ran into a couple problems, need solution.

i was just about to use my gear when i notice that 2 of my lenses weren't 100%. my canon 50 1.4 won't focus anything closer than 1.5 meters and the front of my canon 16-35 2.8L II is loose and jiggles around, are there screws that i can tighten?

On the 50mm f/1.4 it sounds like the gear in the AF drive broke, Common issue, Can you turn the focus ring? You'll feel a sort of "dead space" in there when turning the ring

As for the front of the 16-35 i am uncertain

i can turn the focus ring but the ring just spins without and doesn't move the focus.

corinmcblide wrote in post #15231985
i can turn the focus ring but the ring just spins without and doesn't move the focus.

Wow, yeah sounds like the focus gears are stripped out then

50 1.4 needs to go somewhere to be fixed.

16-35, you might try pulling the rubber back that is on the manual focus ring, there are 3 (I think it's 3) tiny screws there that might be loose. Don't loose them when you pull the rubber back.

KenjiS wrote in post #15231986
Wow, yeah sounds like the focus gears are stripped out then

ok.how does something like this happen? i never dropped the lens or forced it to move, it was just sitting in my bag for a couple of weeks.

rick_reno wrote in post #15232741
50 1.4 needs to go somewhere to be fixed.

16-35, you might try pulling the rubber back that is on the manual focus ring, there are 3 (I think it's 3) tiny screws there that might be loose. Don't loose them when you pull the rubber back.

where can i send my lens?

i will check out those 3 screws and see if they're the problem thanks.

corinmcblide wrote in post #15232793
ok.how does something like this happen? i never dropped the lens or forced it to move, it was just sitting in my bag for a couple of weeks.


where can i send my lens?

If you were to do a search of this forum, you'll find there are numerous discussions here about the foibles of the 50/1.4.

It's an old design and sort of a hybrid form of USM, not true "ring type". It's known to have issues with a weak focusing mechanism, prone to damage if some care isn't taken. A lot of folks report a moderate bump on the focus ring or on the front of the barrel seems to strip gears in the mechanism... or that overriding it manually a lot causes rapid wear of those gears.

Things you can do to help protect it:
1. Get the matching lens hood and use it. When shooting, it protects the front of the lens barrel against bumps. When stored reversed on the lens, it protects the focus ring against bumps.
2. Always set the lens' focus to infinity when storing it. This retracts the inner barrel as much as possible and might help protect it. This is actually a good idea with most lenses, simply because it makes them as compact as possible for storage.
3. Avoid manually overriding focus with this particular lens. Some think that accelerates wear and tear on the lens.

With some simple care such as this, it seems to hold up pretty well. My 50/1.4 is at least 8 or 10 years old... I dunno, I bought it used. It came with the hood and I've always used it and don't tend to manual focus the lens much. It's held up just fine with many, many years of use.

Sorry to hear yours is giving problems. If you get it fixed and take some of the recommended precautions, hopefully you'll have as many or more years service out of it than I have with mine.

If the lens is new (up to one year old), you should send it to the closest Canon service center for repair under warranty. Check the Canon website and contact them for info.

If the lens is older, you can either send to Canon or see if there is an independent authorized repair shop nearer to you that an handle it. Canon lists them on their website.

corinmcblide wrote in post #15232793
ok.how does something like this happen? i never dropped the lens or forced it to move, it was just sitting in my bag for a couple of weeks.

Mine died the exact same way: sitting in my bag on a shelf.

I tried fixing it myself (see this, this and this), but encountered some screws I simply could not get loose. Ended up turning it over to a local camera shop for repair.

Echo Johnson wrote in post #15233852
Mine died the exact same way: sitting in my bag on a shelf.

I tried fixing it myself (see this, this and this), but encountered some screws I simply could not get loose. Ended up turning it over to a local camera shop for repair.

Mine died from me opening the box on my brand new lens...

ok well the 16-35 is fixed, somehow all the screws were a tad loose. gonna read up on fixing the 50 now and see where that takes me. thanks for all the responses.