EFS 17-85mm IS f4-5.6 Err 01 Err 99 Photo Gallery by Barry S Moore at pbase.com

EFS 17-85mm IS f4-5.6 Err 01 Err 99

Dec 2012 - There is a good fix and description at http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/post/40439217 which does not disassemble the front element. - Barry

Oct 2011 my EOS 50D has a delayed shutter button. You need to press harder to get it to release. Another Canon "not happy Mr Wong" moment. It wasn't the lens this time but a dirty switch contact in the shutter button.
I found a fix on youtube that worked first time. Well worth a look. It will save you heaps on a Canon Service.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VQ6oKFxSzA

Please Note this offer from Peter.... (see quoted comments below)

Peter Parnell pedro.parnell@gmail.com
For anyone too scared to try this for themselves I am offering to replace your flat flexible cable at a much cheaper rate than that of Canon service. I will not diagnose or calibrate but just replace the faulty cable. I am an electronics technician and I have successfully repaired 2 lenses using Barry's findings and genuine Canon spare parts. So as long as Barry is happy to post this message I am willing to repair your lens. I'm in Brisbane, Australia.

FIRST 8 photos was the disassembly to find the fault, REST of gallery is final fix to lens.
EFS 17-85mm IS f4-5.6 showed Error 01 or Error 99 - cannot communicate with the camera check contacts. Its dead .... after 3 years usage.
This is caused by a broken flex cable that connects to the EOS aperture.
The lens will only work in manual focus with AV or M mode and lens set to maximum aperture (f4.0 @ 17mm). The Image Stabiliser still seems to work but autofocus is intermitent or dead. Sometimes the Iris is stuck closed (around f22 to f8).
To prove the fault set to F8 in Av with autofocus off (IS shouldn't matter) and try the "preview button". Look at the Iris from the front of the lens and see if it moves. Try small movements in the zoom from 85mm down to 17mm. The Iris (aperture) might close and open between 35mm-28mm (it might rapidily hunt a lot too if intermittent in the cable!!!). At this position the stress (bend) in the flex cable is minimal and the flex cable becomes continuous as the crack in it closes up. In normal operation the Iris should close to f8 and stay at that setting with the "preview button" held down on the camera. There are many many accounts of this fault on the net. Leave a comment and we might get a product recall from Canon for this design fault. Photos below show dissassembly to show the flex cables crack. Lens will work only at maximum aperture (wide open) and with manual focus. You can set the focus using "live preview" and turning the manual focus ring by hand. The camera autofocus "targets" will also help guide you to a manual focus if you do not use "live preview" but use a half shutter press. Lens will be f4.0 at 17mm or f5.6 @ 85mm.
related web pages...(the information below would form the basis of a Canon Lens EFS 17-85mm IS Err 99 & Focus repair manual )
Note: a complete power diaphram and flex cable is available on the internet at this link..(thanks to Kristian)
http://cgi.ebay.com/OEM-NEW-CANON-17-85mm-IS-USM-POWER-DIAPHRAGM-REPLACMENT_W0QQitemZ220433722308QQcategoryZ64352QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m8QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DMW%26its%3DC%26itu%3DUCC%26otn%3D5%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D6711719940824755726#ht_1230wt_738
http://doekle.nl/canon_17_85_IS_repair.html
http://thydzik.com/canon-efs-17-85mm-is-stucklocked-zoom-repairdisassembly/
http://www.fixya.com/support/t987082-17_85mm_mechanically_stuck_17mm_will_not
http://www.fixya.com/support/t4972139-error_lens_camera_body_connection_not
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8TgcLyGj9c&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzqN_GrqSQg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnXkY9wkHOQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fb1opb_Bw6M&feature=fvw
http://www.flickr.com/groups/canonlens/discuss/72157604875873045/
http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/694090
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1019&message=33969729
http://stores.shop.ebay.com.au/thinktecchina
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1029&message=37988233&q=err99&qf=m

"THE FIX" 16-July-2010. I bought a replacement cable and spent over 12 hours replacing the cable in a second disassemble. This exercise is not for the inexperienced. During the "fix" I damaged one of the coils on the aperture (power diaphram) and then had to repair that by running off two turns of wire in order to have something to solder to the flex cable. Soldering the cable onto the aperture unit is very very difficult. Also the old (broken) flex cable had two open circuit tracks on test before I changed it.

IMG_0195.JPG	IMG_0196.JPG	IMG_0197.jpg	IMG_0200.JPG
EFS 17-85mm IS f4-5.6 err 01 - broken flex cable	IMG_0205.JPG	IMG_0208.JPG	EFS 17-85mm IS err 01 fault
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IMG_0175.JPG	IMG_0178.JPG	IMG_0197.JPG	IMG_0199.JPG

comment

Guest		17-Feb-2013 00:15
I also just had my 17-85 lens fixed by Peter in Brisbane - good as new and super fast service and postage. VERY reasonable price. thank you!

Guest		26-Jan-2013 12:02
Just had my 17-85 lens fixed by Peter Parnell in Brisbane. Awesome service and a great price. Thanks Peter.

Guest		02-Dec-2012 02:58
I have the same issue. I will contact Peter for repair advice. I also tried to contact Canon via their maintenance feedback page and after I put in the problem, my details and the electronic password, it just kept resetting and asking me to put in the new randomly generated password. That is NOT customer service. I'm dissapointed with Canon.

gazzar		05-Oct-2012 11:22
I had the exact same problem with my Canon 17-85 lens (bought in 2008), didn't know what the hell was going on 'til I found this blog, and through it got on to Peter Parnell who kindly repaired my lens at a good price - now I'm back in business. Thanks heaps Peter for your kind assistance. Not so wrapt with Canon though - contacted their Head Office in Melbourne, they just duck shoved responsibility to Canon Inc in Japan. May send them a "not impressed" communique.

Barry Moore		24-Sep-2012 23:44
Hi Amy, you should email Peter Parnell pedro.parnell@gmail.com for a lens repair in Brisbane. I am in Sydney regards Barry

Guest		24-Sep-2012 15:08
Hi Marc, I am in Brisbane too. I have the same problem with my 18-85mm lens. Where did you repair your lens in Brisbane? Amy

Barry Moore		06-Sep-2012 08:31
Hi Patti, Despite posting a request for information on this problem on their website I have had only silence from them. I do not know the extent of this problem but it seems pretty obivious its widespread. My "fixed lens" it now exhibiting focus hunting under bright light conditions as well. I am using the EFS 18-135mm IS as my main lens now. It has as good if not better sharpness and a longer reach to 135mm. I expect your "broken lens" will work with a flash and/or aperture priority mode with the aperture set to its widest value. regards Barry

Patti		06-Sep-2012 01:54
Hi... glad to know I am not the only one having this problem. It has been a very frustrating journey to find info on this problem. I have a Canon 17-85mm lens that is selective in the range at which I can shoot at. It came on all of a sudden and I have no idea why... I can't take any pictures with the lens between 17-24mm range or on the other end from about 55-70mm range. Has there been any word from Canon about a recall notice? I live in Canada and the lens came with my Canon 50D. Thank you for this info

Barry Moore		04-Sep-2012 12:11
Hi Marc, Thanks for the good feedback. Barry

Marc		04-Sep-2012 11:01
Just received my l7-85mm back from Peter in Brisbane, the man has done a brilliant job fixing it and for an awesome price. Would have scrapped the lens if I hadn't found this post as I would have only been given a quote from a Canon repair service for the price I paid him for a full repair. Thanks again Peter and I highly recommend him to anyone having the same problem with their lens.

Barry Moore		29-Aug-2012 21:52
Hi Alexandre, I can only suggest that one of the flex cables is getting stuck against something on the inside of the lens assembly. My own 17-85mm has this a manual focus problem at about 3m focus - its gets stuck and won't go to a shorter focus when manually turning the focus ring. The auto focus however works but sometimes the autofocus "hunts" if the object I am photographing is at 3m!, so I switch to manual focus. Because your auto focus only goes one way - perhaps you need to reseat your flex cables at the connectors (rear end of the lens - on the printed circuit board). Hope this helps - all the best.

Alexandre		29-Aug-2012 16:31
Hi Barry, I've got the same problem on my 17-85mm lens. I buy the cable on ebay. I follow your wonderfull step by step procedure and reassemble my lens but no I've a problem with my focus ring. It's only working in one way to do the focus manually or automatically (toward the macro setting). The other way (toward infinity), nothing is moving in the lens. Do you have any idea of what I've done wrong when I reassembled it? Thanks a lot!

Barry Moore		10-Jul-2012 05:05
Great work. My lens is still working well after my fix.

Yoss!		09-Jul-2012 16:27
Hi Barry, Thanks to all the detailed information and the experience you've shared here, I was able to replace the flex cable and repair my failing 17-85mm lens. Took your advice and didn't remove the old flex cable, just cut it as close as I could and soldered the new one over it. The cost was some $5 for the cable on ebay and $20 for the soldering iron (plus 4 hours of delicate work and head scratching) - vs. some $150-$200 that the repair shop asked for.. Thanks, Y.

Barry Moore		25-May-2012 01:03
Hi guest, Sorry your repair didn't work out for you and thanks for providing this information as well. The repair is not an easy one. - Barry

Guest		24-May-2012 18:51
My repair ultimately failed, probably because of poor soldering and the damage I did to one of the coils. But it worked for a few minutes and during that time, the autofocus shuttle at infinity was still happening. I had replaced the cable without solving the problem. In fact when I tested for continuity before desoldering the old cable, it was fine and there was no visible damage. I may have had a problem elsewhere. One possibility is the flex cable socket. When testing for continuity I noticed that the cable going into the socket looked pretty rough. I wonder if there was an intermittent discontinuity right at the flex cable socket. Not an easy fix, despite the great documentation and photos here and at related sites. Good luck!

Barry Moore		23-May-2012 11:28
Hi Guest, Canon never responded to my request for information on this problem. I posted an enquiry through their website. Your lens probably work ok in Auto and its selects the widest aperture. If the lens does not need to stop down if will function alright. Try also the A mode set to widest aperture to use this lens.

Guest		22-May-2012 06:41
Omg!!! I have the same problem with my Canon 17-85. I have the t1i and I get err 01 between 17-25 (manual, ap, tv mode). The weird part is that on full auto camera setting the lens works fine. Arr. I know its not my camera coz I have 24-135 and it works just fine. Glad to know I was not the only one going crazy. Any update if Canon USA recalled this defect?

Barry Moore		21-Apr-2012 11:25
Hi Etienne - Glad you managed the repair - comment much appreciated. regards Barry

Etienne Monette		21-Apr-2012 03:49
Just finish repairing my 17-85 lens. Thank you so much for all the pictures and the details. Just a side note, the sliders are easily remove using a 3/32 drill bit. It fits just as it has to. Also got the cable for 3$ on eBay. Did not unsolder the old cable, I just cut it and soldered the new one on top. Again, thanks a lot.

Tom		05-Apr-2012 20:09
Just sent in my 17-55 IS f/2.8 with the same diaphragm symptoms: still works when zoomed out (17-25mm), but diaphragm doesn't open anymore when zoomed in further (25-55mm). No other problems, I've been using the lens at f/2.8 or zoomed out with smaller diaphragm for a little while longer. IS and focussing still work fine. Just received a quote back from Canon repair: lens replacement (I suppose they mean one of the optical elements inside the lens), sharpness check-up, function check-up, general cleaning, IS replacement all in total for 350€. No word on the diaphragm at all...

Barry Moore		30-Mar-2012 23:18
Hi Joel, You'll have to email the Guest that place the comment at dravner@gmail.com directly. Please note I live in Australia and the comments here are from all over the world. I hope you can repair your lens. regards Barry

Joel		30-Mar-2012 19:38
I just recently had the same issue with my 17-85 lens after 3 years of using it. I saw somone had a shop in Tampa that fixed it for them, can I get the name of that shop? Thank you.

Barry Moore		19-Mar-2012 11:13
Hi Florida Guest. Glad your lens is fixed. Peter parnell is based in Brisbane and can fix lens as mentioned at the top of the home page to these comments and gallery. regards Barry

Guest		16-Mar-2012 23:19
Just had this problem after 6+ years as my "walk around" lens - had it fixed (including a through cleaning) by a local camera repair shop in Tampa, Florida for under $150 - works good as new and should last another 6+ years...

Guest		14-Mar-2012 02:27
I had the exact same issue on a recent trip to south florida, where the lens would allow certain functions but was the ultimate frustration...nearly smashed the damn thing. Would love to get this fixed, who is this Peter Parnell people are mentioning? I do not have the skill set to take this on DIY. Would love to upgrade anyway to a 17-55 or 15-85, but if they are prone to the same issue...ugh. My 17-85 went a lot of places and look nearly 45,000 shots since mid-2008.

Barry Moore		11-Mar-2012 04:10
Hi andre, Seems like we both had a similar experience. My lens is now on my older 400D and is just a great general purpose lens. I use the 18-135mm 0n my 5D which is a little bit sharper not as wide and a bit longer than the 17-85. The 17-85mm is however a good travelling lens as its not as physically big and still a great shot. Thnaks for feedback and glad you patience paid off. - Barry

Barry Moore		01-Mar-2012 22:46
Hi Warren, glad to see your lens is fixed.

Warren		27-Feb-2012 00:02
Hi Barry had same problem with lens error 01 ,sent it away to Peter Parnell who did a great job at a very reasonable rate.

Barry Moore		13-Feb-2012 09:21
Great work - thanks for the comment.

Matt		11-Feb-2012 09:46
Hey thanks so much for your photos here. I had the same problem and used your description to repair my lens. All tested and works no probs. I ended up taking the next 6 black cylinders out of the zoom barrel to get the cable through. Went back together fine although I did hold it all in place carefully. Thanks again

Barry Moore		10-Feb-2012 06:05
I had a phillips 000 in my set I bought just to do this job.

Alan		09-Feb-2012 21:00
I'm trying to find a "Phillips! driver small enough, "00" is still to big, what size do I need?

Barry Moore		01-Feb-2012 21:19
All the flex cables terminate in sockets on the rear circuit board of the lens. I would take them out and re insert then carefully. Just remove the back shell of the lens for this. The fault sounds like its a misplaced cable that is shorting the switch and keeping it closed and in automatic focus mode.

fg		01-Feb-2012 17:25
Hi, I replaced the diaphragm following your instructions. Thanks. After the work was completed, I have discovered that the manual focus option is no longer available. The lens is now autofocusing even when the switch is in the MF position. Any idea how to fix this? Thanks.

Barry Moore		30-Jan-2012 11:32
Thank Huey, Hope the fix goes well for you.

huey		29-Jan-2012 23:36
Yes mine just failed this weekend!!! I used it to shoot 26,000 photos in 2 years (bought June 2010). a bit disappointed because it is not a cheap lens. Thanks for all information here. I am not preparing to send it to Canon service center. Will get the parts from ebay and try my friend who is also an electronics technician or Peter.

Barry Moore		29-Jan-2012 11:53
demand to see the replaced parts and check out the warranty on the repairs too!

Guest		28-Jan-2012 17:11
Yeah mine failed too. Tested everything and the aperture is the culprit. Preview mode + moving the ring on my 7d(for aperture) didnt have a real effect on light intake (stuck at 4/5.6f). Ive no experience with fixing lenses so ill have to send mine to the service center. I just hope they have the parts. Glad to find out my problem isnt rare. Thanks for this :)

Alan Dicey		21-Jan-2012 14:52
I sourced a replacement flex cable from Hong Kong for $10, inc. postage. I was able to unsolder the original from the diaphragm unit without melting the plastic by using a solder sucker. The original is stuck down to the unit as well as soldered, you will never get it off without removing the solder first. A miniature soldering iron would help, although I managed with my fairly ancient temperature-controlled Weller, sucking the solder as soon as it melted. The new cable has no black reinforced sections, but also has less adhesive on the section up the metal support strut, leaving more of the cable free to allow a gentler curve at extremes of zoom. I have photos, if there is any interest.

pmonte		19-Jan-2012 02:29
Error 1 Canon 17-85 USM Lens. I had a seemingly common problem recently when using this lens in the 17-35mm range; the camera would not take any photos and "Error 1" would show up. Contrary to other forum postings, Canon Australia did not acknowledge this as being very common and would not quote over the phone. I sent it over to Peter Parnell and he replaced the iris cable; the lens was returned within 1 week and for a very moderate total cost. I was VERY impressed. I have again contacted Canon Australia to highlight the situation and improve their customer service .Thanks Peter.

Michael Engelbrecht		13-Jan-2012 05:39
I had a lens with autofocus problems (hunting) - when zoomed-in at mid-to-telephoto focal-lengths, but only when the subject was more than 3m away. I was going to try to change it myself but decided to contact Peter Parnell. Peter narrowed-down the problem to the USM motor, and ended-up sourcing and replacing the USM motor assembly for me for a very reasonable cost. Thanks Peter - excellent job - very helpful - lens working like-a-new-one now. I'd highly recommend Peter to others in a similar predicament to myself.

Barry Moore		08-Jan-2012 22:53
Hi Johan, Glad its fixed all the best Barry

JT		08-Jan-2012 06:10
Thanks, I fixed my lens with the $25 replacement part and all functions seems to work normal.

Alan Dicey		05-Jan-2012 12:24
Based on what I saw, every one of them, although there is some comment in other places suggesting that the design has been modified to address the problem. I think the original design has the flex-cable stuck to the support strip for too much of its length, not giving it enough free length to assume a shallower curve when zoomed right out. It isn't helped (at least in my case) by the zoom mechanism having no resistance to falling forward - every time I take the camera out of the bag, the lens goes to full zoom. With respect to your problem unsoldering the old cable, I will use a solder-sucker to free the joints without applying too much heat. An alternative would be to cut up the old cable so that each solder joint is separate and can be undone one at a time. I used a small left-hand-helix screw extractor to get the diaphragm - locating plastic sleeves out of their firm locations in the diaphragm mount.

Barry Moore		04-Jan-2012 08:20
Thanks Alan for your comments. I wonder how many more efs 17-85mm lens will fail in the future?

Alan Dicey		03-Jan-2012 13:50
I had the symptoms come on with my 17-85 yesterday, fortunately not at a critical shoot or away from my workbench. I followed the doekle.nl page, which is good but does not document every step. I took photos myself of the stages of disassembly (using the old 18-55 kit lens) and needed to refer to them to line up some of the components on reassembly. I don't have a small enough soldering iron to risk opening the cable and resoldering the tracks. What I did was to use a piece of heatshrink tubing to affix the cable to the plastic support, and give some support for 2-3mm above it. This means it won't flex as designed, and I left off the brass clip, folding the extra flat cable up between the circuit board and lens mount. Simply fixing the cable in the "fully-zoomed-out" position has worked for me, the fractures have obviously not developed too far, but I will be ordering a replacement flex cable to make a permanent fix.

Barry Moore		29-Dec-2011 09:13
My replacement flex cable did not have a harder black section. The original flex cable failed at this point. I did read another post that stated the EFS 18-135MM was a replacement that addressed this problem but I don't know if thats true. The only lens I have had trouble with is the efs 17-85mm but I suspect the Ef 17-55 F2.8 may be of thesame manufacturing era and contain the flex cable with the hard black backing.

Stefan		28-Dec-2011 09:08
Also: Is replacing this cable a "permanent fix"? I mean is it "longer" so that the part isn't stressed that much in the future or is it exactly the same and will fail again after some time? Thanks Stefan

Stefan		27-Dec-2011 22:23
Hi, are there any news to suggest that this is still present in lenses built in the relatively recent past? I'd gladly pay the full price for a new lense if I had reason to believe that this wasn't an issue anymore... Apart from this the lense would suit me perfectly, but since I want to use it as a "full-time-lense" (meaning I don't know if I'll always have a backup with me on vacation), this inevitable accident waiting to happen will force me to go for the Sigma 17-70 instead... I mean it's great that you can fix it yourself/cheap, but I doubt that I'll be too happy about it breaking in the first place when I'm abroad and I want to take pictures... =P Cheers Stefan

JT		22-Dec-2011 06:34
My Canon EFS 17-85mm lens started giving err 99 soon after a friend having the same, complained about this. I opend it to find the aperture cable broken off completely. I reported it to Canon New Zealan help desk as they are unaware that there is a problem with this lens. Canon is not willing to supply the cable to me but offer to repair it for $250 - $300.

Barry Moore		18-Dec-2011 11:46
For a paid wedding I would use nothing less than an L series lens. The 17-85mm is just not that good.even if it works!!!! Also for weddings you need a wide aperture at least f2.8 or better to get a nice bokeh and a fast shutter in low light at ISO 100, else the subjects will blurr. If you had used manual mode at widest aperture (and a flash) you should have had some shots. For a wedding you need a second camera and flash as a back up. I've heard of wedding photographers being sued because they didn't take adequate precautions for equipment failure.

KENROY		18-Dec-2011 06:11
THIS PROBLEM HAPPENS TO ME WHILE PHOTOGRAPHING A WEDDING LAST WEEK AND I HAD TO REFUND THE COUPLE. SHOULD I PURCHASE ANOTHER ONE? I REALLY LOVE THIS LENS BUT IM CONFUSED. ITS ONLY 11 MONTHS OLD

Barry Moore		13-Dec-2011 12:10
Sorry to hear of your lens failure. Canon have not acknowledged my email to them regarding the problem either.

Sudhagar		13-Dec-2011 08:17
My lens also have the same issue. Canon has not added to this to the service advisory yet. I am in India and get it serviced for ~ 130 USD. Would be great if Canon could issue a service advisory for the same.

Guest		27-Nov-2011 20:07
Oops. Lens broke down again. Same error. Only this time nothing works anymore no matter what the range is :(

Guest		25-Nov-2011 13:20
After a third trial, the lens is finally working again the way it should. Thanks again for your advice. M.H. Vermeersch Belgium

Barry Moore		23-Nov-2011 12:12
Hi Marie, Sorry you are having this problem. Perhaps the cable is not making good electrcal connections with the various sockets. Also check the camera contacts. Also check the replaced canle as i was able to prove it with intermittent and open circuit (used a continuity meter - Ohmmeter) so I knew I had replaced the faulty part. - Best of luck, Barry

Marie H�l�ne Vermeersch		23-Nov-2011 12:09
HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had the exact same problem with my 17-85 lens. Thanks to the many articles and videos on the internet, my husband was able to replace the flex cable. However, when switching on the camera again, I had the exact same problem. I still cannot use range 17 - 35. The rest is OK. Did he do something wrong or what? Anyone who has experienced the same? Thanks for your reaction.

Barry Moore		04-Nov-2011 08:04
Hi gq, sorry had another lens has problems. Contact Peter Parnell to see if he can help you. My Canon 50D definately has a shutter button problem. Thereare other users with the same problem.

GQ		02-Nov-2011 20:47
Hi, my Canon EFS 17-85mm lens has failed too. I took it to a specialist repair place in Elizabeth Street, Melbourne. They told me that they knew exactly what the problem was. They had just repaired the exact same lens that day. They even quoted the "err" code to me before I could say anything more than ... "I have a problem with my 17-85mm Canon lens" I said... "Err 01, I bet!" They said...This is a definite manufacture fault (poor quality) part. I declined the offer of $300 for the repair. What made me suspicious and take the lens home and do a Google search was the conviction in the guys voice that he knew exactly what the fault was without seeing the lens.

Barry Moore		22-Oct-2011 00:18
Hi Mike, Sorry to hear about your problems.... I have not had any response from my email below (27 sept 2011) regarding the complaints and problems with this lens. Such is life. My 18-135 is working well but as you say does not have USM. Recently my EOS50D has needed a lot more pressure on the shutter release to take a picture. Maybe this switch is now failing. Trouble is once you lock into a camera system its difficult to change. regards Barry

mike		17-Oct-2011 06:46
Hi there, I have had this problem happen twice one my 17-85 and once on my partners. The first time it happened both lenses died with about 1 month of each other despite one having been used rough twice as much. I had both lenses fixed by canon New Zealand for around $140NZD in 2008. My 17-85 developed the same fault again early this year whilst on a trip around South America. The various figures I've seen for fixing this problem amaze me. I'm now not sure it's worth getting fixed as I replaced it with a 18-135mm whilst in Brasil as I could not afford the time or find someone to fix it in Brasil. The only thing I don't like about the 18-135 is it' lack of USM.

Barry Moore		27-Sep-2011 21:24
I sent the following to canon australia.... I wish to complain about the error 01 faults that occur in the efs 17-85mm IS lens. Many, many photographers have had a broken flex cable fault due, I beleive to a badly designed fault in this lens. Please look at the comments at my website at http://www.pbase.com/barry_2718/efs1785mm . I would interested to see your "fix" and replace figures for this lens versus other leness if you would share them with me. There are many dissatisfyed customers and I would like to know your offical thoughts on a possible recall. Barry Moore

Bryan		27-Sep-2011 15:05
This is the complaint email I wrote to Canon today. Guess everyone should start complaining so they know it is a major flaw and takes action like Toyota. I mean this is not something that is life-threatening but still it's a design flaw and it's up to the manufacturer to rectify it. "My EF-S 17-85mm IS USM lens gives out "ERR 01" on my EOS 50D in the wide angle range (around 17-35mm) but above 35mm it works flawlessly. The lens had always been taken good care, never been dropped or exposed to extreme weather of any sort. To my knowledge, many others had experienced this fault and this should be a recall from Canon for a free-of-charge service or at a special discount rate. I did a research and found many forums, websites, blogs with professional photographers complaining/reporting on this issue. I think Canon should consider this to be a major issue and take action like Toyota did to show responsibility to its products and its consumers. Regards" Have your say guys!!!

Bryan		27-Sep-2011 14:53
Peter, can you please send me a quote for the service to my email? coolwave911@gmail.com My lens gives out err01 on my EOS 50D in the wide angle range (around 17-35mm) but above 35mm it works flawlessly. Obviously it is due to this design flaw, Canon should do something about this!!! Anyway, please send me the quote along with your contact details cuz I need to get my lens back into action :( cheers Bryan

Peter Parnell		09-Sep-2011 22:54
No, the flex cables I am using do not have the black sections. Hopefully this will mean that they are more flexible than the originals.

Barry Moore		07-Sep-2011 10:13
Great work Peter. Its great to see you helping get this lens back into usage. My replacement flex cable didnot have a black thickened plastic section BUT the faulty flex cable did. Did your replacement cables have this "black plastic" section? - Barry

Peter Parnell		07-Sep-2011 02:07
I have fixed another one with great success. I used a new flat flex cable onto an exchange iris assembly. This way I can have a complete assy ready to go before I start dissasembly of the lens.

Barry Moore		01-Aug-2011 04:31
Try shooting in Aperture mode only with the widest aperture. Maybe the focus will work? or the IS on themselves or together. When my lens failed I lost the autofocus but the IS still worked (separate flex cable). The aperture also had to be wide open but I could take photos if I manually focused at widest aperture. This also applies to using flash.

AC		31-Jul-2011 22:23
Hi, sadly I live in oposite side of the earth :) Anyway I showed my lens to canon, and they quoted ~300usd for aperture module and usm motor replacement, sounds like cheeting for me, i never experienced problem with usm motor, how can it be related, i'm shocked.

Peter Parnell		24-Jul-2011 12:42
For anyone too scared to try this for themselves I am offering to replace your flat flexible cable at a much cheaper rate than that Canon of service. I will not diagnose or calibrate but just replace the faulty cable. I am an electronics technician and I have successfully repaired 2 lenses using Barry's findings an genuine Canon spare parts. So as long as Barry is happy to post this message I am willing to repair your lens. I'm in Brisbane, Australia.

Barry Moore		24-Jul-2011 11:46
Hi Peter, Sound like a great offer. I'll leave your details here and photographers with problems can email you directly. Barry

Peter Parnell		24-Jul-2011 10:33
For anyone too scared to try this for themselves I am offering to replace your flat flexible cable at a much cheaper rate than that Canon of service. I will not diagnose or calibrate but just replace the faulty cable. I am an electronics technician and I have successfully repaired 2 lenses using Barry's findings an genuine Canon spare parts. So as long as Barry is happy to post this message I am willing to repair your lens. I'm in Brisbane, Australia.

markm		21-Jul-2011 01:05
I had the same problem in March 2010. Sent it to Canon in Sydney Australia $309. May this year the problem is back again. Sent it to Canon in Sydney again, this time $190 to replace EXACTLY the same parts. First time labour was $126, this time labour is only $41. Something stinks in the Canon service department here. I'm currently "negotiating - ie threatening to take them to the ACCC" to have it repaired for free, or a token fee at most.

Andy Georgiou		20-Jul-2011 12:34
Spoke to Cannon directly the other day and they told me there is no record of any complaints to the effect we see here and therefore do not envisage a possibilility for repair free of charge on that basis. What we need to do is post them a petition showing our dissatisfaction and show it is an inherent fault...they will have no choice but to address it in the end. They did say to me that the 40D I'm using may need to have it's software updated using the CD that came with the cam but I don't have it as I bought it on ebay too...they claim this may repair the error message and allow the cam to read the lens....not sure though, has anyone tried it?

Barry Moore		13-Jul-2011 01:29
Thanks for leaving your name and email address here. If I hear anything I'll leave a message here and email everyone on this comment list. My EFS 17-85mm died after 2 years and over 10000 images. It was a high usage lens and I have fixed it but i am using the EFS 18-135mm which seems to me to be of a better quality despite costing me less to buy. As more of the EFS 17-85mm lower usage lenses fail I expect a lot more dissatisfyed customers. The question for Canon is what is the expected life of the lens? The shutter on your DSLR has a specifyed limit too although I would expect the lens to last longer than a cameras shutter.

AC		12-Jul-2011 20:31
Sadly got same error with my lens today, not nice then this happens during holiday trip, any news about recall?

Barry Moore		12-Jul-2011 02:09
Let me know how you get on in the UK. I fixed mine so its not my problem now. Show them this site and all the links that are here. Maybe you'll get a free fix from their service department. Buying things off Ebay requires an accurate description. Maybe the original owner already knew it was faulty?

Andy		07-Jul-2011 00:43
Sale of Goods Act 1979 UK. This was stated recently by myself to get an inherent fault in my Samsung TV fixed for free, including pick up and return. They were reluctant but I showed them a forum where lots of people were complaining about the same fault (Clicking Samsung TV). eventually it got sorted. I too have just bought the same 17-85mm lens as you discuss here from ebay and it has the same fault. It is obvious to me it's inherent and therefore their responsibility (Canons) to repair.....lets press them?

Jiri		06-Jul-2011 20:14
Hello, my 2 years old 17-85 lens has just broken and have the absolute same problem...Thank you very much for your detailed description of the malfunction. Finally I know it is the lens and thank god not the body. I will try Canon servis in Czech Rep (Europe) and will see. It's unbelievable that so many people experienced the same...I am thinking about purchasing a different lens.

Barry Moore		21-May-2011 07:22
I am sorry the fix did not work well for you. The flex cable has a tiny locking hinge which could have been damaged. The fix does require a great deal of electronics repair experience - can others attemping a fix themselves note this please. Of course Canon will also guarrentee the repair and clean and calibrate the lens - this may still be worthwhile for your lens Ben. Needless to say I have heard of hundreds of Error01's or Error 99's and I still beleive Cannon needs to "fix" the problem free of charge.

Ben		19-May-2011 23:40
You failed to mention that reattaching the clip to the replacement cable is practically impossible. I spent several hours trying to get it to snap into place. The lens functions again (no more Err 01), but it has horrible zooming resistance at 35mm and 70mm. I can tell the cable is snagging (and will probably break again very soon). I would't recommend that anybody waste 6+ hours of their life for mediocre results like mine. Especially for a lens worth ~$350 used on the market. I regret not sending the lens to Canon at least for an estimate. Very dissatisfied.

sbiker		05-May-2011 21:50
Hi, thx a lot!!! Just I've just successfully repaired the lens! No error at this time - I'll see on Saturday :-)

Korolev		22-Apr-2011 13:07
Best thing to do to this lens is to take a piece of wood throw lens in the air and whack it really hard. Canon have ripped me of 2-1/2 years for a £300 lens, £190-odd to fix... you kidding? I have Olympus OM2 kit some 30 years old and still work brillently. Sorry Canon will never buy your stuff again - I was warned by one of your managers not to buy from Canon! Back to Olympus for me...

Barry Moore		11-Apr-2011 11:10
Sorry I do not know what these wires do.! I enable any comments left here by others who may know. Barry

andym		10-Apr-2011 07:44
Thank you very much for taking time to put such detailed photos up. I have just spent the last 5 hours fixing the camera, and IT WORKS! The lens seems to be back in action. BUT, this suprises me...about 2 mins in to the repair I damaged one of the other flex cables. I attach a picture with the cable I damaged pointed out: a blue arrow points towards it. I managed to rip the given cable, severing the two right hand 'wires/tracks' or whatever they are called. As I said before, everything still seems to work correctly? Would anyone perhaps know what function this flex cable serves? Is it possible that these were unused 'tracks/wires'? http://tinypic.com/r/2lu83et/7 Thanks in advance!

Andy M		10-Apr-2011 07:39
Thank you very much for taking time to put such detailed photos up. I have just spent the last 5 hours fixing the camera, and IT WORKS! The lens seems to be back in action. BUT, this suprises me...about 2 mins in to the repair I damaged one of the other flex cables. I attach a picture with the cable I damaged pointed out: a blue arrow points towards it. I managed to rip the given cable, severing the two right hand 'wires/tracks' or whatever they are called. As I said before, everything still seems to work correctly? Would anyone perhaps know what function this flex cable serves? Is it possible that these were unused 'tracks/wires'? Thanks in advance!

MarmiteMan		29-Mar-2011 14:43
Gentlemen, my one year-old Canon EF-S 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS lens exhibits the same problem, although it does still work in AF mode with the flash up. Camera shop sent the lens off to Canon UK ... who quoted £192 to disassemble-repair-reassemble. As the lens' purchase price was £199 ... Thanks to Barry's excellent set of photos below, a tech-savvy friend may attempt a repair. MarmiteMan, Norwich

Barry Moore		29-Mar-2011 11:47
Hi Mark, Hopefully the information below will assist you in the repair. Its a pity Canon doesn't honour its customers with a recall and fix in a poor design.

Mark Anthony Lees		22-Mar-2011 09:58
I can't believe it. I discovered the error 01 message with my year old EOS 5D coupled with an EFS 17-85mm lens which is about 3 years old. I was mortified as I am living in Spain and my recipt/guarantee information is back in England. I also don't know what the guarantee period is for camera and lens. I happened upon this website and found that the exact same symptoms are occuring with my camera and lens. I am pleased that the problem appears to only be with the lens but angry that my guarantee has now probably expired and I will have to find a fix. I am not prepared to attempt the fix myself without proper experience and tools. I would expect Canon to do a complete product recall as it is a problem with their lenses and the fault lies with them. Many other cases of the same problem with the same lens prove this.

Barry Moore		13-Feb-2011 05:28
Glad to see your repair was sucessful - Barry

Kristian Svendsen		12-Feb-2011 17:38
Dear Berry Thank you very much. I bought the cable with the aperture unit soldered in place for 22 USD + 6 in postage. Following your instructions and those form Thydzik's blog I managed to solve the problem in 4 hours. Only accident was one of the clips broke of, but the 3 in place is sufficient to hold the inner cover. I had to take off the last 6 guides in the last step to get the cable in place couldn't slide it through the hole.Original cable broke when I tried to get it out, must have been nearly gone. Now lens works flawlessly. Thanks again, wasn't as scary as I expected, but not an easy task..

Barry Moore		24-Jan-2011 12:06
I got the flex cable from ebay. A Current link to the item is http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260646636446&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Dave C		23-Jan-2011 11:29
HI Barry, Nice photos, it's good to see a collection of photos of a lens repair. (very helpful) The internet is full of question but not answers. I was hoping you had the part number of that flex, I haven't found a service / parts manual online. I was going to order it from 'Parts overnight' in queensland. DAC.

Barry Moore		21-Jan-2011 11:32
Hi Colleen, sorry to hear your lens has failed too. Mine was out of warranty when it failed. I havn't approached canon - just found heaps of links to the problem.

Colleen		20-Jan-2011 06:45
Hi Guys! I have the same problem with my lens, has anyone approached Canon to ask for it to be repaired under warranty / recall as it is a known problem? - Colleen

Guest		14-Jan-2011 18:30
Yes - me too, started today whilst touring Florence, Italy - morning - lens worked at 35mm+, not at 35mm- but by the afternoon it started getting stuck "stopped down" and now it is pretty much stuck all the time. Lens is 4 years old bought as a deal with an EOS350D body - which failed on me in Damascus (repaired by a local expert for just €30). Not happy rewarding Canon unreliability by paying for repair/buying a new lens - but as I have other (expensive) Canon lenses I suspect that is what I will do... David Williams

Barry Moore		01-Jan-2011 05:27
Thanks, Svetlana, Sorry to see your lens also damaged. This is even more annoying knowing that the broken flex cable is worth less than $10. Regards Barry

Svetlana		30-Dec-2010 18:11
hello, I have two 17-85 lenses (one is mine and one I have borrowed from a friend after mine stopped working) showing the same problem!

Guest		17-Dec-2010 20:49
Its such a common fault it seems and I think Canon should direct a product recall. Mine failed recently and the aperture is stuck firmly closed. This means the viewfinder's image is darkened somewhat, pretty much rendering the lens useless. For a product that retails for around £350 here in the UK this simply isnt good enough, I dont feel I should have to spend another £150 on repair.

Barry Moore		12-Nov-2010 09:57
Thanks for information and comment. My fixed lens is still working aswell., regards Barry

Kelvin		10-Nov-2010 18:22
Barry, I just wanted to say thank you very much for creating and sharing your detail documentation on how to replace the power diaphragm on the EFS 17-85mm IS f4-5.6. I had mine for about four years and the Err99 started showing up around 2 months ago. I was able to clear it by disconnecting the battery. But on Halloween, it just died completely. The diaphragm was stuck half open and the Err99 was there to stay. The Canon dealer suggest it would cost Cdn$ 200-250 and up to 7-8 weeks to fix. After finding this page, I decided to do it myself. With the part number YG2-2169-010 for the power diaphragm mentioned here, I called Canon Canada (1800-652-2666). They directed me to Global Electronics Supplies in Mississauga. The OEM part cost Cdn$30. No soldering required with was a great relief for me. With the help from this page and its links, I managed to replace the part myself after 12 hours. Most of the time was spend on cleaning the lens over and over again. Aside from fixing the lens, I also got rid of the few dust particles that had been bugging me for a while. Anyways, thanks again. Kelvin (from Canada)

Barry Moore		06-Nov-2010 12:32
Hi Kate, Yes the problems with this lens seem to be a consistent problem. You can still use your lens in Aperture prioty set to f4 (lens will also default to f5.6 at 85mm as well). Maybe the autofucus will then work, or you might have to manual focus which is not that hard because with a half press you get a focus led in the view finder at the proper focus. Regards Barry

Kate MacRae		04-Nov-2010 19:01
Just found your forum as I googled the error message that came up on my 17-85mm lens on a big nursery shoot..... I have only had this lens a couple of years. It would work for a bit if I took the lens off and then put it on again.... but got to tstage where I could only take 2 shots... nightmare.

Guest		03-Oct-2010 07:59
I would just like to say thanks for your time in posting this Barry. I have this same problem at the wide open end and had nearly resigned to throwing it away as I know it wasn't the camera at fault. I'm going to order the part and have a go at your fix and I'll let you know the result. Thanks again. John, Bexhill on Sea, UK

Barry Moore		06-Sep-2010 12:41
Hi Diablo, it might be possible to bridge across the broken flex cable with some fine and flexible wires instead of the flex cable???

Barry Moore		06-Sep-2010 12:36
HI Diabolo, this is the link to the replacement cable on ebay. It was what i used in the repair. http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Canon-17-85mm-17-85-mm-Lens-Aperture-Flex-Cable-Repair-/260646636446?pt=UK_Photography_DigitalCamAccess_RL&hash=item3cafc00b9e

Diablo		04-Sep-2010 21:16
Hi Barry, thank a lot for this gallery. I have the same trouble with my 17-85 IS...The repair with Canon will cost me ~250€. So i decided to repair it myself. Do you know some (serious) company where i can buy the lens part (power diaphram assembly - ref : YG2-2169) ? Thank You in advance. Best regards. Diablo (from France)

Barry Moore		18-Aug-2010 20:43
Hi Justin, Thanks for your comments. I also was annoyed when canon brought out the EOS550d with HD video. My EOS 50D was worth only half it's value after 1 year.

Justin Glynn		17-Aug-2010 19:46
This information has been very usefull, I have been racking my brains about this problem for a few days now, as my lens failed during a shoot. Mine will fail between 17-30 zoom and t works anything after that. I have seen many reports of this fault but this is the most detailed description. I have only had this lens 2 years and or what it costs, I'm not amused! I think I will buy sigma in future!

Barry Moore		01-Aug-2010 04:45
Below the replacement Canon lens should read EFS 18-135mm f3.5-5.6. This is a great lens and after 100's of shots better in its image quality to the fixed EFS 17-85mm.

Barry Moore		18-Jul-2010 08:28
Hi Howard, The repair with Canon varies from $100 to $200 USD as Iv'e read. I'd ring your local repair centre to get a quote as the repair is common now. Alternately buy the canon 18-135mm IS f2.4-5.6 lens is a great replacement. Also, the old lens can be used in manual focus with full open aperture. This IS should still work. Use Av mode with aperture at f 4.0 and manual focus.

Howard		17-Jul-2010 09:33
My 17-85 lens, used on a 40D, has just packed up with exactly this fault you describe(Lens is 4 years old and has had a lot of use- so maybe I'm lucky it 's lasted so long!). Looking at the number of reports of this fault I think it must be a design fault and Canon should offer a product recall. I have been using Canon gear for over 30 years and never had any problems whatsoever so this really is a shock. So what to do next - is this lens worth sending for repair or just return to Canon for recycling into something more usefull!!

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