Lens repair

[photog1107]

I am wondering if it's possible or advisable to try to have a lens repaired/reconditioned. I have about a 8 year old Canon 75-300 IS that has been a workhorse for me for years... but all of a sudden, at the longest tele, is giving me sort of hazy images. Almost like a slight fog or hazy abberration is covering the image. My mid ranges (anything lower than 250) seem to be fine, but I have to be careful now not to push it out to 300. I use this for sports quite a lot, so the long range is really important.

My question to anyone with experience with older lenses is whether this is something that might be repaired if sent back to Canon, or whether this is somehow an indication of normal wear and tear on a lens after years of heavy use.

Any thoughts, advice is welcome. I need this lens for the upcoming spring sport season, so I am trying to figure out whether I shd spend money on a fix or a new one. Thanks!

[sk66]

I would send it to Canon..if it's too expensive to repair, or unrepairable you can buy a replacement from them at discount thru their "customer loyalty program".

[irispatch]

You may find that repair will cost more than a new lens. It it were an L lens yes most are worth repair but in 8 years the optics and auto focus have improved dramatically on the non L 70-300mm lenses.

[autofocus]

having done that once before myself you can assume they will want $100-$150 bucks just to look at it...any major stuff needed above that will be extra, but they will alert you of that before they proceed with the repair. If I recall the turn around time was ~2 weeks.

[photog1107]

Thanks, everyone. Good food for thought. I'll call my local shop and ask how much Canon will charge for the estimate before I jump in.