Something is acting up on my 35mm. Seem like it won’t Auto Focus (AF) and just keeps hunting (back and forth motion) for a focus point. No focus confirmation light. AF points thru viewfinder most of the time (99%) will not light. With all nine AF points ON or just when one AF point is ON. Even when one or two AF points (red box lit) do find focus, lens still hunts. Yes, lens is set to AUTO focus. Yes, One Shot Al focus Al servo AF, all show the same problem. No problem found when using my other lenses, making this sound like my 35mm is the problem. Is this a known problem for canon lenses, 35mm specify or could it be my 5D is acting up? Newbie member here.
Welcome to the forum Ohm, given that the other lenses work fine it seems your camera is OK, I have a similar problem with a Nikon 1 lens , no obvious damage or reason but quite frustrating , I tried cleaning the contacts but to no avail. If you seem to have two choices, if you really like this lens, pay the money and have it checked out by a Canon service agent or replace it, still the 5D is a pretty cool camera.
Thanks for response. I have a fear for Canon Service Centers. Actually, any and all Service Centers. I am going to send the lens in for review/repair as you suggested above. Maybe I’ll be able to come back with a success story I can tell. As for that 5D, I really outclassed myself when I pick that one up.
I'm also giving a vote for the 35mm acting up. If its a single lens it is very likely lens not camera. But you can review that with canon on the phone. Looks like you have a 5D (original ?) and some expensive L lenses? Since you said that your a newbie is it fair to guess you picked up a kit from someone recently who owned these for a large portion of the last 15 years? A lens after many years could possibly malfunction, still not super likely since these L's are very well built lenses.
Yes and Yes. No I bought them new, years ago. Paid good money for the 5D so I figured better get some good glass. Still can’t take a good shot, but I do love photography and I’ll just keep trying and trying. I’m on the fence about repairing the lens or just turn it into a manual focus only lens.
Oh ok, and I was asking it as an innocent question. What it was looking to me is there were some years on the kit being it was paired with a 5d. I only figured it was newer to you when you called yourself a newbie. It's all good. Lets at least call you an amateur photographer, you know your way around the camera by now and its not an all automatic entry level setup either. I also am willing to bet you have some pretty good shots in your library, we are our own worst critic after all. Feel free to post some of what you shoot in the photo sub-forums and get some feedback or critique if you ask. As for your 35mm? I'd at least call canon and see if they can give you an idea on what would be the issue, and the repair cost so you can make an educated decision. Currently the original 35mm 1.4L is probably $800 used from a dealer, while the new "II" version is $2k new. So its still a pricey one to replace.
Actually do you know anyone with a newer body you can borrow and test the lens on? The original 5d does have a noticeably simpler focus system compared to today's standards, and being its a wider lens it would be nice to know how it reacts on a newer or even different body. It still feels like an lens issue, i'm just thinking/trying to rule out a camera issue slowly developing and showing on wide shots. Can I ask if you have the issue with closeups and longer distance shots about the same with that lens? I could see it hunting more on a landscape, but if your shooting something close to the camera it shouldn't hunt much unless it has something with all sorts focus points to lock onto like a closer shot of a bunch of leaves so it is not sure which one to focus on.
Good point. My niece shoots using an unknown to me canon. Indoor outdoor doesn't matter. Auto Focus (AF) indicators just won't lock on anything, keeps the lens in some kind of hunting mode. Unable to lock the focus confirmation light. What I was hoping for is you guys/gals had a good trick I could use like hitting it with a hammer on some part of the lens and everything would be good again. Time for Canon phone number.
Haha, while I am all about giving malfunctioning electronics a good old "love tap' as I call them (firm thump to the item not working right); I stop short of suggestion it to anyone expensive electronics. I don't think a thump will help he lens and only adds risk to the situation. Other than cleaning contacts on cameras and lenses there is not much you can do. The motors in modern lenses are very precision based so even a modest hit could jar something. If it was focus system on camera I feel like you would have issues with both lenses, or in specific situations. Putting a single object in front of the camera in a well lit area and putting a focus point right on an edge of it you should get a very quick clock on that edge. The focus system would treat the situation the same, regardless of lens, if you mimic the shot adjusting camera distance from subject to account for focal length difference between your lenses to replicate the shot. Definitely worth a shot if you can use your nieces camera this weekend for 30min to test your lens.
CANON FACTORY SERVICE CENTER NEWPORT NEWS, VA 23606 Received estimate for repair: $269.00 To/From shipping, +taxes: $58.00 Running Total: $327.00. I must say I'm running lucky with this one. It's been trouble free so far. Real test comes with lens on camera.
