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sony 24-70 GM II issues

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xqin

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Hey Guys,

I just got my copy of the sony 24-70 GM ii lens a week ago. The first one I got had the weird cracking sound near the aperture ring (not the internal elements moving sound) when I held the lens in my hand. It was like a sound from squeezing some cheap plastic toy. I was worried and had a video chat with a BHphoto lens specialist. He recommended I had it replaced. So I returned it, and a few days later, I got another copy. This one does not have that sound near the aperture ring, but when the lens is extended to 60mm or 70mm, it will make some similar cracking sound when I use the manual focus ring or simply hold the extended part. I suspect the sound comes from the part between the extended tube and the other tube. I am not sure is it normal or probably nothing.

Any thoughts, guys?

Cheers,

xqin
 
Thanks for the heads-up on this. Wish I had more advice to offer.
 
xqin said:
Hey Guys,

I just got my copy of the sony 24-70 GM ii lens a week ago. The first one I got had the weird cracking sound near the aperture ring (not the internal elements moving sound) when I held the lens in my hand. It was like a sound from squeezing some cheap plastic toy. I was worried and had a video chat with a BHphoto lens specialist. He recommended I had it replaced. So I returned it, and a few days later, I got another copy. This one does not have that sound near the aperture ring, but when the lens is extended to 60mm or 70mm, it will make some similar cracking sound when I use the manual focus ring or simply hold the extended part. I suspect the sound comes from the part between the extended tube and the other tube. I am not sure is it normal or probably nothing.

Any thoughts, guys?

Cheers,

xqin
Click to expand...
I just tested mine and did not hear what you describe. My lens was mounted to the body.

Not sure if it is easy to record the issue with your cell phone to post how you did your testing etc.
 
Last edited:
A bit worrisome to hear about QA issues with this lens, at this price point.

Someone has posted this review on B&H: "I had occasion to carefully examine 4 samples of this lens. Two had poor resolution in one or more corners especially at 70mm. The other two samples were much better but not as good as good primes."

I hate sample variations, I thought the recent GMs (since the 24GM) where mostly immune.

I'm still considering to buy it, but I don't want to play the buy and return game.

Hope there are just isolated cases.
 
fboss said:
A bit worrisome to hear about QA issues with this lens, at this price point.

Someone has posted this review on B&H: "I had occasion to carefully examine 4 samples of this lens. Two had poor resolution in one or more corners especially at 70mm. The other two samples were much better but not as good as good primes."

I hate sample variations, I thought the recent GMs (since the 24GM) where mostly immune.

I'm still considering to buy it, but I don't want to play the buy and return game.

Hope there are just isolated cases.
Click to expand...
I would not worry or hold any importance lack of a better word to others reviews like the one you reference .

This lens in particular gets fantastic reviews. I own it, and really like it. You have photographers of all skill levels and those with money to spend who just form an opinion. There is that saying about opinions are like "hind ends"

Yes, anything can be defective. That said, I am not a pixel photographer, I am not a corner photographer nor a 200% enlargement photographer. I never even attempt to test a lens past how it physically functions, is the glass clean, anything cracked, can you attach a filter (are the threads bent/impact damage)

I would assume that 90% maybe 99% of everyone never make an actual print and 99.9 percent never make an enlargement past many a wedding or mitzvah album. A very special occasion or unique travel destination. Plus anyone maybe selling prints elsewhere.

The item works or it does not. I like the way it handles or not. Assuming one gets the image in focus and exposure in Auto is good, there is no worry.

SO i would not worry about 1 persons review. I think some are just better going in person to a camera store and buy the item regardless if they have to pay tax.
 
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ArtAlt said:
Thanks for the heads-up on this. Wish I had more advice to offer.
Click to expand...
No problem. I guess it is normal with my second one since I can not find any issues with the IQ.
 
LenRivers said:
xqin said:
Hey Guys,

I just got my copy of the sony 24-70 GM ii lens a week ago. The first one I got had the weird cracking sound near the aperture ring (not the internal elements moving sound) when I held the lens in my hand. It was like a sound from squeezing some cheap plastic toy. I was worried and had a video chat with a BHphoto lens specialist. He recommended I had it replaced. So I returned it, and a few days later, I got another copy. This one does not have that sound near the aperture ring, but when the lens is extended to 60mm or 70mm, it will make some similar cracking sound when I use the manual focus ring or simply hold the extended part. I suspect the sound comes from the part between the extended tube and the other tube. I am not sure is it normal or probably nothing.

Any thoughts, guys?

Cheers,

xqin
Click to expand...
I just tested mine and did not hear what you describe. My lens was mounted to the body.

Not sure if it is easy to record the issue with your cell phone to post how you did your testing etc.
Click to expand...
Well, the sound I heard is still there, and I tried the record this sound with my cell phone, but I couldn't hear it in any of the recordings. I think it is probably fine since I didn't see any problem with the images I captured in the past few days. It's just a little bit annoyed every time I hear this weird cracking sound.
 
fboss said:
A bit worrisome to hear about QA issues with this lens, at this price point.

Someone has posted this review on B&H: "I had occasion to carefully examine 4 samples of this lens. Two had poor resolution in one or more corners especially at 70mm. The other two samples were much better but not as good as good primes."

I hate sample variations, I thought the recent GMs (since the 24GM) where mostly immune.

I'm still considering to buy it, but I don't want to play the buy and return game.

Hope there are just isolated cases.
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I am not sure if I should return the current copy I got or not. Indeed, something like this should not happen, especially at this price point. I checked the serial numbers of both copies of the GM and found that they are relatively close. Probably they were from the same problematic production batch.

My other lens Tamron 150-500 mm costs much less than this GM, but the build quality is top-notch, in my opinion. No weird nosie, rock-solid feeling over the entire lens.
 
xqin said:
Hey Guys,

I just got my copy of the sony 24-70 GM ii lens a week ago. The first one I got had the weird cracking sound near the aperture ring (not the internal elements moving sound) when I held the lens in my hand. It was like a sound from squeezing some cheap plastic toy. I was worried and had a video chat with a BHphoto lens specialist. He recommended I had it replaced. So I returned it, and a few days later, I got another copy. This one does not have that sound near the aperture ring, but when the lens is extended to 60mm or 70mm, it will make some similar cracking sound when I use the manual focus ring or simply hold the extended part. I suspect the sound comes from the part between the extended tube and the other tube. I am not sure is it normal or probably nothing.

Any thoughts, guys?

Cheers,

xqin
Click to expand...
Mine developed a 'cracking' noise when the focus ring is turned. Where are you located? I'm in Hong Kong. Already emailed Sony online store about the issue. Hopefully they can provide a replacement
 
OCP said:
xqin said:
Hey Guys,

I just got my copy of the sony 24-70 GM ii lens a week ago. The first one I got had the weird cracking sound near the aperture ring (not the internal elements moving sound) when I held the lens in my hand. It was like a sound from squeezing some cheap plastic toy. I was worried and had a video chat with a BHphoto lens specialist. He recommended I had it replaced. So I returned it, and a few days later, I got another copy. This one does not have that sound near the aperture ring, but when the lens is extended to 60mm or 70mm, it will make some similar cracking sound when I use the manual focus ring or simply hold the extended part. I suspect the sound comes from the part between the extended tube and the other tube. I am not sure is it normal or probably nothing.

Any thoughts, guys?

Cheers,

xqin
Click to expand...
Mine developed a 'cracking' noise when the focus ring is turned. Where are you located? I'm in Hong Kong. Already emailed Sony online store about the issue. Hopefully they can provide a replacement
Click to expand...
I am in the US, and I got my copy from B&H. I was going to keep the second one, but after I had another video chat with their customer service, they had it replaced again. Hopefully, it won't have any issues. Otherwise I'll go with sigma or stick with primes.
 
Hmm… a part of the price premium you pay for this over the third parties, I assume is quality control. Another is firmware optimization with bodies. If those aren’t there, why not buy the Sigma instead?
 
Mine is perfect… then I heard a noise when I turned the focus ring. But I quickly realised it was the PD anchor on the left side of my A7RIV as I twisted the ring!!! :-D Is your noise audible when mounted or only unmounted?

As fort he BH reviewer whose been through 4 copies each with different issues, well either I am extremely lucky or he’s the unluckiest guy in the world. I posted elsewhere that this lens is like a bagful of primes in one lens and I am sticking to that statement. I am finding it very hard to tell between it and my 24GM and 35GM. If it weren’t that I like to use my 35GM for its size and wonderfully sharp and wider apertures, I’d question the need for both. I won’t rush selling the 24GM but I do think it’s likely to go sometime since I have the 20G for UWA.

OTOH, B&H is such a big customer for Sony, is it possible they got all early production that are lost likely to have some small copy variations? I normally wait before buying new lenses etc, for production line bugs to be sorted, but I suspected that once the pre-orders were filled there may be a long wait for this one, just like the 35GM was. Still I am surprised that anyone has experienced any issues with the lens at all. Mine is simply splendid.
 
Foto4x4 said:
Mine is perfect… then I heard a noise when I turned the focus ring. But I quickly realised it was the PD anchor on the left side of my A7RIV as I twisted the ring!!! :-D Is your noise audible when mounted or only unmounted?

As fort he BH reviewer whose been through 4 copies each with different issues, well either I am extremely lucky or he’s the unluckiest guy in the world. I posted elsewhere that this lens is like a bagful of primes in one lens and I am sticking to that statement. I am finding it very hard to tell between it and my 24GM and 35GM. If it weren’t that I like to use my 35GM for its size and wonderfully sharp and wider apertures, I’d question the need for both. I won’t rush selling the 24GM but I do think it’s likely to go sometime since I have the 20G for UWA.

OTOH, B&H is such a big customer for Sony, is it possible they got all early production that are lost likely to have some small copy variations? I normally wait before buying new lenses etc, for production line bugs to be sorted, but I suspected that once the pre-orders were filled there may be a long wait for this one, just like the 35GM was. Still I am surprised that anyone has experienced any issues with the lens at all. Mine is simply splendid.
Click to expand...
I got my third copy yesterday, and it has no "weird noises" anymore. Another guy from Hong Kong replied to this thread couple of days ago and had similar noise issues. It is probably very rare with noise issues, but it does exist. Previously the noises existed pretty much in every scenario I tested, mounted with the camera power on/off, unmounted.

Based on my test shot with this lens, 20-70GM ii is a great lens, very sharp across all focal lengths. I owned 35GM before, but I sold it to get this one instead. In my case, I like both hiking and photography, and 35GM is not versatile enough for me since I could not really move around a lot on the top of a mountain or near a cliff. So, here comes 20-70 GM ii. Now I am very happy with the current copy I got, and I'll probably leave a comment on B&H later to share my experience with this lens and their excellent customer service. Cheers!
 
razorfish said:
Hmm… a part of the price premium you pay for this over the third parties, I assume is quality control. Another is firmware optimization with bodies. If those aren’t there, why not buy the Sigma instead?
Click to expand...
I totally agree with you and I was going to buy Sigma instead, but the third copy I got yesterday is a perfect one. So, I'll keep this GM. I didn't go for Sigma in the first place because I had read some comments on the dust issues with 24-70 DG DN Art, which made me reconsider my choices. Anyway, I am happy with GM now. Cheers.
 
razorfish said:
Hmm… a part of the price premium you pay for this over the third parties, I assume is quality control. Another is firmware optimization with bodies. If those aren’t there, why not buy the Sigma instead?
Click to expand...
Quality Control is more limited in modern manufacturing process as it rely much more on precise machined/manufactured, low tolerance parts etc. then it did in the past. What you pay for is precision, built quality etc. but bad batches can still happen. Expecting QC to a high degree simply ain’t gonna happen even Leica doesn’t, I talked with my resellers and they told they got just as many scratched internal element, creaking lenses and badly aligned element on Leica then the major 3 and neither Sony, Nikon nor Canon where better then one another it happens on all brands because they all rely on the same method in manufacturing and control.

I recently had to send a GM135 in because It didn’t work, I also had to send in another lens from another manufacturer because of a scratched Internal element!

But it was the first Sony I had any issues with all other where flawless, my point is that it happens but you really have to be unfortunate to hit a bad one more then once and mostly if you do it’s because it’s the same batch. But the more you get the more likely your are to hit that bad one.
 
Last edited:
xqin said:
I got my third copy yesterday, and it has no "weird noises" anymore. Another guy from Hong Kong replied to this thread couple of days ago and had similar noise issues. It is probably very rare with noise issues, but it does exist. Previously the noises existed pretty much in every scenario I tested, mounted with the camera power on/off, unmounted.

Based on my test shot with this lens, 20-70GM ii is a great lens, very sharp across all focal lengths. I owned 35GM before, but I sold it to get this one instead. In my case, I like both hiking and photography, and 35GM is not versatile enough for me since I could not really move around a lot on the top of a mountain or near a cliff. So, here comes 20-70 GM ii. Now I am very happy with the current copy I got, and I'll probably leave a comment on B&H later to share my experience with this lens and their excellent customer service. Cheers!
Click to expand...
Glad to hear you finally got a perfect lens. B&H customer service is great, I always try to order from them first.

I also own the 35GM, it's very difficult to decide to sell it because it's so good. But yes the 24-70 is a lot more versatile. The 35GM would still be better in low light but I haven't used it since I got my last 2 lenses (70-200GMII and Tamron 28-75G2).

I had the Sigma 24-70 DG DN, didn't have any dust issue with it. With didn't like the weight/ balance on the camera, and the relatively slow AF. Will try this 24-70 GMII some day, if I keep it it will replace both the Tamron and 35GM.
 
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