1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
Hi and welcome;
As my respected colleague Brian has said, there are many versions of the EF-S 18-55 lens - if the lens came with the camera then it is likely the EF-S 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 IS version. This is one of the early ones (those that are not identified with an STM) and use a mechanical focusing system, while the STM uses a focus by wire (nod to Demetrius). The STM version can be manually focused when the AF/MF switch is set to AF, but the earlier versions that have gearing to do the focusing can get mis-aligned, if manual focus is attempted while set to AF - you may hear a rather grinding noise as the gears don't mesh properly.
You allude to your son using the focusing ring instead of the zoom ring. If the camera was in AF mode at the time, that is exactly what will throw out the gearing mechanism and stop it for focusing properly. Since you then suggest that you got the focusing with the Tamron, and EF-S 18-55 STM, that underpins my diagnosis.
I would suggest that the camera is likely fine, but the older 18-55 IS USM now has its gearing misaligned and will not focus properly. You can try to wrench the gearing back into position, (another colleague @Ebiggs1 has a technique for that) but if it is, even after realignment, this could be repeated.
Obviously, much depends on your long-term intentions regarding the retention of this camera as to whether it is viable to replace the optic, but if you think it would be worthwhile, I would suggest instead getting the excellent EF-S 18-135 IS STM or USM lens - both are optically very similar.
It will offer lightning fast, silent and precise focus-by-wire (so no danger if manually focused while in AF mode), a much greater focal range as a walk-about lens, better optics, and better image stabilization.
Canon don't seem to have these available new or refurbished at the moment, but if you go to KEH.com, which is a reputable reseller, you can look for this lens and they rate their products' condition. They come with a warranty. See: Used Camera Lenses For Sale | Buy & Sell Used Lenses - KEH at KEH Camera - just do a search for Canon EF-S 18-135 - you should come up with two types: STM and USM. The former are older, but almost as good as the USM version and both focus by wire.
Here are some photos taken with that model lens USM version: the first one of the sparrow is significantly cropped to produce the next image, which is a great test of an optic to see how it will deal with that. The image of the watch was taken through a jeweler's window.
Since you are using the 450D, which is a lot older than the 80d the images above were shot on, I thought this one, shot on the 400D with the 18-135 might be of interest. The statue is of a miner from the 19th Century and with respect to his age I processed him to greyscale.
Hi and welcome;
As my respected colleague Brian has said, there are many versions of the EF-S 18-55 lens - if the lens came with the camera then it is likely the EF-S 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 IS version. This is one of the early ones (those that are not identified with an STM) and use a mechanical focusing system, while the STM uses a focus by wire (nod to Demetrius). The STM version can be manually focused when the AF/MF switch is set to AF, but the earlier versions that have gearing to do the focusing can get mis-aligned, if manual focus is attempted while set to AF - you may hear a rather grinding noise as the gears don't mesh properly.
You allude to your son using the focusing ring instead of the zoom ring. If the camera was in AF mode at the time, that is exactly what will throw out the gearing mechanism and stop it for focusing properly. Since you then suggest that you got the focusing with the Tamron, and EF-S 18-55 STM, that underpins my diagnosis.
I would suggest that the camera is likely fine, but the older 18-55 IS USM now has its gearing misaligned and will not focus properly. You can try to wrench the gearing back into position, (another colleague @Ebiggs1 has a technique for that) but if it is, even after realignment, this could be repeated.
Obviously, much depends on your long-term intentions regarding the retention of this camera as to whether it is viable to replace the optic, but if you think it would be worthwhile, I would suggest instead getting the excellent EF-S 18-135 IS STM or USM lens - both are optically very similar.
It will offer lightning fast, silent and precise focus-by-wire (so no danger if manually focused while in AF mode), a much greater focal range as a walk-about lens, better optics, and better image stabilization.
Canon don't seem to have these available new or refurbished at the moment, but if you go to KEH.com, which is a reputable reseller, you can look for this lens and they rate their products' condition. They come with a warranty. See: Used Camera Lenses For Sale | Buy & Sell Used Lenses - KEH at KEH Camera - just do a search for Canon EF-S 18-135 - you should come up with two types: STM and USM. The former are older, but almost as good as the USM version and both focus by wire.
Here are some photos taken with that model lens USM version: the first one of the sparrow is significantly cropped to produce the next image, which is a great test of an optic to see how it will deal with that. The image of the watch was taken through a jeweler's window.
Since you are using the 450D, which is a lot older than the 80d the images above were shot on, I thought this one, shot on the 400D with the 18-135 might be of interest. The statue is of a miner from the 19th Century and with respect to his age I processed him to greyscale.
