Should I send my lens to canon?

[cwphotos]

I have a 28-105mm lens that has some dust on the inner elements. Now the lens is out of warranty and this would cost money. The zoom ring is also very loose and it almost looks like some of the lube has leaked out around the seal. The lens is cheap ($100ish) so im wondering what will be more cost effective.

Suggestions? :scratch

[Red Bull]

Upgrade to a 24-105 L :deal

[gluwater]

Is the dust in the lens visable in your shots? If not then don't worry about it.

[pathfinder]

Lenses less than $100 do not get repaired. They get replaced if needed.

[cwphotos]

yea i can see the dust.....only in bright shots tho.....

[pathfinder]

Dust motes on the inside of lenses ( not on the rear elements external surface ) do not cause spots in the images, at all! Even air bubbles, within one of the lens elements themselves, ( as long as they are not on the surface of any of the elements ) do not cause discrete spots on the film or the sensor plane. Can't happen, nada, nil, zilch. They donot even degrade the optical performance very much.

Try sticking a piece of tape 1 mm in diameter on a filter about half way off the center axis, and then shot some frames with that. Not really that much happens. And a 1mm spot on a filter is vastly larger than some dust motes.

If there are a significant amount of dust motes between the elements, they will contribute to a loss of resolution and contrast, but not discrete dust spots in the image files themselves.

For spots in the image files, I would look carefully for dust on your sensor. Shoot a few frames at f22 focused on an evenly illuminated sky in RAW, open the file into Photoshop, and do an Auto Adjust for contrast and see if you do not see all kinds of grunge on your sensor.