Potential problem with the 55-250mm

Very new to photography, hoping someone can help with an issue I think I'm having. Just bought a 55-250 lens from Canon refurb, but from the get-go when I focus in manual I get a mechanical sound and resistance as though I was trying to turn the lens in autofocus mode. It's not as much resistance as when it actually is in autofocus mode, but it's still noticeable to me considering all other lenses I've used (kit and 50/1.8) have a smooth slide when focusing in manual. 
Does anyone else have this lens who could speak to the issue, i.e., is that normal for this particular one? I don't really know anybody else who has any knowledge on the subject and google's been pretty useless.

Many thanks in advance.

Yeah. The 55-250 has a noisier, more resistive feel in manual focus compared to the 18-55 or the 50 1.8. I often have to check that it actually in manual focus mode

Seems to be normal for this lens, although I have only owned the one copy of it (from new).

Showtime68 wrote:

Very new to photography, hoping someone can help with an issue I think I'm having. Just bought a 55-250 lens from Canon refurb, but from the get-go when I focus in manual I get a mechanical sound and resistance as though I was trying to turn the lens in autofocus mode. It's not as much resistance as when it actually is in autofocus mode, but it's still noticeable to me considering all other lenses I've used (kit and 50/1.8) have a smooth slide when focusing in manual.
Does anyone else have this lens who could speak to the issue, i.e., is that normal for this particular one? I don't really know anybody else who has any knowledge on the subject and google's been pretty useless.

Mine does make a bit of a grinding sound, you are of course moving something mechanically. But it's reasonable easy going I think, about the same as the 18-55 IS in manual mode, or the 50mm f1.8 (mark I). It's hard to compare our expierences, but I could see that you might think it's not right, if you compare to an USM lens with FTM, which just easily turns with no noise.

Many thanks in advance.

amosf wrote:

Yeah. The 55-250 has a noisier, more resistive feel in manual focus compared to the 18-55 or the 50 1.8. I often have to check that it actually in manual focus mode

Seems to be normal for this lens, although I have only owned the one copy of it (from new).

In my post I said it's about similar to the 18-55 IS.  This is not meant to contradict you, because of the bigger mass it feels perhaps a bit more resistive than the 18-55 IS, but compared to say USM, they are quite similar. The 18-55 IS has also a bit of noise like the 55-250IS, again perhaps a bit less, because of the smaller mass.

Yeah. It's hard to judge. I just pulled mine out and tried to compare - but my 55-250 is relatively new and hasn't had a lot of use while my 18-55 is second hand and has seen a lot of use. The resistance is a bit greater on the 55-250 and my copy makes a little more 'mechanical noise'. My 18-55 is also the earlier mk I model.

The fact that it's heavier and larger makes some difference I think. But the main thing is you can tell when it's in and out of AF mode. As you say, neither lens is completely quiet.