17-40 f/4L Focus Problems

[benjamindbloom]

So I've had my 17-40 almost a year. I never thought I would really notice the difference in color and

contrast from an L lens, but I do. It worked great out of the box - focus was dead on and the images were

spectacular - or at least as spectacular as I can shoot. :)

 

However, I've been taking some studio shots with it and noticed it has problems focusing while at the wide

end. I figured it was the low lighting in my studio and an F4 lens on a 20d. The other lenses I was using

were all faster and had no problems focusing (50 f/1.8, 70-200 f/2.8 85 f/1.8)

 

So yesterday I took it out skiing in bright sunlight and it still had troubles focusing. My technique is OK -

I've taken tons of ski photos and the ones from the week before with a 17-85 on came out as sharp as I

would expect. I seemed to misfocus 50% of my shots and really struggled, often manually correcting,

with the rest. The problem seems to occur slightly less often as my subjects are further away.

 

I'm pretty convinced it's the lens and not the camera as my other lenses all seem fine. So - since my lens

is just under 1 year old, do I go back to my local camera shop where I purchased it? or do I need to go

direct to Canon? Will problems like this typically be replaced or repaired?

 

Thanks!

[shambrick007]

Direct to Canon.

[sattler123]

Call Canon before your 1 year warranty is over - most likely they will repair it and not exchange it - unless the problem is something cost prohibitive to repair.

Good Luck!

[benjamindbloom]

I figured I should follow up to make searches more useful.

 

Canon repaired the lens under warranty. Their phone support people were friendly, helpful, and quick. The repair form is streamlined, asking only for relevant information, and easy to follow. Status changes are promptly emailed as the item is received, inspected, and repaired. The lens was returned to me in 10 days - that includes shipping both ways. To boot - they were efficient in reusing what packing materials they could.

 

I'm a happy customer.