Pixel Perfect wrote:
I like how the zoom friction worked on my old Canon 100-400L, it wasn't an all or nothing control ring. The friction should vary smoothly through the range IMO. By no way a deal breaker, but I would find it annoying.
arbitrage replied:Yeah, same as Sony’s 100-400 f/4.5-5.6. I’ve owned both EF Canon 100-400s, the RF 100-500 and the FE 100-400 that have such a ring. But as Dan says I typically had it fully at one end or the other.
IIRC, at some point in this thread there was some speculation about whether the Canon lens we are talking about here (in my case the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-f/5.6L IS v.2) creeps when you twist its friction ring to the unlocked position. (BTW, the older version of the lens did have an issue with the friction ring — wear would eventually cause it to not work as it did when new.)
Mine does not creep at any adjustment point. I just checked it with the lens at 100mm and pointed down — no creep. I also checked it at 400mm with the lens pointed up. No creep. This is a lens that I have owned and used a lot for years.
I'm interested in a specific link to what Sony has said officially about this — a direct link/quote, not a reference to a post saying that they said something. :-)
I suppose that it is possible that either of two situations are the reality her:
1. Sony intentionally designed the zoom with so little friction that creep is intentional on the low friction setting. (E.g. "We designed it that way to make zooming as smooth as possible on the low friction setting.")
2. Sony did not intend the lens to creep in either setting, including the low friction setting, and the creep at the low friction setting is a design//manufacturing issue. (E.g. "No, you rlens should not 'creep' in normal use at either friction setting.")
(It would also be useful to know if Sony intends the "tight" setting to be the equivalent of a zoom lock, or if they designed it anticipating that users would leave it on that setting even when zooming. On the Canon lens mentioned above, the assumption has always been that you loosen the ring in use and tighten it to secure the zoom mechanism when not actively shooting.)
It would be really easy for Sony to put this question to rest.
Pixel Perfect wrote:
I like how the zoom friction worked on my old Canon 100-400L, it wasn't an all or nothing control ring. The friction should vary smoothly through the range IMO. By no way a deal breaker, but I would find it annoying.
arbitrage replied:Yeah, same as Sony’s 100-400 f/4.5-5.6. I’ve owned both EF Canon 100-400s, the RF 100-500 and the FE 100-400 that have such a ring. But as Dan says I typically had it fully at one end or the other.
IIRC, at some point in this thread there was some speculation about whether the Canon lens we are talking about here (in my case the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-f/5.6L IS v.2) creeps when you twist its friction ring to the unlocked position. (BTW, the older version of the lens did have an issue with the friction ring — wear would eventually cause it to not work as it did when new.)
Mine does not creep at any adjustment point. I just checked it with the lens at 100mm and pointed down — no creep. I also checked it at 400mm with the lens pointed up. No creep. This is a lens that I have owned and used a lot for years.
I'm interested in a specific link to what Sony has said officially about this — a direct link/quote, not a reference to a post saying that they said something. :-)
I suppose that it is possible that either of two situations are the reality her:
1. Sony intentionally designed the zoom with so little friction that creep is intentional on the low friction setting. (E.g. "We designed it that way to make zooming as smooth as possible on the low friction setting.")
2. Sony did not intend the lens to creep in either setting, including the low friction setting, and the creep at the low friction setting is a design//manufacturing issue. (E.g. "No, you rlens should not 'creep' in normal use at either friction setting.")
It would be really easy for Sony to put this question to rest.
Sep 05, 2026 at 01:02 PM
Previous versions of gdanmitchell's message #17101313 « Sony 100-400 F4.5 Internal Zoom Creep ? »
