[c.a.m]

First, the good news: The warranty period on my DA* 50-135 was to expire in less than one week. (Can you guess what’s coming next?)

Now, the not-so-good news: the lens suddenly ceased to focus in AF or MF modes. The only sign of any problem prior to its sudden death was several weeks of erratic AF lock at the long focal length, say at 125-135mm.

On my K-5 II, the lens no longer focuses, regardless of focus settings, focal length or subject distance. When trying to focus manually, the focus ring rotates, but the distance scale moves erratically or not at all. It seems like something is jammed or seized.

I had sent the same lens to Pentax Canada for warranty repair in January 2013. The repair record indicated that the motor was replaced and the unit was adjusted, cleaned, and tested.

I sent the lens again yesterday to Pentax Canada for repair.

I intend to question the Pentax repair centre in Toronto to get as much information as I can concerning the problem, the reason for the failure, the fix, and any measures that I should take to prevent a similar failure.

1. I’d be grateful for any suggestions that I could work into my line of questioning for Pentax.

2. Has anyone experienced a similar problem recently – simultaneous failure of AF and jammed/seized MF?

3. Also, if anyone has sent their DA*/SDM lens to Pentax Canada for an SDM or related repair in 2013, it might be useful to compare experiences. In particular, I think it would be useful to gather more insight into the fabled ‘new motor’ that some have suggested Pentax introduced into their repair system sometime in 2013, or other specific repairs related to the mechanics.

Non-Canadian repair experience in 2013 would also be welcomed!

- Craig