topic Re: Damaged Canon Lens EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II in EF & RF Lenses

Damaged Canon Lens EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II

ser0418 — Thu, 30 May 2024 03:52:12 GMT

Hi! I have a Canon Lens EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II. Unfortunately, my camera took a fall and the part of the front lens ring that the lens cap attaches to cracked a bit. I was wondering if these piece is replaceable/repairable or which part number it would be. I attached an image to show which piece I’m referring to. Thanks for your help!

Re: Damaged Canon Lens EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II

Tronhard — Thu, 30 May 2024 09:43:34 GMT

Hi and welcome to the forum:
Given that the lens you describe is one of the older versions of that kit lenses, (released in 2011) so trying to fix this will not be economically viable and it is likely that you won't find parts for it as service centres would not fix it as the cost would be prohibitive. Trying to fix any optic yourself if you could find a part, is very problematic as the body of the lens will need to be disassembled. Not only could this have caused elements to mis-align, but the act of taking the body apart will require re-alignment. Aligning the lens components requires precision instrumentation to get the optics sharp. You can save yourself a lot of work, cost and frustration, by replacing the lens. In that case I would recommend getting one of the following:
As a direct replacement: Canon EF-S 18-55 f/4-5.6 IS STM. This is a superior version which has fly by wire controls that permit manual focus without having to use the AF OFF setting, it is faster to focus and silent.
Better still, EF-S 18-135 f/3.5-5.6 IS USM (or STM) is a great optics with a much expanded focal range and gives excellent performance. I enclose an image before and after cropping with this lens, hand-held. A good test is whether one can crop the image and get a good, sharp image.
The original image, as shot:
80D, EF-S 18-135 USM @135mm Full, f/5.6, 1/200sec, ISO-2000

80D, EF-S 18-135 USM @135mm Crop, f/5.6, 1/200sec, ISO-2000
The image after cropping.

Re: Damaged Canon Lens EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II

ebiggs1 — Thu, 30 May 2024 15:03:00 GMT

If that is all that broke forget it. You are lucky the fall did not really damage the lens but still test it out to make sure. If it works OK like I said forget it and just use it as is.

This is not one of Canin's most durable lenses.

Re: Damaged Canon Lens EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II

Tronhard — Thu, 30 May 2024 18:48:29 GMT

I agree with Ernie. Much depends on what has happened inside the lens, and if the damage is not mission-critical then it can be tolerated. My point really is that if you deem that intervention is necessary, then a do-it-yourself solution is not the best and a suitable replacement is the way to go.

Re: Damaged Canon Lens EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II

ebiggs1 — Fri, 31 May 2024 15:15:25 GMT

Oh, I forgot to say fantastic shot, Trevor.