So I loaned out my Canon 24-70 lens... and...
 

And a couple weeks later he tells me he sent it into Canon for cleaning because he appreciates me loaning the lens to him, and he's a good friend for doing it, yada yada. Immediately I was suspicious what actually might have happened to the lens. It took over a month to get it back from Canon. He was grilling me one night on what I may have done to the lens (I treat it like I treat my testicles... very carefully) because it needed all these parts and the cleaning was so much more expensive than he expected ($240). I kinda got the feeling he was trying to get me to admit to having dropped the lens at some point, which has never happened. Kinda like his effort to pass the buck...

He sent me this photo just now of the work order receipt.

Does this look like a "lens cleaning" to you?

http://www.gumballsetc.com/IMG_0441.jpeg

This appears to be one of the parts listed as having been replaced:

http://www.uscamera.com/cy3-2030.htm

On the product description it says "This sleeve assembly can be easily damaged if the lens is dropped."

What would you do if you were in my position?

I hear that Canon isn't always so good at fixing lenses. I'd recommend you compare the chromatic abrasion between images before/after. I was told that this is a good indicator of glass alignment and distance between glass elements. Also compare sharpness.

Really tough. I'd be unhappy :)

i'd never loan out a lens, or camera or anything else like that

but no one sends a lens "for cleaning" just cause he's so nice

I'm going to cross my fingers that Canon actually knows what they're doing. The lens was super sharp before I loaned it to him.

I hope luck is in my favor.

Oh, and I tried to call Canon a couple weeks ago and gave them his information to pull up the order... hoping they'd tell me what actually happened to the lens... and they wouldn't give me any information, citing "confidentiality". I told them "hey listen, it's my lens... I'm the owner." and they said "your name isn't on the order... sorry." What a bunch of BS.

Maybe he used it in a REALLY dusty place or maybe a desert and sand got inside of the lens :) I actually have heard that happening to 24-70's... but that's probably not the case here.

What do you mean, "B.S.?" How are they supposed to know who you are or who owns the lens?

He apparently used it in the Tenderloin district of SF, without my prior knowledge. Not very smart.

I should have just told them I was him.

You can't expect to call them and just tell them its yours...


LOLz!!!

Okay, just putting this out there for general discussion... what if he filled out the warranty card that came with the lens and sent it to Canon?

I've paid for a lens cleaning direct from Canon Canada before. I *think* it was about $120 outside of warranty. It certainly didn't list those other things on it. Hm.

Yeah, I suspected that.

Might you be able to snap a pic of the work order, if you've got it handy?

So from your perspective, why should the details of a repair be confidential, anyway?

So he was like hey dude i need to shoot pussies gimme your 2k+ stuff, you was like kool go use it no problem, and then he returns no camera with 100 cheesy explanations and who is a dumb fook?

So what am I gonna do at this point? I figured I'd at least save the "you're a fucking liar, and I'm never loaning or renting you my shit ever again" stuff until after the lens is back in my hands...

or.. call back?

That was the original plan... that I did not follow through with.

I'm sorry, it's buried in my tax receipts from two years ago. This might help?
http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=1443.0

Well that's encouraging...

if you look at the top of the receipt, it says zoom's lose etc... that's where the problems are described. I have taken in my Nikon lens all kinds of times, because of lens crawl, and soft focus problems. The price quoted is not out of line:2 cents:

I'd be checkin' that lens out thoroughly when you get it back. Compare it to how it performed before loaning it.

Tough call, either way. But from what you say...definitely sounds as though your 'buddy' dropped it and is tryin' to cover his ass.

It's too late to say - never lend your lenses. But take it as a lesson learned.

Good luck with it. Hope all turns out for the best.

anyways, isn't this the same shtick as mechanics? go into to fix something.. comes out needing 'oodles of repairs'

If it was fixed fine at Canon make him pay and never loan it again.

He paid for the repair when he sent it in.

Tell him he is now the proud owner of your old lens.

Take the money and buy a new EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM

When you buy a new body and lens you should always send it in to be calibrated.
As a Canon owner you should have aCPS membership anyway.









Mathieu

I'm not sure the new 24-70 would be worth it to me considering I've basically stopped perusing photography work to focus on starting an auto dealership. Thanks for the link to CPS... I didn't know Canon offered that.

Got it back just now. So far I've only looked at it through the camera LCD, taking some test photos of a lens cloth at an angle, but it has no front focus or back focus issues at all. Everything looks really damn good.

You can tell the inner part of the barrel that extends for the zoom has been replaced. Previously it had some visible wear, where you could tell it had been zoomed in and out many thousands of times... now it looks brand new again. He conveniently "forgot" to bring the work order slip home from his office. I'm really curious what the fuck happened to it... but it looks and works perfect so that's all I can ask for I suppose.

Very very glad to have it back. This would have sucked to have to replace!

SO in other words, you have a friend who borrowed your lens and then something may have happened, but anyway he took the time trouble and money to put the problem right and return the lens to you in better condition than it was.

You are lucky to have such friends.

Yeah, but why be a weirdo about it? Just say hey I dropped it, I'm sorry and I wil pay to fix it. :2 cents:

These are my thoughts. I believe in complete honesty when it comes to other people's property. I would only ever be completely honest with anyone else if I somehow damaged someone's equipment.

The thing that bothered me most is that if he really did send it in for cleaning... I know for a fact that it was perfectly clean to begin with. Why not ask me if I could live without the lens for X time frame? Why not give me the opportunity to decline? Several people asked me to do their Christmas portraits for cards, and I had to decline because I had no decent lens for the task.

And then there's the fact that he completely disregarded my potential sources of income. In the past 10 years, my primary income has been my photography. What if I wanted to pick up a gig or two before the holidays? I'd have to go out and rent the same equipment I already own.

Why lend you equipment to people you don't trust then?

If you a lend a person money or objects you have to except that it is possible you will lose them.

This person at least gave your stuff back in a better condition than he got it.

I would be happy with that result and move on

Yes, and I understand that shit does happen. It was only because of this incident that I don't exactly trust him. And yes, I'm lucky to have gotten the equipment back.

All my camera kit is totally insured for accidental damage.

Yea, my stuff is insured as well and I wouldn't lend out an L series lens :)

I would never lend out my camera equipment, its how I make my living.

Equipment prices falling so fast and being replaced that insurance starts to be an expensive waste.

Just take the hit now and then.

This....

I am not so sure... lenses seem to hold their value pretty good. Bodies maybe not so much.

Sounds like he's a liar and he actually broke your lens, then had it sent in to get fixed and is trying to cover it up, rather than just be honest with you about it.

A bit off-topic, but a couple of folks mentioned focus calibration, which you can do yourself if you have the right tool and a camera that allows compensation adjustments

I just picked this up:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...G&Q=&A=details

I'm mainly shooting with a Nikon D4 and 85mm 1.4g, and wide open, the depth of field is so shallow that any variation in focusing due to camera body / lens production tolerances is noticeable, making the lens-align rig vital for professional users.

Just a matter of maths, camera bodies value drops so fast now that to have insured the 6 D100 nikons we had would have doubled the cost, the lenses also have lost value as the formats have changed.

Also having a lot of lenses the chance of damaging them all is remote but the cost of insuring them very high.

The stuff is insured at base and alarmed though.

:thumbsup