Dropped EF 50mm 1.8, reassembly possible?

[Maxiemiliam]

Hello there,

I just dropped my lens on concrete floor grabbing my camera bag out of the car while it for some reason was still open..

The lens separated into two parts, and one broken lug.

Is there any way to fix this? Should I attempt it myself or just bring it in?

Thanks in advance.

/Maximiliam

[TCampbell]

It's a very inexpensive lens.  The labor to fix it will likely be more than the cost to replace it.  

The 50mm f/1.8 retails for around $125... but has a $20 mail-in rebate (so it's $105 if you deal with the paperwork.)

The 50mm f/1.4 USM version (a much nicer lens) retails for $399, but has a $50 mail-in rebate ($349 if you deal with the paperwork.)

[ScottyP]

Sorry no. It looks like the squirrel has escaped. Without the squirrel to pedal the nifty fifty's autofocus, it will never be the same.
😉

[Skirball]

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@ScottyP wrote:
Sorry no. It looks like the squirrel has escaped. Without the squirrel to pedal the nifty fifty's autofocus, it will never be the same.
😉

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Best response I've read in a long while.

OP: you've got nothing to lose to try to fix it yourself, but there's no way you're sending it in.  You could buy several of those lenses for how much Canon is going to charge you (actually they'd just tell you they can't fix it, but most repair charges start at $250 and go up).

Sorry.  Try looking for a used one if you're on a tight budget.  Many people end up upgrading to a 50mm 1.4 and sell theirs off.  If you're not on a tight budget, I highly recommend a 50mm 1.4.

[techjedi]

Given the other responses, I have a challenge/project for you.

You have a dead lens, while it is now incapable of doing its job, lots of people would love to see detailed pictures of the internals of these lenses, but dont dare crack their own precious glass open to do it.

Maybe take a lot of pictures about how the action works, (where the squirrell sits, etc), then make a blog post somewhere about it.

The final phase, you could have a machinist cut the two parts in half as cleanly as possible, then take macro pictures of the cross-section.

I would love to see this and give your lens a fitting purpose in its after-life.

[Skirball]

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@techjedi wrote:

lots of people would love to see detailed pictures of the internals of these lenses, but dont dare crack their own precious glass open to do it.

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http://web.media.mit.edu/~bandy/rgb/disassembly.pdf

http://community.usa.canon.com/t5/Lenses/Repairing-EF-50mm-1-8-II/td-p/37027

http://www.photographycorner.com/tutorials/equipment/repairing-a-canon-lens-50mm-f1-8