"Unofficial" recall on Canon 24-105 IS L lens

[Liz]

I'm posting this in VF because there is as yet no official announcement from Canon, but it will happen next week. Also, this is my own personal experience, not a news report.

This has been a very interesting saga with the new, and I might add, one of the most sought after Canon lenses. So many people bought this lens that the dealers sold out as soon as they got them. B&H got what they termed a "large shipment" and it was gone the next morning. The lens is sharp, great color with that "L" look. The past two weeks people haven't been able to find the lens because the new shipments hadn't arrived.

Long story short - the lens has a "flaw" which is a specific kind of flare when the light is at a certain angle. Canon USA has been informing the public (when they call) that the lens is in fact being "recalled" and Canon will officially make an announcement/press release next week when they have "all the facts." Canon has requested that owners of this lens ship it to them - they will send you a "free" label. Some people have been told to wait until November 15th before shipping. Canon has stopped shipment and production for the time being.

I bought the lens at B&H and am returning it to them as it is still under their 14 day return policy and I had called before they closed to get authorization. Whew! I'm relieved I did that!

I wouldn't have paid much attention to the "flare" except that I got a couple of images with the flare (see below). With this image, the "rays" of the flare just happened to land in an appropriate place as you can see. Interesting.

Liz