I got my Canon 24-105mm F4 L IS USM lens about 2 years ago. I began having problems with intermittent zoom creep--when pointing the camera down--about 6 months after I got the lens. It is not just a little creep: it can quickly slide all the way out.

I sent it to Canon under warranty and they said they could find nothing wrong with the lens. (The problem is intermittent.) I think Canon cleaned the lens. It did not display zoom creep for a couple of months, but then it started the same old intermittent zoom creep.

I love this lens! I use it almost all the time.

I can't sell it because it is defective. I don't think Canon can fix it.

I am thinking of biting the bullet and buying a SECOND 24-105mm F4 lens, thinking that I just had bad luck in getting a bum lens.

Is there anyone out there who has this lens and is having similar problems? I am trying to gauge what the odds are of getting a good lens the next time.

I know zoom lenses have a tendency to creep when they are older but this is ridiculous.

Any gratuitous advice?

thanks

Dottie

FWIW, the 24-105 f/4 IS and 24-70 f/2.8 I've been using for the last few years are affected by zoom creep. I tend to consider zoom creep as normal for zoom lenses.

Edit: I can shoot with my lenses pointed toward the ground at 45°-60° without experiencing zoom creep. It might well be a defect depending on how "tight" or "loose" your lens is.

MIne's been fine, though I too would tend to think of it as normal for a zoom. You should see how the 70-300DO behaves!!

Mine didn't 'creep' until I sent it to Canon for adjustment. They did a complete CLA - with emphasis on the L - & it came back real creepy. Not a major problem, since it stays put while any actual shooting is going on. Just live with it?

Kirk

That creep is very familiar! Shooting hand-held, you can take a shot, point the camera down to chimp the histogram, raise the camera and the framing has changed.

It's hopeless for studio still-life stuff if it's pointing down by 20 degrees or more. You have to reframe every shot and hold the zoom ring while you expose.

Our lens is also a very early sample.

Colin

[quote=francois,Feb 7 2008, 03:10 PM]
FWIW, the 24-105 f/4 IS and 24-70 f/2.8 I've been using for the last few years are affected by zoom creep. I tend to consider zoom creep as normal for zoom lenses.


Is the 24-70 a push-pull zoom? I have the 28-70 2.8 which has a separate zoom twist type mechanism. I've been planning on trading it for the 24-70, but not if it's a push-pull type.

Quick, and very unscientific test.

Just held my 24-105 on the 5D in a vertical position for 2 mins, no noticeable creep. Held camera horizontally then flicked it down fairly rapidly, as in checking histogram, noticeable creep, took 3 flicks to go from 50mm to 70mm. Repeated test with slower flick, several times , no creep

It's not a push-pull in the sense of the 100-400 but when you turn the zoom ring, the lens is extended or retracted. It gets longer on the widest (angl) setting. The lens hood doesn't move. As far as I remember, it's not different from the "old" 28-70 f/2.8.

I thought that the zoom creep could only happen on the push - pull type, with gravity exerting the same type of force as pulling on the lens. How does zoom creep occur on the zoom ring type lens? If the ring is looser than it should be, why would creep only occur when the lens is pointed downward?

Well, the front element can be heavy on some lens and gravity does its job. The fact that specs are on the loose side can help to explain this phenomenon. If you still have the 28-70 f/2.8 you'll notice that you can extend your lens by pulling on the front part of the lens (where the lens cap is attached), no need to turn the zoom ring.

My 24-105 is awful for creeping. Whenever I point the lens even slightly downwards it extends by itself, has caused me great problems on certain photoshoots.

Really annoying and looking at selling it for a couple primes instead.

As I said above, the L zooms I'm using are only slightly affected but I sold a 28-135 IS zoom that was very good optically but nerve wrecking with its extreme zoom creep.