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I recently purchased a Sony 70-200 F4 and have been testing it on my A7 (the very first one). I noticed that there's a clicking sound and the display (both in the LCD and EVF) flickers whenever I change the aperture value. I'm guessing this is because of the aperture blades, but the thing that's been bothering me is that there's no clicking sound nor flickering display when I'm using my other lenses - the 24-105 and the 28-70 kit lens. Is this normal?

I also noticed that the AF is quite poor when shooting in low contrast or low light situations. Not too low though, like the soft light of the sky during golden hour. Anyone else experiencing this?

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  • \$\begingroup\$ A flickering display could be a sign of a defective lens that is drawing current far beyond specification..... \$\endgroup\$
    – rackandboneman
    May 6, 2019 at 12:53
  • \$\begingroup\$ Did you buy the lens new or used? Can you visit a camera shop and try out another example of this lens? Edit: maybe ignore my comment and read Michael's answer instead! \$\endgroup\$
    – osullic
    May 6, 2019 at 16:52
  • \$\begingroup\$ When do you notice the symptoms? Upon changing settings, half pressing shutter, DOF preview, taking picture, etc? Since they seem to be associated with aperture changes, it may be associated with reduced light reaching the sensor. \$\endgroup\$
    – xiota
    May 7, 2019 at 13:51
  • \$\begingroup\$ I have the same issue and I purchased my lens brand new. Is this a known thing or a defect? Did the original poster get this issue resolved? \$\endgroup\$
    – vthee
    Jul 24, 2019 at 11:54
  • \$\begingroup\$ @vthee Looks to be normal. I went to Sony a week after posting this. Tried two other 70-200mm lenses (one brand new, and the one on display) and both are doing the same thing. I still had it replaced though, but no difference, really. \$\endgroup\$
    – thedandyman
    Aug 6, 2019 at 4:20

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The "clicking" sounds you are hearing is almost certainly the OSS (Optical SteadyShot) mechanism in the lens. Lenses from pretty much all manufacturers that include lens based optical stabilization make similar noises when starting up or when compensating for camera/lens movement.

Your 24-105 and 28-70 lenses do not have OSS, as the IBIS system inside many Sony cameras is sufficient at those focal length ranges. At longer focal lengths, though, the same amount of camera movement results in a larger displacement of the subject as a percentage of the frame size. IBIS is limited in terms of range of motion by the size of the image circle projected by the lens as well as size and space constraints inside the camera body. Thus Sony has added OSS to the longer Sony FE 70-200mm f/4 G OSS telephoto lens to supplement IBIS.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Both the 24-105 and 28-70 have OSS as well, at least according to the specs sheet. Also, I forgot to mention that I was shooting on a tripod so the OSS was turned off. \$\endgroup\$
    – thedandyman
    May 6, 2019 at 21:43

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