# RF 70-200mm f 2.8 Loose Innard (Suspect it is the IS?)



## Alowan (Jan 6, 2020)

Hi everyone,

I recently got the RF 70-200mm f 2.8 and seems to be a "beast" of a lens in a suprisingly small package.

However I have noticed that when the camera is turned off or the lens is disconnected you can see a part wiggle quite a bit around inside the lens. I suspect this is the IS or something - and I have not noticed any problems with the lens. As the shop I bought it from currently is out of stock I cannot see if their lenses have it - so I am curious if anyone know what is is and if it is normal. (see gif)


----------



## Kit Lens Jockey (Jan 6, 2020)

Might be the IS, but that's kinda crazy, I've never visually seen the IS moving around when you shake a lens. I've heard it on a few lenses though.

Some people say that you need to physically turn off the IS before turning off the camera to "lock" the IS in place so it won't move around when the lens is removed from the camera. I have experienced an abnormally loud noise when I shake my EF 70-200 2.8, and putting it back on the camera, turning the camera on, and turning off the IS switch seemed to make the noise much quieter. However then again sometimes this noise is quiet when I shake the lens even if I did not turn off the IS before removing it from the camera. So who knows if turning the IS off actually does anything or not.

But, long story short, try turning off the IS and shaking the lens again. If this bit doesn't move around anymore, then it's just the IS moving around. If this is not the IS moving around, then your lens has a majorly loose element. I'm sure you know that nothing but the IS should ever move that much.


----------



## Alowan (Jan 6, 2020)

I have personally never seen anything like it. But have never owned a 70-200.. It locks in place as soon as the camera is turned on with no wobble. And the function of the lens seems to be superb. And I would think that if this wasent the IS a element that loose would give performance issues.

EDIT: Just checked. With the camera on and IS off the wobble is completly gone - with the camera on and IS ON I can see the element moving around but not as much as when the camera is off.

If anyone with a RF 70-200 can check theirs for the same wobble that would confirm that the RF 70-200 has a very wobbely IS. Lens Rental tore it down and called it beautifully engineered and robust - so I guess if that is there by default it dosent have an effect on durability.


Edit 2: I checked with canon today and the "wobble" is completly normal. It is the IS.


----------



## Big_Ant_TV_Media (Mar 12, 2021)

Alowan said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> I recently got the RF 70-200mm f 2.8 and seems to be a "beast" of a lens in a suprisingly small package.
> 
> However I have noticed that when the camera is turned off or the lens is disconnected you can see a part wiggle quite a bit around inside the lens. I suspect this is the IS or something - and I have not noticed any problems with the lens. As the shop I bought it from currently is out of stock I cannot see if their lenses have it - so I am curious if anyone know what is is and if it is normal. (see gif)



I JUST GOT USED RF 70-200 and mine has wobble or rattle so are u sure its normal?


----------



## YuengLinger (Mar 12, 2021)

It is 100% normal and okay! I went through weeks contacting Canon Professional Services, and posting online about this, here and on DPR. Eventually lensrentals.com had a tangential issue and did a big tear down. The image stabilization element does not park like it did in previous Canon zoom lenses with image stabilization. This is a new design and seems to be rugged and built to last a long time.

Scan through this thread:






Do Canon IS lenses park? Which ones? Ok if they don't?


I noticed that my Rf 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS lens exhibited a surprising amount of free movement of the visible part of the image-stabilization cylinder. With no camera attached, looking down through the front element, and gently tilting the lens in different directions, I can see the topmost...




www.canonrumors.com


----------



## BadBird (Mar 12, 2021)

I noticed the significant wobble of inner barrel parts of the RF lens immediately upon inspecting a new RF 800 f/11 IS STM last fall (seen from either end, but very disturbing from the mount end). You can actually hear them oscillating if you move the lens around. Extending and locking the lens barrel had no effect on the wobble. I got that lens several months before even I had an R camera (R5) to test it on, so I was actually worried about it. Once I had a camera, I discovered that the inner parts became much more stable when they were powered up, so I assume that there is a gyroscope involved - part of the IS function. Turning the Stabilizer switch off made them even less deflectable, but does not lock them; once powered down, they flop all over the place again. I have to wonder if this lens will survive for long riding around in an off-road vehicle, or any other high vibration/impact shock environment. I have already had the R5 with GPS GP-E2 mounted, with RF 1.4 TC and RF 800 f/11 extended and locked, bouncing around the front seat of my 4Runner on rough roads in the local NWR, so I guess I'll find out. I keep the GPS powered up all day, but sometimes I turn the camera off - so the lens stabilizer is off.

The RF 100-500 IS USM is the opposite - the wobbling interior barrel parts look the worst from the front of the lens. Power up the camera, and it visibly stabilizes - with much less flex than I see in the RF 800; power it down and the IS stops and it is loose again. Changing the Stabilizer switch appears to have no effect, nor does it lock anything when powered down. It wobbles inside when shaken, but isn't as noisy as the 800.

This appears to be another new design feature of the RF lenses - like the bizarre limitations of the RF extenders on the RF 100-500. It is certainly unlike anything I have seen in an EF or EF-S IS lens. Neither of my EF white lenses do it (70-200 f.2.8 IS II USM and 100-400 IS II USM).


----------



## Bdbtoys (Mar 13, 2021)

Alowan said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> I recently got the RF 70-200mm f 2.8 and seems to be a "beast" of a lens in a suprisingly small package.
> 
> However I have noticed that when the camera is turned off or the lens is disconnected you can see a part wiggle quite a bit around inside the lens. I suspect this is the IS or something - and I have not noticed any problems with the lens. As the shop I bought it from currently is out of stock I cannot see if their lenses have it - so I am curious if anyone know what is is and if it is normal. (see gif)



Yes. The IS doesn't 'park' when camera is off or unmounted.


----------

