Sounds of Image Stablization...

Just got my 17-55 2.8 IS which I got off someone from ebay who got it 2 months ago new. It's in mint condition, but I just wanted to make sure I'm hearing the IS correctly with my ear up to the side of the lens when it turns on. When I press the shutter halfway you can hear it something start turning a bit which sounds 'semi-scratchy' sounding before it turns off.

Just curious as to what everyone else hears when they listen to the sound of IS?

Thats about what my 17-85 sounds like.

The noise that an IS unit makes depends on the lens (first-time 300mm f/4L IS users are always scared that something might be broken), but the newer lenses with IS are near silent. However if you are in a relatively quiet place it isn't difficult to hear it at work. This is most evident when the IS mechanism turns on and off. In between, there's very little noise.

When I was at B&H this past weeend, I tried the 70-300 IS. I couldn't hear much inside the store, but I could feel the motor working inside the lens. It's one of the reasons why I opted for the 70-200 f/4.

Stefan

Yeah, my 17-85 makes a noise like that too. I can easily hear the high-pitched electronic whine of its operation in a quiet place or if I put my ear near it.

All 3 of my IS lenses have some noise. There is a louder "click" at the start and end of IS operation, and a whirring noise in between. The loudness of the whirring noise is 70-200 > 100-400 > 24-105

cool, thanks guys. just making sure everything's working correctly.

Image Stabilizer really works! heh!

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