Weird behavior of my EF 24-105 L

[tassosl]

Hello to the Canon Rumors community.

I was shooting with my new 24-105 indoors in relatively low light, so I had IS switched ON. I could hear it hum when the shutter was pressed half way and stopping some instance after the click.

After I clicked, the image was unexpectedly blurry  (shutter speed was around 1/20). I tried it with IS off and the image was quite better!

When at home, I tried more combinations and my findings are:

When the IS system is switched on the photos come out blurry, as if they have an idol. This is manifested mainly for low shutter speeds (eg. 1/5, 1/10, … 1/50) and is more prominent with longer focal lengths (eg. 70 105mm). When I shoot the same scene with the same conditions and the same camera settings but with the IS system switched off the photos come out clearer / sharper. It should be the other way round.
However, when aperture is set to f4 (lowest setting) the IS works as it should. For all other apertures, it does not.

I tried this on two different EOS bodies (5DII and 40D) and it shows the same problem. All my other lenses with IS work as expected.

Even on a tripod, the IS gives me way worse results than when switched off. (IS on a tripod is not necessary, I tried it for experimentation).

As an example, I post two photos taken straight out of the camera (only crop - actual pixels) s1/10, f6.3:
IS on:
IS off:

Lens serial is 43xxxxx, Canon date code is: UA0427

Has anyone encountered this behavior?

[cocopop05]

I am able to replicate your blurry result if I use a tripod and IS is on.  The manual states that IS should be switched off when using a tripod, so my results and therefore your result reflect what the manual says. 

However when handheld and not using a tripod, I get sharper results when IS is switched on. I have not been able to replicate your issue when using the lens handheld.

[tassosl]

The manual states that IS should be switched off when using a tripod, so my results and therefore your result reflect what the manual says. 

Thanks for your reply. I have read the manual and it states that IS should be switched off on a tripod in order to preserve battery power, because the IS on a tripod is not useful. But it is really weird to produce such a blur, isn't it ?

I think that either handheld or not, the IS should help achieve better results with the low speeds and not make things worse, so sth is not OK here.

[Studio1930]

Sounds like it needs a trip to Canon repair.  You appear to have done enough testing.

[koffie5D]

Hello to the Canon Rumors community.

I was shooting with my new 24-105 indoors in relatively low light, so I had IS switched ON. I could hear it hum when the shutter was pressed half way and stopping some instance after the click.

After I clicked, the image was unexpectedly blurry  (shutter speed was around 1/20). I tried it with IS off and the image was quite better!

When at home, I tried more combinations and my findings are:

When the IS system is switched on the photos come out blurry, as if they have an idol. This is manifested mainly for low shutter speeds (eg. 1/5, 1/10, … 1/50) and is more prominent with longer focal lengths (eg. 70 105mm). When I shoot the same scene with the same conditions and the same camera settings but with the IS system switched off the photos come out clearer / sharper. It should be the other way round.
However, when aperture is set to f4 (lowest setting) the IS works as it should. For all other apertures, it does not.

I tried this on two different EOS bodies (5DII and 40D) and it shows the same problem. All my other lenses with IS work as expected.

Even on a tripod, the IS gives me way worse results than when switched off. (IS on a tripod is not necessary, I tried it for experimentation).

As an example, I post two photos taken straight out of the camera (only crop - actual pixels) s1/10, f6.3:
pictures left out of the quote

Lens serial is 43xxxxx, Canon date code is: UA0427

Has anyone encountered this behavior?

hello tassosl,
i bought a 5d3 with 'kitlens' 24-105mm F4 L IS USM.
and i have the same thing with my 24-105, a striking simalarity is that when stopped down with low shutterspeeds the IS acts broken, but when open at F4 the IS works perfectly normal.
as this is my only zoom lens with IS i dont have any other experience with Image Stabilization on lenses.

i searched hard on the internet for any other people having this problem and i found another person.
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/post/41879017 read this forum-thread, but there is no solution on it.

taking pictures with a tripod and IS on creates shaky images when stopped down.
i tried everything with the lens and the only thing that works is shooting with mirror lockup.

i shot some pictures showing the same problem as you have
all these are shot handheld at 1/15 (im young and steady)
http://www.mediafire.com/view/?l0mx43ey0sqipbo 24-105mm @ 70mm F5.6 IS on
http://www.mediafire.com/view/?66w9ci7cqmnbizo 24-105mm @ 70mm F5.6 IS off
http://www.mediafire.com/view/?9emkb91dredbc68 24-105mm @ 70mm F4 IS on

lens serial is 425xxxx, Canon date code is: UA0327

i hope we find a solution on our problem

[tassosl]

I agree with you, see also:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3365069
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3338242
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3226771
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1193827

In one of the above threads someone states that a replacement of a circuit board by Canon solved the problem, It seems that his most difficult problem was to convince Canon that there was a problem ...

[koffie5D]

I agree with you, see also:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3365069
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3338242
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3226771
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1193827

In one of the above threads someone states that a replacement of a circuit board by Canon solved the problem, It seems that his most difficult problem was to convince Canon that there was a problem ...

those links are great, thanks.
maybe i can use this as extra 'evidence' that im not the only one having this problem with this lens when im going back tot the store.

[tassosl]

I received a new EF 24-105 L lens some days ago from the seller and been testing it since.

Serial no is 470xxxx. The IS works as expected at all apertures on both my 5DII and 40D .

[well_dunno]

The manual states that IS should be switched off when using a tripod, so my results and therefore your result reflect what the manual says. 

Thanks for your reply. I have read the manual and it states that IS should be switched off on a tripod in order to preserve battery power, because the IS on a tripod is not useful. But it is really weird to produce such a blur, isn't it ?

I think that either handheld or not, the IS should help achieve better results with the low speeds and not make things worse, so sth is not OK here.

I will agree with many others that a service is in order if this is occurring for handheld shots . With regards to IS on tripod, 24-105 does not sense tripod and might try to correct camera shake causing blurry images instead (not always but quite frequently in my experience).

Cheers!