17-55mm f/2.8 IS Zoom Smoothness

[gerrymorgan]

<p>

I just bought a 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens. I've only had the chance to take a couple

of photos so far, and it's very impressive, especially in low light. However,

the zoom action is stiff, and the stiffness is not uniform throughout the zoom

range. I found a couple of comments online that mention this stiffness. For

example, one of the comments at the bottom of <a

href="http://www.photo.net/equipment/canon/efs_17-55/">Bob Atkins' preview of

this lens</a> mentions this problem.

</p>

<p>

I'm trying to decide whether to return this copy and exchange it for another in

the hope of finding one that zooms more smoothly. Or perhaps they are all like

this. So my questions are:

</p>

<p>

<ul>

<li>Does anyone have a copy that zooms smoothly and has done so since it was new?

<li>Did anyone return one because it did not zoom smoothly? If so, did the

replacement have the same problem?

<li>Did anyone who bought one that did not zoom smoothly find that it loosened

up with use?

</ul>

</p>

[PuppyDigs]

I've owned a lot Canon consumer level zooms, and every dad burn one of them sport el

crappo zoom action. When new, they're stiff and uneven. As they age, they get loose, many to

the point of drifting as you walk around. It's probably all the dad burn plastic parts in the

zoom mechanism. It's not like the manual FD and Nikkor zooms of yesteryear.

 

Canon reserves the smooth zoom mechanism only for the L series.

 

If you crave smooth zoom action, I suggest the EF 17-40 4L USM or EF 24-105 4L IS USM.

Both are smooth as silk . The 17-40 L has internal zoom to boot.

[lotsawa]

I got a new 17-55 yesterday and the zoom action is not as smooth as the one of my 17-40/4L, but I don't know if I'd call that "stiff".

 

The zoom ring is not difficult to turn, but if I want to turn it very slowly to set it exactly to a certain point, this is difficult since the movement becomes slightly obstructed or "jagged" (don't know if I hit the right word, sorry) and not completely even.

 

If I should give a number between 0 to 10 for the amount of stiffness (10 meaning you could hardly move it), I may say the L-Zoom has 0 and the 17-55 has about 2, not more.

 

Don't know if that helps, though! Some things are difficult to describe, like the bitterness or sweetness of a certain taste.

 

Anyway, it's not so strong that it really troubles me.

[gerrymorgan]

Thanks for the responses so far. How smooth is smooth? I'd be happy if this lens zoomed as smoothly as my Canon 10-22mm lens or the 17-85mm that this new lens might be replacing. I expect to be able to comfortably zoom the lens with my left thumb and middle finger, which is not the case between 28mm and 35mm (this is the range in which the zoom action is stiffest).

[andrew robertson]

It is likely that you are just feeling the cams in the zoom lens.

[greg thompson]

The "smoothness" is a little inconsistent on mine. From 17-20 it feels smooth, 20-35 seems stiff, and from 35-55 it's smooth again. It looks like all of them might be like this. I'll get my hands on my colleague's lens and see if his is the same.

[gerrymorgan]

Greg, that's really interesting. Mine is almost the same as yours in terms of which ranges are smooth and which are less smooth. Perhaps Andrew is onto something with his theory about the cams. I wonder why this lens behaves like this, but other non-L zooms (I have the 10-22 and 17-85) do not. I'd be very interested to know how things are with your colleague's lens.

[steve_dunn2]

<p>A lot of zoom lenses these days have rather complicated sets of cams indeed, with some groups of elements reversing direction as you zoom from one end to the other. Sometimes even the focusing groups are included in the zoom action, which further complicates the mechanics. It looks like this lens' mechanical design isn't as complex as those of some other lenses, like the 17-40, but still, I'm not surprised that the zoom action varies throughout the zoom range.</p>

[gerrymorgan]

Here's a quick update on this. The zoom action seems to have become smoother with use. It's still uneven (less easy in the middle of the range), but it doesn't bother me any more. Perhaps I've got used to it too. Although the zoom action could be better, I'm very pleased with this lens.

[gerrymorgan]

Another quick update, two years on. The zoom smoothness is fine now. It took about three months from when I bought the lens for it to fully ease up. This is a great lens and the one that I use the most. I can wholeheartedly recommend it.

[sinan_ussakli]

<p>Gerry,</p>

<p>I just bought this lens, and I have the same uneven stiffness through the zoom range. I tought about replacement, but this thread convinced me to keep it.</p>

<p>Thanks,</p>