?bubble in rear element of brand new lens (have pics!)

[Eray]

I hope this is the right place to put this.

I recently bought a EFS 17-55mm.

I was blowing dust off it with my rocket blower when i just happened to see a tiny black speck that was resistent to the blowing. On further inspection the thing was either inside or in front of the element. The black speck changes shape when looking from different angles, When i looked at the element from an oblique angle with a light shining through the lens it appears very bright.

Is this an air bubble (ignore all the dust and flare please...this was a fairly hard photo to take). The lesion is the white thing that lights up in different angles.

EDIT:

More importantly, will this affect image quality (don't see it on images), since its in the rear element. Should i ask Canon for a new lens? Its otherwise great.

[ameerat42]

MHOs: It would always have some effect. Yes to your last Q. You paid for a "good" lens, not a faulty one. At the very least it should be competently assessed. Am.

[old dog]

I`d ask for a new one...without crap inside it.

[kiwi]

It's more likely to effect iq if on the rear element, I'd be tempted to get it exchanged

[OzzieTraveller]

G'day ERay

Minor 'air bubbles' and imperfections have been noted in optical glass over many years - tho "in this day & age" I would expect any element with such an imperfection would be found during visual inspection during production

I would agree with others above - at least get it reviewed by Canon Aus and get their response in writing, just in case there is any issues with the lens in the future

Hope this helps
Regards, Phil