C100: Lenses loose?

[Drew Curran]

Hi,
I want a second opinion on this to put my mind at rest before I send my C100 off to Canon for repair. Are my lenses loose or is this normal?

Here is a video of the issue:

Private Video on Vimeo

password: c100dvx

Can you compare this to your C100 and tell me if I'm imagining things!

The lenses I own are a Canon 70-200 F4 L and a Tamron 17-50 F2.8 VC2. I have tested the same 2 lenses on my 550d but I have to apply a lot of force before they show any looseness.

Thanks.

[Andy Wilkinson]

Something wrong there. Get Canon to look at your C100.

[Drew Curran]

Thanks Andy,
I talked to the actual technical department in Canon UK and they said they've seen it before and to send it to them for repair. My initial contact with them this morning was with a call centre person who didn't seem to have a technical knowledge which is why I was hesitant.

My C100 is in the post... 2 - 3 business days apparently. We'll see.

Ta

[Marty Hudzik]

Good Luck Drew. I'm sure it will all work out. Was is always like this that you remember?

[Drew Curran]

Marty
Yeah it was.

Someone on another forum says this is normal, and that if it returns to the normal place, which it does, then theres nothing to worry about.

I've delayed sending it off as I want Canon to pay for shipping as it'll cost me nearly £100 with insurance for loss! So far they haven't responded...

Ta

[Andy Wilkinson]

Just got back from filming in Cambridge and checked mine a few seconds ago after reading this.

I put about as much force on the 70-200 lens as I feel comfortable with (so not a lot...) and nothing budged - no gaps, all as solid as a rock.

So either you're very heavy handed/forceful and I'm a cautious weed (I do tend to baby/look after my gear!) or there is something wrong with your C100 and Canon need to look at it.

Also, just checked same lens on my 7D. Same result = solid as far as I'm concerned.

It looks loose on that video clip, at least to me. Not sure if this helps or not but that's my interpretation.

[Drew Curran]

Originally Posted by Andy Wilkinson

So either you're very heavy handed/forceful and I'm a cautious weed (I do tend to baby/look after my gear!) or there is something wrong with your C100 and Canon need to look at it.

Yeah. I'm like you - I'm very careful / gentle with my equipment and won't lend it to anyone. I always cringe when I see other people chucking their gear in to cases!

My decision whether to send it for repair or not depends on Canon paying for shipping of my virtually new Camera - I'm not paying nearly £100 on the principle that a new £4k camera with defects should be covered by the manufacturer. (sorry for ranting!)

[Andy Wilkinson]

Fair enough Drew!

I do hope you get more feedback from others over this (perhaps from people prepared to be more heavy handed than me in testing - I only lightly pushed the lens on mine!)

My guess is that there will be some variation between cameras due to manufacturing tolerances over things like this, just as there is in lens mechanics. Some will be nice and tight and others, well, maybe like yours (and everything in between). I won't bore you people with details but I've had several C100s in my hands and some, including the one I have now, had slight play in the top XLR handle grip, where it bolts onto the main body via the shoe, (even when done up tightly). One did not - the first one I owned. However, that one had a very awkward to use/stiff joystick that would often fail to register a command in one of its directions - but this one is a joy to use (pun intended!). I can live with the slight side play in the top handle. See anything mechanical has variation.

As an aside, I just watched Mr Bloom's C100 review and he was waving the camera round with a big, long (and no doubt heavy) Canon 100-400mm in it - not sure I'd feel comfortable doing that with a C100 that had the amount of play in the lens mount that yours seems to have!!!

The concern would be if it starts to develop a permanent "sag". I guess, as long as the lens ALWAYS springs back to it's "true" position it won't affect shooting and so you could always just carry on using it. After all, it's still under warranty and hopefully will continue to earn you money whilst it's in your hands. If it gets worse or the mount parts company with the body then I guess there would be no argument from Canon that they would pay the shipping to repair a defective unit. Reminds me, need to renew my camera insurance this month!

Heck, maybe Canon will start marketing this as a "shock absorbing lens protection system" to help prevent damage to expensive long lenses if accidentally knocked :-)

[Drew Curran]

Yeah I was thinking the same thing when watching Phils review.

I'm currently waiting on postage labels from Canon as promised... Twice! Why do large corporations make things so difficult??

[Drew Curran]

Just by way of an update, I got put through to one of the Canon Technicians in the UK repair centre who watched my video and told me that its normal, and that each camera will display a different amount of play and sees this all the time. He also assured me it will cause no problems with the operation of the camera. He kindly compared it to a C100 and a matching 70-200 F4 L lens he had to hand and noted it was the same.

My mind is at peace now thankfully.

[Andy Wilkinson]

Phew! I'm sure that comes as a relief. Now go and shoot something - sun's out (at least around here it is!)

[Drew Curran]

Originally Posted by Andy Wilkinson

Phew! I'm sure that comes as a relief. Now go and shoot something - sun's out (at least around here it is!)

Relief is an understatement!! lol

Can you send the sun over to Ireland please?!

[Christopher Young]

No way in the world is that right.

I would be screaming at Canon, politely mind you, to get that fixed. If you had a manual focus lens with that much movement it would be having back focus issues especially wide open.

That amount of flange back movement is totally unacceptable. It may be just the tension leaf springs inside the camera lens mount that hold the lens seated correctly that might need replacing or ‘restoring’ back to shape. If you feel confident this can be achieved with a small jeweller’s screwdriver and some patience. If the cam is under warranty get Canon to fix it.

My past experience with this sort of behaviour with still film cameras was to replace the mount assembly because the tension springs had lost their 'tension'. A sixties newspaper photographer once said to me during my training “If the lens is heavier than the camera body carry the whole kit by the lens. If the camera body is heavier than the lens that’s mounted carry the kit by the body.” “Why?” I asked in my young ignorance. “So you don’t put too much load on the lens mount tension springs.” He was right. Today’s lenses are much bigger and heavier on the whole so it may be the problem. Worth checking anyway.

Chris Young
CYV Productions
Sydney

[Drew Curran]

Hi Christopher,

Thanks for your input. As you see in the video I have to apply a little force to get this to happen. It doesn't happen by gravity and the lenses don't wiggle if the camera is moved. I've checked the full circumference of the mounts when a lens is mounted and it is seated correctly with no gaps so focus should not be an issue. I will keep an eye on it and it it gets worse I will get it repaired.

I baby my equipment so it shouldn't be a problem.

Ta

Drew

[Christopher Young]

That's good then. Sounds like the mount tension springs are in good health and doing their job. Handled with care all should be good for some time to come. Though it’s always worth keeping an eye on the mount / lens connection in case it ever does start to show play. These days’ people change cameras so quickly it probably never becomes an issue for most. I had Nikon F and Minolta bodies working for around ten years plus without any major dramas other than lens mount sloppiness developing over time. Keep on shooting!

Chris Young
CYV Productions
Sydney