Hate the RF100-500 Lens Collar

[tangogal]

Does anyone else hate the lens collar on the RF100-500 lens? If it's somewhat loose, it frequently breaks open potentially spilling the lens to the ground. It is very hard to tighten enough so that it doesn't slip around when on a tripod. I have owned many of Canon's telephotos before I switched to the mirrorless system. I never had a problem with their lens collars. What genius in engineering came up with this awful lens collar design????

[Tronhard]

It seems odd that your lens collar is so bad.  Has it always been like this since purchase?  If so, why not call Canon support on 1-800-OK-CANON and maybe they can help you out.  If not, has anything happened or been done to the lens collar?  Over- tightening of the screw to close the collar could strip the thread.

[tangogal]

The lens is only a year old and it isn’t stripped. This is just how it was designed.

[Tronhard]

Honestly, I don't agree with that - if anything you may have got a dud unit, but that doesn't mean the design is fatally flawed.  The design is very similar to ones of earlier similar lenses like the EF 28-300L and the MkI of the 100-400 and they worked fine - I still shoot with the former of these and it functions perfectly after almost 20 years.  I personally prefer the design of the 100-400 MkII, but with the 100-500 I have has no issues with its collar.   If it is still covered by warranty (I live in NZ where we have a 5-year warranty on Canon gear, but I don't know your warranty), then contact Canon and 1-800-OK-CANON to see what they can do to help you.  If it has been like this for a while I am surprised you waited this long to bring it up.

[tangogal]

It is still under warranty at least until sometime in Sept. but I generally used it hand held. The other day I was using it on a tripod and found it very difficult to tighten sufficiently that it did not rotate on the tripod. Also I find one has to be very careful taking it out of the camera bag where I often loosen the lens collar so that it will fit in the space in my bag. When lifting the lens out of my bag, I must be super careful about the collar because it can break open if I don't immediately tighten it.

[cwiederspahn]

I am an experienced photographer with a variety of lenses with collars and I agree with tangogal.  My 100-500 collar will not lock down all the way.  I did not notice (or care) very much when hand-holding the camera but once on the tripod it became more noticeable.  The slippage interferes with panning and becomes worse when using a monopod. I have not overtightened the screw and the problem has been evident since it was new.  When I search on this issue it's obvious there are many folks in the same boat.  I'm thinking about buying a third-party replacement as opposed to seeking a replacement as that will take forever and is likely to have the same probloem.

[CodeTHR33]

I wouldn’t recommend getting it replaced. I did—had to send in the whole lens and they did replace the collar but it didn’t fix the problem. It was maybe a bit better for a week or so and then ended up being no different than the original collar. A third party collar might be a good idea. Here’s what I did though and it works amazingly well (still rotates when the knob is loosened a bit, but is also rock solid when it’s tight)…

I bought some Scotch “protective dots” at the local craft store, Michael’s. The small, thin, green ones work perfectly. I then placed them at 90° positions within the inner ring of the collar. These locations would correspond to the black hash marks on the outside of the collar. There are only three hash marks, so you have to do your best eyeballing the fourth dot. I included a couple photos.

[cwiederspahn]

I also found a good workaround.  I took perhaps an inch and a half long strip of Velcro (loop side not hook) cut to ~3/16" wide and centered it on the smaller diameter ring seat.  This was enough to lock down the collar as needed while allowing the clasp to engage.  It works well if I want to let it slide a bit while on tripod/monopod as well.  

[Tronhard]

I have the RF 100-500 and never ever had an issue with it.  Strange...  I honestly feel it seems like a defective unit, I have no issue with the design of the collar.

[gillfoto]

I've had the same problem since purchase May 2023, it's a real pain having to constantly check the the tightness. I personally think your bias is showing this definitely a poor design.