Don't use Canon's new VCM lens if you've got a pacemaker. Seriously?

I was writing a story about the new Canon RF 24mm F1.4L VCM hybrid lens and I scrolled all the way down to the small print and saw this:

“The Voice Coil Motor in the lens emits a low-level magnetic field. While generally safe to use, we advise consulting your doctor if you have a pacemaker or any other medical device to address any concerns.”

I’m not sure whether your doctor would have anything useful to say about Canon’s VCM actuators without some concrete information about the magnetic field strengths generated, but it did make me realise (a) my own ignorance about pacemakers and ICDs (implantable cardioverter defibrillators) and the effect on people who live with them and (b) just how many devices emit magnetic fields.

So, for example, that’s anti-theft systems in stores, metal detectors, cellphones, magnets (naturally), vehicle ignition systems, electric fences, medical alert system and fall detection pendants… there’s a LOT of stuff. For more, take a look at this excellent page on heart.org.

If you are fitted with one of these devices, you will likely already know the things you need to avoid, or keep a safe distance from or limit your exposure to. It looks like there’s now another one.

So if you do get the Canon RF 24mm F1.4L VCM, and it does look like a great hybrid lens, maybe don’t hang the camera round your neck?

By the way, while I was checking this lens’s footnotes, I also saw this:

“When the lens is not connected to the camera or when the camera is off may cause internal noise from the lens’s components. This is normal and not a malfunction. Minor movements during transportation do not affect performance.”

Uh oh, does that mean it’s another ‘clonker’? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, read Should my lens really rattle like this?