I was inspecting my camera today and to my surprise and chagrin there was a small nick in the mid to lower region of the lense! It wasn't obvious on footage I had taped earlier today, but when I try to find it on the footage, it sticks out like a sore thumb :(. I have a wedding shoot comming up in the distant future and would like my premiere performance to be and look as professional as possible. I was wondering if Cannon offers a lense replacement service of some sort, at what cost, time frame, exc.

Has anyone else experienced a lense scratch or replacement?

ps. My camera is not covered under the warranty anymore

Thanks guys!

Ken

Don't panic or stress out about it just yet.

I'm assuming that this is more of a scratch than a gouge, yes?

If you are seeing that scratch during any indoor footage, that is a sign that you are using way too much video gain and too small of an iris opening.

For the time being, do some test shooting indoors to get a feel for what I mean. Use a wide open iris setting, which will help you to minimize your depth of field. Shoot wide open, not more than f/3.2. Then, check your footage and take note of how the scratch is not visible at all when your iris is wide open. This will help you to get by for now.

As far as lens replacement or repair, since your warranty has ended - and that this is damage to the GL2 caused by you, it will cost you. I just don't know how much. Perhaps it can be buffed out, not sure. In any case, it is up to you to give Canon a call at
http://www.canondv.com/service/techsupport.html

Sorry to hear about that lens damage! I advise you to buy a clear 58mm filter to protect the front of that lens.

Wishing you well,

- don

A ballpark replacement price is $300 to $600 USD. Remember a ballpark is a pretty big place. The entire lens assembly must be replaced and aligned and calibrated. This is a very labor intensive process and requires specialized equipment.

Most people think just the front element can be replaced (like in a 35mm film camera). However this is not the case in regards to consumer and most prosumer video cameras. The manufacturing process usually precludes the possibility of any disassembly and reassembly. The composite and plastic components are not meant to be taken apart.

If Don's suggestions are followed there is a very good chance the scratch will not even show on your footage.

FWIW, the front piece of glass on the GL lens is not a focusing element, it is just a protective glass for and part of the variable angle prism asembly. And because it is so far in front of the actual focusing components is why any dust or scratchs can be so visible in an image.

Not user replaceable, a trip to Canon is needed, and that will cost, but probably not as much as a whole new lens. The biggest part of the cost will probably be the labor to do the work.

Ken, it's recommended you keep a UV or a clear protoective filter on your cam at all times to keep your lens free from nicks and scratches.

Yup, another good reason to keep a UV filter on your Camera!

Thanks alot for the suggestions and feedback guys, this site is terrific. If it comes to getting a replacement lense ill report how much it cost me in case anyone else happens to be misfortunate.

Ken