HELP...lens repair

I traded some sporting goods for a "like new" 100-400 Canon IS L glass zoom
lens. I'm only into the lens about $400.00, so the deal was a good one as
the lens shows little use. However, it was part of an estate sale and
during the "storage time" prior to sale, there was some large specks of dust
or ??? that got into the lens. They are big enough to be of concern and I'd
like to get the lenses cleaned. I live in the far northern end of
California. My question is two fold: first of all, is this anything I can
play with ? Logic tells me that if I can pull the sliding portionof the
zoom off, then I can get at the lenses. But, I also don't want to screw up
the process. If it's not possible to do it myself, then who do I send it
too? What is the approximate amount I should expect to pay. There's
nothing wrong with the lens expect for the dust particles inside. I'd
prefer a repair facility in the far northern end of California (from the Bay
area north to Oregon (the closer to the Oregon border, the better) or a
repair shop in Southern Oregon (Medford perhaps).

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks


Barry Brown

Barry wrote:
I traded some sporting goods for a "like new" 100-400 Canon IS L glass zoom
lens. I'm only into the lens about $400.00, so the deal was a good one as
the lens shows little use. However, it was part of an estate sale and
during the "storage time" prior to sale, there was some large specks of dust
or ??? that got into the lens. They are big enough to be of concern and I'd
like to get the lenses cleaned. I live in the far northern end of
California. My question is two fold: first of all, is this anything I can
play with ? Logic tells me that if I can pull the sliding portionof the
zoom off, then I can get at the lenses. But, I also don't want to screw up
the process. If it's not possible to do it myself, then who do I send it
too? What is the approximate amount I should expect to pay. There's
nothing wrong with the lens expect for the dust particles inside. I'd
prefer a repair facility in the far northern end of California (from the Bay
area north to Oregon (the closer to the Oregon border, the better) or a
repair shop in Southern Oregon (Medford perhaps).

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks


Barry Brown

Take a few pictures, interior dust generally doesn't do much to the
image. If it is as bad as you say, you should ship it back to Canon.
They are in Irvine CA. Don't try to take it apart yourself unless you
have a manual, and lens tools. The repair would cost a couplke of
hundred dollars. Doesn't make it as good a buy, but it will be in
fantastic condition when you get it back. You might want to call Adolph
Gassners in SanFrancisco and see what they recommend, but they may just
ship it to Canon and add their charges to the bill. Check with Canon
first.

Tom

Tom

I had the same problem with a lens. I took mine apart and fixed it.
It was a nerve racking four hours before I could finally reach an
acceptable level of clean. Without a dust free environment, it is
virtually impossible to properly clean inside a lens.

If you decide to do this job yourself, then be prepared to have a lot
of patience. Lay the parts out on a white cloth or paper, so that they
are clearly visible and don't get lost. Try to photograph each step of
the process to make sure that you don't put a lens element in
backwards. I purchased a rubber bulb air blower from the pharmacy to
blow the dust away. I also used the lenspen cleaning system for any
fingerprints, etc. If you want to use your bare hands to do this job,
then wash them in dish detergent, to remove as much oil from your hands
as possible. It is a very frustrating job and you usually get more
dust in the lens than you take out. Be patient, take your time,
document each step and you should be able to do this job yourself. I
used a halogen desk lamp to illuminate the lens as much as possible, so
that I could see the dust floating around in the air. Those home air
purifiers help a little bit but there will always be dust floating
around in the air.

Professional photographers would just send the lens back to a proper
repair depot and pay the bill. My personal approach is that I love to
take things apart and hopefully get them back together in one piece.
Every person is different and each person much know his abilities. If
you are up to the challenge and short on cash, then make a decision and
go with it. I've also rebuilt many of my older digital cameras when
they failed. That is my nature. I want to find out what failed and
why?

-----------------------
tomm42 wrote:
Barry wrote:
I traded some sporting goods for a "like new" 100-400 Canon IS L glass zoom
lens. I'm only into the lens about $400.00, so the deal was a good one as
the lens shows little use. However, it was part of an estate sale and
during the "storage time" prior to sale, there was some large specks of dust
or ??? that got into the lens. They are big enough to be of concern and I'd
like to get the lenses cleaned. I live in the far northern end of
California. My question is two fold: first of all, is this anything I can
play with ? Logic tells me that if I can pull the sliding portionof the
zoom off, then I can get at the lenses. But, I also don't want to screw up
the process. If it's not possible to do it myself, then who do I send it
too? What is the approximate amount I should expect to pay. There's
nothing wrong with the lens expect for the dust particles inside. I'd
prefer a repair facility in the far northern end of California (from the Bay
area north to Oregon (the closer to the Oregon border, the better) or a
repair shop in Southern Oregon (Medford perhaps).

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks


Barry Brown

Take a few pictures, interior dust generally doesn't do much to the
image. If it is as bad as you say, you should ship it back to Canon.
They are in Irvine CA. Don't try to take it apart yourself unless you
have a manual, and lens tools. The repair would cost a couplke of
hundred dollars. Doesn't make it as good a buy, but it will be in
fantastic condition when you get it back. You might want to call Adolph
Gassners in SanFrancisco and see what they recommend, but they may just
ship it to Canon and add their charges to the bill. Check with Canon
first.

Tom

Tom

According to Buy_Sell :

I had the same problem with a lens. I took mine apart and fixed it.
It was a nerve racking four hours before I could finally reach an
acceptable level of clean. Without a dust free environment, it is
virtually impossible to properly clean inside a lens.

If you decide to do this job yourself, then be prepared to have a lot
of patience. Lay the parts out on a white cloth or paper, so that they
are clearly visible and don't get lost.

And make *sure* that you don't have a cat who wants to help you
work on the lens. Tiny parts are eminently batable :-)

[ ... ]

Professional photographers would just send the lens back to a proper
repair depot and pay the bill. My personal approach is that I love to
take things apart and hopefully get them back together in one piece.

I have the same feeling.

Every person is different and each person much know his abilities.

Agreed.

Good Luck,
DoN.
--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

I just got through sending my older 28-70L lens to Canon in Jamesburg, NJ
and they did an outstanding job cleaning and tuning up my lens. It cost
about $115, but is sure better than purchaing a new 24-70. I highly
recommend them.

Keith
"Barry" wrote in message
ink.net...
I traded some sporting goods for a "like new" 100-400 Canon IS L glass zoom
lens. I'm only into the lens about $400.00, so the deal was a good one as
the lens shows little use. However, it was part of an estate sale and
during the "storage time" prior to sale, there was some large specks of
dust or ??? that got into the lens. They are big enough to be of concern
and I'd like to get the lenses cleaned. I live in the far northern end of
California. My question is two fold: first of all, is this anything I can
play with ? Logic tells me that if I can pull the sliding portionof the
zoom off, then I can get at the lenses. But, I also don't want to screw up
the process. If it's not possible to do it myself, then who do I send it
too? What is the approximate amount I should expect to pay. There's
nothing wrong with the lens expect for the dust particles inside. I'd
prefer a repair facility in the far northern end of California (from the
Bay area north to Oregon (the closer to the Oregon border, the better) or a
repair shop in Southern Oregon (Medford perhaps).

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks


Barry Brown