canon r50 with rf50mm lens focuses even when camera is off

[kswany]

Just bought my first real camera the other day (R50) and also bought a rf50mm lens, everything was bought brand new.  the issue I'm having is that the lens will constantly make noise and move slightly like its trying to focus even when the camera is turned off.  Is this normal behavior?

[rs-eos · Accepted solution]

That does not sound normal.  Which specific RF 50mm lens do you have (f/1.2L or f/1.8)?

Did you enable any features that would be preventing the camera from fully powering off? e.g. WiFi, syncing to your phone?

You could try resetting the camera back to factory defaults to see if that addresses the issue.   And/or, power down then remove the battery for a while.  Re-insert the battery, power on, then back off and see if the issue still occurs.

[kswany]

it is the f/1.8 but the issue was prevalent even with the kit lens. I think you may have actually solved my problem, it seems putting it in airplane mode solved the issue.  Is it normal to do that when airplane mode is turned off?  Thank you for your help! 

[rs-eos]

That seems that the camera, even when off, is connecting to a network, or perhaps GPS? And that is ultimately leading the lens being constantly active?  That still doesn't seem right though.

We'll have to see if other's weigh on with their own experiences with R-series cameras being connected to networks/GPS when powered off.

Unless you need those features constantly as you're shooting, you may want to consider disabling them.  Also, if the camera will be sitting unused for a while (day or more), you probably should remove the battery.

[kswany]

the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth features are not really a must have for me to be on anyway but yes I agree I still don't believe that is normal behavior but this workaround isn't a big deal for me. guess i had my first lesson lol.

[Waddizzle]

Ricky is correct about the wireless communication, be it Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, etc.  Is the power switched turned of OFF?  Or, has the camera merely gone to sleep, which is usually where problems begin.

Canon DSLRs have been known to run down their batteries when those features are left enabled when the camera is turned off.  A nearby Bluetooth-enabled device could be searching for connections and finding your camera.  For example, your own smart phone that you have previously connected via Bluetooth.

Unlike DSLRs, the MILC bodies have a few characteristics not found in DSLRs.  They can and do continuously AF when they are powered on between shots.  But, I thought this behavior usually stops when the camera goes to sleep.

Most of them include a menu setting to “retract lens when powering off”.  I believe this setting is enabled, by default.  GPS is another culprit.  It has multiple settings to control whether or not the camera stays connected to GPS satellites even when the camera is switched off.  I have found GPS tracking when the camera is switched off to be most useful when I am hiking, not when I am driving to a destination. 

My basic rule of thumb is disable wireless communications when I am not actively using them because they can and do present an increase in power drain on the battery.

[kswany]

Yes the camera was in the off position when the problem was happening and I did also toggle the retract lense on power down option,  the issue still happened on all those situations. The only thing that stops this happening is turning the camera into airplane mode. Bought all this equipment brand new about 3 days ago so I'm just going through the learning curve. Thanks for the reply!