This is a 17-55 that had the internal dust magnet syndrome Photo Gallery by Roger Cicala at pbase.com

This is a 17-55 that had the internal dust magnet syndrome

My experience with 18 of these wonderful lenses are that most attract no dust, but a few just seem to fill up with it. I've seen pet hair inside the lens several times. These are stock from Lensrentals.com so they're probably getting more use than most people's personal lenses would. Anyway, I got sick of sending them back to Canon for internal cleaning every few months so I thought I'd take a look myself. Excuse my less than stellar shots here: product photography is not my thing.

dusty1755IS.jpg	dusty1755ISview2.jpg	liftingseal.jpg	sealremoved.jpg
frontelementout.jpg	backtogether.jpg	shotwith.jpg

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toze		06-Nov-2013 02:06
Inspired by this post i tried to clean some dust and minor fungus from a 28-105mm 3.5-4.5 USM MK1, but it's a little bit different, but also easy. To remove the front element just need to remove all 6 screw, (memorize the position) and then you have to rotate the front barrel and the front glass cames with it. It doesn't affect the focus, and now looks like new again (it have 20 years old) Thanks

Asim		04-Mar-2013 12:33
Hi All I have read almost all comments plz plz plz can someone confirm 100% that it doest effect the focus or you don't need to re calibrate the lens thanks

Diego		02-Oct-2012 11:39
I have just made this with my Canon EF 24-105L IS and successfully removed all the dust. Focuss is 100% accurate after the cleaning

Rob		05-Aug-2012 13:26
Thanks so much for this guide. I, like many others appreciate the willingness to share valuable, clear guidance on how to safely clean a lens. I recently benefitted from a similar guide on how to resolve a stuck aperture assembly on an old Zeiss lens, but have been nervous about tackling a more modern lens. I have just applied this guide to a canon ef 28-105 usm II. After being a bit careless, I got sand in my lens but following this advice I have just made it spotless. So, to give back what I've taken from this, here's what i did: The 28-105 has a similar clip (which on the 17-55 looks like a sticker) at the very front of the lens. If you get a tiny flat screwdriver, this can easily be popped off. You then see 6 screws; 3 silver, 3 black. Nice that canon have made this distinction. The black screws remove the front plastic part of the lens barrel. Set the screws aside and gently twist (counter clockwise) the front of the barrel to remove it. Take this opportunity to opportunity clean the velvet dust seal of any other grit. At this stage, you might be able to remove all of the dust by simply extending the zoom and using a blower behind the now protruding front element. If so, you can skip the next step and put the front of the barrel back on. It bayonet fits back on and will only align one way, as one of the bayonet bits is slightly smaller than the other two and neatly aligns against the 'stop' provided. To remove the front element entirely for better access to dust, as described in this great guide, get a cloth hand and undo the silver screws - the element will then drop out, so be ready and treat it kindly :). Hopefully, you will have some slight indents in the front element chassis - align these to the screw holes when refitting the front element. I really doubt it matters if you don't do this, as due to the nature of this lens, I don't think this will affect focus. Anyway, after refitting the silver screws, then refit the front of the lens barrel. I recommend that you put the lens to 28mm for this, as it is likely that part of the lens barrel retracted - the front part draws it out during zooming. As suggested above, the front of the barrel only fits on one way, which makes things easy. Refitting is the opposite of removal - find the smallest tab with screw holes in on the barrel and aim to position this a quarter of a turn counter clockwise from the 'stop' when aligning the bayonet bits of the barrel. Gently fix the screws back in and then gently push the front lens clip back on, until completely flush with the lens element.

M Bishop		14-Jul-2011 16:07
I've just done this and it took 5 minutes. I've checked the focus and it's exactly as before and now the lens is clean. Make sure you have the right tools, take care and it really is childs play. I did consider getting a UV filter to solve the issue, but frankly it's so easy to clean I'll just give it a blast once a year. I would say use some take to mark the lens position and screws before removing anything. Takes the element of doubt out of the equation. Many thanks Roger.

Richard Elliott		27-Jan-2011 13:28
Thanks for the inspiration. I bought a second-hand 17-85mm a while back with the dust problem, but never thought of lifting the seal. I found there's a small hole on the outer side of the seal (this is also visible on the example shots above), this is possibly the best place lift the seal using the smallest screwdriver from a cheap precision set. For cleaning, I used a cigarette paper; I have found this method to be the most efficient for general lens and filter cleaning. If you want to lock the screws back in place, you can buy a small tube of thread locker from most car accessory dealers.

17-55 user		27-Oct-2010 22:19
great site! i also did the removal, and everything worked fine! thanks from southern germany for this useful blog!

Larry James		20-Jul-2010 02:15
Now my 17-55 is as clean as new and I love it. Thanks for taking the time to post the process. I'd like to contribute from my experience as well. 1. Did not pry the seal ring up from the lens side. Simply put the end of a paper clip in the small hole and it came right up. [see the hole in the view2 photo below, on the left side of the lens. 2. Took the advice of others and placed a small piece of masking tape from the edge of the lens glass and over the top edge. Then used an exacto knife to separate it at the edge. Made it simple to line up during reassembly. 3. My lens element did not fall out when I took the screws and turned it over. I had it cleaned by Canon once and they must utilize a gum to secure it: same gum they put under the seal ring. I had to insert a small hook into the slotted hole ends and slowly pry it up. Worked all 3 slots evenly and it came up smoothly.

Guest		02-Jan-2010 19:02
Are those vents the reason for the dust? If so, it seems that a UV filter would stop the problem altogether, no?

fondoo		20-Oct-2009 18:10
thanks! this was really, really, really helpful for me. i was able to remove the seal and remove the glass lens and clean all the dust under my canon EFS 18-55mm lens. thank you again

LFL		26-Jul-2009 23:52
Forgot to mention, I fixed a back-focus on one of the lenses by moving the screws from the rightmost holes to the leftmost holes. There are 3 holes that you can use for each screw. You can calibrate your lens by choosing the hole-position that gives the sharpest image. You will need to mark the original screw locations and notice which set of holes they were paired with. Take before and after pictures.

LFL		26-Jul-2009 17:10
I have done two copies so far. Steps: 1. Remove the cover plate: pry with finger nail then underneath it slide a credit card or other thin plastic like a flatten drinking straw, then gently rotate it all the way around, 2. Remove 3 screws with jeweler screwdriver. After removing a screw, mark its position with a silver marker. I marked the first one with 2 dots, and the others with a dot to tell them apart (but it probably wouldn't make a difference as they are symmetrical), 4. While supporting the front element, gently turn the lens upside down to remove it from the barrel, 5. Brush off the dust from the inner element and inner barrel, 6. Replace the front element, align the marks and tighten the screws, 7. Replace the cover plate by lining up the little cutout between "USM" and "Canon" (between 2 and 3 o'clock) with the red marking on the barrel. The original adhesive on the plate is enough to hold it, but you can use "Glue Dots" if you need. This is a stretchable, sticky gel that is very easy to remove. I also used the Glue Dots gel to cover the vent slots to keep dust out (I can always remove it). Hope this helps - LFL.

Guest		09-Jun-2009 18:47
I just bought a used 17-55 the other day (basically mint cond), and literally as I was walking out the door after the transaction, I dropped the lens! The "protective" UV filter on the front shattered and there were tiny shards of filter glass all over the front element. As I was cleaning the front element, I noticed that a shocking amount of tiny shards made it inside the lens (it looked horrible), and I also noticed how poor the "seal" was -- the adhesive didn't really hold anything down except at three spots, and everywhere else it was basically loose (I think this is why this lens is a "dust magnet"). I thought about unscrewing the assembly to clean things out, but thought I'd better research more. I found this page and it gave me the confidence to open it up, and everything went flawlessly. I was able to blow all the shards out, and now you would never know there was anything inside the lens. No focusing/sharpness problems either. A big THANK YOU, for posting this -- It saved me ~125 bucks for a Canon cleaning, and being as I'm naturally inclined to tinkering/hacking, it was extremely satisfying to do it on my own.

Ross Fotheringham		08-Dec-2008 04:04
I used this for my Canon 28-135 IS. I haven't taken a test shot, but I'm happy to have the dust out from inside the lens and it seems to focus just fine! I sent the lens into Canon last time and it cost me $125 after shipping and cleaning costs. Thanks.

Guest		27-Oct-2008 14:46
I just did this and now the lens is sharper than before! Well if my test shots from a few weeks are anything to go by where f2.8 was quite a bit softer than f4.0. Now f2.8 is only a fraction softer than f4.0 and f5.6. I think I may have replaced the lens slightly out as there isn't a 100% snug position. If you rotate the top element anti-clockwise it rises until the fitting position clicks as if on a thread but there is nothing to stop rotating the lens further. Originally I had replaced the element completely out and the lens was very soft. I probably won't do this again as I don't think I'll get it in the perfect position next time. I now have a UV filter on there!

SM		16-Aug-2008 14:32
Great tutorial! It looks like it will be the same with 17-85 IS. What adhesive did you use to stick the cover back?

Guest		04-Feb-2008 18:17
What about sealing those slots before putting the front element seal back on?

Guest		04-Oct-2007 03:04
How many of the 18 lenses would you say have a real dust problem?

Jerry Gerber		09-Sep-2007 05:04
Very helpful sequence. After the seal is removed, how do you get the front element out? Do you remove those three screws? Is there any dust behind the second element? Thanks JerryG1

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