How to stop zoom creep

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When I bought the Nikon 18-200 mm VRII lens, I knew of the zoom creep problem inherent with the design of the lens.

What happens is, when the zoom gears become loose, the lens will zoom in from wide angle when pointed downwards and zoom out from telephoto when pointed upwards. This is due to the effect of gravity pulling on the heavy glass. If you attach the lens hood, it is even more likely to happen.

I prayed hard that my lens would not suffer from the issue since there were reports by several individuals that they have not experienced such problem despite using the lens for years. As luck would have it, mine finally started to creep one day. And several days later, Nikon announced the version two of the lens. The newer version features a zoom lock which would eliminate the problem of the zoom creep.

Image source: KenRockwell.com

Some people rejoiced and sold the older version that crept and bought the newer version as soon as it came out. They made a loss as the price of the older version dropped when the new one was launched. But they no longer had to fight the creep.

I was unwilling to change my lens merely two months after I bought it. It is the first lens I bought and it was special. And aside from the zoom creep, I had no other complains about it. It made no sense to switch to the new one.

Then, I stumbled on a solution to solve the problem. A rubber band. Simple as that.

I bought the rubber band for SGD 1. Rather than get a plain design, I chose something that suited my style.

Slip in over the lens and place it on the zoom ring.

Nikon 18-200 mm VR

I spent only SGD 1 instead of the extra SGD 300 I would have to fork out if I sold my lens and bought the new version.

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Responses

  1. soon heng Avatar
    soon heng

    This is ingenious! Thank you for sharing your idea, now I can eliminate the ‘zoom creep’ problem that plagued my Tamron 18-270mm lens. :)

    1. Jenxi Seow Avatar

      Hi, Soon Heng. It’s a simple solution to an irritating problem. And you can pimp your camera gear at the same time!

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