picturemom

I purchased a brand new canon 70-300ii lens for my bay 12/2020 I had to return in for dust in the lens, replaced it Jan 2021, returned for dust in the lens, replaced in Feb 2021 and again returned because of dust in the lens. B&H were great with the returns and money back. B&H person said on the third lens, return to Canon and they will refurbish it or wait for a new shipment. I said no Sen me my money back. So here again my birthday, I decided to order a refurbished lens from Canon USA and called and asked about dust and they said refurbished means they take care of everything. So I order and guess what HAPPY BIRTHDAY, there is dust in the lens. I send it back. I look online Mpb camera, they have 14 used and 10 of the used they describe have dust or slight dust in them.
So what gives with Canon?

martinfisherphoto Loc: Lake Placid Florida

If you shine a flash light into ANY lens you will see dust to some extent............................... Any zoom lens that you purchase that breathes in and out as you change focal lengths will slowly but surely collect more dust. Every single lens I have has minute amounts of dust but this DOES NOT affect the quality of image the lens produces. The lens focuses past the dust and you will never see it in an image. Lots of more important things to worry about in photography than dust particles in your lens.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Look at your friends lenses. Any dust in them?

Is it visible in the images?

I wonder... I have three Canon lenses and one Sigma. I've never looked in any of them for dust.
Probably never will.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

I think the questions are: (1) are Canon’s environmental controls in their manufacturing process sloppy, or are you nit picking beyond what most critical customers would find to be an issue, and (b) does the dust you’re seeing have any visible effect on images taken using the lens? Many lenses, especially zooms, do ultimately accumulate internal dust, and I’m not sure it has any visible effect on images, but to be fair, I haven’t looked at the lenses you’re describing. Have you compared these and MPB’s comments to those of other manufacturers? I see this admonition on MPB all the time for both canon and Fuji lenses (the only ones I shop for) and the comment is that it does not effect image quality. Again, I can’t speak to the amount of dust in your lenses - for all I know they were all manufactured on a specific assembly line with crummy environmental controls, but I can represent that Canon glass, especially L series, is typically world class in terms of quality and performance.

Anyone else have an opinion on the effect of internal dust in lenses on image quality?

martinfisherphoto Loc: Lake Placid Florida

Examples of images taken with either my Tokina 100mm macro lens or the Nikon 100mm macro lens. https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-614479-1.html I have Hundreds more images mostly taken with my 6 yr old Tokina lens that you can view as well. Each lens is subjected to pollen ridden fields, dusty back roads and all other kinds of conditions. I also keep a full set of extension tubes on my macro lens and these are not sealed very well and I have to blow the dust out of them from time to time. The extension tubes also allow dust to enter my macro lens. Not to mention I change my lens All the time in the field. If you see any dust in my images let me know......

wide2tele Loc: Australia

You could find dust in just about any lens and if you intend to use it, won't be long after you start using it that you will introduce dust.

picturemom

I was not looking for dust when I purchased them .
I saw the dust when I looked into the lens to shoot a picture. These were brand news lenses purchased never used before. So it is OK to buy a new lens with dust in them and look through and past it for $570?

wide2tele Loc: Australia

Sounds like the dust is in your camera and not the lens!

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Simple check -
put the suspect lens on another camera;
put other camera's lens on yours.
Any differences?

picturemom

I tried that it is the lens

picturemom

I put the lens on my other camera and it was the same.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

And can you see it through the viewfinder or on the LCD screen at high magnification? Have you tested any possible effect by taking some images and looking at them at 100%? Between my cameras, I have maybe 15 lenses, and I take excellent care of them - caps, clean clear filters, cases and stored in a controlled humidity environment (and calibrate the DSLR ones), and while I examine used ones for fungus before purchase, I don’t believe I’ve ever examined any one for dust. Why? Because my belief is that a little dust has no visible effect on my images. If I’m mistaken, someone please correct me.

flip1948 Loc: Hamden, CT

If you are seeing dust when you look in the viewfinder...check your mirror.

If you are seeing dust in your pictures...check your sensor.

Most zoom lenses, especially push/pull zooms, will have some dust, it's not just a Canon problem. However, the lens will focus well past the dust and you should never see it in your pics.

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

I personally own over 30 Canon EF lenses, many of which are their sexy crimson banded L series lenses and many of them having cost thousands of US dollars. I periodically clean my lenses and guess what? Every lens, including the ones that cost thousands of US dollars, have some dust in them. Now, I doubt very much if they shipped from the factory that way, but, unless lenses are used in a completely dust free environment, they will attract some dust. It's the whole static electricity dust to glass thing.
Heck, I've even bought really good used lenses relatively cheap because they had excess dust in them, and then paid to have them thoroughly cleaned. I bought a used Canon EF 100-400L II that was exceptionally dusty for $650 and paid my lens guy $150 to disassemble and clean the lens. When I got it back it was as good as new. That was like buying a $2400 lens for $800, all because it had dust in it. As long as nothing has actually damaged the glass, it can be cleaned.
As for Canon shipping dusty lenses from the factory? I watched a Canon produced video that showed lenses being assembled in one of Canon's factories in Japan. The assembly workers were dressed in white outfits, including gloves, and worked in a clean room environment. I doubt if any dust got into the lenses there!
As I already stated, virtually all my lenses have some dust in them, and it does not appear in any of my photographs. If a lens gets too dusty, it goes into the shop for a comprehensive cleaning.
I'm guessing, based on what you posted and my own personal experience, that either you are very unlucky when it comes to dusty lenses or, you may have exaggerated maybe just a wee little bit, or, you are maybe nit-picking a little or simply don't have a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between dust and lenses.

By the way, II is the Roman numeral for 2; ii is two lower case I's or how to pronounce how sailors say "yes" to officers.
Also, the EF 70-300 lens you are referring to costs $549 new full retail from Canon, and it has no built in dust sealing at all; nada; none; zero; zilch. I do own one, although I haven't used it in a while. It has some dust in it and the dust has no effect on images recorded using that lens.
Also II; I don't know where you are located but, if you're looking for a repair shop that does excellent work, especially Canon lens cleaning, and charges a fair and reasonable price; Authorized Camera Repair in Willow Grove PA does top notch work; much of it through the US postal service and UPS. I've had several lenses repaired and or cleaned by them. The only lens they told me to send to Canon is my EF 28-300L. According to the lead technician, Canon's push pull zoom lenses are difficult to work on and require special parts to reassemble them, and although they will work on them, Canon can and will repair them much faster and for a lower cost. How that for honest!