Repairs London?

destrkta · 28 Oct 2016 at 16:41

Hi guys,

I'm new here and to London (from Aus) and recently I dropped my camera and destroyed my filter, the front of the lens was all good except tiny scratches to the front element from the shards of glass.

I took it to a repair place in London and they wanted to charge me 50% of a new lens to get it fixed (also some stiffness in the zooming, but it has had that for a long time)... I thought this was rather astronomical and wondering if anyone can recommend me somewhere?

Lens in question is a Canon 24-70 mkII. Reason I'm asking here, is I was part of a big photography community on the OCAU forums that were really helpful, look forward to being part of this one as well

Cheers,
Daniel

FreeStream · 28 Oct 2016 at 16:54

I've sent all sorts of things to this place over the years as a CPS member (Canon Professional Services), you don't need to be a professional just have a few qualifying items and even then it only speeds up the repair, non-CPS members can send stuff there too.

CPS
Unit 160 Centennial Park
Centennial Avenue
Elstree
Hertfordshire
WD6 3SG

Only last month did my 17-55 USM IS go in for a new USM motor and a few other little items - £165 in total.

D.P. · 28 Oct 2016 at 17:33

I have heard good things about Fixation.

Personally I wouldn't bother for tiny scratches on the front element, they wont make any difference to the photos. Cleanly less difference than using a UV filter in any-case.

Sadly this is just another anecdote to show that you shoudln't use any kind of UV/protective filter unless the environmental conditions absolutely require it (blowing sand etc.) and if so you need to buy a quality filter to reduce the chances of shattering. The optical glass used in the front element is extremely strong and resistant to most forms of scratching and dents, but sharp glass shards from a smashed filter are one of the few things that can damage the element.

destrkta · 28 Oct 2016 at 18:03

I just had a look at CPS membership and unfortunately I don't qualify

only 1 body and 2 qualifying lenses....

I actually thought the UV filter saved the front element from going completely... and your right it doesn't seem to make any difference to the photos, I was going to claim travel insurance for the repair as it happened while travelling.... not sure.

FreeStream · 2 Nov 2016 at 15:59

destrkta said:
I just had a look at CPS membership and unfortunately I don't qualify only 1 body and 2 qualifying lenses....

I actually thought the UV filter saved the front element from going completely... and your right it doesn't seem to make any difference to the photos, I was going to claim travel insurance for the repair as it happened while travelling.... not sure.

10 years of owning SLR kit, never had a filter, never will.

As I say, no need to be a CPS member - just takes longer if your not.

And · 2 Nov 2016 at 18:24

Just getting a body ready for CPS to have the sensor cleaned, three working days turnaround (not including day of receipt). That's getting sent off to Elstree on Monday with the hope of a return on Friday. They did say they'd try their best so fair play.

I've always found it funny how CPS membership works though, or to put it another way I only (emphasis on only) qualify for gold, ie the second tier. That's with two 1-series bodies and five L lenses, two of which are superteles. If I add the 7D II the missus owns I drop a tier to silver, lol.

D.P. · 2 Nov 2016 at 20:06

destrkta said:
I just had a look at CPS membership and unfortunately I don't qualify only 1 body and 2 qualifying lenses....

I actually thought the UV filter saved the front element from going completely... and your right it doesn't seem to make any difference to the photos, I was going to claim travel insurance for the repair as it happened while travelling.... not sure.

You only have to see stuff like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzOLbMPe0u8

The same properties that make glass good optically make it extremely strong.

The biggest risk to a lens is dropping it and having an AF or IS/VR element break.

A lens hood is a much more effective protection for a lens in any case.