That gut wrenching feeling!

A friend lent me his 70-200 2.8 IS and today whilst holding the lens in it's carry bag coming through my front door the spring loaded door knocked the bag outof my fingers and the lens fell about 2ft straight down onto concrete.
The lens now no longer zooms but it appears that the IS and the auto focus are still working.
Has anybody had to have the zoom mechanism repaired by Canon.
If so how much did Canon charge you - I have a feeling this will be expensive!.
I just feel so sick having to tell my mate what an idiot I was.

That's why I don't lend out lenses to friends. You may be looking at a couple hundred bones for that but it all depends.

Did the lens take any exterior damage?

Absolutly no external damge as it fell straight down. It was in the bag with the lens mount end down. It did not even crack the rear lens cap. As I said IS still tries to kick in and autofocus still works at 200mm but if I attempt to zoom to 70mm no elements move and auto focus just hunts wildly.
Looks like a trip to Canon Australia and a LONG wait.

ooooohhhh, bugger!

Let your friend know what happened, even before you fix it or take another step. Im sure he will be understanding, and pissed off. But do whatever you can to fix it, even it may mean replacing it with a new one (if it costs a lot to fix).

Yeah like has been said tell him first and repair it as per his wishes. If he's any kind of friend it won't bother him, accidents happen and good friends are rarer and more expensive than just a hunk of metal and glass that can be easilly repaired

Col_M wrote:
Yeah like has been said tell him first and repair it as per his wishes. If he's any kind of friend it won't bother him, accidents happen and good friends are rarer and more expensive than just a hunk of metal and glass that can be easilly repaired

Just because good friends are rare and more expensive than just a hunk of metal and glass, I'd consider buying him a total new replacement, and keep the broken one in my hands to care for.

But this is just me ...

roli_bark wrote:
Just because good friends are rare and more expensive than just a hunk of metal and glass, I'd consider buying him a total new replacement, and keep the broken one in my hands to care for.

But this is just me ...

Great advice if the OP can afford to take it is whole other matter. I guess it is a lot simpler not to lend or borrow equipment from friends thus avoiding this predicament altogether.

Gerhard

or tell him you got it like that LOL

sucks, sounds expensive to fix

What?

If these humans were really your friends, why would you not want to help them out?

Just because on rare occasion something bad happens, so what? Virtually all of the time you can help your friends and everything is fine.

Don't fixate too much on a rare occasion that just might happen, but mostly never does.

Prudence is mostly a good thing, but one can also go to far also.

Enjoy! Lon

I don't have even one single friend for family member that I would loan a lens to. I Don't even let people hold my camera unless they put the strap around their neck. LOL

I can't imagine loaning any of my camera equipment to anyone, even my children.

I too make people put the strap over their head when they take a shot of me for example.

As to damaging a borrowed lens? Have it repaired to your friends satisfaction or replace it no matter the cost. After all, it's your fault.

Do the right thing because friends are very important and so is responsibility!!!!!

Ah...see, this is an oportunity for you to prove what your charachter REALLY is...to your friend and maybe even to yourself.

How about telling him what happened and then, as Roli suggested, offer to completely replace the lens. If he says it's okay to fix it, by all means. I think when things like this happens it's more of a chance to prove to yourself what kind of person you are. And that is certainly more valuable than a large chunk of debt (if needed) hanging over your head.

I have been lucky as far as camera equipment is concerned it has never occurred that I have been asked to lend it to someone. I have lent out our video camera on several occasions and it has always come back fine. I guess my camera is on the same level as my motorcycle or car it is better if the inevitable happens that it is my fault so that I won't hold somebody else responsible.

Gerhard

At the POTN Cherry Blossom shoot we were swapping lenses rather than passing the filters around; 2x 24-70 L and a Tammie 28-75, IIRC. Did a certain amount of other lens try-outs too.