I broke my 70-200, seeking advice

beagle100 · Apr 6, 2018

andrewdoeshair said:
I got a Tamron 70-200mm G2 lens and fell in love with it. I stored it in a camera-specific backpack (by Pro Master) typically mounted to my 5Diii with the tripod collar attached to the lens, and I was always reasonably careful handling it (“it” as in both the lens itself and the bag which held the lens). Last week I noticed something horribly shocking. The lens had basically bent. The whole casing was separating between two pieces about 1/3 of the way from the mount, right where the tripod collar sits. I sent it to Tamron for repair and was told that the warranty didn’t cover this. They want $270 to repair it. I’m going to pay it, it beats buying another lens, but now I’m worried about my future relationship with this lens and I want to ask some opinions.
How careful are you in storing a 70-200? Do you remove the tripod collar to avoid putting extra pressure on the lens? There was never a moment where I bumped or dropped the lens or bag, so now I’m basically afraid to carry the lens anywhere without putting it in a pelican case. Was it irresponsible of me to keep such a hefty lens in a soft bag all the time, or is that something I should do as little as possible? Maybe I’m over reacting, maybe I should just be extra super protective in the future, remove the tripod collar, and use other lenses when possible. Have you ever had one of these kinds of lenses break in this way? Now I’m also worrying about my 150-600m

Thanks for reading. I think I just need to hear that it’s all going to be okay, ha ha

no, I've never had that situation
and I'm not worried about my sigma 150-600
www.flickr.com/photos/mmirrorless

Derrel · Apr 6, 2018

andrewdoeshair said:
I received my lens from Tamron today and I am livid. First, I sent the lens in the original box, but they returned it without the box. Maybe that was my fault, I just figured their factory packing would be better than me wrapping it in bubble wrap- but in any case, the original box is nice to have in case I try to sell the lens (which I'm about to try to do). Second, they returned it with an older model CLEARLY USED rear cap that doesn't cover the weather seal gasket like the original cap does. It's like they grabbed someone else's scuffed rear cap from a pile and stuck it on my lens. Here's the real problem (are you ready?)... The lens won't focus even close to accurately, near or far. I've tried it on two 5Diii's and a 6D and the focus is so far off I can't even see where it's actually focusing. Like it's de-centered now or something. I'm writing this during a much needed break from some video editing that has a strict deadline, otherwise I would set up to test where and how the focus is off. For now, I just needed to vent (thanks for reading). What would you do? I'm calling them tomorrow when I have some time (remembering to be polite to whoever answers the phone because their operator didn't do this) to request my $290 back, along with my original rear cap. I'm selling this thing the instant it's "good" again, then buying a canon.

Wow...that is incredibly BAD customer service from Tamron, USA. Pathetic. Horrible. The box is worth $50-$100 'extra' for the seller when a lens like this is sold to its second owner...the fact that they did not return the box is just unspeakably BAD customer service.

andrewdoeshair · Apr 9, 2018

I just got off the phone with Tamron. They blamed the poor focus on not having my camera with the lens to calibrate them together, and requested that I send my camera with the lens this time. I told them that I can't be without my camera, I need it for work, which is the truth, but I also don't trust them with it after all of this. I bet they'd send it back with mud on the mirror and an aftermarket body cap. They sent me a shipping label to send the lens back for a redo, and requested that I take some photos with it and emailed them. I hadn't given the lens a full test since getting it back, because I was busy and also because seeing it act this way is infuriating, but I just went outside and got a few photos throughout the whole range of focal lengths at various distances. I thought it was just front focusing, but now I think it's decentered. It's doing this weird swirly bokeh thing that I've never seen in any images before. Have you ever seen anything like this?

I had the focus locked on that 150-600mm lens back there, and this is what I got. It was similar through the whole range at 6, 12, and 18 feet. Severe front focus and even the "in focus" stuff is oddly jittery.

On a positive note, as I was in the middle of writing this post I got a knock on the door. It was a package containing my original box! So, they made up for that part. I didn't realize they'd shipped them separately. Now if they can fix this issue and give me the proper rear cap I'll be happier than ever to have this lens up and running. I guess I had taken it for granted when I bought it and it worked as it should. I hope I'll be more grateful for every good image I get from any lens in the future. What a headache...