How long do lenses typically last?

[bratkinson]

As noted by members above, a lens should last 'forever', subject to dropping/hitting/moisture/mold/dust/auto focus motor burn out, etc.

Also as noted above, Canon will no longer repair lenses or cameras over 10 years old, or so. So if something goes wrong, they won't fix it. (As an aside, how many car manufacturers still make parts for your 2004 vehicle? - and carrying inventory is a needless expense) A third party repair center will have to do the work...IF they can find the parts or cannibalize another identical lens. My 80-200 f2.8L 'magic drainpipe' with a 1993 build date still works perfectly well. But if it fails, buying another one just like it might be cheaper than trying to have it fixed. But for the $650 or so I paid for it 3 years ago, it's still a super-bargain for a(70)80-200 f2.8L lens!

Perhaps a bigger issue is when a new style of lens mount is created that is not backwards compatible with previous lenses. Canon did this when they created the EF mount lenses that will not work with older FD mount bodies. Nor will FD mount lenses work on newer EF-mount bodies without an adapter...and they'd be full manual only. I have a good friend that still has a good number of FD and FL lenses he uses with his F-1 bodies. But his film work has gotten quite small and he longs for digital gear. Except he has 2 kids in college, a mortgage, etc.

 

[petrochemist118 143]

Manual lenses won't be limited to a lifetime. I have a kodak lens from 1932 that still works perfectly, and several others that I beleive to be significantly older but can't date precisely. I also have AF lenses from the late 80s that are fine - but these have little or no internal electronics.

With modern lenses, if you look after your lens, the electronics will be the point of failure. Complete electrical failure won't always make the lens completely useless - manual focus & zoom may still be available, but aperture control will be unlikely. However quite a few lenses have focus by wire, where the focus contol only instructs the AF motor to move the lens. Loosing all control of aperture & focus certainly restricts the use of a lens!

I've known several lens 'failures' where all that was needed was to clean the electrical contacts.

 

[runnah]

My 40 year old canon glass is still good as new.

 

[Solarflare]

[...] Perhaps a bigger issue is when a new style of lens mount is created that is not backwards compatible with previous lenses. [..]

And THAT is the real issue.

We live in the age of transition from DSLR to Mirrorless. Will Nikon still be around in 5, 10 years, and make new cameras for my F mount lenses ? I dont know.

And I dont know this for any other company, either.

 

[ph0enix]

I agree that with proper care a lens will last the rest of your life.

Store lenses in a dry, cool place and to fight lens fungus let sunlight shine through the lens every 2 moths or so.
Any camera gear storage bag, case, backpack etc should always have reusable silica gel desiccant packs in the bag/case/yada, yada, yada.
40 Gram Silica Gel Desiccant, 5-Pack - Dry-Packs - Fits Pelican Cases!

How long do you let sunlight shine through? And is it direct sunlight pointing at the sun, im assuming no since that can damage the lens/sensor.

The lens doesn't have to be attached to the camera at all. You can shine sunlight through a lens alone all year long. It's just glass. You might end up burning a few ants if they happen to walk into the wrong spot while doing it but that's about it.

 

[mcap1972]

I have couple of old Canon L lenses and they never failed me. They are also good investment as they hold value over time. You can buy used lens, use it for a year and sale it at the same price.