It’s no secret that the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS is my favourite lens for unobtrusive candid moments—the lens and full frame body combo makes so much sense. The cost of buying one can be prohibitive not to mention its weight alone somewhat discouraging. Beyond its first impressions comes a lifetime of beautiful moments captured on this highly popular L lens. I think I’ve had this workhorse lens for nearly as long as I’ve been shooting professionally and it has traveled to just as many overseas destination. As a result the front end (indicated by the red arrows) of the lens has worked itself loose and rattles quite a bit.
Using a plastic ruler, lift up the rubber Manual Focus ring and gently slide it backwards enough to reveal 6 Philips screws (three on top and three below). You want to tighten the 3 top ones.
The screws may not be immediately visible until you rotate the focusing ring to line up the holes with the screws. Using a Philips 000x40m screw driver (the same size used in my Speedlite 580EX II Hotshoe Fix) Tighten the screws using as much torque as much as necessary.
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SHIMWORLD 
That’s a great camera 🙂
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camera in my dream 😀
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thank you so very much! i have had this rattle, which also made zooming tough, for quite some time and was dreading sending it off to canon for repairs. this fix worked charms!
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Received this note from Andrew Newey
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I have the same lens, but it was dropped and the auto focus now has quit working.
I’d like to find a repair manual for this lens, so I know what I’d be getting into before opening it up.
The optics are fine, and the manual focus & zoom are working.
Any advice?
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Hi Jim, I have no personal experience opening up this lens or access to a manual but I found this http://cgi.ebay.com/Canon-EF-70-200mm-F2-8L-Ultrasonic-Service-Manual-/220786711960
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Oh this article really helped my to fix my EF 70-200/2.8 IS
Thanks a lot!!
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You’re most welcome, Ray.
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Great post! But my lens is loose between, eh, the panel of switch and focusring, if you know what i mean…?
Any idea how to fix that?
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Btw tip in post worked like a charm on my 16-35 lens! Thanks!!
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I have put up with the rattle on my lens for some time now, primarily as I just put it down to the age of the lens (and fear of the repair cost!) It’s amazing how simple things can make a a person happy! It feels like I have a new lens on my camera now the rattle has gone.
Thanks for the info.
ps, I love this inter web thing!
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After reading your guide, I was able to tightened my lens… no more rattling!! You saved me from possibly spending quite a bit of money to have a simple fix done. Thank you so much!
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Thanks for the tips. No more rattle … what a relieve.
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You’re welcome, Josef 🙂
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Thank’s for this. Really helped me. Bless 🙂
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So thankfull for this article.
I had this loose on my “old” 70-200 2.8 L (first generation). Canon service is very expensive, I had to expect around 300 CHF at least.
It took me 3 minutes to solve it this morning 😀
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