20D + brand new 17-40mm take a fall - Advice?

Hey folks,
I just had my photographic nightmare happen to me so I come here seeking a bit of advice.

It was a full moon, no clouds in the sky so i thought i'd quickly nip outside and see how a picture would come out.
I placed the camera on a wall to swap lenses and heard the horrible sound of my camera hitting the ground from a 4 foot fall. My heart sank.
I took it inside so i could get a better look at it, fired off a few pictures - they came out fine. Phew!
I took the lens off to have a better look at it and noticed the aperture blades were quite wide open - poo. I moved the lens around and could hear small pieces of 'something' rattling about inside - double poo.
It's roughly 2 weeks old (ordered online from Hong Kong based Onestop Digital) and I really really really can't afford to just chuck away £500.
It has a few minor (not very noticable) scratches but otherwise looks perfect.

What are my options?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Ps. The 20D came away with 1 very very small scratch in the plastic - appears to be fine.

Send it to Canon authorized repair shop i did the same thing and they did a great job repairing it and it cost me $100.00. I feel your pain.

Aperture blades will be wide open until shutter actuation where they will move to the position set by the camera.

Yep, my mistake - just never really noticed it before.

Update:

It had trouble changing focal lengths but after a gentle 'shake' the loose object moved elsewhere and it freed the workings.

I'm taking a somewhat un-educated guess and assuming it is a piece of a plastic bracket that has snapped off.

Assuming that it works ok without - how possible is it to take the lens partially apart and remove the piece? Is it specially sealed or something similar?

Cheers for the help folks.

i would send the lens to canon.

ed rader

You say the lens is two weeks old.

The moment you start to dissasemble it it may as well be two yeas old as far as canon are concerned because any warrantly will be gone.

Get the lens to Canon as soon as. You don't know what has broken inside but for all you know that loose part could be important and cause further damage if the lens is used much more.

If canon repair it then you retain the warranty. If you leave it unrepaired an something fails down the line then it is likely canon will not repair it for nothing...

You didn't say what kind of surface it landed on. If it was soft, such as dirt, grass, I wouldn't worry about the camera, but would send the lens in for repair.

The camera is another story. When I dropped mine, other than a crack on the top all appeared well, but upon further examination it wasn't. The auto focus points had shifted. I didn't notice it, but it happened. I was glad I had it checked out and fixed also.

mark

Just a thought but have you got any insurance? If not might be worth checking with your home insurance to see if you're covered through that?

Cheers for the replies.

The surface was concrete...typically!

Insurance - Normally house insurance would cover it but I'm technically on holiday at my girlfriends in Australia and I dont believe my insurance covers this lens.

I guess i do have an option of leaving it till i get home and claiming it happened there.

Liam

liam_bowers wrote:
Cheers for the replies.

The surface was concrete...typically!

Insurance - Normally house insurance would cover it but I'm technically on holiday at my girlfriends in Australia and I dont believe my insurance covers this lens.

I guess i do have an option of leaving it till i get home and claiming it happened there.

Liam

I'm saying nothing...

I'd check the policy, you may be covered 'all risks' (I am)

Sorry for your bad luck, but definitely check your insurance policy. the lens will be easily fixable - but it needs to be done by a proper Canon repair center. you should also get the camera checked over, as something might need to be recalibrated after the fall.

I definitely would not recommend a DIY approach to lens repair, unless you have specialised knowledge - these lenses are seriously complicated inside

liam_bowers wrote:
Cheers for the replies.

The surface was concrete...typically!

Insurance - Normally house insurance would cover it but I'm technically on holiday at my girlfriends in Australia and I dont believe my insurance covers this lens.

I guess i do have an option of leaving it till i get home and claiming it happened there.

Liam

My home insurance covers me worldwide, check yours in case you are actually covered. Good luck!