Canon 100/400 Zoom Fungus (1 Viewer)

Gallus · Dec 12, 2005

I have been having problems with dust and marks inside my 100/400 5.6 Zoom lens marks appeared on the outer lens very like flaking of the glass I took it to my Canon Service Centre who informed me it was due to a Fungal growth inside the Lens Has anyone had similar problems with dirt or Fungus with this lens. The Lens is one year old.

Henry B · Dec 12, 2005

Gallus said:
I have been having problems with dust and marks inside my 100/400 5.6 Zoom lens marks appeared on the outer lens very like flaking of the glass I took it to my Canon Service Centre who informed me it was due to a Fungal growth inside the Lens Has anyone had similar problems with dirt or Fungus with this lens. The Lens is one year old.

Gallus, did they offer to repair/replace the lens....hb

compa · Dec 12, 2005

Gallus said:
I have been having problems with dust and marks inside my 100/400 5.6 Zoom lens marks appeared on the outer lens very like flaking of the glass I took it to my Canon Service Centre who informed me it was due to a Fungal growth inside the Lens Has anyone had similar problems with dirt or Fungus with this lens. The Lens is one year old.

I've never heard the 100-400 zoom singled out for fungus problems. In what kind of environment do you use it and where do you store it? For it to have problems after only 1 year of life is very surprising.

Mine is spotless despite many hours of use. But then I do keep 2 tins of rechargeable desiccant in my photo bag at all times! Good protection for all of my equipment - not just the lenses. An ounce of prevention ...

James Eaton · Dec 13, 2005

Hi Gallus,

A friend of mine has encountered similar problems, and obviously affected his photography greatly. Not sure what happened in the end, but he did encounter the same problem with the same lens.

Despite using mine in very humid conditions months on end, I haven't had this problem (to my surprise!). But I now have a problem with the connection to the camera body. Once in a while when I press the shutter, the aperture goes to 00, then freezes and says error 01. To fix this I then have to take the battery out and turn the camera back on, very frustrating. Anybody offer any advice to prevent this? My warranty is finished!

screaming piha · Dec 13, 2005

James Eaton said:
But I now have a problem with the connection to the camera body. Once in a while when I press the shutter, the aperture goes to 00, then freezes and says error 01. To fix this I then have to take the battery out and turn the camera back on, very frustrating. Anybody offer any advice to prevent this? My warranty is finished!

For connection probems try cleaning the contacts using a pencil eraser (one that doesn't leave a residue, such as the little ones that are stuck on a pencil).

Torpedo · Jan 6, 2006

James Eaton said:
Hi Gallus,

A friend of mine has encountered similar problems, and obviously affected his photography greatly. Not sure what happened in the end, but he did encounter the same problem with the same lens.

Despite using mine in very humid conditions months on end, I haven't had this problem (to my surprise!). But I now have a problem with the connection to the camera body. Once in a while when I press the shutter, the aperture goes to 00, then freezes and says error 01. To fix this I then have to take the battery out and turn the camera back on, very frustrating. Anybody offer any advice to prevent this? My warranty is finished!

I'm pretty sure that there is a dodgy batch of 100-400mm out there. When I first bought mine, I had exactly the same problem. I did a search on the net, and found that it was a common problem with this lens, and a few other 'L' lenses!! Apparently a dodgy IS unit?? Took mine back to my supplier, who knew about the problem, and he replaced without any hassle.

compa · Jan 6, 2006

Torpedo said:
I'm pretty sure that there is a dodgy batch of 100-400mm out there. When I first bought mine, I had exactly the same problem. I did a search on the net, and found that it was a common problem with this lens, and a few other 'L' lenses!! Apparently a dodgy IS unit?? Took mine back to my supplier, who knew about the problem, and he replaced without any hassle.

A "common problem"? I don't think so!

Out of the 10's of thousands of these lenses that have been sold, I'm sure that all sorts of errors have been reported since this lens was first released back in 1999 but you really can't refer to any of them as "common".

People on the internet tend to complain rather than praise. They seek solutions to their problems. Those who are content are quiet. The vocal minority are those who have problems and they make it seem that everyone who has ever owned particular product has had the same problem.

All that said, I too have had a problem with the IS on my 100-400 lens. The aperture 00 problem can be avoided by turning off the IS (or getting it fixed). A failure of the IS alone does not give an error code. If you get an error you have an additional problem - often, dirty contacts.

A quick reference:
Err 01: LENS COMMUNICATION
Err 02: CF DRIVER
Err 04: NO SPACE LEFT ON CF CARD
Err 05: POP UP FLASH
Err 99: SYSTEM

Torpedo · Jan 6, 2006

compa said:
A "common problem"? I don't think so!

Out of the 10's of thousands of these lenses that have been sold, I'm sure that all sorts of errors have been reported since this lens was first released back in 1999 but you really can't refer to any of them as "common".

People on the internet tend to complain rather than praise. They seek solutions to their problems. Those who are content are quiet. The vocal minority are those who have problems and they make it seem that everyone who has ever owned particular product has had the same problem.

All that said, I too have had a problem with the IS on my 100-400 lens. The aperture 00 problem can be avoided by turning off the IS (or getting it fixed). A failure of the IS alone does not give an error code. If you get an error you have an additional problem - often, dirty contacts.

A quick reference:
Err 01: LENS COMMUNICATION
Err 02: CF DRIVER
Err 04: NO SPACE LEFT ON CF CARD
Err 05: POP UP FLASH
Err 99: SYSTEM

Sorry, I didn't mean common, as in widespread. As I said, I believe it was with a certain batch. If you search the Fred Miranda, Rob Galbraith, DP Review, Canon users (photography-on-the-net) forums, you'll see how many people were experiencing this problem. As well as myself, 3 other people bought the 100-400mm from 'my' supplier, and 3 of them (so 3 out of 4)exhibitted these problems. All were exchanged without question.

Canon 100/400 Zoom Fungus (1 Viewer)

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Gallus

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screaming piha

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