I discovered that my Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 lens may be made by Lego. Today, while I was taking a lunch break on the Elliot Bay Water Taxi I was pulling my windbreaker out of my camera back when I heard that awful *whack* sound that only a lens dropping in a steel deck can make. The only sound worse than that is the clickity of two distinct pieces rolling independantly of eachother. I looked down in time to see one piece on the deck, the other rolled under a storage box. Damn. So I crouched down, picked up the piece under the box and assessed the damage. The piece that held the front lens assembly had an obvious broken clip, the other half looked OK, though the back cover fell off into my hand. I examined the pieces for other damage and saw none, so I gently put the front piece inside the other, lightly testing without much pressure which way, circularly, that it fit. It only fit one way, so with a little pressure, it clicked in. The manual focus clutch still seemed to work. I put the lens on the body and believe it or not, it still works! I suppose the construction isn't to be flaunted if it shatters on impact, but to snap back together and still work, that's not such a bad thing.

Follow up: September 14, 2006:

The fix wasn't as permanent as I had hoped. I was using the lens last night and while focusing, the whole front assembly popped off again. This time I've affixed the clips to the internal retainer with superglue, see if that helps....