[jddwoods]

Has anyone observed a difference in the built quality between the two series? I happened to fiddle a DA40 HD and was surprised how damped and smoothed the focus ring is. The whole lens seems to be built to tighter tolerances with little wobble if any. My good old DA40 SMC felt altogether looser (even when it was newly bought), similar to the rest of the SMC bunch. I am wondering if it is an issue with batch variation or that the HD's manufacturing process was indeed improved. I did recall going through three copies of the DA70 SMC to find a copy that has minimal wobble to the lens barrel though.

I have 4 of the SMC DA limiteds. My observations regarding quality of construction:
DA 15, bought new, absolutely solid construction, no wobbles
DA 21, Bought used, absolutely solid construction, no wobbles
DA 35 Macro, bought new, absolutely solid construction no wobbles
DA 70, bought used in perfect condition, very noticeable wobble of inner barrel, not very noticeable with the hood removed but with the hood on, it seems to amplify the wobble of the inner barrel.
The more I read threads on the forum, the more it seems this one seems to have the most issues with wobbles. Has anyone else observed this? I have not considering trying to get the wobble repaired since the outer barrel and focus ring have no wobble or looseness and pictures with this lens look great.

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Last edited by jddwoods; 01-10-2014 at 07:43 PM.

[scorpioh]

I have 4 of the SMC DA limiteds. My observations regarding quality of construction:
DA 15, bought new, absolutely solid construction, no wobbles
DA 21, Bought used, absolutely solid construction, no wobbles
DA 35 Macro, bought new, absolutely solid construction no wobbles
DA 70, bought used in perfect condition, very noticeable wobble of inner barrel, not very noticeable with the hood removed but with the hood on, it seems to amplify the wobble of the inner barrel.
The more I read threads on the forum, the more it seems this one seems to have the most issues with wobbles. Has anyone else observed this? I have not considering trying to get the wobble repaired since the outer barrel and focus ring have no wobble or looseness and pictures with this lens look great.

Yes, I tried a few other copies and I think by design, DA70 tends to be most wobbly - I went through four copies before getting one with least wobble (serial suggests its from one of the earlier batches). DA40 is probably on par in terms of wobbliness though may appear less obvious due to it's diminutive size. DA21 is less wobbly though mine feels a little loose in terms of overall tolerance. DA35 may or may not be wobbly when fully extended. DA15 is absolutely solid.