Dirty 100-400mm Canon (L) zoom lens (1 Viewer)

Although I was aware of this "problem" before I purchased the so-called "pump zoom", I have found that, following a particularly dusty visit to Lesvos recently, four small blobs of dirt/tiny insects (?) have found their way into the innards of the lens. Somewhat annoying - as I have always taken great care when changing the lens and also when moving the zoom, slowly covering it with one hand. Canon "Help" line suggested repair shops as listed on their web-site (Colchester, Stoke-on-Trent, Elstree in North London and one in SE London).
I am certain that others must have come across this and had their lenses cleaned - could anyone please suggest other alternatives in Central or SW of England and a rough estimate of what they paid?
Many thanks in advance.

If it does not effect the finish image, why bother, as you say they do have the tendency to let in dust on occasion, but I know if you are anything like me it would bug me till I got it done, according to price, but cannot help you on that question.

Nikon Kid said:

If it does not effect the finish image, why bother, as you say they do have the tendency to let in dust on occasion, but I know if you are anything like me it would bug me till I got it done, according to price, but cannot help you on that question.

Click to expand...

Photoshop clears up any mess too - but, yup, it bugs me!
Thanks.

Hi Roy,

I had the same problem with my 100 - 400 mm Canon after an inland trip in NSW. I was pretty concerned after the trip but so far have seen nothing in my photos to warrant any action. BTW Canon quoted over AU$400 to have the lens cleaned inside!

Rob

RoyCo said:

Photoshop clears up any mess too - but, yup, it bugs me!
Thanks.

Click to expand...

You shouldn't need Photoshop because any 'mess' will be so far out of focus as to be invisible. One thing I tried a few years ago (on a cheap lens) was to put a strip of post-it note on the front of the lens to see what happened - not a lot, so tiny specs just won't be seen at all.

Edit: Here's a blog post from somebody who tried the same. It only shows up at short focal lengths and small apertures.

My 100-400 has a few specks of dust inside. But it does not effect the IQ (which is still great), so I don't care.

For what it's worth: I don't think this problem is confined to the push-pull action of the 100-400. Other large zooms such as Nikkor 80-400, Tamron 200-500, and the Bigma in its various incarnations suck in quite an amount of air (and thus potentially dust) too.

Thomas