Canon 15-85mm lens sounds loose inside

I recently ordered the Canon 15-85 lens used from B&H. It arrived today and the lens was inside of a thin piece of bubble wrap sitting on the bottom of the box. There was thicker bubble wrap sitting on top of the lens, but nothing underneath. I'm sure it was probably not handled nicely by the delivery service. The front of the lens feels like something is moving inside and I can hear it move every time I tip the lens. Some of my other cheaper lenses make a slight click and have movement inside but nothing like this. I've already started the return process with B&H and I hope I can get another one without having to go through too many inconveniences.

I'm mostly posting this in case it's relatable for anyone else. I also wonder what piece is moving and if it would effect images other than adding shake? I've rented a 15-85 before and I don't remember it having any movement inside, so hopefully this lens isn't too prone to this issue.

In other news, Canon's website must be experiencing high traffic for the holiday sale. I can't even get the page to load. Although, they never seem to have the 15-85 on sale. It must be popular enough that people will pay the full $800 for it.

Good luck with your exchange.  B&H is great, but consider returning for refund rather than exchange.  Canon USA Refurb is as good as new, if not better for the attention it gets in the refurb process, and has same 1 yr warranty.  $640 and in stock (but hurry, supplies are limited).

https://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/ef-s-15-85mm-f-35-56-is-usm-refurbished

Lemming51 wrote:

Good luck with your exchange. B&H is great, but consider returning for refund rather than exchange. Canon USA Refurb is as good as new, if not better for the attention it gets in the refurb process, and has same 1 yr warranty. $640 and in stock (but hurry, supplies are limited).

https://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/ef-s-15-85mm-f-35-56-is-usm-refurbished

Thanks, my 80D and a few of my lenses are from Canon's refurbished store. I definitely prefer to order directly through them! I've had my eye on the refurbished one but saving the extra couple hundred dollars was enticing. I might have to bite the bullet and order from the Canon store though.

Steve Balcombe wrote:

One possibility is that the IS group, which moves when the image stabiliser operates, is not properly 'parked'. This can happen if the lens is hurriedly removed from a body without waiting the necessary couple of seconds for the IS mechanism to stop and park. The IS group can then move slightly if the lens is shaken. Some lenses 'rattle' more than others when this happens - I don't know about the 15-85 specifically.

To rectify it, simply attach to a body, switch on, half-press the shutter to start the IS then release, wait until you hear the IS stop (two seconds; you may hear a slight click), then remove the lens. Now shake gently - is the problem fixed?

Wow, I think this might have worked. I tried that and there is significantly less movement coming from inside the lens. I will give it a bit more testing. Thanks!!

Just checked my 15-85, it rattles a bit too. Seems like it's the zoom tubes floating about in side the body when set to 15, improves out to 85. Mine's been fairly heavily used since 2011, suffers from creep when it's over your shoulder and the ring that holds the front element in is fond of becoming loose. The AF sticks when you switch the camera on so into MF twiddle the ring and switch to AF and all's well. If you forget, the AF makes some noise but doesn't focus (lost some shots in the heat of the moment over that). Probably due a well-deserved service...