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Canon 100 - 400 L IS fault / problem (1 Viewer)

D

DamianP

Well-known member
My 16 month old 100-400L has deveoloped a fault with it's stabilisation system today. When I try and focus on something by pressing the shutter button halfway, the image through the viewfinder jumps up and down indefinitely and the camera stops trying to focus until I release the button and try again. It will normally work the second time and once the focus system has locked on, the IS system appears to work as normal. The fault is worse when I have just turned the camera on.

While the image flicks up and down during the fault, the f-stop indicator in the viewfinder flashes onto 00 and then back to displaying the correct f-stop.

I tried to isolate the fault by turning the IS switch to mode 2 which stops the problem, so it is obviously the vertical bit that is knackered. I also tried changing the 'depth of field preview' button to turn on the IS system without autofocussing and this still produces the fault. Also tried 'back button focus' which also produces the fault, I've also tried cleaning the contacts but all to no avail.

Unfortunately, I've got extended cover on my camera, but not on the lens.

Has anyone heard of this fault before? How lenient are Canon over their one year warranty - do they ever repair on goodwill? Assuming I need a new IS system, how much could this cost me to get fixed? Where is the best place to send it to in the UK?

I'm gutted that this could happen, after spending £1300 only 16 months ago it galls me to have to spend more to have to get it repaired.

Many thanks, Damian.
 
A complete guess, but it sounds to me like you may have a poor connection between camera and lens. Is the lens properly locked into position on the body? Are all the contacts clean and shiny?

If there is an actual equipment fault I have found Canon to be quite sympathetic outside warranty, although maybe my CPS Gold status swings things in my favour. That said, under the Sale Of Goods Act you should be able to expect quality goods such as this to work beyond a year, and quite honestly you should be entitled to pursue satisfaction without paying, should a repair be required - unless the fault is due to misuse/accident.
 
Thanks Tim, I've cleaned the contacts with some isopropyl alcohol but the fault remains. I'll phone up a few of the authorised repair centres tomorrow and see what they say. I hope that's right about the sale of goods act - it bloody well should be, I'll be gutted if I have to pay out loads to get this fixed.

Thanks, Damian.

Just found this about the Sales Of Goods Act - http://www.monikie.org.uk/yourrights.htm

Definitely worth persuing, thanks again Tim.
 
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Are you a member of Canon CPS? And did you register your lens when you bought it? You might be lucky if you contact Canon UK directly.


Good Luck
 
Hi, no I'm not a member of CPS, and unfortunately didn't register my lens for some reason (I've registered both my cameras though!). I couldn't find my receipt either but phoned Jessops today who confirmed I'd purchased on 2 June 2010 and said they can print me off a receipt if I visit a store.

I'll try contacting Canon Uk tomorrow and post what they say.
 
I've always had good service from Canon at Elstree, including a couple of lens repairs performed outside warranty, one being my 100-400.
 
I phoned Canon today and firstly got through to the support department and stated that I had a problem with the IS system on my lens. The chap immediately said that he couldn't help me and I would have to send the lens back for repair! He didn't even ask me to explain the problem to him, for all he knew I could have switched it off or had a poor contact etc!

So I phoned back to the service dept and found out how to return the lens. I asked the lady if they ever repair for free outside of warranty and she said that they sometimes do depending on what the problem is. I have to write what I expect them to do for me, so I will ask for a free repair if the problem isn't attributable to misuse (I can't see how I've caused it!) and see what happens.
 
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i had to get a new is system cost was £180 about 2 years ago in glasgow,repair centre said is systems cant be repaired unortunatly
 
Ive had a simular or same problem on my 100-400 a few weeks ago the image jumps in the view finder and the shutter wont fire as it was still under warranty i took it back to Canon and they repaired it under warranty it was a loose spring on the image stabiliser. Only 4 months out of warranty i dont see why Canon shouldnt repair this for free.Good luck with Canon let us know how you get on.
 
As I understand it pretty much everything electrical/mechanical is now guaranteed for two years under European law. When my 40D failed 12 days out of warranty Canon repaired it no questions asked.
 
I will be very annoyed if they try to charge me for it. I will definitely post again once I've heard something. I'm guaranteed to find something really good this weekend and not be able to take a picture of it!
 
Well, here's what's happening up to now....

I returned the lens to Canon in Elstree as I was instructed to and recieved an email from them saying that the lens had been forwarded directly to H Lehmanns for repair.

This was last week, so I phoned H Lehmann's today to find out what was happening. They confirmed that I would need a new IS unit costing ********* £418.80!!!!!!!!! ********** i.e. more than a third of the original lens cost after just 16 months.

I asked them why the IS unit had broken so soon, and they said they didn't know but there was no sign of misuse (which I already knew).

So I phoned Canon back again and explained what H Lehmann had said and that the lens is only just out of warranty and the lady said that they automatically extend the waranty by one month but that's it. I pointed out that a lens of this quality should not break after just 16 months. They are now going to contact H Lehmann's and find out what the fault was and get back to me. I pointed out that I may be protected under the Sales of Goods act, but she rightfully said that this was between me and the retailer.

So I'm currently waiting for a call back from them. Looks like I just got a dodgy lens from the start - I didn't realise there was a lottery involved in getting one that lasts for a reasonable amount of time.
 
I had my three year old 100-400 repaired (zoom tension ring) and calibrated with two bodies by Canon at Elstree 13 months ago. The repair was carried out for a fixed price of £127 and included six months warranty on the entire lens, not just the repaired part. I was offered the option to pay for the repair on a time and materials basis, which might have cost less, but without the full warranty, so I opted to go all in.

Last month (one year on) I took the lens in again as it was not performing to spec and was told their fixed price was now £130. I expressed my disappointment with the way the lens had gone off the boil and that I would like them to consider a goodwill repair. Nonetheless, in order to expedite the repair I left my credit card details. The lens was shipped back to me promptly (CPS Gold) and I was not charged a penny. Now that's what I call good service.

Quite why Elstree are shipping your lens to Lehmann's I can't imagine, but to be quoting figures of over £400 for the repair seems completely out of order. Even if the SOGA doesn't protect you, and it should, the largest bill I would expect you to face is £130. I think you need a little chat with Canon. Now, if you had approached Lehmann's directly I can well imagine the potential for a hefty bill, but if you're dealing with Canon then you should definitely check up on that fixed price option. Something is not right here.
 
tdodd said:
I had my three year old 100-400 repaired (zoom tension ring) and calibrated with two bodies by Canon at Elstree 13 months ago. The repair was carried out for a fixed price of £127 and included six months warranty on the entire lens, not just the repaired part. I was offered the option to pay for the repair on a time and materials basis, which might have cost less, but without the full warranty, so I opted to go all in.

Last month (one year on) I took the lens in again as it was not performing to spec and was told their fixed price was now £130. I expressed my disappointment with the way the lens had gone off the boil and that I would like them to consider a goodwill repair. Nonetheless, in order to expedite the repair I left my credit card details. The lens was shipped back to me promptly (CPS Gold) and I was not charged a penny. Now that's what I call good service.

Quite why Elstree are shipping your lens to Lehmann's I can't imagine, but to be quoting figures of over £400 for the repair seems completely out of order. Even if the SOGA doesn't protect you, and it should, the largest bill I would expect you to face is £130. I think you need a little chat with Canon. Now, if you had approached Lehmann's directly I can well imagine the potential for a hefty bill, but if you're dealing with Canon then you should definitely check up on that fixed price option. Something is not right here.
Click to expand...

Thanks tdodd, that is very interesting. The lady I spoke to yesterday asked (in an incredulous tone) why I had sent the lens to Lehmann's and not to them. I explained that I had sent the lens to them in Elstree and that THEY had sent the lens straight onto Lehmann's without even asking my permission. I will certainly ask today why this occured and why they didn't do the fixed price repair.

Thanks also orbec. I think I will phone consumer direct before I call Canon back to clarify my rights. I am getting increasingly annoyed about this.
 
Ok. I've spoken to Canon again. They are now asking Lehmann's to send the lens back to them for inspection. I asked why it had been sent to Lehmann's without my permission in the first place and she eventually admitted that this had been a mistake and they are investigating why it happened. She then offered the fixed price repair of £130 and offered to extend the warranty on the repair from 6 to 9 months.

She also said that there is no known fault with this particular lens so I pointed out that other people have responded in this thread (and in others elsewhere) of having the same fault. She then said that the only place to look to find if there is an official fault with a Canon lens is on the Canon website - yeh right!!!

I told her that I am still not happy about this price especially now that there has been an unecessary delay in the repair process. I have phoned consumer direct who have advised me how I proceed with action against Jessops (or my credit card co.) so I might persue this route instead.

I am extremely disappointed with Canon. This experience has certainly put me off from buying any more of their products - I have spent thousands in the past with them as well.

Here are a few other threads documenting the failure of the Image Stabilization system on the Canon 100-400 L IS ....

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/re...ssage=38878035 -

"My 100-400 is producing a "knocking" sound and the same time the image in the viewfinder jumps vertically."

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/re...6&changemode=1 -

"My Image stabilization on my 100-400 is playing up. Instead of the usual nice floaty steady image when I press to focus, I am getting the image jerking from side to side and I can hear the engine pulsating rather than the smooth even noise."

http://photo.stackexchange.com/quest...is-usm-failure -

"The lens would focus and the stabilizer would work, but after focusing and stabilizing the subject, the image in the viewfinder would abruptly shift to the left then pulsate. "

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/...ad.php?t=64260 -

"My 100-400L has developed a fault. It is related to the IS system. Keeping the shutter half depressed for three or more seconds with IS enabled (either mode) causes the lens to “crash”. "

http://www.friday.com/bbum/2010/08/2...l-is-usm-lens/ -

"Since the trip, the lens developed a fault with the image stabilizer. The IS would kick in and make the image “jump” every second, eventually crashing and causing the camera to show an error."

http://photo.net/canon-eos-digital-c...0Y2hV?start=10 -

"I and several of my friends had problems with the stabilisation. I had to send it back to get a new one placed as did my friends. Later, in “Chasseur d’Images” ,a French magazine, I came once across an article of people complaining that they had problems with the stabilisation and one of the answers from Canon was that you have to change the stabilisation on a regular basis….?"

Seems it's not just me with this problem.
 
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DamianP said:
Ok. I've spoken to Canon again. They are now asking Lehmann's to send the lens back to them for inspection. I asked why it had been sent to Lehmann's without my permission in the first place and she eventually admitted that this had been a mistake and they are investigating why it happened. She then offered the fixed price repair of £130 and offered to extend the warranty on the repair from 6 to 9 months.

She also said that there is no known fault with this particular lens so I pointed out that other people have responded in this thread (and in others elsewhere) of having the same fault. She then said that the only place to look to find if there is an official fault with a Canon lens is on the Canon website - yeh right!!!

I told her that I am still not happy about this price especially now that there has been an unecessary delay in the repair process. I have phoned consumer direct who have advised me how I proceed with action against Jessops (or my credit card co.) so I might persue this route instead.

I am extremely disappointed with Canon. This experience has certainly put me off from buying any more of their products - I have spent thousands in the past with them as well.

Here are a few other threads documenting the failure of the Image Stabilization system on the Canon 100-400 L IS ....

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/re...ssage=38878035 -

"My 100-400 is producing a "knocking" sound and the same time the image in the viewfinder jumps vertically."

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/re...6&changemode=1 -

"My Image stabilization on my 100-400 is playing up. Instead of the usual nice floaty steady image when I press to focus, I am getting the image jerking from side to side and I can hear the engine pulsating rather than the smooth even noise."

http://photo.stackexchange.com/quest...is-usm-failure -

"The lens would focus and the stabilizer would work, but after focusing and stabilizing the subject, the image in the viewfinder would abruptly shift to the left then pulsate. "

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/...ad.php?t=64260 -

"My 100-400L has developed a fault. It is related to the IS system. Keeping the shutter half depressed for three or more seconds with IS enabled (either mode) causes the lens to “crash”. "

http://www.friday.com/bbum/2010/08/2...l-is-usm-lens/ -

"Since the trip, the lens developed a fault with the image stabilizer. The IS would kick in and make the image “jump” every second, eventually crashing and causing the camera to show an error."

http://photo.net/canon-eos-digital-c...0Y2hV?start=10 -

"I and several of my friends had problems with the stabilisation. I had to send it back to get a new one placed as did my friends. Later, in “Chasseur d’Images” ,a French magazine, I came once across an article of people complaining that they had problems with the stabilisation and one of the answers from Canon was that you have to change the stabilisation on a regular basis….?"

Seems it's not just me with this problem.
Click to expand...

F***... sorry you had to go through all that. Wish you good luck :t:
 
I got my lens back from Canon today. As stated earlier in the thread, Lehamanns said that it would need a new IS system but on the slip I got from Canon today it says that the IS system has been repaired (ie not replaced). Shoudl I be concerned about this?
 
If you went with the £130 fixed price repair then you should now have a nine month warranty (post #16) on not only the repair but the whole lens. I can't see why it would be in Canon's interest to perform a half baked repair. I'm sure that they did exactly what was required, no more, no less. It may be that in Canon's terminology the word "repair" is an umbrella term that includes replacement and the difference may be nothing more than semantics. Either way, personally I would not be concerned. It's been returned as "fixed", by the manufacturer, with an extended warranty. I'd be quite satisfied with that?
 
I have just got my camera and lens set up (7D and 300 2.8) back from Lehmann's after a fault developed due to it not bouncing on concrete. I can have nothing but praise for the manner in which the issue was dealt with and rectified by Lehmann's.

Phil
 
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