This thing is LOUD!

[james_taylor11]

Just received my Canon 300mm F/4 IS lens and I can't believe how loud the thing

is. The only lens I can really compare it to is my 70-200 F/4 and I've never

noticed the USM when focusing with that lens. The 300mm is noticeably louder to

my ears. And then I turned on the IS - it as like a small jet engine! This is

my first IS lens, are they all like this. It actually scared me at first - I

thought the thing was going to fly off my 20D.

 

So my real question is: do you find this lens too loud for wildlife

photography? I'm afraid I'm going to scare off the birds. Any thoughts on this?

 

Thanks,

 

James

[dcheung]

you won't scare of birds

 

yes, the loudness is normal, especially for that generation of IS.

[mark_chappell]

Never used a 300/4, but my two IS lenses (500/4, 100-400) are very quiet. You can hear

things happening when IS and AF activate, but it's hard to notice. They certainly don't sound

anything like what you describe. Also, I've been around people using 300/4s and did not

hear any unusual noises. So were I in your shoes, I'd think about having the lens checked.

[oceanphysics]

I have the lens, and the focusing certainly isn't loud. Nearly silent, in fact -- no different from any of my other USM lenses. The IS makes little whirring and rattling sounds but I certainly wouldn't describe it as loud either.

[PuppyDigs]

Perhaps your hearing is akin to a dog's as ultrasonic motors produce sound beyond normal

human sensitivity. Or maybe you're hearing the mechanical drive train, not the USM. I can

hear a pianissimo "rolling sound" during AF, something like the patter of cockroaches

running on a countertop.

[alan_myers]

Hi James,

 

From your description, it sounds louder than it should be. Yes, you can usually hear AF and I.S. working, they are louder than manual focusing and non-I.S. certainly, but not normally all that loud.

 

It's a bit hard to compare over the Internet, just from descriptions. To give you a point of comparison, one of my favorite bird photography spots is adjacent to a busy road, where some background road noise that the birds tend to ignore nicely covers the sound of my shutter (which even with a relatively quiet camera like the Elan 7E is probably a bit louder than I.S. and certainly louder than AF operating). Using this location, I have had egrets and other large waders practically step on me, while I continued clicking away without disturbing them.

 

I use 28-135, 70-200/2.8, 300/2.8 & 500/4 lenses with I.S. and none are anywhere near as loud as you describe, although they are in varying degrees "audible" with both AF and I.S. They are also a little slower to function and perhaps a little noisier when either a teleconverter or extension tubes are installed between them and the camera. I attribute both these to slightly less efficient electronic power & signal delivery from camera to lens.

 

One thing you might try is cleaning the electronic contacts on both lens and body with a small amount of isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol on a tissue.

 

Then also use the lens for a little while and see if it settles down to operate more quietly. It could be that the mechanisms in the camera will settle down a bit after a little use, too.

 

If the lens is still noisy after a couple days and after cleaning the contacts, you might want to talk to the vendor and/or Canon about the problem and possibly make an exchange.

[pjmeade]

Hello James, yes the 300/f4 does make a bit of noise when it's focusing, but I don't think it's that loud. I have the same combination and if anything is going to frighten the birds it's going to be the noise of the 20D.

 

I have used it for birds and it's a very fine lens. Make sure you get the EF1.4 extender to go with it too.

 

Pete

[andrew robertson]

No, it doesn't scare animals.

 

It's not THAT loud, really. Compare it to the sound of your mirror slap and it is quiet.

[les]

It is certainly MUCH louder than 70-200/2.8. At least mine is. Majority of the noise happens when the lens is moved (with IS working)- it appears clicks and noises are the effect of the system not coping with excessive movement range (hitting the stops or some such). Normally it is not terribly loud - but still much louder than any other IS lens.

[daniel_turner2]

Compared to the shutter slap on a 20D, the lenses (focusing (even nonUSM)and IS) are very quiet. I have a 20D and swear I can scare birds with the shutter noise alone, are 1 series bodies any quieter?

[PuppyDigs]

I used to have a Nikor 75-300 AF and that sucker sounded like a robot and even jerked the

entire rig when it arrived at focus. The little screwdriver thingie rattled liike a bucket of bolts

on my N90. That was a loud lens...

[james_taylor11]

Thanks everyone,

 

I?ve played with it a bit more and was just getting used to the noise (the clunk it makes when the IS kicks on still bothers me a little), when I noticed that there is something that looks like dried adhesive on the filter threads. I looked through my other lenses and I don?t see this. At first I thought it was oil or water, but a q-tip didn?t remove it. It?s in two places. So, I?m going to get a return number and send this model back.

 

The one thing I will say is that the IS feature is truly incredible. This is the first IS lens I have played with and it is awesome. I tried some low light shots in my house and could see a huge advantage. Before I played with this lens I didn?t think IS was worth the premium, but I?ve changed my mind on that one.

 

James

[gary_jean1]

Loud is relative, but yes, the 300 f/4 L IS is the noisiest of my lenses. The IS was disconcerting, because it sounds like the inside of the lens has fallen apart.

 

In the five+ years I've had it, it has never failed me and has never scared any wildlife away.

 

Enjoy it. It's a terrific lens alone or with the 1.4x extender.

[james_taylor11]

Well, I tried out the lens at a football game this weekend and absolutely love it. It seems sharp enough and I didn?t notice the noise during the game. So, now I?m having second thoughts about sending it back. My only concern at this point is the adhesive that seems to be on the threads at four locations. I?m wondering if this is some kind of lock-tight Canon uses when they put their lenses together. Does anyone else see this? I?m going to post a new thread with photos.

 

Thanks for all your help,

 

James

[lauren_macintosh]

James: Give Canon A call their fone number on thier web site::

[james_taylor11]

Thanks,

 

I did call Canon and they said it wasn?t normal. I sent the lens back and will be looking for another.

 

James