Canon 70-200 F4L IS II Defect
May 12, 2020 14:21:06 #
Yesterday I purchased from a local authorized Canon dealer the Canon 70-200 F4L IS II USM lens. When I took the lens from the box it looked great. I shot a few photos with it in auto focus mode and all went well, nice and sharp. Now here is the defect. I was trying to shoot guys working on a cell tower. In auto focus mode the photos were fantastic. So I tried manual focus mode and when I turned the focus ring, focus was erratic like it was slipping. Pointing down or level the manual focus works fine. When pointing up at a 45 degree angle the focus slips. I returned the lens to the store and they offered to send it to Canon, which I declined. I am not sending a brand new lens in for service. The manager was great. They had two more unopened lens. We tried a second lens and it did the exact same thing. Then we tried the third lens which was not as bad but still did the same thing. Three lens in a row with defective manual focus when pointed up. The store did not have anymore so I was given a full refund. Has anyone else had experienced this trouble with manual focus? This is totally unacceptable for a BRAND NEW $1200 lens. 
May 12, 2020 14:32:29 #
authorizeduser wrote:
Yesterday I purchased from a local authorized Cano... (show quote)
Apparently a known issue. Google 70-200 f4 manual focus for many entries on the subject...
May 12, 2020 17:28:25 #
TriX wrote:
Apparently a known issue. Google 70-200 f4 manual focus for many entries on the subject...
I certainly will not be buying another. Expected a lot more from Canon. This was my first Canon lens. My Canon 80D works perfectly. My two lens are Tamron 45mm 1.8 VC and Sigma 150mm 2.8 OS Macro. Both less given sharp images. I just searched the focus slip issue on the web and it seems there are many who have this issue so it does not sound like a bad batch but more like a design flaw.
May 13, 2020 07:19:05 #
Well if you are not going with this 70-200 now you might want to save up and get a 100-400 II which is a great lens and will give you the 400 without an extender.
May 13, 2020 07:29:18 #
loperR
Loc: Medina ,Ohio
TriX wrote:
Apparently a known issue. Google 70-200 f4 manual focus for many entries on the subject...
If you send it back to Canon ,is there a fixable solution?
May 13, 2020 07:38:06 #
Not the Canon has released all they'll say is they know about it and they're working on it
May 13, 2020 10:03:33 #
loperR wrote:
If you send it back to Canon ,is there a fixable solution?
There are half a dozen “5 minute fixes” on UTube, but the require removing the front element cover, and I can’t imagine anyone opening a brand new lens that’s still under warranty.
May 13, 2020 10:48:14 #
authorizeduser wrote:
I certainly will not be buying another. Expected a lot more from Canon. This was my first Canon lens. My Canon 80D works perfectly. My two lens are Tamron 45mm 1.8 VC and Sigma 150mm 2.8 OS Macro. Both less given sharp images. I just searched the focus slip issue on the web and it seems there are many who have this issue so it does not sound like a bad batch but more like a design flaw.
The Canon 100-400L II although larger & slightly heavier than your 70-200 , has an adjustable ring to control slippage when pointing skyward. You can totally lock it or simply add-in enough friction to reduce a loss of focal crispness. It works very well with the 1.4 teleconverter. I think these will work on your 80D but I am not totally certain of this. You would have to google that one from Canon or someone here with personal experience on the 80d model. I have a 6D II and it's a different camera. The 100-400 is a big lens and a lot to drag around all day BTW so a pistol grip is recommended to get better balance for free hand shooting unless you want to go with a tripod or monopod.....? Good Luck. Sorry for your situation.
May 13, 2020 11:50:47 #
May 13, 2020 13:11:44 #
Sorry to hear about this. As you saw in my other post, to your first post, I use it to capture images of people high up on a roller coaster. But I use the auto focus since there is not time to manually focus. Thanks for the tip. JimR.
May 13, 2020 13:43:08 #
amfoto1
Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA
Careful!
Make note of which 70-200mm f/4 lens version is being discussed. There are three distinct versions:
1. Original poster was discussing the newest and current EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM "II" (2018).
2. The "Five Minute Fix" on Youtube is being done on the earlier EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM (2006). This version was discontinued when the "II" was introduced. It's also very important to note that this "fix" makes the lens completely unusable in auto focus! After doing this it will be manual focus only. Accidentally using AF mode with the "fixed" lens might do serious damage to lens or camera or both. The guy in one of those videos goes out of his way with disclaimers!
3. There's a longer (45 minute) fix shown in a different Youtube video, involving a lot more extensive teardown of the lens. But that's being done on the EF 70-200mm f/4L USM "non-IS" (1999), the oldest version of the lens, although it's still in production and being sold today.
Personally I've never had any problem with the 70-200mm f/4 IS USM that I've used for several years and bought used. But I also pretty much exclusively use it in AF mode and it appears most problems are related to using manual focus. I do sometimes use de-focus/re-focus technique with it... as I do with most of my lenses. That involves using the manual focus ring to deliberately de-focus the lens, to quickly cause AF to re-focus. Issues with the lens' manual focus mode might be more of a concern for someone using the lens for video, which may use manual focus a lot. I use it for still photos only. However, there are some online users who reported eventually seeing problems with the AF too, some time after first seeing the MF issue.
The design and function of the Canon 100-400mm lenses isn't very relevant. The 100-400mm II's "tensioning" ring has nothing to do with focusing, which is what's being discussed above. That tension ring adjusts the drag on only the zoom ring and mechanism, and at the one extreme can be used to lock the lens in it's most fully retracted (100mm) position for storage. The original 100-400mm "push/pull" zoom has a similar locking mechanism.
Also, both the 100-400mm Canon lenses are not internal zooming... They both grow quite a bit longer when zoomed to their 400mm setting. They are internal focusing, don't change length when focus is adjusted. A significantly different design, all the Canon 70-200mm lenses are internal focusing and internal zooming. They never change physical length when focus or zoom settings are adjusted. Generally this type of lens doesn't need or use a zoom tension/locking mechanism. That's usually only needed on lenses that are not internal zooming. For example, it can help prevent the zoom self-extending while carrying it... sometimes called "zoom creep".
All this has me worried about my own 70-200mm f/4 IS now! I'm resisting temptation to get it out and test the manual focusing, to see if it slips as described. It really shouldn't matter to me, since I use the lens pretty much exclusively with AF. Maybe I'm better off not knowing if MF is slipping!
Make note of which 70-200mm f/4 lens version is being discussed. There are three distinct versions:
1. Original poster was discussing the newest and current EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM "II" (2018).
2. The "Five Minute Fix" on Youtube is being done on the earlier EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM (2006). This version was discontinued when the "II" was introduced. It's also very important to note that this "fix" makes the lens completely unusable in auto focus! After doing this it will be manual focus only. Accidentally using AF mode with the "fixed" lens might do serious damage to lens or camera or both. The guy in one of those videos goes out of his way with disclaimers!
3. There's a longer (45 minute) fix shown in a different Youtube video, involving a lot more extensive teardown of the lens. But that's being done on the EF 70-200mm f/4L USM "non-IS" (1999), the oldest version of the lens, although it's still in production and being sold today.
Personally I've never had any problem with the 70-200mm f/4 IS USM that I've used for several years and bought used. But I also pretty much exclusively use it in AF mode and it appears most problems are related to using manual focus. I do sometimes use de-focus/re-focus technique with it... as I do with most of my lenses. That involves using the manual focus ring to deliberately de-focus the lens, to quickly cause AF to re-focus. Issues with the lens' manual focus mode might be more of a concern for someone using the lens for video, which may use manual focus a lot. I use it for still photos only. However, there are some online users who reported eventually seeing problems with the AF too, some time after first seeing the MF issue.
The design and function of the Canon 100-400mm lenses isn't very relevant. The 100-400mm II's "tensioning" ring has nothing to do with focusing, which is what's being discussed above. That tension ring adjusts the drag on only the zoom ring and mechanism, and at the one extreme can be used to lock the lens in it's most fully retracted (100mm) position for storage. The original 100-400mm "push/pull" zoom has a similar locking mechanism.
Also, both the 100-400mm Canon lenses are not internal zooming... They both grow quite a bit longer when zoomed to their 400mm setting. They are internal focusing, don't change length when focus is adjusted. A significantly different design, all the Canon 70-200mm lenses are internal focusing and internal zooming. They never change physical length when focus or zoom settings are adjusted. Generally this type of lens doesn't need or use a zoom tension/locking mechanism. That's usually only needed on lenses that are not internal zooming. For example, it can help prevent the zoom self-extending while carrying it... sometimes called "zoom creep".
All this has me worried about my own 70-200mm f/4 IS now! I'm resisting temptation to get it out and test the manual focusing, to see if it slips as described. It really shouldn't matter to me, since I use the lens pretty much exclusively with AF. Maybe I'm better off not knowing if MF is slipping!
May 13, 2020 13:54:06 #
May 14, 2020 10:54:49 #
amfoto1 wrote:
Careful! br br Make note of which 70-200mm f/4 l... (show quote)
I could understand if the lens was an older lens as things do eventually wear, but not a lens brand new right out of the box. This was the case with three brand new lens. Obviously a quality control issue. This is one of the reasons I have never bought a telephoto lens. All my lens are fixed prime lens. Better IQ and less moving parts to give me grief.
May 14, 2020 11:25:20 #
Telephoto is long focal length related. Prime or zoom are fixed versus variable focal length terms. Certainly there are quality zoom lenses that can give very good results. And they are more convenient when you can’t zoom with your feet...
authorizeduser wrote:
I could understand if the lens was an older lens as things do eventually wear, but not a lens brand new right out of the box. This was the case with three brand new lens. Obviously a quality control issue. This is one of the reasons I have never bought a telephoto lens. All my lens are fixed prime lens. Better IQ and less moving parts to give me grief.
May 16, 2020 06:45:57 #
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