topic Re: RF 28-70 F2 Coating Issue in EF & RF Lenses

RF 28-70 F2 Coating Issue

sgsara1565 — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 03:06:46 GMT

Has anyone else experienced the coating peeling off on the 28-70 f2, this lens is very expensive and I have had the lens less than a year and canon repair is telling me it is not under warranty. I have heard numerous people talk about having the same issue. Is there a recall? With the number of people I have seen with this same issue on this same lens Canon has to be aware of this issue. Looking to see what others have done and if I should go to battle for this to be fixed.

Re: RF 28-70 F2 Coating Issue

shadowsports — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 13:04:07 GMT

Greetings,

I have no idea about the actual number of users affected by this phenomenon. I am only aware of one such report here on the forums. I've owned a lot of Canon lenses, but none have experienced this type of problem. I can certainly understand the anxiety and frustration something like this could cause. I'm not sure what would be involved trying to prove it wasn't caused by an environmental factor.

I keep my lenses in a dry cabinet. I also use clear lens filters since I sometimes walk through tall thick brush, narrow corridors and dusty conditions.

Can you post any pictures of the lens for us showing the peeling surface coating. This way others can reply as well.

Re: RF 28-70 F2 Coating Issue

ebiggs1 — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 14:43:50 GMT

"... I have had the lens less than a year and canon repair is telling me it is not under warranty."

sgsara1565 you are not telling us the whole story. You "had" the lems for less than a year or you bought the lens new less than a year ago? You registered the lens? A lens in this price range surely you registered it. Used lenses even though they are less than a year old are not a warranty item.

Although it is a coating, yes, but actually to think of it as a coating is a stretch as it more resembles a gas. The process to apply it is almost magical and can't be repaired except by replacing the element. As Rick mentioned another good reason to use a top quality protecto filter on expensive lenses.

Could you tell us how this lens was used and cared for before you noticed the coating issue?

Re: RF 28-70 F2 Coating Issue

Peter — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 17:12:54 GMT

Of all the 28-70 f/2 lenses with bad coating that I've seen, only one owner has had the front element replaced for free.

Re: RF 28-70 F2 Coating Issue

ebiggs1 — Sat, 09 Aug 2025 13:59:46 GMT

I suspect a paid for replace and installation will hit $700 bucks maybe more. Just guessing because I haven't known anyone that has sent one in for repair or even needed it. I have sent a couple different lenses in for front element replacement because I broke them.

Re: RF 28-70 F2 Coating Issue

Peter — Sat, 09 Aug 2025 15:10:52 GMT

What I have seen:

€450 in Spain, $750 in U.S. and AU$1000 in Australia.

Re: RF 28-70 F2 Coating Issue

SarahBryant — Sun, 09 Nov 2025 16:28:17 GMT

I wanted to share my experience with my Canon RF 28-70mm f/2 lens

I bought this lens in the U.S, and about 8 months later I noticed a small, strange mark on the front glass. I thought it was just a hair or a smudge. When I gently tried to clean it with a normal lens cloth, it actually got worse and the coating started to peel off...

After searching online, I found a lot of people having the same exact issue with this lens. I even read that in Japan Canon is reportedly covering this under warranty, but when I contacted Canon America support, they told me they weren’t aware of any such problem. They just asked me to send the lens for inspection, but that’s it.

It’s honestly disappointing, especially for such an expensive, professional lens. If this is a known issue affecting multiple users, Canon should really take responsibility and offer free repairs or replacements.

Has anyone else experienced this? Did Canon repair or replace yours?

Re: RF 28-70 F2 Coating Issue

Stephen — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 13:19:03 GMT

A product evaluation by our Factory Service Center is free.

If our team doesn't evaluate a potential issue while a product is still within the warranty period, they can't know whether it would be covered. Likewise, if users complain online about what seems like a similar problem, but only a small sample of people send their product or contact support directly (not here), we have to assume the rest of the products work as expected.

To contact support, call 800-OK-CANON (800-652-2666) weekdays from 9am to 6pm (ET), or https://canon.us/account

Re: RF 28-70 F2 Coating Issue

ebiggs1 — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 15:17:48 GMT

"They just asked me to send the lens for inspection, but that’s it."

So, did you do that? It looks like Canon wants to see it so take advantage of it.

Re: RF 28-70 F2 Coating Issue

cassiecastellaw — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 21:03:59 GMT

I just had this happen to mine. I have no idea how this could even happen because I take really good care of my gear. I just sent it in to CPS and it's costing $450 to repair. If I didn't have the platinum membership, it would've cost $634. I didn't know this was an issue with this lens until a friend told me he'd heard of some of the RF lenses having this issue. If there are multiple people having the same problem, it definitely seems like a quality issue on Canon's part.

Editing to add: I just spoke with someone at Canon Support and he said that if enough people report this issue to them, they would put out a service advisory. So if you find this thread and are have this issue, give them a call and report it.

Re: RF 28-70 F2 Coating Issue

ulisses — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 15:26:46 GMT

The very same problem here, after about two and a half years of purchase the front element of mine started to peel off too. I myself also thought it was a smudge and while trying to clean it just as I've being doing with my other Canon L series lenses, for more than 10 years, the coating turned into a mess.

Did the same online search for a solution and instead if it I found a lot of people having the very same issue, always in the 28-70 f2L. I think it's weird that Canon America wouldn't have heard of such a problem, while Japan's did, since although they have this region separation, it's actually one only big company. It's a shame that this would be their excuse to don't follow with a proper solution.

Regarding sending lenses to inspection, how are we supposed to do while it's stuck in the process? Not everyone can have multiple lenses or afford long periods of time renting gear because of a spread and known product pathology. As you said, very disappointin. Canon should definitely take responsibility and offer free repairs or replacements at least for the front element.

Re: RF 28-70 F2 Coating Issue

SignifDigits — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 12:06:57 GMT

Canon is one company. Canon USA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Canon Inc of Japan. If reports of Canon Inc. of Japan taking action on this topic in Japan are true, and Canon USA is not follow the same practice as that in Japan, Canon corporate is playing high stakes poker by placing Canon USA in a precarious legal position, particularly given the highly litigious environment in the US.

That said, I know we love our Canon gear but businesses are run to make a profit for their shareholders and companies are not really motivated to formally accept responsibility and/or blame for fault. That typically requires significant popular, political and/or legal pressure and I don't think we should really be shocked, surprised or disappointed when that is the case with any company.

Re: RF 28-70 F2 Coating Issue

ebiggs1 — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 14:23:15 GMT

Canon USA is the US and region marketing and sales agent for Canon Japan and thus most likely does not make the decision whether to warranty a deemed product line issue or not.

The problem is way more involved. How was the lens used? How was it stored? Did it receive any harsh environment and on and on. I don't have the lens so I don't know. There may well be a serious problem with it but keep in mind I doubt the coating on this lens is ay different than the coating on any of the other 'L' class lenses. Maybe it is. Maybe it was applied wrong.

Send it to Canon the estimate and evaluation is free.

Re: RF 28-70 F2 Coating Issue

SignifDigits — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:35:06 GMT

I agree that the issues could be more involved when looking at just one lens. But just because it's the same process doesn't mean every piece of glass is treated by the same machine - not even even all front elements. And Canon is always updating their coatings on their best glass to improve them.

It also does not mean that a bad batch or more than one bad batch will not occur. That sort of thing happens with other highly controlled manufacturing - pharmaceuticals, automotive parts, Ben& Jerry's Ice Cream (fun tour - employees love it when a bad batch happens 🙂 etc. A bad batch or several batches would be the responsibility of the manufacturer. Coatings on lenses may seem a bit magical or mystical, but it is pure science - good article from Edmunds Scientific at https://www.edmundoptics.com/knowledge-center/application-notes/lasers/an-introduction-to-optical-coatings.

Glass coating is a sophisticated and highly automated process, but any sophisticated process can have failures. Even the highest end printer (which is a much simpler device than those used in coating lenses) needs maintenance and proper adjustment and QC monitoring. Thus the more complicated lens coating machines would need even more attention and maintenance and be more susceptible to bad batches due to some anomalous condition. Delamination could be caused by improper glass preparation, equipment out of calibration, contamination of deposition materials, clean room contaminants, or a host of other variables.

In other words, there is a lot that can go wrong with any batch of coated glass. It sounds like Canon may have recognized a bad lot of coatings for the front element of this product in Japan. if so, they have not recognized the same for products destined for the US. I very much doubt that there is a "Japan" and "US" product line in the factory for coating glass. I suspect all of the front elements for this product are made in the same room and on the same machine or machines for both the US and Japan. So IF Canon, Inc has recognized there was at least one bad batch of glass sold in Japan it seems plausible the same could certainly be true for the same glass destined for the US market.

So yes, maybe it was applied wrong, as you say. The onus in the US is on the customer to demonstrate this. One way is for enough product that was not ill-treated to have to be replaced at the factory. Canon is still not obligated to admit an error in manufacturing. It is usually much better if they do so, of course. Canon could perhaps be more sensitive to their reputation in Japan than in the US, or it could simply be that there is not a "smoking gun" pointing to a manufacturing defect and there has been in Japan. I will assume the latter, but I certainly understand for those affected it may be harder to do so.

If I were in their shoes and the rumor of replacement in Japan is true I would certainly be raising the issue here and via any other means that I thought appropriate to get a proper resolution. I hope this works out well for both Canon and the people with delaminated coatings.

Re: RF 28-70 F2 Coating Issue

normadel — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 19:50:29 GMT

Ahhhh......shades of when i was an Apple and Dell-certified service person in the 2000-2010 era. It took a LONG time for computer makers to finally bow to the realization that they sold defective products, and extend warranties or replace products. Reasons were because of poor design, manufacturing problems, and defective components from outside suppliers, etc. Other computer makers had the same issues. For marketing reasons, negative publicity reasons and more they do not easily admit that they sold defective products. Only after huge numbers of customers complain and threaten them do they admit their fault.

Owners of one particular Canon lens can only hope that Canon comes to recognize their problem.