[bulloughphotography]

Aslyfox: Yes, phototronic.biz is where I have sent mine to be repaired. Unlike you, I never carried the lens hanging down and extended. I've never bounced it like you describe. I've hardly used it and have babied it. It is a ridiculous design flaw. Tiny screws with very small threads set in aluminum. Stupid! Nothing else to call it.

[aslyfox]

Aslyfox: Yes, phototronic.biz is where I have sent mine to be repaired. Unlike you, I never carried the lens hanging down and extended. I've never bounced it like you describe. I've hardly used it and have babied it. It is a ridiculous design flaw. Tiny screws with very small threads set in aluminum. Stupid! Nothing else to call it.

yet very few reported failures as far as I know compared to number sold

[Tas]

My 150-450 has been going since 2016. Never babied it, but then have not coddled it either.

I've tended to use the lock on the lens when not in use so it's not traveled much with the ability to extend on it's own.

It's a shame to hear some examples have failed like this as it's a good lens and for the money needs to be reliable.

Tas

[luftfluss]

Ideally, a lens designed for wildlife shooting should be built to withstand handling some might call "abusive"

According to Roger Cicala's Lens Rentals Blog, Canon got it right with the 100-400 L MkII. Lens Rentals | Blog

For those two or three of you who don’t like a little lens strip-tease I’ll give you the quick summary: the build quality on this thing is amazing. I usually laugh when people describe a lens as “built like a tank” because what I know is the lens they are describing has a thick, heavy outer metal shell filled with tiny delicate pieces that break and wear out with great frequency. But this lens is built like a tank inside and out.

[Paul the Sunman]

Four years and well over 7000 images, mine is going strong. It has spent plenty of time on a Peak Design Slide over my shoulder in a variety of sometimes rough countryside.

Surprisingly, only 25 are registered in the PF database. I would have expected many more.

[mstahulak]

For what it’s worth, I’ve had my copy since 2015. I try to baby it, but I’ve probably hiked a couple hundred miles with it, quite a bit of that hanging from a strap. The paint is worn through on the tripod lock knob. It has spent time in the rain. And, to my horror, I dropped it onto a hardwood floor from a height of about a meter at the beginning of last month. It wasn’t mounted on a camera, thank goodness, but it landed hard enough to knock the hood (which was mounted reversed) off, and twist the arca compatible lens plate that was attached to the foot, which I could not straighten by hand. It bounced, and slid across the floor. The bounce make a loud thud, not as loud as my scream “OH, NO!”.

I know I was lucky, but I have found absolutely no issues with the lens. No dent, no loose screws or other parts. The AF seems the same a before (which means accurate and quick), no image degradation that I can identify. Nothing. I can not see or observe any damage at all. I’m still amazed.

If there was an actual design flaw, I would expect I would have two pieces of 150-450mm lens. I only have one. I would rather suggest a manufacturing defect is to blame for the issues a few people have seen.

Sorry, I’m not disputing the issues that other users have experienced. I’m just claiming that the 150-450mm lens is a fundamentally sound product.