duncangr wrote:
ps09 wrote
As someone who was closely watching this lens as a possibly "perfect" kayak lens with 1.4, I am disappointed and question how a lens can be released with a flaw as obvious as the creep is? Do I want a $4000+ lens that has the creeps? No, honestly I don't. I want the lens to operate like my 70-200 gm ii and how the 2-6/4-8 did (sold them both). I saw this lens as 1/2 of a perfect "dual strap connected to foot" 2-camera setup. The other being the 300 + 2x. I could hop out of the truck or snow coach with 1-4 and 600mm (300/2x). No tripods or monopods. The thought of it creeping to 100 while it dangles is a deal breaker for me. I want the zoom buttery smooth like the other Sony internal lenses, not requiring a stiff setting to maintain my zoom setting. In the kayak (my kayaks are pedal driven) I normally rest the lens hood on my right thigh and secure the camera to my right shoulder with my right hand cradling the lens at the mount (left hand controls rudder). This lens would most certainly creep to 100 while I pedal to find my subject and would be at its widest setting when I would lift the camera to my eye. I think it would take me quite a while to develop muscle memory to crank the zoom as I lift it (I shoot maybe 1-2 days a week if I'm lucky). AND, I don't think I should have to develop a work-around technique to make up for the shortcomings of a lens that lists at more than $4k. I think they cheaped-out on something with this lens, either to keep the cost or weight down and I find it unacceptable. I'd be so pissed if I missed a shot because it crept to 100 because my gimbal or monopod were pointing down. I'd be better off with the 2-6 at f8.
I think this lens will actually have a positive impact on sales of the 2-6. I had a copy that was really strong at f7.1 and now I regret selling it. It's not a flaw - it's a design tradeoff - and they put a switch on to optionally prevent creep.
Sometimes you just can't have the cake and eat it too.
Get over it and move on now.
Yeah! When you look down the barrel and see how much glass is moving, and how far, its understandable. The lens is fantastic. It's designed to be able move quickly through the zoom range. I've been loving it so far.