Fz-20 loose zoom barrel

[Jeff L.]

I dropped my FZ-20 about 12-15 inches on a light carpet :mad:. All seemed to work OK:), however, I noticed that the inner zoom barrel (inner cylindical tube that moves in and out when zooming, please excuse my poor terminology) is somewhat loose and don't know if this is natural or I've loosened or broken something :confused:.

If I operate the zoom so the inner tube is extended, and manually try to move it side-to-side or up and down, I notice approximately 30-40 thousands movement in any direction. It does seem to hold its position meaning it's not flopping from side to side when moving the camera.

Does anyone know if this piece should be tight with no movement?

I've never really paid any attention to this in the four years I've had the camera. As many of you know, it's about $160 one-time fee to repair, so I would prefer not sending it in unless absolutely necessary.

Thank you in advance for any input you might provide!

[Beowulff]

.....I notice approximately 30-40 thousands movement in any direction. It does seem to hold its position meaning it's not flopping from side to side when moving the camera.

.....Does anyone know if this piece should be tight with no movement?

I guess the most obvious answer to this is its image quality.

Have you noticed any degradation at 100% on your monitor? Is there any edge and/or corner softening; is one half, or entire edge of the image noticeably out of focus; will it lock and hold focus okay; does it zoom smoothly in both directions with no 'stuttering'; is the centre of the image absolutely pin sharp etc etc?

Most bridge big zooms do exhibit lens barrel wobbles; certainly I'd be guessing 30 or 40 thou is more than okay.

Cheers :)

[John_Reed]

I agree with Beowulff. The proof is in the image quality, whether it suffers or not from the apparent play in the barrel. If it doesn't seem to have hurt the IQ, then live with it. It's an old camera, but still has an excellent piece of glass on the front.

[tim11]

Fixed lens barrel? The only barrel fixed is a solid steel tube. Yes they do wobble though I'm not sure if my FZ20 barrel moves 30 or 40 thousands... or 50...
Mine dropped too (when it was brand spanking new) from a chair so it's about the same height and lens first but I had a UV filter on at the time. I didn't notice any image degradation so I kept on using it until retirement.

[Jeff L.]

Thanks Beo, John and Tim for your input! It appears all is well and the camera works fine.

Yes, this is the "lens barrel" that extends on power-up (doesn't change with zoom).

[Mike63]

I have an adapter tube on the front of mine to protect it. I have a UV/protector filter on the front of that that I never remove. This arrangement keeps out dirt, keeps the lens from being jarred and allows me to mount other filters and lenses. I use a Olympus 1.7 teleconvertor lens and a polarization filter from time to time. You can search this forum for adapters and find lots of useful info.

This is simular to what I have.

http://cgi.ebay.com/LENS-ADAPTER-4-Panasonic-LUMIX-DMC-FZ10-FZ15-FZ20-58mm_W0QQitemZ280211150159QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLens_ Accessories?hash=item413de2d54f&_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116