[Coeurdechene]

The warranty period says everything.

So Tamron's european warranty would say they are less confident in Europe than in other places? here their warranty is only 1 year (even though you got legal obligation to provide 2 years warranty here in Spain, in fact i got 2 years even if Tamron's paper states that i only got one).

They don't warranty the lenses for longer because they think they don't have to in order to sell them.

That seems more reasonable...third party company's use warranty as an added value to sell more in some places...In Europe due to the camera brand lenses prices they can compete only in the price without having to give longer warrantys (my Tammy is like a third of the price than a comparable Pentax's model...).

They asked you to reply, Tarsus, if you needed further assistance, why don't you tell them the gear you use, if you had SDM problems tell them too, wich SDM lenses you were considering, and ask them about the out of warranty repair rate, and if they included the stains problem in those statistical considerations(that might piss them off a bit...)
There was another thread were someone claimed it didn't fail much more than the motors of other brands...maybe some people are having bad luck or botched repairs...maybe if we gathered the serial numbers of the failing SDM lenses we would see if it was a batch, a period of time or a widespread problem.

[dcmsox2004]

Seems to me if Pentax were at all confident with the failure rate of their SDM lenses they would offer a warranty longer than 1 year.

The warranty period says everything.

+1 !!! reminds me of how some auto manufacturers tout their product line as being number one in quality, but give a relatively short warranty period..
take hyundai, made great strides in quality control, as well as design, and they offer a generous warranty....
hey pentax.... are you LISTENING ??!!! yeah, another tree just fell in pentax's backyard and they didn't hear a thing.... dave m

[eddie1960]

At the end of the day warranty has a cost. Longer warranties cost more due to increased risk and the need to carry financial provisions longer on the books before they are declared as profit

Also consider for example a 5 year warranty. It can speak two different concepts , either extreme confidence or extreme lack of it. Either way the consumer not the company pays in the end

This is something people rarely realise. the warranty cost whther it is 60 days or 10 years is factored in to the product cost.
You only need look at the difference in price in the US versus Canada on Sigma to see this.
For example
Sigma 12-24 @ bhphoto is $859 today with a US warranty (which i beleive is 2 years correct me if i am wrong)

Sigma 12-24 at Aden camera in Toronto with 10 year Canadian warranty is 939.

The dollars are at par so the warranty difference is $80

[sterretje]

80 dollars for 8 years piece of mind extra. Sounds a lot better than putting 20 dollars in an envelope monthly.

[eddie1960]

80 dollars for 8 years piece of mind extra. Sounds a lot better than putting 20 dollars in an envelope monthly.

to me as well, I'm looking at this lens and have found it for as little as $700 usd, but I've decided to hold off and get the new wr version when it comes out and but the Canadian version for the warranty. it's just to much money not to protect my investment

As mentioned above hyundai has done quite well with this concept

[hyyz]

80 dollars for 8 years piece of mind extra. Sounds a lot better than putting 20 dollars in an envelope monthly.

This is very true for existing users. But for those still considering brands, this amount may be enough to affect the decision. Warranty is one of the factors consumers consider but it is lesser than price, especially for consumer electronics. Manufacturers are just trying to find a balance that is best for consumer's willingness of buying their products.

[eddie1960]

This is very true for existing users. But for those still considering brands, this amount may be enough to affect the decision. Warranty is one of the factors consumers consider but it is much lesser than price, especially for consumer electronics.

that is more of a market dependent thing. The US for a long time had much shorter warranties than Canada. I spent 25 years selling and managing CE. in the 80s and 90s when the us had tv warranties as short as 90 days, nothing had less than 3 years up here and some had 5 years
it took a long time for the market to adapt to the 1 year standard, but pricing is now in line with the US.
If we were taking lenses that are like the old MF lenses then for me warranty would not be an issue, but since all the more complicated lenses seem to have more significant failure issues then i like the idea (and it is cheaper than the after market variant)
once the new version hits the market and i can compare i may change my mind. i won't pay a $300 premium for a longer warranty (Sigma Canada charges a $50 fee for servicing the non Canadian warranty as well so this must be considered for me)

the 10-20 may be a good low price option but i like the idea of film camera compatability, and the WR idea on the new one ties in with what i buy for bodies