Originally posted by Kunzite Not you - I was responding to Driline, my apologies for not being clear about it. I'm fuming when thinking what you had to go through.
Well - perhaps the first lens had a QC problem; but giving the second and third, I don't trust that seller. Lack of even some packaging is ultimately a sign of disrespect toward the customer, then there's the question of receiving distressed/returned merchandise.
Thanks Kunzite, sorry I misunderstood.
I am really not too upset about the situation. I am just a little confused about it all.
Ya, Amazon definitely dropped the ball on the shipping, however I still can't say for certain that it was the cause.
I actually sell merchandise on Amazon, as a 3rd party seller. I am sure that their system has some kind of flag to properly package those items, and it wasn't being selected. They did come from different warehouses. I have had some weird issues with their product catalog.
I have bought most of my gear from B&H and Adorama, with few issues. Although, I will admit, I am probably looking at this lens with a magnifying glass due to it's price tag and importance.
Just took some pictures with the 3rd copy I got and it did have a few AF issues in lighting I wouldn't expect it to have problems with, but overall it is working fine. The AF sound thing doesn't seem to be as noticeable to me as it did yesterday. So I think I am keeping this one.
Wish I had a friend who worked in the QA lab at Pentax/Ricoh I could call on to give me a hand.
Thanks again Kunzite for your input, it's appreciated.
---------- Post added 01-18-2017 at 09:28 AM ----------
Originally posted by beholder3 Unbelievable what Amazon is doing to their customers. Especially the blatant lie about better packaging next time.
Return, refund and buy at a more quality oriented shop.
I probably should as a matter of principle, but it does seem to be functioning properly and it's here in my hands. I am thinking I will go with it, but I will keep that in mind in the future. Just imagine if I had an event I need to shoot, this thing has set me back weeks. Luckily I rarely see daylight with work and being the dead of winter.
Thanks for the input!
---------- Post added 01-18-2017 at 09:43 AM ----------
Originally posted by Driline Yep. Pretty much. All were shipped exactly alike. Why did the last one work and not the first two.
I really do have no idea what's up. How much is in my head and what really the problems are.
I started to think that there might be a slight copy variance that would cause some lenses to focus inconsistency with the K3. The K1's improved AF might be able to 'see past that variance' and function with better accuracy and less inconsistency.
It could just be shipping and even though the boxes looked rough, 1 might have taken some falls and the other just skidded around. Who knows...
Another thought I had, which probably wouldn't be a popular thought. Most production facilities would have strict QA and testing to tight tolerances as they begin producing a product. Then as they produce more and more without issues, they lessen the testing and relax the tolerances to save money. I hope that's not the case, and I doubt it.
I <3 PENTAX
---------- Post added 01-18-2017 at 10:00 AM ----------
Originally posted by UncleVanya To play devil's advocate. The first unit was obviously opened and likely returned. We have no idea what happened to it. The second MAY have been opened it just wasn't obvious. The third could also be opened and returned unmolested. Additionally shipping in the manner shown has potential to damage the lens - and that's just it - potential. Maybe the first replacement (2nd lens overall) was dropped a lot or abused a lot on the way and the third wasn't. We don't know. We do know that the packing was substandard and the first box appears to have been opened. That's all we know. We can't really draw conclusions about Ricoh or Amazon but we can suppose. The evidence at this point seems more damaging to Amazon.
Wow, that's an excellent summation UncleVanya!
We don't know much. Testing wasn't really definite either.
Thanks for that!