Broken 50mm... :(

[brandonlau2]

I've only had this lens for slightly over two months and have probably used it less than 10 times in total; I can't even remember the last time I took it out of my camera bag. When I did yesterday morning, much to my shock and dismay, this is what I saw:



The front lens element had completely separated from the back! From the looks of it, it's only held together by a few small plastic hooks but a couple of them had broken off completely... which is weird, because I never found the broken pieces.



I went back to the Future Shop that I got it from, and was so frustrated with them because they refused to replace it. Granted it had been quite a bit longer than 30 days since I purchased it, but this was obviously due to a manufacturing defect. Furthermore, the person who looked at it told me that it was not covered by the manufacturer's warranty, as there was "physical damage". I thought that to be quite ridiculous, as it has been safely tucked away in my padded camera bag for almost as long as I can remember, and it wouldn't have been exposed to anything harder than a slight bump.

So I took things into my own hands and, following a guide I found on the internet, I disassembled the entire lens assembly without too much difficulty and managed to put the whole thing back together. The only setback is that now my autofocus doesn't work, the reason for which I am unsure of. At least the lens is functioning, and I'm not stuck with two expensive paperweights...

[porkchop_express]

Those are painful just to look at. I cringed and had my blood run cold at the same time! I'm glad to hear that you were able to put the lens back together.

[m.c.adams]

Where did you find the guide at on the internet? I've got one that looks just like that.
Mark

[brandonlau2]

Mark, here you go: Disassembly of Canon EF 50 1.8 II lens

I found the guide to be very detailed and helpful. Disassembling it wasn't too hard, but putting it back together was a bit harrowing at times. Also be careful not to touch the glass, and try keep it away from dust... after performing the surgery, I noticed quite a few dust spots that I couldn't remove. So far it doesn't look as though it affects my image quality, but still a good idea to try and keep it clean.

[m.c.adams]

Thanks a million Brandon, tommorrow I'll have a go at getting mine back together.
Thanks again,
Mark

[Austin_HXC]

Those screws on the contact assembly are so small. I'm having such a hard time! I got the first one, but the second one under the contacts themselves, ughh! Guess I'll try again with a smaller screwdriver in the morning (to be honest, I didn't even know they made screwdrivers that small...! )

[RuthieMae]

I feel your pain. My son dropped and broke my 430 EXII flash after me only using it twice. I still haven't been able to replace it. I'm so glad you were at least able to fix it into semi-working condition. I'm still mourning my flash, lol

[brandonlau2]

Good luck Mark and Austin; hopefully your surgeries go without a hitch. Do let me know how it goes! Especially if you have some insight regarding the autofocus.

RuthieMae, I feel for your loss. Have you considered sending it into the shop to get it repaired, or is it beyond saving?