Canon EF 100-400mm zoom locking ring issues

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone else has had a similar issue and what you had to do to get it resolved...

I have a Canon EF 100-400mm L lens that has developed an annoying problem seemingly out of nowhere... the zoom locking ring seems to have decided to not unlock fully when twisted, and thusly zooming is quite stiff and really annoying me to no end.

The issue developed out of the blue yesterday... was working fine, sat down and had lunch, and it was stiff after that. It rained while I was having lunch, but I was under cover and nothing got wet.

Is there anything I can do to get it functioning properly myself, or do I have to send it off to Canon?

T.

Small update: Rang Canon and they advised that it definitely needs to go in for service/repair.

Small panic as I bought it in August last year with no extra warranty cover...

Panic alleviated when Canon support guy told me it has an automatic 2 year warranty.. *phew*

T.

Hi,

I had a similar issue with a 100-400L that I purchased used with a 6 month warrantee that occurred during the 7th month of ownership. I ignored the problem for a week then it progressed to the point where normal focus failed under most conditions. I called the repair number who referred me to sales who told me the company will often honor the warrantee a bit beyond 6 months.

In my case they gave me full credit for what I paid toward an exchange that is arriving today. When I called I was polite but told them I was disappointed that it failed one month after the warrantee expired. I believe that it is common to get some help in such cases. My son in law who is an automotive service manager is the one who encouraged me to politely ask if the company could help.

To be fair, my 100-400mm L has seen a LOT of action. I visit 2 zoos every weekend and take in excess of 3000 photos a weekend. It's probably well past time for a service... *grin*

Of course I now can't find my sales receipt for the darned thing, so will go back to the store I bought it from to get a reprint - and possibly get them to send it off for the warranty repair/service.

T.

Just an update to the story...

It ended up taking 2 repairs to get the problem sorted.

1st repair took Canon Australia 3 weeks to get back to me and they had only loosened the ring... needless to say, the problem came back with a vengeance about 4 months later.

2nd repair took 6 days - apparently record time, must have been my experssion of disappointment with the first repair job - and they fully stripped and rebuilt the thing and replaced the faulty parts.

Working a charm now!

T.