Panasonic GF1 + 20mm focus noise

I'm getting this noise when focusing:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2294924/pana_gf1_noise.mov

It happens irregularly, but it is very annoying. Have any of you experienced similar noises?

Panasonic service didn't find anything wrong with the camera, but the case isn't closed yet... at least from my side

PnewO said:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2294924/pana_gf1_noise.mov

Click to expand...

Here's a smaller one
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2294924/pana_gf1_noise_small.mov

Glad to hear Panny didn't find anything wrong with it.

Now try to use it to take pictures and don't get hung up on the small stuff.

I don't know if it's an abnormal sound but it would annoy me for sure. Have you tried another in the store?

I have exactly the same noise from the 20mm but the 14-45 is silent. P186 of the manual sugests that it, (sound of lens movement), is normal and not a malfunction.

At first I thought you were talking about the normal noise the lens makes focusing, but then I watched the video all the way through and realized that you're talking about a different, 2nd noise. ...Just wanted to point that out in case some folks are not watching the video all the way through; He's getting 2 different sounds from the lens.

Yes, that'd bother me. Whether or not Panasonic initially said that nothing is wrong, I would follow through further. It does seem an odd noise. If a piece of machinery makes an irregular noise, something irregular is happening. That lens is making an irregular noise. Whether or not that is going to effect the functionality of the lens, who knows, but if something isn't normal, there's a reason for it.

-- LC3

RobbieW said:

I don't know if it's an abnormal sound but it would annoy me for sure. Have you tried another in the store?

Click to expand...

I've tested them side by side and didn't get the same noise in the store.

It really is an odd noise and that is why I posted it here to see if anyone has had the same issue. Guess not

I've mailed the same video to Panny's service/repair, but they haven't replied yet.

Panasonic europe said that I should be in contact with the store I bought it from and the store said that I should be in contact with Panny's service/repair company (3rd party official panny service).

The thing that annoys me most is that I had to pay 20 euros for handling, since they didn't find anything wrong with my camera. So my case is to get the money back and hopefully a my lens fixed or replaced.

If the service guys decide that there is something wrong: case closed

If they decide that the noise is completely normal: have to go meet them in person and clean their ears

Did you get this sound from the start or did it occur after a couple of days weeks months? Cause when you only have it just now i think you can persuade the shop where you bought it to have it changed?
It would be a decent thing to do from them imho.

Panny is sending a GF1 to the service guys, so that they can compare noises. I'll just need to go there myself to make sure that I get my camera back ASAP, if they for some reason don't see a need to replace.

BTW. just noticed that they had restored factory settings - JPG images only. Now I have a couple of good shots that are ruined due to bad JPG quality. Grrrrr!

G1 and 20mm here.

Occasionally get the 2nd noise. A bit annoying but doesn't seem to affect AF performance or IQ at all.

I got a new lens from Panny when taking the lens back to service. Other option would have been to send my lens to Germany to be fixed. Easy choise for me as I got the new lens straight from the service.