*UPDATE* Canon's Official Response
Canon USA has issued an official response to the 5D III IS noise issue:
“We have acknowledged that when using the camera with specific lenses, there is an abnormal noise during IS operation when the shutter button is pressed halfway (or remains pressed halfway), and we are now considering the countermeasures. We will let you know about the countermeasures as soon as they are finalized”
The two affected lenses are the Canon EF 200mm f/2.0 L IS USM Lens and the Canon EF 800mm f/5.6 L IS USM Lens.
Note that image quality is not affected by the abnormality. Also note that this noise does not occur during Live View including during video capture.
The Bugs
No camera these days is going to launch issue free, and a very noticeable one has shown up with the 5D Mark III is used in combination with the EF 200 f/2L IS. The issue being an odd and rather loud noise from the what seems to be the image stabilizer. I have noticed this first hand while using the combination in AI Servo mode.
Others have noticed it, and there's a thread on the FredMiranda forums about it.
I have tested multiple 5D Mark III bodies with the following lenses. I also tested multiple 1D Mark IVs with them as well.
- 300 f/2.8L IS
- 300 f/2.8L IS II
- 400 f/2.8L IS
- 400 f/2.8L IS II
- 400 f/4 DO IS
- 500 f/4L IS
- 600 f/4L IS
- 800 f/5.6L IS (this came out the same time as the 200 f/2L IS)
Conclusion
I could only obviously reproduce the issue with the EF 200 f/2L IS on the 5D Mark III bodies, there was zero issue with the 1D Mark IV. I have two EF 800 f/5.6L IS lenses, and initially I didn't notice the noise, but it is slightly there once I took the lenses out of the office. It sounds a bit louder on the 5D Mark III than on the 1D Mark IV although the 200mm is definitely louder. I could be hearing things on the 800.
I have noticed images aren't quite as sharp with the EF 200 f/2L IS on the 5D Mark III, I imagine it has something to do with the IS issues in AI Servo mode.
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