Canon 10x30 IS Sticky Body

[lindaagee]

Camera body is disgusting. These binoculars are not cheap and work well except for this problem which makes them unusable. This is a manufacturer's defect and in my opinion, Canon should compensate the customer.

[Njbillyboy]

I have the 18x50 IS model. I keep them in the house in the case. I never even touched or had to clean the lenses. I just used them to try to see the comet tonight, which I did. The rubber just past the eyepieces had a sticky feeling. These binoculars I bought new for $1000. 10 years ago. I have used them less than 1 hour. It is pathetic that these are getting sticky. Do not tell me I did not care for them I will be damned if I put duck tape on these. Canon should fix these. William DiCarlo Wall twp NJ.

[lapeltz]

Oh my 12X36 IS II are just as horrible - sticks to your hand like glue - totally disgusting. I ended up trying to scrap the crappy sticky material off with little success. I asked Canon what to do about it back in 2021 and got absolutely no response. You think they would support their products, but seems they don't.

[lapeltz]

Yup ditto with mine. Stored in a conditioned environment and still got sticky and soupy. Crappy plastic on Canon's behalf and they had nothing to say about it when I asked them. 

[lapeltz]

I'd recomend Vortex - they stand up behind their products for the lifetime of them. I love my Vortex optics. Wish Canon would stand up behind theirs as well. Most of the time I get crickets from any calls or emails to support.

[grtman]

See my earlier posts: expose it to Ultraviolet light - hardens the rubber stcky.

[paunik]

butanol as solvent worked best for me

[Njbillyboy]

Where can I buy that? My problem just started a few months ago. My binoculars have less than 1 hour of usage. I keep them in the case and have never even touched the optics. When I noticed a slight stickiness,  I was annoyed.  Also I always have clean hands.  I guess I just apply with a cloth? Since the condition is not really bad, do you think it can make it worse? Thank you very much. William DiCarlo Wall twp NJ 

[paunik]

use google to find

[gabrielddc]

I also own the Canon 18x50 IS, purchased back in 2014, and unfortunately I am now facing the same issue with the rubber coating starting to melt and become sticky.

In addition, I have a Canon 10x30 IS from the same year, and that one developed the exact same problem about 4 years ago. I tried cleaning it with 99.8% isopropyl alcohol (as some people here suggested), which made it look pretty bad (all black and rough), but at least it remained functional.

With the 18x50, though, it’s a much more expensive binocular (~$1,400), and I don’t think that kind of “fix” is acceptable.

I wanted to ask – what did you end up doing about it? Are you considering sending it to Canon for repair? Do you (or does anyone else here) know how much Canon usually charges to fix this problem?

It’s really disappointing to see such a serious issue on binoculars at this price level.

Thanks in advance for sharing your experience.

[mglotspeich]

Just to add. I purchased an expensive Nikon SLR years ago. The same thing happened. It was like flypaper on the back of the camera. Unusable. Couldn't even sell it.