hired a lens- but its got dust inside
Discussion
Ive hired a 7d and two lenses for an event this weekend, from calumet.
Been spending the evening familaising myself with the kit ive hired, and ive noticed the 24 - 105mm zoom lens and got substantial amounts of dust inside the lens. Is it me being fussy, or is that totally unacceptable?
Its more than a few specs too. it looks to me like the lens needs a thouough service, theres dust all over the different lens elements, form what i can see. its noticeable in the photos too, pointing it towards a light source, and the dust is causing out of focus flares, that are quite obviously not lens flare.
What should i do? Anyone been in a similar position? Personally, i think they should replace the lens for me tommorow, and take that lens of the final charge.
I know im not a full pro, but if this had been a paid job that id needed to travel to tonight, this could have really screwed things up.
Will post a photo when i find another camera i can take a snap with
just rung them all and got the 'they all do that sir..' routine. He explained the canon zooms tend to suck air in, so you always expect dust inside. I said this was unacceptable, and they should service the lenses when get a build up. but he just fobbed me off.
if i hire from a professional company that deals with professionals, i expect a professional service. Cleaned, well maintained kit, and a pro active attitude to problems.
Ive hired a lot of broadcast lenses for my camerawork, and never had one with any dust build up like this. Maybe broadcast hire companies are run differently? Maybe im expecting too much from photography lenses too? A £15,000 eng style lens is going to be made to higher standards and probably have had slightly less use than a £1500 photography zoom lens.
Not using that hire company again, thats for sure. Maybe the pro's do go there, but only because theres one in every major city. but then theres also a halfords in every city too....
if i hire from a professional company that deals with professionals, i expect a professional service. Cleaned, well maintained kit, and a pro active attitude to problems.
Ive hired a lot of broadcast lenses for my camerawork, and never had one with any dust build up like this. Maybe broadcast hire companies are run differently? Maybe im expecting too much from photography lenses too? A £15,000 eng style lens is going to be made to higher standards and probably have had slightly less use than a £1500 photography zoom lens.
Not using that hire company again, thats for sure. Maybe the pro's do go there, but only because theres one in every major city. but then theres also a halfords in every city too....
A certain level of dust IS to be expected in camera lenses. I have often shied away from secondhand zooms in principle because you cannot do a lot about dust build up.
But normally you have to have a LOT of internal dust to serious affect the image - from what you're saying this has gone well past that.
Have you had a look round Canon forums to find out if this is a lens which suffers particularly (some are worse than others) and maybe get a bit more evidence with which to pursue your dialogue with Calumet?
The other thing is have you got the right lens hood, if this is adding to the problem - I am not saying that's an excuse, but you need to be pragmatic about how you're going to get some good results if you're left with this lens.
But normally you have to have a LOT of internal dust to serious affect the image - from what you're saying this has gone well past that.
Have you had a look round Canon forums to find out if this is a lens which suffers particularly (some are worse than others) and maybe get a bit more evidence with which to pursue your dialogue with Calumet?
The other thing is have you got the right lens hood, if this is adding to the problem - I am not saying that's an excuse, but you need to be pragmatic about how you're going to get some good results if you're left with this lens.
There's no way there should be a large amount of visible dust in the lens, in fact I'd go so far as to say that I'd want a full refund if I could see ANY dust (bearing in mind the prices Calumet charge for rental).
In my collection of 10+ lenses I don't have a single spec visible, so I'm not sure I agree that it's the norm. Neither do I recall ever having any in my 24-105L and I took mine to some of the dustiest places imaginable.
Get a full refund, and an apology for them spouting drivel...
In my collection of 10+ lenses I don't have a single spec visible, so I'm not sure I agree that it's the norm. Neither do I recall ever having any in my 24-105L and I took mine to some of the dustiest places imaginable.
Get a full refund, and an apology for them spouting drivel...
jon- said:
I guess people rent stuff for shoots where they don't want their own kit!
Or if the job doesn't warrant purchasing it outright. I once hired £6K of microwave gear and it ended up at the bottom of a lake in Brunei... on return the hire company rang me to say it seemed a bit damp... I said well, it was very humid out there!returned the gear this morning- they agreed with me that it was far too dusty inside, and i negotiated some money off. not enough mind, but they're hire department arent very friendly. The 'tog returning some gear in front of me was complaining that a couple of lenses had really stiff focus rings, so i get the impression they dont service their lenses at this calumet.
I only hired because I cant really afford decent equipment- I work as a video cameraman, and also get paid quite poorly, so i cant justify shelling out a fortune on photography equipment- but when asked to do a job, id still like to use decent equipment. So hiring made sense to me. If need to hire again, i will inspect the gear in a lot more detail methinks.
Will post up some of my photos later. Its amazing how video and photography are such different disciplines. Yesterday was by far the most stressful days work I've ever done. I've been practicing hard at photography the last two years, and i cant help but feel i should be better by now. My problem is I lack experience handling people, getting them to smile and bring out their character. Working in video, im used to doing the lighting, the camerawork, steadicam etc, but theres a director that does all the people work. A photogrpaher really has to be everything- lighting expert, photographer, director
I only hired because I cant really afford decent equipment- I work as a video cameraman, and also get paid quite poorly, so i cant justify shelling out a fortune on photography equipment- but when asked to do a job, id still like to use decent equipment. So hiring made sense to me. If need to hire again, i will inspect the gear in a lot more detail methinks.
Will post up some of my photos later. Its amazing how video and photography are such different disciplines. Yesterday was by far the most stressful days work I've ever done. I've been practicing hard at photography the last two years, and i cant help but feel i should be better by now. My problem is I lack experience handling people, getting them to smile and bring out their character. Working in video, im used to doing the lighting, the camerawork, steadicam etc, but theres a director that does all the people work. A photogrpaher really has to be everything- lighting expert, photographer, director
Fordo said:
returned the gear this morning- they agreed with me that it was far too dusty inside, and i negotiated some money off. not enough mind, but they're hire department arent very friendly. The 'tog returning some gear in front of me was complaining that a couple of lenses had really stiff focus rings, so i get the impression they dont service their lenses at this calumet.
I only hired because I cant really afford decent equipment- I work as a video cameraman, and also get paid quite poorly, so i cant justify shelling out a fortune on photography equipment- but when asked to do a job, id still like to use decent equipment. So hiring made sense to me. If need to hire again, i will inspect the gear in a lot more detail methinks.
Will post up some of my photos later. Its amazing how video and photography are such different disciplines. Yesterday was by far the most stressful days work I've ever done. I've been practicing hard at photography the last two years, and i cant help but feel i should be better by now. My problem is I lack experience handling people, getting them to smile and bring out their character. Working in video, im used to doing the lighting, the camerawork, steadicam etc, but theres a director that does all the people work. A photogrpaher really has to be everything- lighting expert, photographer, director
These people seem to have a good reputationI only hired because I cant really afford decent equipment- I work as a video cameraman, and also get paid quite poorly, so i cant justify shelling out a fortune on photography equipment- but when asked to do a job, id still like to use decent equipment. So hiring made sense to me. If need to hire again, i will inspect the gear in a lot more detail methinks.
Will post up some of my photos later. Its amazing how video and photography are such different disciplines. Yesterday was by far the most stressful days work I've ever done. I've been practicing hard at photography the last two years, and i cant help but feel i should be better by now. My problem is I lack experience handling people, getting them to smile and bring out their character. Working in video, im used to doing the lighting, the camerawork, steadicam etc, but theres a director that does all the people work. A photogrpaher really has to be everything- lighting expert, photographer, director
http://www.hireacamera.com/
I suggest you look around for a studio that does group shoots - that'll boost your confidence working with people. Plus, a lot of colleges do night school vocational courses
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