Canon 50mm Service Announcement | Focus Problem & Free Repair

Everyone’s got a 50mm lens and if you’re a Canon shooter there’s a decent chance you’ve got a Canon EF 50mm F1.4 USM given its remarkable price of $350-$400. However, should you have one such take heed of this notice as Canon has issued a service announcement for specific serial numbers of this particular lens.

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The problem is described as follows:

“While in AF or MF mode, when the focus position is moved from the infinity end to the close-up end, the focus operation stops near the area shown in the dotted circle below.”

This is a strange development to come to light at this point given the model has been around for a long time, is so popular, that you’d figure all quirks were already addressed. Nonetheless, even if your unit hasn’t been affected yet it’s a good thing to check on, and here’s how to see if your unit qualifies.

If the first four digits from the left in the serial number on the lens body are “4918”, “5018”, “5118”, “5218”, “5318”, or “5418” then you may be affected and can send the lens into Canon for free inspection, and if a repair is required it will also be handled free of charge.

See the full notice here and below:

Service Notice: EF 50mm f/1.4 USM 

Thank you for using Canon products.

We have determined that some EF50mm f/1.4 USM lenses exhibit a focus operation-related malfunction. The details of the phenomenon and Canon’s service policy are described below.

We would like to offer our sincere apologies to users who have been inconvenienced by this issue. Going forward, we will spare no effort in our quality management to make sure our customers can use our products with confidence.

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Phenomenon

While in AF or MF mode, when the focus position is moved from the infinity end to the close-up end, the focus operation stops near the area shown in the dotted circle below.

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Possibly Affected Products

If the first four digits (from the left) in the serial number on the lens body (see image below) are “4918”, “5018”, “5118”, “5218”, “5318”, or “5418” then your lens may possibly be affected.

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