DSLR Camera Lens losing focus slowly

August 12, 2022 3:26 PM

I'm using a manual lens with my DSLR camera. The problem is that the lens slowly changes focus when I'm photographing something with the lens facing down. How can I fix this?

I can't send the lens back to the manufacturer, and there are no repair shops nearby. So far my only option is to take photos of objects horizontally, or use something like blu tack (putty-like reusable adhesive) to 'fix' the lens's position.

posted by dhruva to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (6 answers total)

Response by poster: The lens itself is a specialised macro lens for Ultraviolet photography.
posted by dhruva at 3:26 PM on August 12, 2022

Best answer: This is called lens creep (or zoom creep or focus creep) and it's pretty common and super annoying. An equally common solution is to use a large rubber band around the rotating part of the barrel, which will add a bit of squeeze and prevent it from shifting. To fix this permanently would probably require them to disassemble the lens, which would of course be pretty costly.

There are also custom silicone rings a lot like livestrong and other charity bracelets that are made for the purpose. But if you have a big rubber band around you might try that first. Just be careful as depending on the lens and system, it could impede the autofocus. But if you're doing macro I bet you're mostly manual so it should be fine.

Hope this works!
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 3:54 PM on August 12, 2022 [4 favorites]

Agreeing with BlackLeotardFront: without knowing more about the specifics of the lens, it does sound like lens creep. Usually it's a problem for long and heavy zoom lenses and less for prime lenses, which tend to be lighter, but it can happen. Some lenses have a focus lock for exactly this reason—I gather yours doesn't? Perhaps also search for user forum discussions of this problem, to see if anyone else has other ideas for how to handle it for that specific lens.
posted by StrawberryPie at 5:21 PM on August 12, 2022 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: The lens is a jenoptik uv-vis 105 mm macro lens.
posted by dhruva at 5:37 PM on August 12, 2022

Best answer: I put a piece of gaffer tape on the one lens I have that does this. Gaffer tape doesn't leave residue, and it's easy to lift up if you need to adjust the lens.
posted by jonathanhughes at 8:41 PM on August 12, 2022

Response by poster: Thank you all! I had no idea that lens creep was a thing. I’ll try the lens band and the gaffer tape method as well to see what works best.
posted by dhruva at 6:48 PM on August 13, 2022