[aerodave]

I have a three-week old copy of the DA* 50-135mm, and I absolutely love it. But being paranoid as I am, I noticed a little bit of lateral play in the zoom ring last night and I'm wondering if it's normal. If it's just the way these lenses are built, I'm fine with t. But if it's a sign that something is unusual, I want to take advantage of my return window.

So here's what I ask of you all. Take your 50-135mm, and while holding its main body still (would probably be easier mounted to a camera), grab the zoom ring and gently wiggle it side-to-side or top-to-bottom. That is, push and pull the rubber grip toward and away from the centerline of the lens.

Does it move at all? Or is it rock solid? Mine gives just a millimeter or so in any direction. Maybe that's normal...a product of movng against the weather seals or because it's an internal zoom. But I'd like some help figuring out if it is or isn't supposed to do that.

Thanks!!

(UPDATE: I re-evaluated the description of this behavior, and decided it was more like gear backlash than anything else. See my post below, #13 in this thread, for the better explanation.)

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Last edited by aerodave; 12-24-2009 at 08:35 PM.

[Mike.P®]

No play in mine, rock solid.

[bc_the_path]

No movement at all.
Mine has just been serviced for SDM failure; AFAIK, it was fine in this respect before, as well...

[snostorm]

Hi Dave,

Mine is an "old" one, from the first shipment to the US, and has been used pretty extensively, and there is no play at all in either direction in the zoom ring.

Scott

[aleonx3]

Hello, Dave,

I checked mine as you suggested, no play at all, very solid and smooth on the zoom ring.

Alfred

[calicojack]

I just checked mine and there isn't any "play".
However my SDM is acting up.

[aleonx3]

I just checked mine and there isn't any "play".
However my SDM is acting up.

Try changing the battery on the camera, it was sluggish at times (I noticed it for mine) when the battery was weak.

[calicojack]

Try changing the battery on the camera, it was sluggish at times (I noticed it for mine) when the battery was weak.

I hope you're right. I just checked and sure enough the battery in my grip is empty and the one in the camera itself hasn't been charged for months. I've got my grip battery on the charger now. Maybe I'm not effected by all of this SDM failure that I'm reading about, just low batteries.

[aerodave]

Thanks for the responses so far. It sounds like no one else has a zoom ring that can wiggle a little bit. And I know I'm probably over-reacting as this is just the tiniest amount of play. But I feel like spending this much on a piece of "pro" equipment entitles you to expect it to be 100% from the start.

I guess it's back to Amazon. I'm glad they have such a great return policy. I know this won't be any hassle.

[Lloydy]

Rock solid.

[Canada_Rockies]

Can't get any motion out of my zoom ring either.

[thomascdk]

No movement here either.

[aerodave]

Thanks again everyone. I was inspecting the lens just a bit more, and I have a better handle on the nature of the looseness. I noticed that it's easier to feel when I lightly turn it back and forth in the normal direction of operation. That is, it's noticeable if you apply a slight turning motion in either direction, but not even enough to change the zoom setting. When you put enough torque on it to just start to feel the slight friction in the zoom action, and then reverse direction you can feel it wiggle in place. It has the feeling of a mechanical coupling with a bit of backlash.

Pushing it radially still has some noticeable effect, but I've figured out that it's a lot easier to feel the play when the ring is lightly twisted back and forth. And it's more noticeable after the lens has been moved through its zoom range a handful of times. When I first pick it up after it's sat for a while, the backlash behavior isn't as obvious.

I don't know if that changes anyone's answers, but I'm still fairly convinced it's worth exchanging for a new lens.

[RogerD_AZ]

Wondering if you exchanged the lens, improvement?

Sounds like I may have a similar problem I'm asking for help with here

Thanks in advance...

[aerodave]

Roger, I did exchange the lens, and received one with a substantially different serial number. It behaves 100% identically.

Because of this, I'm just assuming that it's something I'm more sensitive to than the average well-adjusted person. It's not a quality most people would describe as "loose" (maybe not even myself). So it could just be enough of a slight little quasi-wiggle that I'm inclined to look for it and fixate on it. Like picking at a scab.

In any case, I'm done worrying about it, and have just been enjoying the pictures the lens takes.