17-55 - MF Ring Feel "Gritty"?

Just received a refurbished 17-55 from Canon, and in testing it, t feels to me like the MF ring has a piece of grit or tiny something scraping in there. It's VERY minor, but can slightly hear and feel it at times.

Canon Refurb (at this second) still has them in stock. Is this something I should request a new one over, or is it an idiosyncrasy of this particular lens?

Just gave mine a twist, and it isnt smooth as butter, but I wouldnt call it 'gritty' either.

i'd say mine is fairly smooth

Gritty isn't quite the right word, though I wouldn't be surprised if there was a very small grain of something in there. Don't hear/feel it all the time, but at times it just sounds/feels like something's scraping.

If it's not something that will harm the mechanism, I can live with it. But my main concern is this is something not right.

If it's around the 35mm area, I think that's somewhat normal.

My focus ring moves very smoothly.

-js

if you aren't happy, send it back or exchange it.

Mine is also a little stiffer around 35mm, but in general it's relatively smooth. This is a barely discernable effect. Unless you can hear something floating around loose, I suspect nothing is wrong with your refurb.

Sounds like you got a way good price, buying refurb.

Actually, really enjoy this lens, it's sharper than the much heavier 24-70mm f/2.8L.

People talking about being "stiffer" at 35mm etc are most likely mistakenly thinking you are talking about the *zoom* ring (and mine is like this too.)

Yes, the *focus* ring on my 17-55 does feel the same "gritty", cheap feeling. It's not that nice, and I would have expected more at this price level, but it is what it is.

I haven't been hands on with another 17-55 to know whether this is "normal", or not.

pdrober2 wrote in post #12883591
if you aren't happy, send it back or exchange it.

If refurb still had one in stock today, I would. But I'm heading out in a week for three weeks in Africa, and don't want to risk not having this lens. Instead, I've opened a repair ticket and if it's an issue after shooting with it in Africa, will send it in for warranty repairs at that time.

raksphoto wrote in post #12883643
Sounds like you got a way good price, buying refurb.

Actually, really enjoy this lens, it's sharper than the much heavier 24-70mm f/2.8L.

I can't wait to be shooting with it instead of just testing. And yes, with the 15% additional discount coupon on top of the normal refurb pricing, I'm very happy with what I paid.

talbot_sunbeam wrote in post #12883671
People talking about being "stiffer" at 35mm etc are most likely mistakenly thinking you are talking about the *zoom* ring (and mine is like this too.)

Yes, the *focus* ring on my 17-55 does feel the same "gritty", cheap feeling. It's not that nice, and I would have expected more at this price level, but it is what it is.

I haven't been hands on with another 17-55 to know whether this is "normal", or not.

Thanks for that input! Will be traveling with a friend who also has the 17-55, so will compare with hers to see if mine is significantly different. Mostly I wanted to be sure that a) this wasn't horribly out of the ordinary and b) that using it wasn't going to cause damage.

BurBunny wrote in post #12884159
Thanks for that input! Will be traveling with a friend who also has the 17-55, so will compare with hers to see if mine is significantly different.

Do post back here when you've done that, as I'd be interested in the results.

BurBunny wrote in post #12884159
Mostly I wanted to be sure that a) this wasn't horribly out of the ordinary and b) that using it wasn't going to cause damage.

Sure. I think it's probably fine - when I first got mine, I was kinda expecting it to feel smooth and expensive (relatively speaking) - the fact the MF ring felt worse than on the cheap EFS stuff kinda puts me off manual focus - not that I need it that much in general shooting anyway, but the full-time-manual focus override is useful, and I don't like being reminded how cheap the construction felts when I do so...

ive seen and handled about 4 17-55 before i made my purchase and i did notice them having a slight gritty feeling with all of them...i mean its a smooth rotation but its not ball bearing smooth...hope that helps!

eg6turbo wrote in post #12885542
ive seen and handled about 4 17-55 before i made my purchase and i did notice them having a slight gritty feeling with all of them...i mean its a smooth rotation but its not ball bearing smooth...hope that helps!

It definitely does! Sounds like it's just an idiosyncrasy of the lens, like the tightness in the zoom around 35mm. Definitely nothing I can't live with as after shooting with it today I'm totally in love with this lens!

I'm glad I found this thread. I just picked up a 17-55 in the refurb sale also and was wondering if the slight tightness/stiffness around 35mm in the zoom was normal. The focus ring on mine is fairly smooth - not silky smooth like I would imagine a lens this expensive would be though. Mine also has a piece of dust in it but I suspect that won't be the last one.