16-35 f2.8 II Noise on focus ring

[leorait]

Hello!

I've been photographing for a couple years, and after some time suffering in events and architecture with only the 50mm, i've maneged to buy  16-35 f2.8 II and life got a lot easier 😄

I've picked up a second hand lens from 2015, but  it was in perfect conditions, and i believe the problem it is showing has nothing to do with its prior conditions.

For the first 3 months the lens was perfectly fine, but just yesterday i was inspecting the lens out of the body for dust, and i realised the focus ring was making an unusual sound, is like there is something making pressure when rotation is applied to the focus ring, sometimes it sounds like dust and other times it sounds just like gears turning, but it is all very subtle.

The wird part is that this sounds doesn't happen when the lens is on the camera and turned on, just when it is off and when the lens is tilted upright or at some angle. It also doesn't affect autofocus, and the zoom ring is perfectly fine

There is a minor looseness on the on the focus ring, and sometimes it looks like this is to blame, cause depending on wich side you put pressure when rotating the ring, it makes the noises.

I've searched some forums and found some quite related issues, mainly with de 27-70 II, and most people said is just fine. The lens itself is ok, no loss of sharpness neither any signals of damage.

I do believe the lens is fine, but i wanted to know if someone else had this problem or could know better what is happening. As the problem seens minor, and canon services are WAY expensive here in Brazil, i dont wanna take the lens to inspection.

Thanks!

[Waddizzle]

"I was primarily looking at how my AFMA adjustments turned out."

Not applicable at that distance, is it?  Again, so what is your meaning?

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Initially, I had had my doubts about how well it was focusing at hyperfocal distances, and at infinity.  Shots didn't look nearly as sharp as they do now, after my AFMA adjustments.

BTW, that lens creeps.  The front end of it is heavy enough to change the focal length.  That's my only complaint with it.

[ebiggs1]

"Shots didn't look nearly as sharp as they do now, after my AFMA adjustments."

I doubt seriously micro adjustment had anything to do with that.  It is more likely you wanted it to work so it did.

"BTW, that lens creeps."

So what else is new? virtually all large zoom lenses creep.  If you had examined as many zooms as I have you would be solely aware of lens creep.  it is why some of the newer design had a zoom lock on them.

[Waddizzle]

"Shots didn't look nearly as sharp as they do now, after my AFMA adjustments."

I doubt seriously micro adjustment had anything to do with that.  It is more likely you wanted it to work so it did.

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Of course, you do.  But, it is far more likely that you just simply don't know who or what you're talking about.

The lens was performing less than ideal.  It had some front focus at the long end.  I corrected it.

[ebiggs1]

"...  it is far more likely that you just simply don't know who or what you're talking about."

I plead guilty on both counts. Your honor.  Especially the first part.  What was I thinking?

" It had some front focus at the long end."

DOF at infinity generally cures any misaligned focus. Especially when small apertures are involved. Like f8, perhaps!

[Waddizzle]

"DOF at infinity generally cures any misaligned focus. Especially when small apertures are involved. Like f8, perhaps!"

There you again.  Making more false assumptions.  I did take shots are wider apertures, too, believe it or not.  Do you actually believe that those were the only shots that I took that morning?  Come on, man.

But, I can see how what I wrote may have seemed to imply that the shots I posted were directly related to being test shots after the AFMA was done.  I took several shots at various apertures at both 16mm and 35mm.  I just so happened to posted some of the f/8 screenshots, instead of the f/2.8.  Bad eyes, on my part.

[ebiggs1]

"Do you actually believe that those were the only shots that I took that morning?"

Sorry!    I failed 'Mind Reading 101' in college.

[Waddizzle]

"The wierd part is that this sounds doesn't happen when the lens is on the camera and turned on, just when it is off and when the lens is tilted upright or at some angle." 

" It also makes no difference if it is on or off the camera." 

Apparently, it does seem to make a difference.  My advice is to stop doing that to the lens, and get it professionally checked out and serviced if it is very bad.  Again, my lens does make some quiet and smooth noises when the focus ring is turned, but not anything that's really all that different compared to when it is mounted on the camera.