50mm f1.8II Lens Damage

Hi,

I have a 50mm f1.8II lens and recently i accidentally fully rotated

the manual focus ring while the switch of the lens is in AF MODE. The

lens is not connected on the body of camera so it is not powered or

turned on. I also noticed that even in AF mode the manual focus ring

is not locked and can easily be rotated by a small amount of force.

 

My question is could the 50mm f1.8II lens be damaged by rotating the

manual focus ring while it is on AF Mode even if the lens is OFF or

not operating ?

<p>Could it be damaged? Possibly. You're not supposed to do that, and this cheaply-built lens has a reputation for being somewhat easy to damage.</p>

 

<p>Is it damaged? Put it on your camera and try it. If it works properly in AF, and if it works properly in MF, then it's fine, at least for now, and if it dies later, you'll never know for sure whether it was somewhat damaged by what you did or if it was goign to die anyway.</p>

ok, well i just hated the fact that the Canon did not include a brochure in the box of the lens that gives a warning or precautions

that must be done on the lens. What i get in the box of the 50mm lens

is just a WARRANTY CARD :-( no warnings about the manual focusing in AF Mode thing.

General rule of thumb.....if the description doesn't say full time manual focus, then it isn't.

You should not touch the MF ring if setting in AF mode. However, it is fine if you accidentally turn it. I did that several times with my 50 1.8 II. It still works.

i dropped mine, so i can confirm, no ftm, cuz i looked inside and didn't find one, since it cracked open like an egg.

I would not worry. The motor should be able to handle some manual turning while power is off. As long as you didn't try to turn it much faster than what the motor is designed to do, I think it should be OK. However, I wouldn't try to do it regularly nor try to do it with power on. In fact, while brother manual focus at all with a MKII.

or actually, I posted a hood setup with step up ring, I notice now that I cannot turn the ring at all due to it being in the recessed area between hood and lens barrel... I just use it in Auto always , I supposed as it was designed to do anyway...<div></div>

Danny Lee, that wasn't the question asked, and we already saw your topic about your hood, no need to post again.

 

For your question, I often rotate the focus rings of my 50mm 1.8 and 18-55, both who don't have FTM, for example when using polarizers. Rotating the polarizer simply puts too much force on the focus ring ad turns it.

 

I also had the focus ring of my 50mm 1.8 MKII pop out, and owuldn't turn at all anymore. Simply popped it back in.

 

If it still works, you should be fine!

JEan, you didnt get it, the OP said " Hi, I have a 50mm f1.8II lens and recently i accidentally fully rotated the manual focus ring while the switch of the lens is in AF MODE"

 

and I said that I added the hood, now you CAN NOT turn the ring at all. I leave my lens as is, and I cant turn the ring, therefore it prevents any more accidental turning of the ring while an AF mode.

 

I know he asked if it will damage it, I think turning the ring while on AF can damage it, maybe not now, but I do believe it can, so I posted that with the hood and setup, you can reach in to turn it so it is safe, kind of a preventive thing...

I meant that setup I posted prevents the accidental turning of the ring. which may be helpful, just trying to be helpful..

here is a pic, as you can see, the setup ring's diameter is bigger than the manual focus ring, and so is the lens barrel. So this prevents the accidental turning of the focus ring.

if the manual focus ring is turned fully while it is set in AF MODE, and let us assume that it was damaged, Question is What part of the lens got damage? Is it the motor or the gear mechanisms?.

The most likely weak point is the soft plastic gear teeth on the focus ring-it has a small diameter metal gear running on it so it's easy to partly damage those plastic teeth.

 

<P>However if it still feels good then it's VERY unlikely that damage has been done.

<BR>I have manually focussed my 50/1.8 many times while AF is on.I don't make a habit of it but because it's so inexpensive and has such low gear/motor drag ,it's not something to worry about too much

I have done the same thing with my lens by accident, no damage resulted. I don't make a habit of it though.

mine seems to be fine. i actually manually turned the focus ring 8 times fully clockwise and fully clockwise while the lens is in AF MODE. Anyway, if this lens dies, i'm sure that that the Manual Focus

would still be operational right?. I am just curious how many users out there got there lens damaged rotating a NON-FTM lens manually while it is in AF MODE such as the EF 50mm f1.8 mark 2 lens.