50mm 1.8 - Er 01

Hi guys. I know this subject has likely been beaten to no end,so forgive me for throwing another log on the fire. But in my defense I looked at a boat load of threads describing this issue,but not one is like mine.

I picked up a 50mm 1.8II knowing it a an error 01 issue (super cheap). Let me describe whats going on. Before even mounting the lens to my 5D I cleaned the contacts. Put it on and checked to make sure the aperture functioned - worked like a charm at all settings from 1.8 to f22. Snapped off a shot and confirmed AF works properly. After snapping the shot Er01 displays on the top screen. After about 7 seconds,I can push the shutter button,camera returns to normal. The snapped image is captured and saved. Besides the 7 second pause between shots,lens seems to work fine. I havent looked at the image yet on the computer,but from the looks of the preview on the camera,it looks good. Error 01 shows up,whether manusl focus or auto.

I also watched a video on youtube showing the disassembly of this specific lens - fairly simple. So I followed the steps and opened my lens thinking the problem would just fall in my hands. Well,didnt happen like that. Opened it and it looks new,perfectly. Looked closely at the soldier spots on the PCB,looked closely at the ribbon,looked closely overall at everything - nothing obvious could be seen. Nothing rattling or abnormally loose.

I know the lens is an el'cheapo,not really worth sending in for fixing. But now its a challenge to me to fix it. What do you recomend?

I forgot to mention - after each shot,the camera will always reset itself to shutter speed .008 (always shoot in manual mode). Dont understand that at all. And one final thing I noticed as I was playing more with the lens - if I push buttons randomly,but spaced out by a few seconds,I can hear a distinct ticking type sound inside the lens,sounds exactly like I just pushed the DOF button and activated the aperature.But the ap blades dont move when this noise occures.

Sounds like a short of some kind, though I'm no expert.

Had this issue when I attached my macro tubes. then i realised i was in M mode. Which it doesn't have any apperture values due to it being a macro tube. i switced to TV mode and i could shoot macro there. so im assuming the er 1 is to do with either the shutter or apperture not being set.

just telling my experience if it relates.

Thanks for the input guys. I tried all sorts of adjustments to no avail. Lens deffinitely has an issue. And,as it turns out,Im no expert either.lol But no worries as I will use it until I either stumble accross a doner lens where I can make from 2 buggered up lenses 1 good one or I just bite the bullet and get the 50MM 1.4.

i would think that it would be something to do with the aperture not snapping back to wide open after a shot....does it still error at wide open?

I agree.... From the description I'd guess the aperture is "sticky" and sluggish to return to full open after taking the shot. But it eventually does, so that's why the camera seems to clear and be ready to shoot again after a short time.

You can check pretty easily.... Set a middle aperture and slow or moderate shutter speed, then watch the lens from the front while taking a shot. In good light or with a flashlight, watch the aperture blades inside the lens. They should snap closed in perfect sync with the shutter and then reopen immediately after the shutter closes. If they are slow to reopen, you'll be able to see it.

Sometimes an aperture is just sluggish after a long perios of disuse and it loosens up and recovers with some use. That would be a lucky thing and is pretty rare... By far the most common cause of sluggish apertures is oil on the blades. Apertures are usually run dry, without any lubrication on the blades themselves. Oil seeps in there from other areas in the lens, such as the focusing mechanism. Old grease sometimes "oils off" or melts in hot weather, the lens is lying on its side and a drop of oil finds its way into the blades of the aperture.

The usual fix for this would be to remove all the optics from the lens and clean the aperture blades with a degreaser. Plain old lighter fluid (such as Rosonol) or dry cleaning fluid can be used.... but you need to work outside or in a very well ventilated area and be extra careful because this stuff is very flammable. A much safer, but harder to find spray cleaner that works well is Asahiklin AK225.

Cleaning with the liquids is done by "flooding" the aperture blades, hopefully making it possible to avoid disassembling the focus or diaphragm mechanisms. Both can be very difficult to reassemble.

You also have to be careful not to degrease areas that need to be lubed. But if old grease on the focus mechansism or somewhere else appears to be degrading and oiling off, then it needs to be caerfully removed and new grease put in its place. A synthetic grease is often the best to use because it won't attack plastic or nylon parts and is less prone to viscosity changes due to temperature or oiling out with age.

Now, this doesn't always work. Sometimes the aperture just remains sticky for various reasons... corrosion on the aperture blades or worn out parts or whatever. Canon techs probably wouldn't try to clean or repair the aperture. They'd simply replace the mechanism as a unit. If you were certain that the aperture was the only problem with the lens and were willing to take it farther apart, you might be able to buy the aperture module from Canon and replace it yourself.

Thanks for the input guys. As I was testing the lens I had shot it at all f-stops from 1.8 to around 9ish,same reault each time. Also,the video I watched showed disassembly down to the lens internals,very thorough. I was able to close the aperture manually once I had it opened and I didnt see anything (looked at each blade under a magnifying light) odd. But,just because I didnt see anything doesnt mean its ok,surely something could be in the round apature mechanism.

Just a little tid bit of information for all - even though the 50mm 1.8 is a simple toss-away lens (seemingly because of the low quality build) that thing is quite complex inside. It is the first lens I actually opened completely and I can tell you,poor build or not,an autofocusing lens is quite a marvel of engineering.

Alan,Im going to do the aperture test with a small light and see if I can see anything - also,thanks for the VERY THOURGH response,much appreciated!

OK,so I had to delete a previous response because after I did even more testing I found that the more I used the lens in any mode dial setting (except 'B') I continued to get er1. So,in conclusion,I will live with the lens the way it is until I either find a doner to tinker with to make one of the two (the 2 shall become one,like getting married,lol) or just pick up a 1.4 50mm.

I have a gut feeling its not the aperture blades sticking, but an other electronic problem. I have the same lens where the blades are sticking at times, the first sign was a super over exposed photo, blades would not close; stayed wide open. I set camera to f/22 and pressed the dof button and watched the blades hanging up, after a few presses it did close the blades all the way it never threw an error code. this would be the second one I owned, I gave up on them. one dropped and separated to much damaged to inner barrel mounting tabs lens jammed on camera forced it off so I know the mount is questionable yes the camera and lens fell together took a two foot fall. now after spending close to 200+ on these lens I purchased the 50 1.4 works great on the 5dmIII low light focusing is amazing.