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SilentLight · 04-18-2011, 06:28 AM

I'm wondering about longevity. Having read the coutnless SDM issue related discussions, I'm wondering whether the SDM failure is inevitable after a year or two, or if there are actual lenses that have lasted for several years without issues.

I have a 16-50 second hand, originally purchased mid 2010 and a new 50-135. I'm just wondering if these lenses are worth holding on to or not. Honestly, I wish there are some "happy ending" stories with the 16-50 since the sealing, size and speed of the zooms are what appeals to me with my K5. I have a nice set of limiteds for non-hazardous shooting but in most of those situations I actually prefer my Leica M.

Looking forward to hearing about your experiences.

johnmflores · 04-18-2011, 08:58 AM

Bought the pair summer 2009, so not quite 2 years on them. But I've taken nearly 8,000 photos with the DA* 16-50 and nearly 7,500 with the DA* 50-135. Funny, the 16-50 was used more at first, but the 50-135 has become my go-to lens. It's got that little extra pixie dust.

Olivier · 04-18-2011, 09:15 AM

I bought both a DA* 16-50 and a 50-135 in August '09 (not quite two years ago). The 50-135 has been great, but the 16-50 has gone twice to CRIS to replace the SDM and is acting up again.

My suspicion is that some lenses are more prone to SDM failures than others (i.e. a lens that fails once is likely to fail again, possibly due to assembly tolerances / friction). For that reason I won't send my 16-50 for repair a third time. Instead, I ordered a Tokina 17-50 (due to arrive this week) to replace it.

SilentLight · 04-18-2011, 09:59 AM

Thank you both for your comments. glad to know that some (one so far) of these are working for longer than a year without repair.

Oliver, excuse me if this is a dumb question but what is CRIS? I see them mentioned quite often on this forum.

RonHendriks1966 · 04-18-2011, 10:09 AM

I have 50-135 since march 2009. Still working fine.

**Fries** · 04-18-2011, 10:13 AM

Bought my DA*16-50 in march 2009 and it still works. I am planning to take it with me into the mountains this summer again with no real back up apart from manual focus if it fails. And I am sure it will fail at some point. Most things do!

LFLee · 04-18-2011, 10:25 AM

will receive my DA* 16-50 shortly. Hope mine will be free of trouble.
Still looking for a good price DA*50-135.

Lee

PePe · 04-18-2011, 10:28 AM

I bought my 16-50 in October 2007. So far so good...

ddsg · 04-18-2011, 11:01 AM

I've bought two used 16-50s and a used 50-135. One of the 16-50s has about a year of use, the other which I sold recently had 2 years. The 50-135 has a little over 2 years as well. SDM on all of them hasn't shown any signs of problems. Maybe I'm just lucky

calicojack · 04-18-2011, 11:09 AM

Originally posted by SilentLight

Oliver, excuse me if this is a dumb question but what is CRIS? I see them mentioned quite often on this forum.

Digital Camera Repair| C.R.I.S. A+ BBB Rating

It's THE authorized Pentax factory repair facility.

Use this link instead. It feels better! http://www.criscam.com/third_party_logistics_pentax.php

zackspeed · 04-18-2011, 02:26 PM

I use my 50-135 since February 2007 till today.
Cameras are K10,K-7 and K-5.
No Problems till today,used for approx. 80000-90000 pictures.
Best regards,Andy

**Rondec** · 04-18-2011, 02:58 PM

I bought a 50-135 in October 2008 and it has been working fine till now. DA *16-50 required servicing SDM in September of 2009 and has worked fine since then (I bought it in March of 2009).

SilentLight · 04-18-2011, 04:36 PM

Thank you for all your posts! It's great to hear so many positive stories.

This makes me feel a little better about these lenses as long term tools. But I think I'm going to sell the 16-50 and use my primes more often. Still not sure about the 50-135. It is optically a great lens but a little bit on the bulky side.

Thanks again everyone!

cabstar · 04-19-2011, 02:31 AM

bought mine used from the states about 2& half years ago.

shot approx 40k images on it, have got through 3 lens hoods, survived dusty glastonbury 2010 a wet v2009. problem with forums like this is the unhappy punters outnumber the quiete happy punters. its a fantastic lens & if my sdm fails i would say 150gbp for a repair is a price worth paying

bymy141 · 04-19-2011, 02:37 AM

I've used my DA*16-50 since august 2008.
Travelled the world with it under harsh conditions.
Over 80k pictures on K10D, K-7 and now my K-5.

No SDM issues so far... , but I had the front element replaced, it had gotten somewhat loose.

- Bert

04-18-2011, 06:28 AM	#1
SilentLight Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Columbia, SC Posts: 60	*Has anyone used a DA 16-50 and/or 50-135 for more than 2 years?** I'm wondering about longevity. Having read the coutnless SDM issue related discussions, I'm wondering whether the SDM failure is inevitable after a year or two, or if there are actual lenses that have lasted for several years without issues. I have a 16-50 second hand, originally purchased mid 2010 and a new 50-135. I'm just wondering if these lenses are worth holding on to or not. Honestly, I wish there are some "happy ending" stories with the 16-50 since the sealing, size and speed of the zooms are what appeals to me with my K5. I have a nice set of limiteds for non-hazardous shooting but in most of those situations I actually prefer my Leica M. Looking forward to hearing about your experiences.

04-18-2011, 10:28 AM	#8
PePe Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Helsinki, Finland Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 597	I bought my 16-50 in October 2007. So far so good... Last edited by PePe; 04-18-2011 at 01:10 PM.

04-18-2011, 02:26 PM	#11
zackspeed Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 527	I use my 50-135 since February 2007 till today. Cameras are K10,K-7 and K-5. No Problems till today,used for approx. 80000-90000 pictures. Best regards,Andy Last edited by zackspeed; 04-19-2011 at 02:39 PM.

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04-18-2011, 08:58 AM	#2
johnmflores Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Somerville, NJ Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,361	Bought the pair summer 2009, so not quite 2 years on them. But I've taken nearly 8,000 photos with the DA* 16-50 and nearly 7,500 with the DA* 50-135. Funny, the 16-50 was used more at first, but the 50-135 has become my go-to lens. It's got that little extra pixie dust.

04-18-2011, 09:15 AM	#3
Olivier Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Portland, OR Photos: Albums Posts: 25	I bought both a DA* 16-50 and a 50-135 in August '09 (not quite two years ago). The 50-135 has been great, but the 16-50 has gone twice to CRIS to replace the SDM and is acting up again. My suspicion is that some lenses are more prone to SDM failures than others (i.e. a lens that fails once is likely to fail again, possibly due to assembly tolerances / friction). For that reason I won't send my 16-50 for repair a third time. Instead, I ordered a Tokina 17-50 (due to arrive this week) to replace it.

04-18-2011, 09:59 AM	#4
SilentLight Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Columbia, SC Posts: 60 Original Poster	Thank you both for your comments. glad to know that some (one so far) of these are working for longer than a year without repair. Oliver, excuse me if this is a dumb question but what is CRIS? I see them mentioned quite often on this forum.

04-18-2011, 10:09 AM	#5
RonHendriks1966 Banned Join Date: Jan 2009 Photos: Gallery Posts: 9,675	I have 50-135 since march 2009. Still working fine.

04-18-2011, 10:13 AM	#6
Fries Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Gauw Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,582	Bought my DA*16-50 in march 2009 and it still works. I am planning to take it with me into the mountains this summer again with no real back up apart from manual focus if it fails. And I am sure it will fail at some point. Most things do!

04-18-2011, 10:25 AM	#7
LFLee Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Southern California Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,292	will receive my DA* 16-50 shortly. Hope mine will be free of trouble. Still looking for a good price DA*50-135. Lee

04-18-2011, 11:01 AM	#9
ddsg Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Montreal Posts: 44	I've bought two used 16-50s and a used 50-135. One of the 16-50s has about a year of use, the other which I sold recently had 2 years. The 50-135 has a little over 2 years as well. SDM on all of them hasn't shown any signs of problems. Maybe I'm just lucky

04-18-2011, 11:09 AM	#10
calicojack Inactive Account Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Long Island, N.Y. Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,124	Originally posted by SilentLight Oliver, excuse me if this is a dumb question but what is CRIS? I see them mentioned quite often on this forum. Digital Camera Repair\| C.R.I.S. A+ BBB Rating It's THE authorized Pentax factory repair facility. Use this link instead. It feels better! http://www.criscam.com/third_party_logistics_pentax.php

04-18-2011, 02:58 PM	#12
Rondec Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Gladys, Virginia Photos: Gallery Posts: 27,666	I bought a 50-135 in October 2008 and it has been working fine till now. DA *16-50 required servicing SDM in September of 2009 and has worked fine since then (I bought it in March of 2009).

04-18-2011, 04:36 PM	#13
SilentLight Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Columbia, SC Posts: 60 Original Poster	Thank you for all your posts! It's great to hear so many positive stories. This makes me feel a little better about these lenses as long term tools. But I think I'm going to sell the 16-50 and use my primes more often. Still not sure about the 50-135. It is optically a great lens but a little bit on the bulky side. Thanks again everyone!

04-19-2011, 02:31 AM	#14
cabstar Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Grimsby UK Photos: Gallery Posts: 224	bought mine used from the states about 2& half years ago. shot approx 40k images on it, have got through 3 lens hoods, survived dusty glastonbury 2010 a wet v2009. problem with forums like this is the unhappy punters outnumber the quiete happy punters. its a fantastic lens & if my sdm fails i would say 150gbp for a repair is a price worth paying

04-19-2011, 02:37 AM	#15
bymy141 Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,563	I've used my DA16-50 since august 2008. Travelled the world with it under harsh conditions. Over 80k pictures on K10D, K-7 and now my K-5. No SDM issues so far..*. , but I had the front element replaced, it had gotten somewhat loose. - Bert

Has anyone used a DA* 16-50 and/or 50-135 for more than 2 years?

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