85 1.2L Mk1 with "melting" rubber paint

hahahaha its a 10 year old digital lens? OMG a digital relic. Yeah maybe a bit late to the dance.

 

I wonder if my old Canon film camera is still under warantee? I think it read for life, for manufacturers defects or materials. OR was that the brass Canon?

No. It's not a 'digital lens', it was designed and built back when digital imagery was a pipe dream. The only thing 'digital' about it is the internal circuit board which closes the diaphragm and drives the AF. In case you weren't aware, this lens hit the market in 1989. It was produced until 2006 (when it was replaced w/ the II). That means that these lenses are between 12 and 29 years old.

To be miffed about the paint degrading on a lens that is between (I'll say it again) 12 and 29 years old is some mighty fine whine - just because it's an L. No, it's NOT a defect, no, it's SHOULDN'T be covered by a warranty. It's a result of normal wear and tear in a severe environment. Modern bug sprays and even hand lotions have stuff in them that weren't even on the market back in the 80s and 90s. Expecting them to NOT potentially at least have an adverse impact on paints and plastics damn near 30yrs old is pure idiocy. Many complex plastics degrade over time especially in high heat environments. It's to be expected. We also have no idea what conditions it's been stored in/ kept in for the last decade or two. Maybe it got left in the trunk of a car for a year, maybe it was stored in an air conditioned bank vault for 5 yrs, maybe it got left on a window ledge for 6mo...

As far as reading more into their honour (or the implied lack thereof)? Also pure absurdity. The warranty is for 1 year. Not 'lifetime', Not 10yrs, not 6yrs, hell, not even 3yrs. (And YES, that lack of warranty has been a reason for buying Sigma/Tamron lenses instead of Canon ones in the past IME) Being upset or even bothered by a potential refusal to cover this 12 to 29 year old lens under warranty is pretty much the same as expecting Acura to cover my NSX's paint warranty until what ... 2050? Absurd. (and no, I don't have a new NSX... just an example)

I'm glad the OP was able to have the piece replaced cost effectively. While I might consider storing it in a more temperature regulated environment (given the environment), I might also consider putting a sleeve on it...

hmmmm, 29 years old you say....might be time to repaint the lens yourself.

LOL, well, obviously up to 29 yrs ;) I'd probably happily go for a $150-200 repair for this though. Nice to know they still have replacement parts available...