Slipping Autofocus on the Canon 70-200mm F4L IS USM?

[Quyeno]

Hi

I'm planning to pick up a Canon 70-200 F4L IS USM and came across this youtube video. The guy demonstrates autofocus slipping on the lens.

I was wondering if anyone has experienced this?

Is it a fault that develops over time?

And how common is this problem?

Thanks

Q

 

[asad137]

Quyeno wrote:

Hi

I'm planning to pick up a Canon 70-200 F4L IS USM and came across this youtube video. The guy demonstrates autofocus slipping on the lens.

I was wondering if anyone has experienced this?

Is it a fault that develops over time?

And how common is this problem?

I have this problem on my copy. Don't know if it developed over time as I bought mine used, but I didn't notice the problem when I first received it, only about 6 months later. I have yet to send it in for repair.

Don't know how common it is, but I have seen mention of it here on the DPReview forums a few times as well as that video.

 

[bhollis]

Quyeno wrote:

Hi

I'm planning to pick up a Canon 70-200 F4L IS USM and came across this youtube video. The guy demonstrates autofocus slipping on the lens.

I was wondering if anyone has experienced this?

Is it a fault that develops over time?

And how common is this problem?

No idea how common this problem is, but I've never noticed it with my 70-200 f/4L IS. Of course, I rarely (maybe never?) autofocus with the lens pointed straight up. If there's going to be a problem, that's most likely when it will occur, since the AF system is having to lift the weight of the lens elements.

Note that even the poster of that video states that there's no problem when the lens is horizontal.

 

[asad137]

bhollis wrote:
Note that even the poster of that video states that there's no problem when the lens is horizontal.

That's been my experience. Works fine when horizontal, poorly when vertical -- but also not that great when angled up somewhat as well.

 

[bhollis]

asad137 wrote:

bhollis wrote:

Note that even the poster of that video states that there's no problem when the lens is horizontal.

That's been my experience. Works fine when horizontal, poorly when vertical -- but also not that great when angled up somewhat as well.

My understanding is all full-time MF lenses have a sort of clutch system that allows for a certain amount of slippage. Not really surprising I suppose that some copies are (or become) a little slippier than others.

 

[Quyeno]

Thanks for the replies guys. Do you think this issue is something that could be claimed with the warranty?

 

[bhollis]

Quyeno wrote:

Thanks for the replies guys. Do you think this issue is something that could be claimed with the warranty?

I can't be sure, but if it's within the warranty period and slipping excessively, I would think it would be covered.

 

[Tiosabas]

My 70-200 f4 IS has this problem. It is a few years old but has had very light use. Canon are ripping off their customers by not fixing this problem free of charge. Its obviously a design flaw.Does the problem get worse over time?

 

[Henrik Herranen]

Quyeno wrote:

Thanks for the replies guys. Do you think this issue is something that could be claimed with the warranty?

I've never seen any Canon lens user manual saying their lenses cannot be used vertically, so my gut feeling would be a resounding "yes". Unless warranty period is over, or if the lens is used under conditions where gravity is greater 1G (e.g. Jupiter).

Kind regards,
- Henrik