Canon 24-70mm f2.8 ii flex cable ribbon problem again

[llehmann]

I have a couple of these lenses and I do really love them. They are the work horse in my stable of glass.

That being said, this is the 3rd lens now that has failed with the ERR code communication problem. I have had this happen a couple times before so was able to trouble shoot the issue and know that its the flex cable ribbon that is bad inside the lens.

It will work perfectly as long as you shoot at 2.8 (the wide open aperture setting). As soon as you change it and the lens needs to change the aperture for a image, it fails. 

Now, this is the 3rd  time with 2 different lenses that I've had to send them in for this repair. It would seem to me that this is a defect in the lens and I should not hae to pay for it. Or... Canon needs to use better parts so this does not keep happing over and over again.

Yes I use the lenses a lot. And yes, they are out of the warranty period. That being said, they should step up and repair without quesion. The have to know that this is an issue with the lens. 

Anybody else experiencing the same issue with their Canon 24-70mm f2.8 ii?

[wq9nsc]

The only problem I have had with Canon gear was a camcorder built shortly before the transition from digital tape over to memory cards and it had horrible ribbon connectors and I would more precisely call those flexible printed circuit interconnects because they were much like a printed circuit board except the substrate was flex plastic instead of glass epoxy or phenolic.  It went to Canon three times, the first two times under warranty.  After the third time I grew tired of the game and made a permanent repair by replacing those (as I recall 4) components with higher quality cable.  The failure mode was copper fatigue breaks in the folds of the flex interconnects where they went through a sharp bend and were highly susceptible to vibration induced metal fatigue. 

That Canon camcorder reminded me of one of the few times Pravda got away with poking fun at the Soviet leadership.  They had a cartoon in one issue named "Consumer Sputnik" that showed a poor Soviet citizen in orbit between his home and the television service shop because of the poor quality television set constantly needing repair.

I am using the same 24-70 f2.8 I bought with my 1D Mark II back in 2005 and it has never given me any trouble.  I have a black rapid strap but I don't think it has ever been on that strap however it has gone on a lot of hikes either mounted to a 1 series around my neck or riding in a Lowepro backpack either mounted or bare and has been with me to the top of a lot of 14ers in Colorado without ever missing a beat.

It sounds like the 24-70 f2.8 may have the same sort of flex cable fatigue issue I ran into back in the 1990s with a Canon camcorder.  Unfortunately in the lens, there isn't room for a different style cable and that flex cable probably does flex a lot more than it did in my camcorder because in the camcorder those cables were just used to connect between several stacked but fix mounted circuit boards instead of going between fixed and moving points. 

The only Canon lens I have had issues with is the EF 50 f1.4L and after going through a couple of those when the second one failed it was replaced with a Sigma 50 f1.4 Art which I really like but I haven't had it long enough to see whether it is more robust than the Canon 50 it replaced.  I have a bunch of Canon lens ranging from the expensive great white 400 f2.8 and 800 f5.6 primes down to the lower cost EF 85 f1.8 and none outside of the 50 has ever failed me.  That camcorder did come pretty close to turning me into a non-Canon customer after years of using 35MM Canon gear because it failed twice when it was really inconvenient but after my upgrades to it I used it without problem until it was replaced by an updated unit which was later replaced by a XF-400 that I use now. 

Rodger

[davetaylor]

I have two 24-70 f2.8s and they've both had this error and apparently the same problem. One I bought used from a photographer and it broke about a week later, and the other I got from a coworker at the paper who'd bought it new and it lasted about a year until it broke just last week.

[llehmann]

Just a FYI... I have 2 of these lenses and it's happening on both of them.

And it's not just one individual here.

So tell me a scenario of what I am doing to cause this problem over and over.

I also use the 70-200 f2.8 USM II and 16-35 f2.8 for many years and they are rock solid. Both used in the same way and carried the same way.

So if it is the way I'm carrying it... Why does it only happen to this lens and not the others? If that's true... Then we go back to a design flaw in how it's constructed. Or at least that's what my "common sense" leads me to believe.

[RobertTheFat]

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@llehmann wrote:
Just a FYI... I have 2 of these lenses and it's happening on both of them.

And it's not just one individual here.

So tell me a scenario of what I am doing to cause this problem over and over.

I also use the 70-200 f2.8 USM II and 16-35 f2.8 for many years and they are rock solid. Both used in the same way and carried the same way.

So if it is the way I'm carrying it... Why does it only happen to this lens and not the others? If that's true... Then we go back to a design flaw in how it's constructed. Or at least that's what my "common sense" leads me to believe.

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I can't answer your question, but you may be onto something. Because it uses the tripod socket as its attachment point, a Black Rapid strap (the ones I've seen advertised anyway) hangs the camera at a decidedly different angle than an ordinary (e.g., Canon or Domke) strap does. Conceivably, that plus the constant bumping against your hip could gradually shake the cable into a more vulnerable position. You might ask Canon whether anyone has posed that possibility before.

As for why it doesn't happen to your other lenses, the routing of their cables presumably doesn't leave them vulnerable, whatever the underlying cause is or how the lenses are carried.

I'm sorry if I confused or offended you by using the term "common sense". The phrase has been in pretty general use for most of my life. But since that goes back almost 83 years, maybe it has fallen out of favor and I didn't notice.

[Javargo]

Aloha Canon Community, 

I'm very dissapointed to find this thread after a quick google search on why my 24-70 f2.8 will only shoot wide open. This very same issue happend to me yesterday. One of the busiest times of the year for me, shooting large families at 2.8 is definitely frustrating. What's more frustrating is reading the comments in this thread. It is obvisouly a manufacturing issue and from what I'm reading, Canon is not doing anything about it.

A bit about me,

I am a full time professional shooter, video and stills. Located in Hawaii. I purchased this lens 2 years ago. I was talking with another photographer friend of mine on island and they have also experienced this issue, same lens, same problem. 

To the OP,

Have you had any updates from Canon? 

[JaimeT]

Sorry to hear that, but you're in the wrong forum, nobody will help you here, they all say that the problem does not exist. Read the whole thread and you'll find my posts. I already gave up on the 2 24-70 (yes! Two!) I have with the same problem 

[Waddizzle]

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@JaimeT wrote:

Sorry to hear that, but you're in the wrong forum, nobody will help you here, they all say that the problem does not exist. Read the whole thread and you'll find my posts. I already gave up on the 2 24-70 (yes! Two!) I have with the same problem 

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Of course, no one can help repair the lens.  This is not Canon Support.  You would need to contact them directly, not here.  That is the best "repair" adice you will get here.  

I apologize if that sounds harsh, that was not my intent.  But if you read the thread then you would see that advice is given.  I understand that people get frustrated, and some wish to vent steam, too.  But, this is not the Canon Repair Center.  This is a user forum, filled with camera geeks who think they know what they're talking about.

[llehmann]

I am the original poster of this issue. 

It has pretty much been discussed to death with heated discussions on both sides. I have multiple 24-70 lenses and they have all had the problem multiple times. It is frustrating. 

Canon has offered no compensation for the problem. I have stopped using them for the repairs on this issue to save money. Before people sound off on that... it has nothing to do with the service of the lens or who is repairing it. 

I say a design flaw and or weakness as its very susceptible to this problem. I have dealt with it at least half dozen times on different lenses. 

Good luck! At least you know what the problem is and there is a work around to keep working. 

ps: People... let's stay positive and supportive to one another. We are all here for information, help and advice. 🙂 

[llehmann]

Just to keep the community informed.... Just had the lens again fail today with Err 01 Code. It will shoot on F2.8, but if you change the aperture to anything else than wide open, it fails. 

I've lost count on the number of times I've repaired this lens model. I have multiple lenses. 

Kinda speechless at this point on the how and why it keeps happening. 

I do wish a customer service representative from Canon would extend the courtesy of saying, let us look into it for you and credit me on the repair. But hey... that's just wishful thinking this holiday season! 

Merry Christmas Kidos!


ps: Here's a video on this lens with the problem:

Canon EF lens ERR01 with error message of lens contact problem. This usually have to do with aperture module control error. Aperture cannot shut to smaller value either because of the ribbon snap or the aperture control motor faulty. The best bet is to change the whole module. Here is the step by step guide to change it

ERR 01 - Canon EF 24-70mm f2.8 II Aperture Module replacement repair (full step by step) 

[shoot]

The same thing happened to me.  I googled and came across this forum discussing the problem.  24-70 ii, can only shoot wide open and nothing else.  Tried different lenses so know it's not the body.  Tried usual cleaning of contacts several times, does not fix, consistently ER01.

Just wanted to add a data point.  This is my main lens so it has been fair bit of use and have owned it for several years already. Suddenly just decided to fail on us. Maybe didn't notice recently as usually shoot wide open.

Hoping for simple/self fix as i'm quite handy. But looks like I have to cough up for the service center fix.