Stiff zoom ring on 70-200 2.8 L IS II ?

Manfr3d

Hi,

just a quick question. I recieved my Canon 70-200mm 2.8 L II IS
today and noticed that the zoom ring is quite stiff. The focus ring is
very smooth though. Is this normal?

For comparison, the zoom ring on my 70-200 4.0 L and the
70-200mm 2.8 L non-IS (sold) is/was much smoother .

Thanks!

JimKarczewski

Could be they want to make sure it's not going to move on you, might loosen up with age. I don't remember back that long ago when I got my MkI to remember if it was stiff when I got it.

Dan7312

On my copy I wouldn't call either stiff, but the zoom ring is just a tad stiffer than the focus ring. I've had it for about 3 months.

Manfr3d wrote: »

Hi,

just a quick question. I recieved my Canon 70-200mm 2.8 L II IS
today and noticed that the zoom ring is quite stiff. The focus ring is
very smooth though. Is this normal?

For comparison, the zoom ring on my 70-200 4.0 L and the
70-200mm 2.8 L non-IS (sold) is/was much smoother .

Thanks!

kdog

What do you mean when you say one lens is "stiff" and the other one "smooth"? Something can be both stiff and smooth, so I'm not sure what you're saying. Does the zoom ring turn smoothly, but is just harder to turn? Or is the operation catchy and jerky? I think Dan gave a good reference point that it's a bit harder to rotate than the focus ring. Remember though, you're doing a lot more work when you're zooming because you're moving elements inside the lens a lot further than when you focus. On my lens, the zoom ring is actually harder to rotate when zooming out (wider) than zooming in. But in all cases, it's silky smooth. If your action is jerky or catchy and not smooth, then I would definitely send it back. Otherwise, it may be ok.

billythek

The zoom is a little harder to turn than the focus, but I wouldn't call either "stiff".

Manfr3d

Thanks for all of your replies. The zoom ring is starting to loosen up a little.
Must've been the new factor that initialiy made it hard to turn the zoom ring.