For those of you who own Canon EF-S 10-22mm

[alfaromeo]

I bought this lens recently. It is used, but performs OK and still under

warranty. The problem is the focusing ring feels very loose even though the

internal focusing mechanism is smooth and snug. Taking into consideration the

fact that I have never owned this lens before, can anybody, who have owned this

lens, shed some light onto this matter. Should the focusing ring feel like that?

It actually clatters slightly when you shake the lens.

[marknagel]

I recently sold mine, and it should be snug, like all USM focusing rings.

 

m

[gerrypriest]

No - should not be loose.

[colin carron]

Mine (now sold) did not have a loose focus ring. I was nice and smooth.

[lester_wareham]

Both focus and zoom ring are snug and smooth.

[peter_rowe]

I just got mine out, it's not on the camera. With the focus switch in either AF or MF the focus ring is completely loose from side to side. It rattles (clinks) if I move it sideways with my hand. If I shake the lens in the direction of front to back (not sideways) then the focus ring rattles and I can hear it easily.

 

I don't think this is a malfunction, mine works perfectly.

 

--Peter

[papasan]

mine definitely is snug. I would have it checked by a service center. It definitely shouldn't be clattering.

[robin_sibson1]

The focus ring on my 10~22 has a fraction of a mm of forward-back movement, definitely not the 'engineered' feel of the L-series lenses, but no suggestion of any problem.

[david.seaton]

on a related note, I just recently got a 17-55 for my father, the USM ring feels less "steady" ie not as tight/in control on that lens verus my 24-105. Is this normal?

[mark_in_vermont]

My copy of this lens does not do this. It sounds like a mechanical fault. It may not ever affect

your image quality, but it really shouldn't be like that considering what you probably paid for

the lens. If possible, I would reurn it.

[fanta]

Mine one is tight, no clattering. I would have it fixed or replaced, you deserve what you paid for.

[peter_rowe]

Hmmm, I just returned from the Mall where I dropped by ShutterBug and asked to see their Canon 10-22mm. The focus ring operates exactly the same as mine (see previous post) -- it is loose in that it can freely move side to side. There is no play in the direction of focus. I wonder are we all looking at the same thing -- it would be very odd that mine, and one in the store, and the OP have focus rings that are loose side to side while everyone else has firm ones? My Canon 35mm f2 prime has an identical focus ring and it does not have the side-to-side play.

 

--peter

[lester_wareham]

I just checked mine again for you. The focus ring has no slip in the rotational direction and only the smallest movement in the direction of the optical axis, so small it was difficult to see, 0.1mm or less. The focal length ring has no movement in either direction.

 

If the ring is smooth in usage and you have no odd noises you may not have much to worry about. Modern AF lenses are not the precision-engineered things that the old manual focus lenses were, so some components may just have a natural range of tolerance that may not affect the optical performance.

 

On the other hand, you could keep changing the lens until you get one that does not do have this problem.

 

You could check the optical performance using the newspaper on the wall method to give you more confidence.