Does Canon repair of old lens discontinue after predetermined time?

[GDM69]

I have a friend who is switching over to Canon gear, he's looking at buying some used lenses to start out.  But he is wondering if there is a pre-established time after which Canon will no longer repair them or keep spare parts.  Or is it something that is re-evaluated every year.  If so does Canon publish some sort of notice?  Thanks!

[ebiggs1]

All lenses go out of service life at some point.  The lack of repair parts is one consideration but a date certain is not. If you are buying old used lenses I would consider them consumable.

[GDM69]

Thanks EB,  I am a canon pro user, my friend not yet.  I was telling him that my guess was that whether Canon will support repair is probably based on several factors such as popularity of the lens line and model, date of manufacture, availability / cost of parts and retaining qualified techs with knowledge about the older lenses.  

Is there a list or notices by chance that Canon publishes of supported models of bodies and lenses?  At least one could tell by that how close to the bottom of the list a lens model is, and perhaps avoid purchasing it.

And...if a particular lens does fall off the list, are there reputable independent repair firms that pick up the slack from there?  I know I've read about Nikon de-certifying independent repair shops.

[ebiggs1]

You aren't going to get such a list. That would be commercial suicide. Yes there are several places that service out of service life Canon products. Midwest Camera Repair is one and a very good one.  However, they too are at the mercy of parts availability. Sometimes they will cannibalize other broken lenses to get parts.

Buying an older, likely out of service life, lens shouldn't be hinged on whether it can be repaired but what will it provide to me now. Does it fulfill my requirements today. Of course that includes the fact it just might be a consumable item.

[GDM69]

Thanks EB 🙂

[bobhowdy]

All Canon camera bodies and lenses have a shelf life when it comes to supported repair services. While I do not know of any lists for the "no longer supported items" the following link will give you the latest list of items still maintained by Canon, acording to CPS.  This is routine maintenance .... not a repair requiring parts. Big difference

Some items that I know are no longer supprted are the super telephoto lenses version #1
i.e 300 f/2.8 v.1

400 f/2.8 v.1

500 f/4 v.1
600 f/4 v.1

800 f/5.6 v.1

If you are a member of Canon Professional Services a quick phone call to them will help you answer this question with regards to a specific lens

https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/support/self-help-center/canon-maintenance-service...