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Archive 2015 · VC problem with new Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 VC lens?

  
 
scottad
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · VC problem with new Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 VC lens?


I just received a brand-new Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD lens. Shortly after I mounted it on my camera, I noticed/suspected that the IS simply wasn't working (or wasn't turned on)... I've shot with a variety of IS and non-IS lenses, and I'm familiar with the "look" through the finder when IS in engaged, and I'm also familiar with the very quiet "whirring" sound that most IS lenses seem to make (generally only audible if you put your ear very close to the lens).

Anyway... after mounting my 24-70/2.8 VC lens on both my 5D3 and 70D, it *seems* like the VC isn't functioning properly. The first time I mount the lens on a camera body & half-press the shutter, I believe the VC is working (I can hear the constant gentle whirring sound when I put my ear to the lens). HOWEVER, after I've engaged the VC once, it seems to stop working - basically, I can't get the "gentle whirring" sound to occur with a shutter half-press, and it also doesn't seem like the VC is working. If I dismount and remount the lens, I can (seemingly) get the VC to work once, and then it won't work again until I dismount the lens.

Note: my only "evidence" that the VC is working is the gentle whirring sound, which sounds very much like the other ~5 IS lenses I've used. In practice, I can't see a difference in sharpness with VC on or off. (It could simply be a small sample size, but I'm also seeing a "double image" like problem in some shots at around 1/8sec with VC "on," where the same shot with VC "off" doesn't have the double-image like problem...)

Any thoughts on this, from others who have used this lens? Is my lens defective, or am I missing something or doing something wrong? I've never used a Tamron lens before, so I wasn't sure if there's some "quirk" to their VC implementation...?

The constant gentle whirring sound (which is very similar to Canon IS lenses like the 100L IS, 24-105L, etc; and is only audible with my ear a few inches from the lens) -- am I correct in assuming that's the sound this lens makes when VC is properly engaged?

Thanks in advance for any help!!



Apr 17, 2015 at 03:44 PM
snapsy
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · VC problem with new Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 VC lens?


My experience with this lens is that the VC needs to be "broken in" on a new copy or whenever you haven't used the lens for a while. I have no reasonable explanation as to why this is but I have verified the phenomena countless times across multiple copies of this design. Once the VC does start working it is extremely effective, one of the best implementations I've ever used. Here are my instructions on breaking it in: link


Apr 17, 2015 at 04:46 PM
scottad
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · VC problem with new Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 VC lens?


Thank you very much for the helpful response. I'm using a 5D3, so I've been trying to use your suggestion to "break in" the lens, by activating focus and VC (by half-pressing the shutter in AI Servo mode). I've also left it mounted to my 70D in live-view mode, with the video AF on for an extended period. All together, I've been using the lens for a few hours now, and I'm still not convinced the VC is actually turning "on" (except for the very first time I half-press the shutter after mounting the lens). This is the ONLY time I can hear the gentle whirring sound (which I believe is the sound of the VC).

Are you able to hear the VC with your ear next to the lens? It's a very similar sound to all my other IS lenses (and it's a constant sound, even when the lens isn't focusing, which leads me to believe it must be the VC).

Did you ever experience a situation where there was a "break in period" for the VC to even start to work at all?

I'm concerned that my lens' VC simply isn't working at all (except for a few seconds after I dismount and remount the lens)... Is this similar to what you've experienced?

Thanks again!!



Apr 17, 2015 at 08:26 PM
snapsy
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · VC problem with new Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 VC lens?


I'm able to hear the VC whirling with my ear up to a foot away from the lens, even when the lens is exhibiting the break-in issue I described. If you're not hearing the VC at all then it sounds like you have a different (and more serious) issue


Apr 19, 2015 at 02:52 AM
Ben Horne
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · VC problem with new Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 VC lens?


Setting aside any sounds, zoom the lens to 70mm and look through the viewfinder after tapping the button half way. Try to move the lens ever so slightly in a circle. Just a little to the left, a little up, a little to the right, and a little down. Make a tiny tiny circle (barely even moving the camera) and see how it looks through the viewfinder with VC turned on and off. If it's working fine, it'll have a tendency to make that circle more of a box, and if it's not working, it'll be a circle. Also, Pay very close attention to the edge of the frame and move the camera slightly side to side. You should notice a difference with how the edge of the frame moves when you move the camera.

On tamron lenses, the stabilizers are very quiet in operation, but you'll definitely notice the starting and stopping of it when the mechanism is unlocked, and relocked again. Unless your ear is right on the lens, you might not hear the operation, and depending on how old people are, I've found that some people can't hear it even if their ear is pressed up against it. It's VERY uncommon for stabilizers to not work.



Apr 19, 2015 at 09:50 AM
scottad
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · VC problem with new Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 VC lens?


Ben - thanks for your helpful response. I tried some of your suggestions, and I still can't "see" any different in the viewfinder when VC is engaged. (I'm quite familiar with the "look" through the viewfinder when using other IS lenses, such as Canon 35/2 IS, 24-105L, 100L, etc.)

I believe the VC is only working properly for the first minute (or less) that the lens is mounted. When I half-press the shutter the first time (after freshly mounting the lens), I can hear the gentle continuous whirring sound. It's definitely not the sound the lens makes when autofocusing (I even tested this by turning off AF and half-pressing the shutter). Aside from the sounds from focusing and VC, the lens itself shouldn't make any other sounds in operation, so I'm reasonably confident the sound I hear is actually the VC.



Apr 20, 2015 at 02:43 PM
snapsy
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · VC problem with new Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 VC lens?


It's curious that it works for the first minute or so. What happens if you toggle the VC-enabled switch on the lens after that, turning it off then on. Does the VC kick in again for a minute or so?


Apr 20, 2015 at 10:20 PM
scottad
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · VC problem with new Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 VC lens?


No, it doesn't seem to kick in again by toggling the VC switch (or cycling power to the camera). The only thing that seems to make the VC work is to take off the lens and re-mount it (and even then, it only seems to work the first time I half-press the shutter).


Apr 20, 2015 at 10:27 PM
snapsy
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · VC problem with new Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 VC lens?


Interesting. Can you try another experiment - turn off the camera and then pull the battery and leave it out for a few minutes. Then put the battery back in, power on the camera and see if the VC works again for the first minute.


Apr 20, 2015 at 10:33 PM
Ben Horne
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · VC problem with new Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 VC lens?


That's really bizarre. Definitely sounds like something is wrong.


Apr 21, 2015 at 06:53 PM
EB-1
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · VC problem with new Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 VC lens?


Send it back. I had the Tamron 24-70 and the VC worked reasonably well. The lens was not so good optically so I returned it.

EBH



Apr 21, 2015 at 06:58 PM
scottad
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · VC problem with new Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 VC lens?


What happens if you toggle the VC-enabled switch on the lens after that, turning it off then on. Does the VC kick in again for a minute or so?

Yes, this seems to make the VC kick in again. However, when it works, it's probably only for 5-10 seconds.

I'm sending this lens back. Thanks for your input everyone - much appreciated!



Apr 22, 2015 at 10:46 AM





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