Quote Originally Posted by travis
Given that a lens is taken care of how long does a canon lens last? Does the Image stabilizer, USM, or Auto focus ever go bad?
<address>Like Daniel pointed out, there are some (very) old FD
lenses out there that function fine. However, the lifespan of a lens
can often be shortened with misuse, high-impact incidents (read:
dropping) and abuse. </address>
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<address>But when we're talking about the L series, we face a dilemma:
They get misused, they get dropped and they get abused. But they still
work perfectly fine. </address>
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<address>But in general, I wouldn't hesitate that a well-taken care of
lens will have a long lifespan, especially one with good build quality.
Of course, dust, which may creep into a non-sealed lens even when it's
taken care of, can hurt its lifespan and consequently, resale value
takes a hit as well. In 2 years of shooting, I haven't faced spontaneous IS, AF or USM problems. These mechanisms have proven, at least to me, to be very consistent, even in consumer lenses like the EF-S 17-85. Of course, my mind was blown when I got the 24-70 L. :-)</address><address>
</address><address>Maybe a shooter with more experience can help you out - Maybe someone with 5-7 years of shooting experience. I hope they can share their experiences with you.
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