SDM Repair in Europe

bc_the_path · 10-09-2009, 01:08 PM

Hello All!

I am considering a repair of my DA* 50-135mm which has a "sick" SDM. (Four months pass the period of warranty).

Has anyone ever had any experience having it repaired (with a persistent good function afterwards) in a European repair facility?

If they always send them for this specific condition to Japan anyway, I should be sending it directly to Japan, I guess.

I have contacted to the British facility but the response from them is like "let's have a look at it".
How about those in Germany and the Netherlands, for example?

(And no; it cannot be fixed here, in Turkey).

Bulent

*emr* · 10-09-2009, 01:11 PM

I believe jcpentax (Pentax USA representative) posted recently either here or in dpr that USA just got its first SDM repairing service center and until that all the lenses had been sent to Japan. So I wouldn't be very surprised if there wasn't many such ones in Europe - if any.

Bart · 10-10-2009, 08:56 AM

Originally Posted by bc_the_path

...
How about those in Germany and the Netherlands, for example?
...

There is no real repair center in the Netherlands. This is 'taken care of' by the Benelux Importer. Just 1st line support.
Anything complex gets forwarded to Germany.
After many attempts last year, I finally got a replacement for the 16-50 - an SDM problem. This was still under warranty. Oh, the second copy works fine - so far.

I might add I recently got another bad experience with Pentax Germany - it's still not solved, actually.

So, I can't, in good conscience, advise them. At all.

bc_the_path · 10-10-2009, 02:04 PM

Dear "Bart" and "emr",

Thank you both very much for the advice.

I think I have three options now:
- Using my 50-135 as an expensive manual zoom and waiting for a cracked firmware (as Pentax seems to continue to remain silent) which will allow the use of the screw driven autofocus mechanism,
- Selling the "sick" lens for a lot less than half the price I paid for it,
- Sending the lens to Japan (if they accept a user as an entity) to get it fixed (I guess this option means spending something about USD 400-500).

My current decision is the fourth one: Letting the lens remain wherever it is now: In the darkest corner of a drawer...

netuser · 10-10-2009, 02:24 PM

Originally Posted by bc_the_path

...................

My current decision is the fourth one: Letting the lens remain wherever it is now: In the darkest corner of a drawer...

I really want one, but it's due to this issue with SDM that I will have to wait..........

simdavid · 10-10-2009, 07:18 PM

Pentax Japan will accept user as an enitity to repair your SDM lens. Send an email stating your problem before you send to establish and create a record of communication.

Bart · 10-11-2009, 11:28 AM

Originally Posted by bc_the_path

...My current decision is the fourth one: Letting the lens remain wherever it is now: In the darkest corner of a drawer...

Painfull...

philbaum · 10-11-2009, 12:24 PM

bc the path,
Sorry to hear about your SDM problems. I just read on the dpreview pentax forum a report about a Sigma HSM 50-150 lens that had SDM like symptoms before stopping all together.

I like the suggestion that someone made, to contact the Japan Pentax office and ask them the same question. They are the ones to deal with this issue and if nothing else, they need a pinprick to their conscience about the bind they have put you in, IMO.

I like to do night exposures, and for that i frequently find that manual focusing is more effective than AF, due to the low light and tungsten light effects. Using a tripod, i just do the MF one time and then take several pics from that location. I find the 50-135 fairly easy to MF and so wouldn't be letting it sit in a drawer. But i fully sympathize with your frustration on this. They aren't cheap.

Perhaps Japan Pentax can tell you where else in the world they are establishing service centers for this lens - definitely contact them i think.

sveinmb · 10-11-2009, 03:28 PM

I believe Germany is the right place. When I asked about repairing SDM on my 16-50 in Norway, I was told that it would have to be shipped there.

Lloydy · 10-12-2009, 05:15 PM

I think that the UK's Pentax repairs are now done by an established private company and not by a Pentax owned company.