Help please! Middle of Borneo, Canon 24-105L persistent "Err 01"

[Quintin Lake]

I am currently in the middle of a one month assignment in Sabah, Borneo. With a canon  5dII and 24-105L combination I get persistent "Err 01 Communication between Camera & Lens is Faulty" errors. Initially one in three shots works, then after a couple of exposures the lens persistently shows err 1 and the lens will not function at all. The other symptom I get occasionally is the aperture stops down as if depth of field preview buttion is pressed.

I'm mostly in the jungle conditions: hot wet and humid, though i've been scrupulous in keeping the camera dry / reducing condensation build up.

I have tried cleaning the contacts, no fix. I tested the lens on the  5DMk1 i'm carrying and the same error. other lenses i'm carrying function fine on the 5dmk2 which point to the error being the lens

I am a CPS gold member but having called canon in kota kinabalu a repair needss to be sent to Kuala Lumpar taking 4 weeks even for CPS members. I cant afford to buy a replacement lens so i wondered if anyone has any ideas. I have purchased a 50mm 1.8 in case nothing else works but i desperately need to have the 24-105 functional again.

I don't mind if I loose AF or IS functionality so long as the aperture & manual focus works does anyone have idea to resurrect this lens enough to take a picture? Is there a way of taping the contacts for example so at least the aperture will work?

Other equipment carried in case it helps with trouble shooting: 5d MkII body, 5d Mk1 body. 100-400mmL, 50mm 1.8, 180mmL macro

Any ideas would be most gratefully received.

Quintin Lake

[Canon Bob]

....... The other symptom I get occasionally is the aperture stops down as if depth of field preview buttion is pressed.

Whilst error 01 genrally covers communication failures between the body and the lens, it also applies if the body doesn't get the reply it is expecting.
I think that the stopped down aperture is the clue here and that the the diaphragm is stopping down or sticking.  If there's a ingestion of humid air then sticking could be a possibility. One way to "exercise" this would be to set the minimum aperture and repeatedly toggle the DoF preview button.

Sorry, I don't have much to suggest beyond that for the remote location that you're in.

Bob

[Jim Pascoe]

We are currently having a repair done on our 24-105.  It operated fine at f4, but as soon as it was stopped down the camera froze.  At first the problem was intermittent, but then became unusable except at f4.  The repairer has said this is a common problem on this lens and is a failure of a ribbon connector within the lens.

I would have expected more of an L series lens of about three years or so of age.

Jim

[fredjeang]

Try this: get a screwdriver and tighten the screw in the optic mount. Be carefull, tighten well but not like crazy. It should work again.

[Quintin Lake]

Canon Bob, Jim & Fred,
Many thanks for all your suggestions. I just returned from the jungle. Not having been able to get the lens to work I'd made do with a 50mm f1.8: not and experience i'd like to repeat!

After sending it to Canon CPS for repair in Elstree , UK the fault was diagnosed as being with one of the connections on the IRS unit (apparently a kind of ribbon connector inside the lens controlling focus) had become loose preventing lens operation. The tech said it was a mechanical fault and a known weakness of the original design, (my lens was used heavily for 3 years) I was told the IRS was a replacement unit of superior design lasting at least 5 years of heavy use. The repair cost £102.

So ironically the fault was mechanical and nothing to do with the heat, moisture or humidity.

Moral of the story and note to self: always take a backup lens when it matters!

Quintin

[schrodingerscat]

Try this: get a screwdriver and tighten the screw in the optic mount. Be carefull, tighten well but not like crazy. It should work again.

Just be aware that they are self tapping in plastic.