Do fix it, if it is broken!

This is a sort-of-guest post by the handy husband. Both of us are continually annoyed (to put it mildly) at things breaking when in our view, they should live much longer, productive lives. Today's exhibit: A broken, out of waranty, Canon EFS 17-85 lens.

In the husband's words: 

"There is a ribbon cable inside the lens that flexes as the zoom changes. After enough "zooming" the ribbon cable breaks and the camera reports a completely unhelpful "Error 99". Three years after purchasing the lens, I had got the first "Error 99" and had it repaired by Canon (to the tune of $160 or so). Three years later, here I am again. This time I decided to repair it myself to save the repair cost Canon charges.

The suspect ribbon cable ($25 including the aperture mechanism, or if you want to be ultra-cheap and are great at tiny solder joints, you can buy just the cable for less than $5) is the innermost part of the lens, so everything needs to come apart to get to it. I watched the relevant youtube video, took it apart, replaced the broken cable, and put it all back together. In another 3 years I expect it to break again."

the spare part

He was meticulous about taking photos of each stage of dis-assembly, so as to be able to put it back together. I was most concerned with trying to keep the parts dust-free. We're sharing this process for several reasons. One, I'm proud of the handy husband! Two, I read this book and it strongly advocates sharing lessons learned in self-sufficiency with as broad an audience as possible (yes, you're that!). Three, I simply would have never thought one could repair a camera zoom lens at home. Turns out it's not rocket science!

Next up: The non-functioning automatic door to the Sienna can apparently be fixed with bicycle hydraulic bike cable.... stay tuned!