Can I damage an IS lens by moving it too quickly?

Question

The other day, I was using my Canon 500D with the EF-S 55-250 IS lens. A couple of times after focusing I tried to recompose the picture, and noticed the image in the view finder suddenly shifted.

I'm assuming this was caused by the IS mechanism trying to keep the image stabilized, and then all of a sudden giving up as I moved the camera too far and too quickly.

I'm guessing this is something I want to try to avoid, but could I actually damage the lens by doing this?

Asked by Tom Jefferys

Answer

I very much doubt you can damage the lens in this way, the glass that the IS system moves is designed to be very light so as to have low inertial stiffness so it can move quickly and accurately. This same trait means it should be able to move against any momentum you put into the lens.

Empirically having seen the way some people abuse their super-teles (300 & 400 f/2.8) I think Canon would have had it by now if their IS system wasn't robust.

Answered by Matt Grum

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