Batis 85 makes... noise?

[kamituel]

Hey,

I just noticed something strange about my new Batis 85. It makes this very silent, but completely audible noise. No other lens I have behaves this way. I can hear it when I press my ear to the lens.

Batis makes this noise regardless whether in AF-S, AF-C or MF mode. The noise stops immediately after I power the camera off.

Is it an expected behavior, or something to worry about? What's the source of the noise?

Can someone who owns B85 confirm if that happens on his/her copy as well?

Thanks,

Kamil

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http://kamituel.pl

 

[Astrophotographer 10]

I just got mine today. Yes a very quiet whirring sound. That would be the OSS.

Greg.

 

[kamituel]

I just got mine today. Yes a very quiet whirring sound. That would be the OSS.

Even if I disable "SteadyShot" in the menu, it still makes this noise. Strange, could it be that?

 

[Astrophotographer 10]

Steadyshot is for the IBIS in the camera not the lens as far as I know. I doubt you can turn it off as there is no switch on the lens to do that.

Greg.

 

[kamituel]

Steadyshot is for the IBIS in the camera not the lens as far as I know. I doubt you can turn it off as there is no switch on the lens to do that.

I use A7 mark I, it has no IBIS, but it has SteadyShot in menu - so it must be a setting for the lens.

Could it be some motor for the aperture blades, to keep them open or something?

 

[ijustloveshooting]

mine has it too, and it doesnt stop even if i disable steady shot disabled...i wish it could be totally stopped when not necessary to extend internal electronics lifetime.

 

[Jeffrey Behr]

...NO ONE can hear it. But it's 'completely audible'. Me thinks you and adjectives do not play well together.

 

[kamituel]

...NO ONE can hear it. But it's 'completely audible'. Me thinks you and adjectives do not play well together.

Okay, so I meant "quiet". Somehow people here understood what I meant

 

[Astrophotographer 10]

Yes I understood what you meant but I only could hear it with my ear against the lens and not otherwise. Its a quiet whirring sound like something spinning. I presume that is some tiny gyroscope for the OOS stabilisation. The B85 is quite a bit heavier than the B25 which surprised me.

Greg.

 

[kamituel]

Yep, it's AF and OSS. Nothing to worry about. Zeiss confirmed it:





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Photographs by Kamil

Photographs made by Kamil Leszczuk.

kamituel.pl

 

[Jose Viegas]

Guess I must be deaf cause I don't ear any noise on either Batis :-|

 

[alanFish]

i just got mine today.

i can hear what op is describing. i almost created a thread about it coz i thought no one will notice this and i found this thread .

it just sounds like there is a tiny cooling fan in the lens(ofc there is not one).

i am on A7 as well. i put the camera in all modes doesnt solve it. OSS off doesnt solve it.

and based form the last reply quoted from zeiss themselves, it is AF and OSS system.

since i guess it will be present on ALL copy, and so far i havent really mange to find some forum and thread about any problem the B85 might have, i think i can set the stone in my heart now(since my copy arrived with horrible packaging and delivery it is Fedx btw), i feel much better now after few hours testing.

next concern is battery life. does that noise consum more battery?

i may do a test with camera idle from 100% to 0 % with my 55/1.8za lens without the camera doing anything else but screen on idle test. see if any time different.(i might do that when i got my second alpha camera)

 

[mike105105]

Well I just did some shooting at my cousins wedding a few weeks ago mainly with the B85. Call it 6 hours and around 600 shots, still had plenty of battery left. Original a7 btw.

IMO a lens you can hear from 10ft away is a problem, one you need to put your ear to and strain to hear is not. I have heard some loud lenses in the past, I don't think any current E mount comes close.

As far as power drain due to the mechanism, I think all of the lenses with built in stabilization have it even if you can't hear it. They work by manipulating the elements to compensate for movement. Even if you disable the stabilization they still need power to hold the elements in place.

Mike

 

[Anders Wotzke]

Well I just did some shooting at my cousins wedding a few weeks ago mainly with the B85. Call it 6 hours and around 600 shots, still had plenty of battery left. Original a7 btw.

IMO a lens you can hear from 10ft away is a problem, one you need to put your ear to and strain to hear is not. I have heard some loud lenses in the past, I don't think any current E mount comes close.

As far as power drain due to the mechanism, I think all of the lenses with built in stabilization have it even if you can't hear it. They work by manipulating the elements to compensate for movement. Even if you disable the stabilization they still need power to hold the elements in place.

Mike

85mm GM is a noisy, but beautiful, beast. I have forgone AF and used manual focus when shooting a classical music recital with electronic shutter to avoid unwanted attention due to how loud the AF can be.

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[sumofallfears]

you know lens have motors inside them, especially for wide apertures they have to move heavy glass?

 

[kamituel]

you know lens have motors inside them, especially for wide apertures they have to move heavy glass?

Geez, lenses have motors? AND GLASS?? You've enlightened me