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????

[tangogal]

It’s the same collar design but this one seems to work. I am very careful using it just the same as I have no confidence in this design. Also it cost me over $200 since my lens was out of warranty when I realized it would not work on a tripod. I usually hand hold the lens. Canon’s old lens collars worked well. Why did they come up with this monstrosity???

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

Its unfortunate you've had so much trouble with your collar.  I have 3.  2 canon and 1 Sigma.  All work normally.  

[Danfaz]

Same here (less the Sigma). I know people hate hearing when other people don't have the same problem, but my 100-500 collar is tight!

[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.

[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.