leica and hooked me for life. I no longer use my Leicas, but I am still taking pictures. Some things never change.
 
been told it was a river - how polluted is anyones guess.

hassan
 
Hi,

Thanks for getting back - out of interest why would you walk away from it?

Hassan
 
I would get an estimate. If its reasonable say no more than 2K I'd fix it. Do it quick because once the new one hits the shelves Canon probably won't repair it.

Good luck
 
yes thats what i am thinking - purchase cost + repair cost must be equal to or lower then £1500 to be viable. this so working on the assumption that it can be repaired.

because

4yr old lens working on ebay: £3500 (lowest i have seen)

purchase cost: £500

Risk cost: £2000

Canon repair cost: 1000

regards

hassan
 
thats good advice - thanks.

hassan
 
That is a tough one. I had a 100mm macro lens that fell in the water several years ago. The aperture would still work but the AF would just sort of jitter around and was pretty much unusable. I sent it in to Canon for repair and they pretty much boxed it right back up and shipped it right back to me. The message was that they don’t deal with gear that has had water damage.

You might be able to get an independent camera repair shop to fix it. Parts should be available. I have taken my 500mm f/4 apart before and it isn’t trivial. I do suggest sending it to a professional but if you are good at that sort of thing it might be worth a try. One thing to be careful of that I learned the hard way is that you need to make sure that you get the right parts for your lens. When I was ordering parts I quickly learned that some parts changed over the years.

Best of luck getting the lens fixed.

Greg
 
If Canon does repair it in the US (which I predict that they will not) they are probably going to replace all the electronics (main PCB, IS unit, USM…), the lens will get a new serial # and the repair will cost something in the ballpark of $1600 unless you have a CPS or some other discount. That seems to be the pretty standard repair.

With my 100mm f/2.8 macro USM Canon wouldn’t touch it even after I begged them to.

Greg
 
Be careful with Canon’s estimate. Here in the US that initial estimate doesn’t mean much of anything. As soon as they open up the lens (after you have paid the original estimated price) they are going to tell you the bad news because it is going to end up being a major repair and they are likely going to tell you it isn’t an economical repair.

Greg
 
Hi Greg,

Thanks for the advice - I have decided not to go for it because the seller is asking for £1500 for it. At that price, its not worth the risk in my opinion.

Hassan
 
Yes I am in the UK. Thanks for the information, much appreciated.

Hassan
 
Dear All,

Thanks very much for the advice, much appreciated. So as not to waste your precious time, I have decided not to buy this lens because the seller is now asking for £1500 which is too big a risk for me.

For mow I will have to stick to my 70-300 L and dream of the either the 300mm f2.8 L or better still the 200-400 1.4 IS L.

Regards

Hassan
 
You did the right thing. I would imagine if it was inexpensive to repair the seller would have done it already.
 
HAbba said:
Dear All,

Thanks very much for the advice, much appreciated. So as not to waste your precious time, I have decided not to buy this lens because the seller is now asking for £1500 which is too big a risk for me.

For mow I will have to stick to my 70-300 L and dream of the either the 300mm f2.8 L or better still the 200-400 1.4 IS L.

Regards

Hassan
Click to expand...
Do you know if this is still available Habba? If it is in the UK I would be interested.
 
Don't know where the OP has seen used ones (recently) for £3,500 but for argument's sake if that one is £1,500 and is £2,000 for a complete refurbishment it's not a bad price IMO. You're looking at in excess of £5K (closer to £6K) for a new one, if you can find one. Otherwise hold your horses for MkII prices to fall.
 
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