Willem-Jan Markerink notes on the EOS mailing list that there is a EOS EF L 24-105mm recall. This is newly released MSRP $1249 prosumer lens that is attracting a lot of interest from photographers such as Fred Miranda because of its compact size and stellar optics. From his posting:
>From http://www.eos-magazine.com:xxxxxxxx
EF 24-105mm RECALLAccording to Canon USA, there is a problem with early production
units of the EF 24-105mm f4L IS USM lens. There is an unacceptable
level of flare in certain conditions, most noticeable at the wide
zoom and wide aperture settings.Only lenses with a serial number under 1000 are affected. You will
find the number engraved on the rear of the lens. It is not always
easy to see - we find that it helps to shine a light at an angle
across the rear of the lens to increase the texture, and use a
magnifying glass. The number is prefixed by 'UT' (which indicates the
factory of manufacture).If you live in the USA, starting 14 November 2005, Canon will repair
free-of-charge, any affected lenses. Other countries have yet to post
information, but check their web sites over the next few days, or
contact your local Canon Service Centre.
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Rob Galbraith has an article on the recall. If you can read Japanese, there's a post on DCWatch too. I'm disappointed, I hope this isn't indicative of Canon's sacrifice of quality of control standards in the face of a rapid product development cycle.
I would avoid buying one of these lenses unless you can get a guarantee that the serial number is greater than 1000. It's not worth the hassle of having to ship the lens to Canon for the (free) repair -- and repaired lenses sometimes don't perform as well as new ones.
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