Stuck Zoom Ring

[Andrew clemson]

Hi, quick question. Been on vacation for a few weeks, and when I got back into work and pulled out our 18-50 I found that it wont zoom past 25mm-ish. Anyone encountered this before? It had just come back from service at RED and hadnt been out on any jobs, could it be due to mishandling of cases? Our equipment store had been refitted while I was away and all the gear had been moved into other rooms. (apparently by the carpenters!)

Anyone have any ideas? Or should I send it to RED?

[Sam Winzar]

Had the exact same problem happen to mine just before REDucation. Would only zoom out to 23mm. It didn't happen in the middle of a job, I just pulled it out one day and it just would zoom all the way out. It's always been stored in the RED Pelican case, but I think there's a little too much room for it to bounce around in there (there's enough space for the 50-150mm.

I sent it back to RED and they were able to repair it under warranty. Unfortunately it took almost 4 weeks to be repaired.

[Andrew clemson]

Yeah, theres definitely enough room in the RED peli for the 50-150, thats where ours lives. Im guessing it was designed for it, due to that circle of foam that pops out of the top layer. Got a separate case for the 18-50 and 300, with no room for play in the foam, must have ben dropped or something.

Oh well, back to Red then I guess. Heres to hoping it takes less than a month though!

[Andrae Palmer]

Mine has the same issue... guess will have to send it back. Won't zoom pass 25mm.

[Andrew clemson]

Lens got cleaned/fixed whatever and back to us in about a week (minus shipping time which Im guessing is a lot longer for us than you! :) ).

[Andrae Palmer]

Wow I hope this isn't too expensive to fix... lens never got dropped or anything... was in the case, took it out and all of a sudden won't get pass 25mm... very strange.

[Andrew clemson]

No, same thing here. Went into a box working, came out knackered. Cant remember what the cost was for repair.

[ericyoung]

I imagine it must be an mechanical endstop working loose over time until at some point it restricts the zoom ring movement. Probably an easy fix for a lens tech unless someone tries to force it past the stuck point.

[Matthew Duclos]

I imagine it must be an mechanical endstop working loose over time until at some point it restricts the zoom ring movement. Probably an easy fix for a lens tech unless someone tries to force it past the stuck point.

Best not to force it. It's a cam follower that is out of place. Just needs to be repositioned and lubricated. Not a big deal unless the cam is damaged.

[ericyoung]

Best not to force it. It's a cam follower that is out of place. Just needs to be repositioned and lubricated. Not a big deal unless the cam is damaged.

Thanks for the expert input Matthew!

Can you say why the cam follower moves out of place? Is it a design issue, a user misuse issue, a lens storage issue or just something that isn't/wasn't tightened up properly in the factory?

[KETCH ROSSi]

Zooms can have problems which are created by transport, no doubt, http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=33904

[Matthew Duclos]

Thanks for the expert input Matthew!

Can you say why the cam follower moves out of place? Is it a design issue, a user misuse issue, a lens storage issue or just something that isn't/wasn't tightened up properly in the factory?

Very difficult to say without having someone open it. Like I said, it could simply be out of place or if it took a hit, the follower could be broken. Absolutely could happen in shipping. This is common with Cooke S4 lenses. The cam follower is rather large and supports the entire weight of the optical cell. So if the lens is impacted in a way that puts the stress on the follower, it can easily snap. The simple solution for this is to avoid the unfortunate results of gravity.

[ericyoung]

Interesting - so depending on the lens, even a well padded flight case won't save damage if it's dropped in a particular orientation, possibly even from a fairly modest height.

[Vico Martin]

Very difficult to say without having someone open it. Like I said, it could simply be out of place or if it took a hit, the follower could be broken. Absolutely could happen in shipping. This is common with Cooke S4 lenses. The cam follower is rather large and supports the entire weight of the optical cell. So if the lens is impacted in a way that puts the stress on the follower, it can easily snap. The simple solution for this is to avoid the unfortunate results of gravity.

Matthew, where you put the focal lenght in a zoom when ship it? I mean with this lens you put it on 18 or in 50mm when packaging.

Thanks in advance.

[Andrae Palmer]

Thanks for your input Matthew.

I doubt this is out of place from the lens being impacted. A few weeks ago it was tight at 25mm and now its completely locked. The lens is rarely used and all of the time in the pelican case. I have stored it in the manner zoom lens are supposed to be.