Grit inside focus ring (EF-S 17-55 f2.8)

Hi,

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I took my EF-S 17-55 f2.8 for a walk on the beach recently. Since then there

seems to be a small piece of grit or sand inside the manual focus ring. When I

turn the ring I can feel and hear it. Fortunately auto focus isn't affected and

the images are fine.

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So my questions are:

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1. Should this happen in the first place? I would expect a lens of this quality

to be sealed to prevent any dust or grit getting into the works. Is it

unreasonable to try and use the lens on a beach?<br>

2. Is there anything I can do at home to try and clean it out?<br>

3. Will Canon repair/clean it under warranty, if not how much is it likely to

cost for a service?

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Many thanks for any help,

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Peter.

You can try removing the rubber zoom ring cover and see if the sands are sticking on the greasy part of the tracks behind the rubber cover.

 

But I dont recommend opening the lens.

 

I suggest you call canon , But they will likely charge you for the service, sorry.

1 ... its not an L lens ... its not sealed. (and not even

all L lenses are sealed ... look at older L's).

 

2 ... probabely not ... just use it normally.

 

3 ... this is likely not a warranty case.

This is a serious issue and a potential lens killer! Stop using this lens and have it cleaned as soon as possible. I lost several lenses due to dirt/sand that moved into the focus helical, become stuck after a while and destroyed the mechanism.

I just had the same thing happen to my 17-35 f2.8L. It is an older copy of the lens which I bought used, but for two years it has worked fluidly and delievered excellent imagery - until last week, when apparently a grit or two of sand got under the manual focus ring. Now I simply can not manually focus the lens - no amount of radial torque that I am willing/able to apply budges the ring - and it is stuck into a very thin range which is practically useless. Thankfully the autofocus was unaffected by this happenstance, which unto itself presents a 90% solution to the problem. But I too am interested to know how and whether to attempt a repair.

Last march i went to Schiermonnikoog, and we mainly went walking on the beach. The largest part of the pictures was taken with the 17-55, and i too got some sand stuck in the lens. I clearly could hear and feel it when i turned the focus ring.

 

I've been using the lens frequently since, and it slowly seems to disappear. At the moment i can feel it very slightly, but it doesn't really worry me anymore.

 

Hope it turns out ok for you!

 

If you care to take a look at the pictures:

 

The "grit" that is in your lens is simply fine particles of sand.

 

Some sand particles are silica (what glass is made from) which is very hard - certainly harder than the metal parts of the lens which are aluminum, and certainly harder than the plastic parts. In any event any sand particles are harder than the moving parts of a lens.

 

The sand particles will not come out, they are stuck in the lubricant.

 

When the silica particles rub against the plastic and aluminum parts of the lens, the silical particles will eventually break down into dust sized particles - somewhat good news.

 

The bad news is that the plastic and aluminum parts of the lens are losing the war against the sand particles. Basically you have some fine sandpaper inside your lens.

 

If it was mine, I wouldn't even have turned the zoom or focus rings a second time - I'd have headed to the camera repair shop to have it cleaned.

 

Getting grit into your equipment is not a failure of the equipment.

 

Sorry for the chastisement, but that is the attitude that the manufacturer will take.

 

The sooner you clean it without using it, the less it is likely to cost.

 

Do it NOW.

Just do what I do when I want canon to clean my gear for free. Tell them the focus on your camera is off and they will calibrate and clean it.

sorry, or your lenses too

Ha, i must remember that one :)

Now I know where integrity went.

 

Fortunately, the Canon people are brighter than you think, and will recognize the grit immediately as not being part of the camera.

Thanks for all your comments, it looks like I'm not the only person to have had a bad beach

+ camera experience. Is it considered foolish to try and take pictures on the beach? Maybe I'll

keep to the city in future.

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In my case I have been able to slightly lift the rubber focus ring with my fingernail and blow/

shake out the offending grains. Obviously this isn't the same as a professional service but it

has stopped the grating noise and made manual focusing smooth again.

sure they will recognize the grit, but they will never called you a liar. They just do what they have to do. It works for me all the time when I get dirt in my sensor.

I am a camera repairman and own a repair shop that is an authorized Canon repair facility. I have seen the grit or sand problem in lenses alot. I recommend you have your lens cleaned. The other problem is that as you use your lens with grit in the focus or zoom mechanisms the powder that comes from the grit will eventually works its way into the lens elements creating more dust on those surfaces.

 

Steve

Horizon Electronics

Steven40@aol.com

Hi, I agree with the other responses that you should get that sand out of there asap to prevent damage to the lens. Sending it in for service would be the best way to do this.

 

However, you might first try something that's worked for me in the past... vacuum the lens. Just use the brush attachment on most standard vacuum cleaners and try to suck out the offending grit. You might nee to turn the ring a little back and forth while holding the vacuum close to the lens.

 

I often have to shoot in dusty areas and my camera equipment can get pretty well covered. (Try to avoid changing lenses in these conditions, too, especially with digital SLRs.) Now I make a practice at the end of the day of vacuuming the equipment thoroughly, perhaps with the assist of a soft paint brush, and have used a vacuum to remove grit under control dials and in other areas on camera bodies. It often does the trick.