Can this lens be saved?

[barefootpoetry]

I bought a used Quantaray 70-300mm off Ebay at a price that, as it turns out, was really too good to be true. It arrived and I could not get the AF to work at all (it made a beeping noise if I pressed the shutter), and MF gave me an "Err 01" message. I Googled this and did everything that was suggested: cleaned the contacts, took the lens off and put it back on, took the battery out and put it back in, tried different apertures and zoom lengths....nothing. I've heard that having a battery pack can help, but I don't have one yet. I contacted the Ebay seller about the problem and he gave me a full refund, and graciously told me I could keep the lens for my trouble.

I plan on trying my luck again and buying another third-party 70-300mm (photography is just a fun hobby for me and I can't afford name-brand glass, so please save the advice about how all third-party lenses are terrible), but I'm just wondering if there's anything I can do to save this lens, or is it destined to be a paperweight forever? I've heard some things about these lenses needing a different computer chip if they are incompatible, but I don't know how much time and money that will cost, and keep in mind this was a very inexpensive used lens (that is now a free lens). Any ideas?

[GadgetRick]

Contact the manufacturer and see how much it would be to have it looked at/fixed. Then decide whether it's worth it for you to do so.

[MikeFF]

I had a Quantaray 28-70 that I used on a 35mm Canon slr. When I got my 1st DSLR ( a Canon 10D ) the Quantaray would not work on it. A friend gave me a 28-70 2.8/3.5 Tokina that he was not using and it worked fine. When I upgraded to a 20D the Tokina wouldn't work. I wound up getting a Tamron 28-75 2.8. I chose the Tamron because it was very close to the Canon 24-70L in sharpness and while the The Canon is a much sturdier built lens the Tamron was les than 1/3 the price. I have been very happy with this lens but now I fear upgrading my camera body. If I have to upgrade the lens next time I am buying Canon.

[inkista]

Or, alternatively... buy Canon lenses. This is why they can sometimes be worth the higher price.

This is always the biggest danger with third-party lenses, since their mount electronics are reverse-engineered. If Canon changes the mount (as they do for newer features that require communication between the lens and the body), they're under no obligation to ensure that all the third-party lenses still work. But they will be careful not to make their own lenses non-functioning.

Unless they pull another FD-> EOS move.

[Doug Pardee]

Originally Posted by barefootpoetry

I've heard some things about these lenses needing a different computer chip if they are incompatible, but I don't know how much time and money that will cost

They may need it, but you can't get it any more. Sigma is the manufacturer of Quantaray lenses, and Sigma rechipped the lenses (for free) while the lens model was in production and for a while afterward. It's my understanding that Sigma considers all of those lenses too old to bother with now, and they've run out of the new chips for them, so no more rechipping.

You can always write to Sigma and ask, though.

Personally, I would stay well clear of any older third-party lenses.

By the way, you can probably use that lens as long as you keep it "wide open". What usually doesn't work is when the camera tries to stop it down to the aperture that you're requesting.

[Raoul Isidro]

One of the reasons a lens makes those squealing high pitched sounds is because the gears are not meshing. It's much like a manual stick shift you try to put into gear without stepping on the clutch.... Lenses that have been dropped may have misalinged gears. Ring type motors like USM and SWM lenses don't use gears but vibrations to move the focus ring.