Lens is Noisy?

Two_In

Two_In

Messages
175
Name
Andrew
Edit My Images
Yes
Have just received my 2nd hand lens in the post - working fine, but it's quite noisy (to my ears) during auto focus. How much noise is normal?
 
Two_In said:
Have just received my 2nd hand lens in the post - working fine, but it's quite noisy (to my ears) during auto focus. How much noise is normal?
Click to expand...

Though I don't think I have ever had a particularly noisy AF'ing lens I have read some comments about such noise on specific lenses....?

So without any details your question is a bit like asking someone 'how long is a piece of string'........maybe if you told the TP members the make & model of the lens perhaps also with some indication of its age, some other users of the same lens could offer their experiences???
 
Last edited:
My 50mm 1.8D makes a right old bit of noise, probably due to it being focused by the motorised body. But my 35mm 1.8G is silent, as it has a lens motor inside it.
Depends on what lens you have.
 
Depends on the lens - I have a Canon EF 50 f/1.8 Mk I, Mk II & STM

The Mk I AF is like a bandsaw
The Mk II AF is like a handsaw
The STM AF is silent (to my ears)

Still use the Mk I because it was my first EF lens back in 1988
 
If the OP is still using a D3200, then there's no AF motor in the body and only AF-S or AF-P lenses will autofocus. All these lenses should be pretty quiet. You can often find a Youtube video in which a particular lens is tested, which should give you some idea of how much noise it makes. The motors in some lenses (e.g. early Nikon AF-S lenses) do get noisier with age, which usually isn't a good sign.
 
Thanks, it's a D3200 body and a Nikon AF-S 35mm F1.8 G DX Autofocus Nikkor Lens
 
Last edited:
Two_In said:
Thanks, it's a D3200 body and a Nikon AF-S 35mm F1.8 G DX Autofocus Nikkor Lens
Click to expand...

Had quite a few of those back in the day when I shot Nikon there shouldn’t be any noticeable noise.
 
Within the AF-S line, Nikon uses a couple of different types of motor, 'ring-type' (which are generally the quietest) and 'compact'/'micro', which have geared drive trains and aren't quite as quiet. I think the 35mm DX is one of the latter. From the YouTube video, I get the impression it isn't as quiet as something like the 24/70 G, which has ring-type AF-S, but it's still not what I would call noisy.
 
Retune said:
Within the AF-S line, Nikon uses a couple of different types of motor, 'ring-type' (which are generally the quietest) and 'compact'/'micro', which have geared drive trains and aren't quite as quiet. I think the 35mm DX is one of the latter. From the YouTube video, I get the impression it isn't as quiet as something like the 24/70 G, which has ring-type AF-S, but it's still not what I would call noisy.
Click to expand...
Dp review has this lens listed as a ring type. In my experience - this lens is as close to silent as possible
 
Agre
Retune said:
How does yours sound compared to the one in the video above?

For what it's worth, I think it's the compact motor (with gears) type from this other video (around 15:40):
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4nK9XQkbMg
Click to expand...

agreed it is the geared motor type.

As for the sound - that video is hugely amplified for the noise. It really is very quiet - from memory. I used it alongside af-d lenses which are very noisy. The 35 1.4g makes a clicking noise (and is slow right out the box) when it af’s.... that’s the only one I can think of that’s different in the af-s line up. The afi lenses are really loud!
 
Can I upload a short video to Talk Photography?
 
toohuge said:
As for the sound - that video is hugely amplified for the noise. It really is very quiet - from memory. I used it alongside af-d lenses which are very noisy. The 35 1.4g makes a clicking noise (and is slow right out the box) when it af’s.... that’s the only one I can think of that’s different in the af-s line up. The afi lenses are really loud!
Click to expand...
Oh yes, you really know when those 'screwdriver' AF lenses are focusing! (I really noticed the difference when switching from the 28-105 AF-D on film to the 18-70 AF-S on DX). Though for all that, they can be pretty quick, at least on the larger bodies with lots of torque in the motors. The 50/1.4 AF-D is supposedly a bit faster than the AF-S equivalent. I've never tried an AF-I lens.
 
Retune said:
Oh yes, you really know when those 'screwdriver' AF lenses are focusing! (I really noticed the difference when switching from the 28-105 AF-D on film to the 18-70 AF-S on DX). Though for all that, they can be pretty quick, at least on the larger bodies with lots of torque in the motors. The 50/1.4 AF-D is supposedly a bit faster than the AF-S equivalent. I've never tried an AF-I lens.
Click to expand...
Not to derail the thread too far .... the af-d lenses vary greatly in their af speed, not just on the body. The 50 af-d lenses are quick. Both my 1.8 & 1.4 are quick. The 35 f2 is quicker than the 1.4 af-s and the 85 1.4 is quicker than the af-s 1.8 , I’m tempted to get the 1.4g but that’s because I have a problem! Haha

Avoid the af-I lenses, no parts to repair anymore :(
 
toohuge said:
Not to derail the thread too far .... the af-d lenses vary greatly in their af speed, not just on the body. The 50 af-d lenses are quick. Both my 1.8 & 1.4 are quick. The 35 f2 is quicker than the 1.4 af-s and the 85 1.4 is quicker than the af-s 1.8 , I’m tempted to get the 1.4g but that’s because I have a problem! Haha

Avoid the af-I lenses, no parts to repair anymore :(
Click to expand...
My old 70-210 f/4 AF (the one from the 80s) certainly isn't going to win any speed contests on any camera - low 'gearing' and lots of metal to shift, I suppose. Nice lens, though.

Edit: I sometimes wonder if AF-S in the smaller primes is worth the tradeoff. I have the 28/1.8 AF-S, which is nice and sharp and focuses pretty quickly, but it's quite a bit larger than the old AF-D primes, nearly the size of the 28-105 zoom.
 
Last edited:
Retune said:
My old 70-210 f/4 AF (the one from the 80s) certainly isn't going to win any speed contests on any camera - low 'gearing' and lots of metal to shift, I suppose. Nice lens, though.
Click to expand...
Haha - I think that’s one of the slowest of all time!!! It’s a pretty rare lens though and optically brilliant from what I’ve heard. The 80-200 2.8 one touch has similar, glacial af speed. Leisurely is probably the most accurate way to describe it
 
Canon 50mm STM is my noisiest lens. The other are silent and much faster. STM is not as bad as the old ones but still can be at best described as cheap budget option. At least it is very sharp from f5.6, like really really sharp
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top