24-70L, Focus Ring Slack

So I picked up a spanky new 24-70 last week. Unfortunately, the focus ring has a little slack in it. That is, if you turn it in one direction, say - and then the other... There's a slight "dead zone" of maybe 1mm+ before it truly catches and continues focusing. In other words the focus ring seems a little loose.

I'm thinking I should either return it for an exchange or get it fixed under warranty.

The 16-35 doesn't have this. Am I being too picky? I'm just worried it'll loosen up more over time.

Plenty of people have complained of that, lately. I say, if it's barely 1mm, that's nothing to be concerned over. I honestly don't remember if any of mine did that.

Really? Hmm. It's about 1mm, maybe a touch more. My biggest concern was it getting worse over time. But I guess I can keep an eye on it, since it has a USA warranty. Plus, it's not like I manual focus much, if at all.

Just wasn't sure if I should exchange it while I still can or send it in...

Thanks for the feedback, Ronald.

if it's under warranty i'd send it back.

ed rader

Better yet, before surrendering your lens for half a lifetime, why not find a local store that has one in stock and try it out? See if it has the same problem. Even better yet, wait for more people to answer. You've got a year, you know!

ya mine has a little slack too, about 1mm but it's not really bothering me though.........

You could call it a 'feature' even that 1mm gives you time to compose

*reaches for the bag* - looks like less than 1mm on mine, feels about the same on the zoom ring. Rarely likely to use manual focus on this lens though...

Yeah, I double-checked and it's 1mm tops. It's just a little bit of slack.

That was my thinking too - it's not like I'll be manual focusing much, if ever. Like you said Ronald, I've got a year...

ive never used this lens but this is what happened to my 70-200 a few months ago, the problem got worse and it is now being repaiered as the af was bad.