Badly scuffed reflector/lens on my 540EZ

I had an old Vivitar flash that had a scuffed portion on the lens

that caused some "shadowed effects" in flash shots that I took with

it. I just got a 540EZ and the lens is scuffed in the middle. IT is

discolored enough to make me think it too might throw a shadow and

wondered if anyone else has ever bought a flash reflector/lens and

installed it before. Also if so where did they get the part. the

Vivitar wouldn't have been worth replcing the lens but I figure the

540EZ is worth replacing the reflector if possible.

 

Thanks

<p>Can I look at it from a different angle? I'm assuming this is a used flash that you bought via eBay or something like that, because if it was a new unit with such damage, the obvious course of action would be to take it back to the store, point out the damage, and ask them to replace it with one that isn't defective.</p>

 

<p>Did the vendor advertise that it was damaged? If they said "as is" then it's fair for it to have this or any other damage. If they said it was not in great condition then it's probably also fair. Either way, Canon's office in your country should be able to direct you to an authorized repair facility, and the repair facility should be able to give you a quote on fixing it. If the vendor advertised that it was in better condition than it actually is, I would think the first thing to do would be to take the issue up with the vendor.</p>

Actually, bought via want ads here. The implication of what is and is not fair I guess would be up to the purchaser. Or if it is possible buy the part which is really nothing more tham a peice of clear reflector much like the lens that is covering the tail lights on your car. So, if one can purchase the lens it would be a simple matter of removing a couple of screws seperating the case a little and replacing the lens. A much better prodpect than shipping it off, and paying someone what 40 to 50 bucks to do something that can be done at home at the work bench. Its not rocket science.

You're right Daniel, it's not rocket science. You need to peel the black rubber discs off the flash head hing to get to the screws they hide underneath. It's easy to spilt the head then.

 

Canon sells parts cheap. Should be a number on this page to get you to a parts department: http://www.usa.canon.com/html/conCprSupport.jsp

Canon's parts department phone is (732) 521-7230.

You can buy stuff to polish plexiglass with. Check your local autoparts store. Might be faster, cheaper and safer than trying to replace parts.

I tried that, I have alot of stuff at my workbench. That and polishing heads for my Dremel. My wife bought me a sweet Dremel setup a couple Christmases ago.She got sick of watching me polish stuff with my drill. The scuffs are pretty deep and large. Also polishing material likes to leave residue in the crevaces. This can easily be removed but there is also the nasty little fact that the material used for these lenses is very brittle. Polishing creates heat which makes them even more brittle. the material they are made of is the same stuff used on the new Pattreson ratchet action developing reels. Thnaks for the suggestion.

If the scratches are deep there are clear optical epoxies you can use to fill them, some regular cure, some UV cure. Like the stuff they use to fill cracks in automobile windscreens.

 

Polishing can (and normally should) be done using a coolant/lubricant. Most polishing agents are used a suspension in water. This prevents heating and gives a better polish.

 

The nice thing about the lens on a speedlite is that it doesn't have to be optically good. It's just a fresnel concentrator, not an imaging optic.

 

Of course replacing it is also a good option if it's cheap enough and available from Canon.

Yes, I am very familiar with using a coolant while polishing. I have asmall glass polisher here as my wife likes to do the Martha Stewart thing. In fact I was first introduced to the concept when I was 18 and took a job at a glass manufacturer in Medford Oregon. All of us younguns got thrown in the polishing room where we used these giant pnuematic angle griders with polishing heads on them. They had awater feed ran alongside the air hose in the form of a water/compound line. The tables were at waistlevel and we would press the polishers against the glass egdes with our hips/groin area and use our legs to apply the force while our arms simply bore the weight of the machines and guided them. A couple of my girlfreinds of the time were very quick to point out how lucky I was to have a job that paid me to press a big vibrating machine with my groin area for 8 to 10 hours a day. ;-) There were other benifits from the motions of the job for which I was commended for .

 

Back to photography, I have used the epoxy you mentioned to repair taillight lenses as who cares about a work truck as long as there is no white light blasting from the brake lights. They also sell soem that comes with dyes and can be colored. BTW it is generally considered bad form when a policeman pulls you over for a burned out tail light to point out the burned lights on the police cruiser!

 

I was wondering about the refector/lens on the speedlites they are grooved to project the light in a certain beam. I was wondering if I were to buff the scuffs and or repair otherwise if this should effect the speddlites ability to project the beam and possibly its coverage?