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Archive 2017 · I may have to say goodby to an old friend, or not yet ?

  
 
PetKal
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · I may have to say goodby to an old friend, or not yet ?


This morning my trusty 200 f/1.8 stopped auto-focusing abruptly. No MF either, as it usually happens with that lens model.
Below is the last shot I got with it.

The lens was made in 1997, and I bought it from KEH ten years ago. I used it in moderation, and I had even avoided shooting it in Servo AF mode.

Obviously, we'll attempt a repair, but I ain't got much hope. I guess that's the sort of a risk one should accept when getting deeply obsolete lenses.

Edited on Sep 20, 2017 at 10:53 PM · View previous versions



Sep 10, 2017 at 09:49 AM
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · I may have to say goodby to an old friend, or not yet ?


That's sad to hear on so many levels.


Sep 10, 2017 at 10:03 AM
Zenon Char
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · I may have to say goodby to an old friend, or not yet ?


RIP if repairs don't work. Sometimes you just have to let it go.


Sep 10, 2017 at 11:33 AM
psharvic
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · I may have to say goodby to an old friend, or not yet ?


Best of luck on a repair, Peter. Please keep us up to date.


Sep 10, 2017 at 11:50 AM
Herb
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · I may have to say goodby to an old friend, or not yet ?


Ouch


Sep 10, 2017 at 12:14 PM
PetKal
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · I may have to say goodby to an old friend, or not yet ?


After doing a couple of regular mechanical cleaning attempts of the lens contacts with no effect, I decided to do a bit of a chemical clean, and that seems to have brought the lens back to life. Both FM and AM seem to work as they should, perfectly normally. Perhaps the time is not up yet for my 200 f/1.8 ?


Sep 10, 2017 at 04:42 PM
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · I may have to say goodby to an old friend, or not yet ?


FM and AM? Has the lens started to do double duty as a radio receiver?


Sep 10, 2017 at 05:14 PM
PetKal
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · I may have to say goodby to an old friend, or not yet ?


Snopchenko wrote:
FM and AM? Has the lens started to do double duty as a radio receiver?


That's a good one, Ilya.
You've gotta excuse my incoherent writing, I am still in a post-traumatic phase.



Sep 10, 2017 at 05:33 PM
bcguy
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · I may have to say goodby to an old friend, or not yet ?


That was a close one! Let's hope you get many more good years from the lens.


Sep 10, 2017 at 06:07 PM
danski0224
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · I may have to say goodby to an old friend, or not yet ?


What is a "chemical clean"?

What is involved to get to the encoder ring and clean it?

Good to hear that it isn't broken yet.



Sep 10, 2017 at 06:36 PM
PetKal
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · I may have to say goodby to an old friend, or not yet ?


danski0224 wrote:
What is a "chemical clean"?

What is involved to get to the encoder ring and clean it?

Good to hear that it isn't broken yet.


I've used rubbing alcohol on microfiber tissue, but there are some other specialized compounds to clean electrical contacts ( corrosion, grease removal).
The lens contact disc is not difficult to remove from the mount, but that is not needed for good contact cleaning.

I am still concerned about the issue because those contacts looked clean to my naked eye even before I rubbed them with alcohol, yet the lens was dead.



Sep 10, 2017 at 06:47 PM
canon.eos30d
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · I may have to say goodby to an old friend, or not yet ?


Great DOF shot of GBH, Peter. Too bad that your legendary monster 200 F1.8 stops working.

-Tam



Sep 10, 2017 at 08:37 PM
danski0224
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · I may have to say goodby to an old friend, or not yet ?


I really wish that Canon would either (1) support a lens like the 200 f/1.8... or (2) offer up a replacement.

Part of me is surprised that a replacement USM motor hasn't been made by some enterprising company... getting it installed would be tricky, I assume

Of course, this is what sucks about the electronic lenses. At some point, they will fail and not be repairable. That is one thing if the lens is a couple of hundred bucks... but another thing entirely when the lens is well into 4 figures.



Sep 10, 2017 at 08:52 PM
Fred Miranda
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · I may have to say goodby to an old friend, or not yet ?


My biggest fear when I had this lens. There were some repair shops with parts here in the US. Let me know if you can't fix it there in Canada.


Sep 10, 2017 at 09:02 PM
dalite
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · I may have to say goodby to an old friend, or not yet ?


PetKal wrote:
That's a good one, Ilya.
You've gotta excuse my incoherent writing, I am still in a post-traumatic phase.

_____
I'm sure Peter's fingers on his left hand was slightly faster than those on his right hand. He probably meant MF.
But maybe that lens has a special radio feature, no?




Sep 10, 2017 at 10:38 PM
d831
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · I may have to say goodby to an old friend, or not yet ?


Glad you were able to revive it!

You probably already know, but Midwest Camera Repair is worth checking out if you run into more trouble. They claim to have at least a 50% success rate fixing this lens, depending on the issue.




Sep 11, 2017 at 01:12 AM
Liquidstone
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · I may have to say goodby to an old friend, or not yet ?


Pareng Pete, before you dismount it from the camera for storage, try to set the focus to your most used distance. In the unfortunate event that it conks out, you can still use it by focusing with your feet, ala macro lens on rail.


Sep 11, 2017 at 02:28 AM
PetKal
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · I may have to say goodby to an old friend, or not yet ?


Fred Miranda wrote:
My biggest fear when I had this lens. There were some repair shops with parts here in the US. Let me know if you can't fix it there in Canada.


Thank you Fred, will do.



Sep 11, 2017 at 02:53 AM
PetKal
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · I may have to say goodby to an old friend, or not yet ?


dalite wrote:
_____
I'm sure Peter's fingers on his left hand was slightly faster than those on his right hand. He probably meant MF.
But maybe that lens has a special radio feature, no?



Yeah, I meant to say AF-MF.



Sep 11, 2017 at 02:55 AM
PetKal
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · I may have to say goodby to an old friend, or not yet ?


d831 wrote:
Glad you were able to revive it!

You probably already know, but Midwest Camera Repair is worth checking out if you run into more trouble. They claim to have at least a 50% success rate fixing this lens, depending on the issue.



Thank you, indeed, Midwest Camera Repair is on my list should the lens give up the ghost for good.



Sep 11, 2017 at 02:56 AM
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