Dust inside RF 24-105

[CORNED1]

I've got dust inside the front glass of this lens. When I checked out the Canon website, I see lens cleaning, but that only applies to the outside of the lens. No other option was shown. Is there a way to request inside cleaning? AND, after reading some the posts, is that too risky? It sounds like they have some reliability problems with re-assembly. How common is that?

[March411]

Your best bet is to give Canon customer service a call, the support staff does a real nice job of assisting with repairs. I haven't used them much but each time they were flawless and resolved my issue immediately.

800-385-2155 or 800-652-2666

[CORNED1]

Thank you.

[Tronhard]

Dust in a lens is almost inevitable over time, the physics of an extending lens mean that air has to pass through the lens as it extends (bellows effect) which can take microparticles with it, and they can be attracted to each other .  However, that should not have an impact on your images, as it is well within the minimum focal distance.  Lensrentals.com actually found a whole fly inside one of their lenses without impacting on the image - Lens Rentals | Blog The article also traces the disassembly of the lens and thus why sending your lens in to remove dust is not a small venture and will likely cost a packet.

What will be seen will be dust on your sensor - that will show up  as dark spots.

[CORNED1]

That puts it in perspective. I have cleaned the sensor and, of course, I keep the outside of the lenses clean. It just bothered me to see something inside I couldn't get to.

[Tronhard]

It's nothing you can really control but just mitigate where possible by good camera hygiene - which you seem to be following - it's just physics at work! 🙂

[ebiggs1]

It's nothing you can really control ..." "... that should not have an impact on your images,..."

You bet, a few dust particles aren't going to affect the photos. I once had a lens with a cracked front element but the photos didn't come out nearly as bad as the crack looked. You see these artifacts are basically out of focus so the camera doesn't see them.