Quick question RE: 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6

[stealthscrape]

I recently bought the 7D kit with the 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM and had a quick question about the lens.

The issue occurs when I am shooting with that least anything less than 100mm. When I tilt the camera down to review photos so that the lens is pointed towards the ground or even at a slight angle the lens will "drop" or extend out to 100mm. I don't have a lens hood on or anything that would add additional weight. I am just wondering if this is normal, or something off with my lens? I've never experienced this before with a lens. It occurs in both AF and MF modes. Thanks for any input.

 

[AJ]

It's called zoom creep. Some lenses are prone to it. Annoying when you have the camera around your neck.

Some lenses come with a zoom lock attached so that this doesn't happen, but the zoom lock typically only works at the shortest focal length.

If you're taking a shot at a high angle - e.g. time exposure of stars, shooting macro downward on a tripod, etc. - you can tape the zoom in place with a piece of gaffer tape.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I recently bought the 7D kit with the 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM and had a quick question about the lens.

The issue occurs when I am shooting with that least anything less than 100mm. When I tilt the camera down to review photos so that the lens is pointed towards the ground or even at a slight angle the lens will "drop" or extend out to 100mm. I don't have a lens hood on or anything that would add additional weight. I am just wondering if this is normal, or something off with my lens? I've never experienced this before with a lens. It occurs in both AF and MF modes. Thanks for any input.

Complain to Canon. Its a common issue, and Canon may not want to fix it, but you can ask for a supervisor and likely get a replacement if the lens is new.

http://thedreamerskingdom.org/blog/?p=72

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1029&message=38373779

 

[stealthscrape]

Thanks for the replies. I saw the links you posted Mt, but since I only bought this kit a few weeks ago, I'd rather try to talk to canon about it than fix it myself. Is it worth it to even try to get a replacement lens though? If some lenses are prone to this issue is it something that happens in all copies of the same models, or is it hit or miss?

 

[Edwin Herdman]

I'd expect replacing any lens that is prone to zoom creep with another identical one will give you just a week (at most) before you get zoom creep again. Just learn to work around it.