EFS 15-85mm Issue

[ESP2008]

I recently purchased one o' they there new-fangled 15-85mm jobbies to replace my older 17-85mm lens.  I have been very happy with its (the 15-85mm) performance to-date.  Except...

It does have a slightly irritating habit of sliding away from the chosen zoom point if held at the more extreme angles away from the horizontal.  I have to grip the blighter to prevent it from slipping from 24mm to between 50 and 70mm (when pointed downward), and slipping from just less than 70mm to almost 15mm (when pointing upward).  OK, so the angles have to be quite extreme (nearing the vertical) but it is irritating nonetheless.

Has anyone else noted this?  Should I be contemplating a return to Canon for a bit of tweaking?  I must say I was quite surprised by the weight of the beastie when it first arrived.

[whizkid]

The term is commonly reffered to as zoom creep.  I have owned one of Canon's 15-85 lenses for about 3 months without that happening. Mine seems very tight for now.  Zoom creep development is common I suppose but of several Canon zooms I own, none have it except for their EFS 18-200 zoom. It creeps so bad that Canon includes a zoom lock switch on the lens. Sadly, it locks only at 18 mm so it's more for shouldering than shooting.

[ESP2008]

Thanks for taking time to respond. Ah, 'zoom creep', I remember the term now and have seen it mentioned elsewhere, but not in relation to this lens. I will reiterate that I am more than happy with the lens apart from this one niggle. In fact, the zoom action is nice and smooth, so perhaps this is the price I pay.  I think I will monitor the situation - if it gets worse I will be in touch with Canon.  As I say, the lens is heavier than I expected, so it is no great surprise that this might occur.

In fact, now I have taken the time to do a quick interweb search, I find that there are other reports of the same phenomenon with this lens.  It seems 'luck of the draw' whether your 15-85mm exhibits this behaviour from new or will develop it later in its life.  Certainly some argue that it is 'normal' whatever that may be.  All I know is that it only seems a 'problem' at approx 80 degrees or greater, which gels with other reports.  If it gets no worse than that, I am willing to live with it.

[Bob Atkins]

I recently reviewed the EF-S 15-85 and the one I tested didn't show any zoom creep - but as you say, it may just be the luck of the draw. It's very likely that Canon would tighten it up under warranty if you ask them. Just make sure to send it in before the 12 month warranty expires. It may be worth doing if your lens is particularly inclined to zoom on its own since with time it will get looser rather than tighter!