[philbaum]

I read a post of benjikan in the last few days that indicates the SDM situation is MUCH IMPROVED from what it was a year ago. In the past, this was the situation:

a. a number of owners had SDM failures, particularly on 16-50 and 50-135 zooms, we don't know an exact percentage as to occurrence, but certainly there were enough reports to be worrying.

b. according to a distant post on dpreview.com, a bracket failure causes the problem

c. Some owners had to send their SDM lens in for repair, i.e. not only for the initial repair, but a second time which meant: they don't have a PERMANENT REPAIR of the problem.

d. when asked, Pentax reps were often quoted as saying things like "what problem?"
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I was shocked the other day in reading this benjikan message:

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/102277-my-da*-...ml#post1052373

In the above and in a follow=up message 2 or 3 posts later, benjikan says that Pentax knows about the problem, and he has had the SDM motors replaced with a revised motor, pre-emptively, on both his 16-50 and 50-135.

So after the benjikan posts, the folloing factors appear to have changed
A. One assumes there will still be occasional SDM failures as existing stock with faulty motors is exhausted - no change

B. Its not a bracket failure as once reported, its a motor failure of some kind

C. Pentax has a revised motor ready for installation to fix the lens

D. A Pentax rep., at least to benjikan, acknowledges that there is a problem.
===============================================

As the owner of 2 SDM lenses, this is VERY GOOD NEWS! At least now if i experience a failure, I know my lens is repairable.

Or am i reading this all wrong?

[mz-3]

SDM issue happened to DA* 16-50 most frequently, then DA*50-135. I've never heard of SDM failure on other DA* lenses yet.

[WiseOx]

I hope you're right. I need to send my 16-50 in to Pentax Canada for repair soon. She sticks, but has always come around with a bit of work continually pushing AF. I need to have it addressed before end of warranty....damn thing is only 7 months old.

[Andi Lo]

SDM issue happened to DA* 16-50 most frequently, then DA*50-135. I've never heard of SDM failure on other DA* lenses yet.

I believe a DA 55, 60-250, and 17-70 owner here have also experienced failure, although I've only heard of one case on each lens.

[Pentaxor]

anything to do with DA* SDM ZOOM is a BIG NO for me !

[luke0622]

just a quick thought, I had owned DA* 50-135mm, DA* 60-250mm, DA* 300mm, and still own the DA* 16-50mm, none of them ever had any problems whatsoever... I think it's like you are buying a laptop computer, it's really a hit and miss game...

[Pentaxor]

just a quick thought, I had owned DA* 50-135mm, DA* 60-250mm, DA* 300mm, and still own the DA* 16-50mm, none of them ever had any problems whatsoever... I think it's like you are buying a laptop computer, it's really a hit and miss game...

the only difference is a laptop does not regularly breakdown within a year or two.

[Blue]

the only difference is a laptop does not regularly breakdown within a year or two.

[axl]

Hidden content may not be quoted

hope not... I have two Toshiba laptops. So far so good.... touch wood

as for the SDM, the reported problems were the reason why I sold DA*50-135 and why I'm still hesitating to get DA*55.
From the lenses, there wasn't prime with SDM that would fail AFAIK.

[Pentaxor]

Toshiba, LOL !

[bdery]

I think we need to remember three things:

1-the SDM problem is real

2-the owners of lenses with problems are more vocal, which may or may not scare people, but certianly does nothing to calm things down

3-Toshiba have, year after year, the best reports regarding the quality of their laptops. In North America at least. I have read 5 such reports so far, from 5 sources. I don't own a Toshiba, but if I ever need another laptop, it will be Asus or Toshiba.

The end

[Lowell Goudge]

I think luke0662 has it right.

it is a hit and miss game unfortunately.

As an example, I like Dell computers, and use them for work and at home. While my work computers last on average 4 years, before failure (and consider I travel on average 1 week out of 2, with my computer in a bag or back pack, have it roll off car seats onto the floor, dropped etc) I consider this acceptable.

I have at home for my wife and kids, 3 desktops, that have worked forever, with no failures, but both dell and hp laptops which have failed within the warranty. failures include Memory, Hard disks, cd drives, monitors. These getr a much easier time than my work computer, Is it just me?

[Andi Lo]

I think luke0662 has it right.

it is a hit and miss game unfortunately.

As an example, I like Dell computers, and use them for work and at home. While my work computers last on average 4 years, before failure (and consider I travel on average 1 week out of 2, with my computer in a bag or back pack, have it roll off car seats onto the floor, dropped etc) I consider this acceptable.

I have at home for my wife and kids, 3 desktops, that have worked forever, with no failures, but both dell and hp laptops which have failed within the warranty. failures include Memory, Hard disks, cd drives, monitors. These getr a much easier time than my work computer, Is it just me?

Laptops in general do seem to break WAY more often than desktops. Kinda like SDM?

I have a Toshiba Laptop and probably would not buy Toshiba again. Got an asus netbook and a custom built rig now. If I'm getting a laptop in the future, it would be either an Asus or Lenovo.

[reeftool]

I think laptops, because of their portable nature, take more physical abuse than desktop computers and probably won't last as long. However, I do have an old Toshiba Tecra, a 266Mhz Pentium model, still running after all these years. It still sees use as an OBD2 scanner for my vehicles with the Digimoto scan adapter plugged into the serial port.
The SDM issues are not quite the same as comparing a laptop to a desktop. SDM is on high end expensive lenses and is supposed to be quieter, faster, accurate, etc.....and all the hype. The reality is that putting a motor in a lens is cheaper to manufacture than mechanical linkage in the long run. A single lens design can be used forever with only an electrical connection needed. That's fine but you need a good reliable motor. It's been known for years that it's far cheaper to build cars with power windows then the mechanical crank handles but most companys still list power windows as a rather expensive option on higher end models. A car company with a high amount of power window failures would be making headline news. It's bad enough that digital camera bodies are becoming disposable electronic devices withour our lenses falling into that category also. While one could argue that they will still work on manual focus forever, I would reply that it would have been better to buy a used Takumar in the first place. I know that auto focus mechanisms aren't going to last as long as a manual focus lens but many SDM lenses don't seem to be making it to year 2. There are a lot of us who have to save for a good amount of time to buy quality glass and we expect it to last.

[Blue]

Toshiba had a good reputation with their laptops. My wife bought one ~ 1.5 years ago in part because of its sound quality. About 6 mos ago the keyboard pooped. Search "Toshiba laptop keyboard problems" and it makes the SDM issue look small potatoes.