G3 lens noise

[rsprods]

Just got my G3 and when I power it on and off, and when I zoom in and out, it makes a grinding or crackling noise. Is this normal? Is it not normal but common? I'm a real stickler for these kind of things (I tried a few S400s - one of which had a noisy lens mechanism)...

Off topic: Got the G3 for $593 at Amazon. Does it make sense to buy now or am I going to be kicking myself for not waiting for the G4/G5? Don't want to miss out on the great price, but with my luck a smaller, lighter 5 or 6MP, 8x optical zoom version will be announced 32 days after I bought mine....

[Dana]

Just announced on Canon's site:

- 6 MP
- 8x zoom
- built in 512 MB 100x speed CF memory
- choice of optical or electronic viewfinder (switchable)
- blender attachment for mixing drinks....
- New "Ansel Adams" scene mode that guarantees publication of photos in national magazines

:-) I know what you mean, the eternal "buyer's remorse" issue. A comedian I saw once captured the feeling very well:

"I refuse to buy any more electronic equipment until they promise to stop inventing things!"

If the G3 meets your needs, keep it. If only kinda/sorta, you might have wanted to either look at other cameras or wait and see what the G4/5 turns out to be. But remember, it will be new and more expensive. The only reason I would wait if the G3 met my needs would be to get a lower price, as when the next G coms out the G3 will likely drop a bit. But while you're waiting you're going to miss taking a lot of pics! :-)

The noise you are talking about sounds excessive, by the way!

Dana

[PFlor]

rsprods wrote:
Just got my G3 and when I power it on and off, and when I zoom in and out, it makes a grinding or crackling noise. Is this normal? Is it not normal but common? I'm a real stickler for these kind of things (I tried a few S400s - one of which had a noisy lens mechanism)...


Hard to tell without actually hearing it. There is some noise coming from the G3 zoom mechanism but not sure if I would describe it as 'grinding' or 'crackling'. What you can do is go to any camera store and compare the G3s they have with yours.

[solraceoj]

I just got my G3 yesterday and am experiencing the same crackling noise. Did you have to get it fixed or is this really "normal"? Everything else works just fine so far...

Anyone else have the same "problem"?





rsprods wrote:
Just got my G3 and when I power it on and off, and when I zoom in and out, it makes a grinding or crackling noise. Is this normal? Is it not normal but common? I'm a real stickler for these kind of things (I tried a few S400s - one of which had a noisy lens mechanism)...

Off topic: Got the G3 for $593 at Amazon. Does it make sense to buy now or am I going to be kicking myself for not waiting for the G4/G5? Don't want to miss out on the great price, but with my luck a smaller, lighter 5 or 6MP, 8x optical zoom version will be announced 32 days after I bought mine....

[rsprods]

I had to exchange mine several times before I got one that didn't have the noise. It isn't normal but, perhaps, common. Personally, I'd hold out for one that doesn't make the noise.

[AzzKicker]

mine really doesnt make the noise.

[availlant]

mine was bought inMontreal Canada at the beginning of June, no noise in lens zoom mechanism

keep returning it until you get a smooth sounding one

[satnitefever]

Every G3 will make a cracking noise, don't worry there's nothing wrong weather it's suppose to be like this or not. It's normal..

[rsprods]

Not true, actually: I went through several and found two that were perfect. I picked one, kept the other for a friend who was also in the market. I'm glad I kept looking, as it makes a big difference to me not to hear that crackling sound every time I power up, power down, or zoom in/out.

[Outlaw]

Wierd, mine makes noise, but no problems so far. I have owned it for a few months and it works perfectly. I don't think that it is an issue. But I suppose if you can find one that doesn't make noise that's cool too. Im not worried about it though. I have really bad hearing so I had to put my ear up to the lens when I powered it up to hear the noise you guys are describing. But I have already taken hundreds of pictures with the G3 around all sorts of people and no one has remarked about the camera making noise thats why I never gave it a thought(plus I couldn't hear it anyway!) Hopefully it wont be a problem later on down the road.

Outlaw

[Getty]

I just bought the G3 for 2 days. After reading your posting, I realize the following sounds noise on my camera:

- in Auto mode, using the LCD, when I move the camera to find stuff to shoot, I hear some little noise inside the camera, like the sound of moving parts..

- on the oder hand, if I use the viewfinder, this noise disappears.

Is this normal function of G3 when using the LCD??
Thanks.
Getty

[nguyenn_99]

I got my G3 less than 3 days. I am trying it out and got the same noise from the lense, stephano described it best, like packing material rubbing together.

Will it go away? Should I exchange it?

[John_T]

I've got the same noise on my G5. If I clamp it right on my ear, I hear gears or different sorts working, the traversing of parts, and perhaps the movement of some dust/humidity barriers.

I think what I hear is just the normal mechanics and materials, which may vary from camera to camera in loudness, but still normal. The parts may also have a break-in period as well.

If everything works right, it probably is.

[Borch]

Hi,
When you zoom in from tele to wide, just as it stops zoomin it makes a kind of electromechanical noise. Dunno how to describe it but goes something like; tik tik tik tik...., like a small metal ball that hits the floor and bounces with damped oscillation. (Yeah I am an engineer :-) )

If you zoom just a bit out and then back again the sound will appear againg...

Do you people hear this?

[sprockett]

thats the sound of the shutter..
totaly normal..

try this: HIT DISPLAY turning it on and off..
u will hear the sound as well..

both g3 and g5 do this... (owned both)