Uneven sharpness in DFA 70-200mm

Unregistered User · 05-04-2018, 02:59 PM

Originally posted by pentaxfall

Shows that lens is not durable. Durability is as important as sharpness. This worries me.

I have another thread regarding the loss of communication. The DFA*70-200 and the DFA150-450 has the same problems but it happens very, very, rarely.

Stagnant · 05-05-2018, 01:32 PM

I had similar problems with several copies of 16-50. Decenterring, front / back focus, mechanical issues. The lens went back and forth between Estonia - France - Japan, before the official representative of Ricoh got in touch with me. I had to write a lengthy email to Ricoh UK customer support. In the end, I received a replacement copy hand-picked by Ricoh.
In the end it turned out that the sensor was stuck in the assembly under some angle and was unable to go back to its default position. The most interesting thing is that at some point I sent both the body and the lens to have them adjusted.

awscreo · 05-05-2018, 01:40 PM

Originally posted by Stagnant

I had similar problems with several copies of 16-50. Decenterring, front / back focus, mechanical issues. The lens went back and forth between Estonia - France - Japan, before the official representative of Ricoh got in touch with me. I had to write a lengthy email to Ricoh UK customer support. In the end, I received a replacement copy hand-picked by Ricoh.
In the end it turned out that the sensor was stuck in the assembly under some angle and was unable to go back to its default position. The most interesting thing is that at some point I sent both the body and the lens to have them adjusted.

I've seen several people saying Pentax has solved the issue for them. I'm hoping they would do that for me too. So far no replies from them, hoping they'll get back to me on Monday. I went through 3 copies of 15-30, and tried to repair one of them, to no avail unfortunately. I really want to make this lens work for me as reviews are spectacular, but so far it's performing worse than my rokinon 14mm that I already sold..

Stagnant · 05-05-2018, 01:44 PM

I ended up selling the lens, because even on a brand new K-3 II it performed considerably worse than Sigma 18-35, thus it was collecting dust on the shelf.

pentaxfall · 05-06-2018, 02:42 PM

Originally posted by Tjompen1968

I have another thread regarding the loss of communication. The DFA*70-200 and the DFA150-450 has the same problems but it happens very, very, rarely.

Is the loss of communication temporary? Does it resume if you take out the battery and put it back?

Originally posted by awscreo

, hoping they'll get back to me on Monday..

Good luck when you talk to Pentax. Hope they make you an offer for either cash back or brand new body + lens.

Unregistered User · 05-06-2018, 03:22 PM

Originally posted by pentaxfall

Is the loss of communication temporary? Does it resume if you take out the battery and put it back?
.

It is like a bad connection and comes and goes...

Watch this clip. You will see F-- that comes and goes.Also AF goes to MF and back when this happens

Youtu.be

pentaxfall · 05-10-2018, 08:16 PM

Originally posted by Tjompen1968

It is like a bad connection and comes and goes...

Watch this clip. You will see F-- that comes and goes.Also AF goes to MF and back when this happens

DFA*70-200 Loose connection between lens and body... - YouTube

One more user is reporting similar issue.

Connecting ring trouble - D FA 150-450 lens ... too heavy? What to do next ? - PentaxForums.com

unapye · 05-14-2018, 01:10 PM

Today I received the Pentax DFA* 70-200 from the official Pentax service. I asked them for an expert opinion. Here's what they wrote:
" Summary: The lens is mechanically and optically in very good condition (...) the reduction of resolution on the left side of the frame does not matter in use ( at 70mm focal length, while maintaining the standard lens angle of view) ... no chromatic or spherical aberrations were found " .

I do not know what to think about it. Here's what the lens on the right side and left side looks like in real.

awscreo · 05-14-2018, 01:14 PM

Originally posted by unapye

Today I received the Pentax DFA* 70-200 from the official Pentax service. I asked them for an expert opinion. Here's what they wrote:
" Summary: The lens is mechanically and optically in very good condition (...) the reduction of resolution on the left side of the frame does not matter in use ( at 70mm focal length, while maintaining the standard lens angle of view) ... no chromatic or spherical aberrations were found " .

I do not know what to think about it. Here's what the lens on the right side and left side looks like in real.

Contact Pentax, and talk to them directly. I didn't find any discussions with the company that services Pentax gear in US (Precision camera) of any use, they don't really care and just say everything is returned to spec even if it clearly wasn't.

Making a bit of a fuss is not a bad idea either, especially when it comes to their pro line of lenses (in your case it's even a * lens).

Unregistered User · 05-14-2018, 01:16 PM

Bummer... What does "the reduction of resolution on the left side of the frame does not matter in use" mean? Are they retarded?
What country are we talking about?

unapye · 05-14-2018, 01:19 PM

This is an expertise of the official Pentax service "Opto-technika" in Poland. Before I tried to get an email address to Pentax in Japan from the Ricoh-aftersales in France (they know the matter too), but they refused.
Awscreo, yes this is the new replacement of the DFA 70-200 which was broken too. I can not deal with them for over a year. My K-1 is broken too. So was my previous 5 examples k-5 and k-5II.

awscreo · 05-14-2018, 01:21 PM

Originally posted by unapye

This is an expertise of the official Pentax service "Opto-technika" in Poland. Before I tried to get an email address to Pentax in Japan from the Ricoh-aftersales in France (they know the matter too), but they refused.

Check your warranty card, it should have a direct phone number that you can call and talk to someone there.

pentaxfall · 05-14-2018, 01:47 PM

Originally posted by unapye

Today I received the Pentax DFA* 70-200 from the official Pentax service. I asked them for an expert opinion. Here's what they wrote:
" the reduction of resolution on the left side of the frame does not matter in use ( at 70mm focal length,

OK. We will pay half the price that is for the sharp side

.

---------- Post added 05-14-18 at 02:03 PM ----------

Originally posted by unapye

Awscreo, yes this is the new replacement of the DFA 70-200 which was broken too. I can not deal with them for over a year. My K-1 is broken too. So was my previous 5 examples k-5 and k-5II.

This is really bad. There does not seem to be permanent solution.
Worst part is they are selling this in spite of knowing that fair amount of copies are bad. Good that auto industry has something called as re-call. No accountability here.

unapye · 05-14-2018, 02:09 PM

In general the main thing I wanted them to check was misalignment. The technician said that the lens is not telecentric, but he did not write it into the expertise, because there is no need to enter it -
he explained. I had to argue for half an hour to have it on paper. When he kindly agreed to include a mention in the documents I asked him to take a picture and look at how huge the defect is, but he said he is about to finish his work, he turned around and went away. And the receptionist said: "the expertise is completed, bye."

awscreo · 05-14-2018, 02:50 PM

Originally posted by unapye

In general the main thing I wanted them to check was misalignment. The technician said that the lens is not telecentric, but he did not write it into the expertise, because there is no need to enter it -
he explained. I had to argue for half an hour to have it on paper. When he kindly agreed to include a mention in the documents I asked him to take a picture and look at how huge the defect is, but he said he is about to finish his work, he turned around and went away. And the receptionist said: "the expertise is completed, bye."

ouch, that's very bad service in all honesty. It's not like we're talking about hugely expensive professional grade gear, and not lolipops.. Again, I suggest making some fuss with Pentax directly. In my case, after talking to them directly, they seemed to take it very seriously, got the servicing company to issue me a free shipping label, and from what I understand, if this last time (sending my lens in for second attempt tomorrow) lens isn't fixed, I'll be raising a possibility of a refund. I had nothing but trouble with my copies of 15-30 unfortunately.

05-14-2018, 01:19 PM	#41
unapye New Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 20	This is an expertise of the official Pentax service "Opto-technika" in Poland. Before I tried to get an email address to Pentax in Japan from the Ricoh-aftersales in France (they know the matter too), but they refused. Awscreo, yes this is the new replacement of the DFA 70-200 which was broken too. I can not deal with them for over a year. My K-1 is broken too. So was my previous 5 examples k-5 and k-5II. Last edited by unapye; 05-14-2018 at 01:25 PM.

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05-04-2018, 02:59 PM	#31
Unregistered User Guest	Originally posted by pentaxfall Shows that lens is not durable. Durability is as important as sharpness. This worries me. I have another thread regarding the loss of communication. The DFA*70-200 and the DFA150-450 has the same problems but it happens very, very, rarely.

05-05-2018, 01:32 PM	#32
Stagnant Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Photos: Gallery Posts: 603	I had similar problems with several copies of 16-50. Decenterring, front / back focus, mechanical issues. The lens went back and forth between Estonia - France - Japan, before the official representative of Ricoh got in touch with me. I had to write a lengthy email to Ricoh UK customer support. In the end, I received a replacement copy hand-picked by Ricoh. In the end it turned out that the sensor was stuck in the assembly under some angle and was unable to go back to its default position. The most interesting thing is that at some point I sent both the body and the lens to have them adjusted.

05-05-2018, 01:40 PM	#33
awscreo Veteran Member Join Date: May 2016 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,722	Originally posted by Stagnant I had similar problems with several copies of 16-50. Decenterring, front / back focus, mechanical issues. The lens went back and forth between Estonia - France - Japan, before the official representative of Ricoh got in touch with me. I had to write a lengthy email to Ricoh UK customer support. In the end, I received a replacement copy hand-picked by Ricoh. In the end it turned out that the sensor was stuck in the assembly under some angle and was unable to go back to its default position. The most interesting thing is that at some point I sent both the body and the lens to have them adjusted. I've seen several people saying Pentax has solved the issue for them. I'm hoping they would do that for me too. So far no replies from them, hoping they'll get back to me on Monday. I went through 3 copies of 15-30, and tried to repair one of them, to no avail unfortunately. I really want to make this lens work for me as reviews are spectacular, but so far it's performing worse than my rokinon 14mm that I already sold..

05-05-2018, 01:44 PM	#34
Stagnant Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Photos: Gallery Posts: 603	I ended up selling the lens, because even on a brand new K-3 II it performed considerably worse than Sigma 18-35, thus it was collecting dust on the shelf.

05-06-2018, 02:42 PM	#35
pentaxfall Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Bangalore, India Posts: 581 Original Poster	Originally posted by Tjompen1968 I have another thread regarding the loss of communication. The DFA*70-200 and the DFA150-450 has the same problems but it happens very, very, rarely. Is the loss of communication temporary? Does it resume if you take out the battery and put it back? Originally posted by awscreo , hoping they'll get back to me on Monday.. Good luck when you talk to Pentax. Hope they make you an offer for either cash back or brand new body + lens.

05-10-2018, 08:16 PM	#37
pentaxfall Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Bangalore, India Posts: 581 Original Poster	Originally posted by Tjompen1968 It is like a bad connection and comes and goes... Watch this clip. You will see F-- that comes and goes.Also AF goes to MF and back when this happens DFA*70-200 Loose connection between lens and body... - YouTube One more user is reporting similar issue. Connecting ring trouble - D FA 150-450 lens ... too heavy? What to do next ? - PentaxForums.com

05-14-2018, 01:10 PM	#38
unapye New Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 20	Today I received the Pentax DFA* 70-200 from the official Pentax service. I asked them for an expert opinion. Here's what they wrote: " Summary: The lens is mechanically and optically in very good condition (...) the reduction of resolution on the left side of the frame does not matter in use ( at 70mm focal length, while maintaining the standard lens angle of view) ... no chromatic or spherical aberrations were found " . I do not know what to think about it. Here's what the lens on the right side and left side looks like in real.

05-14-2018, 01:14 PM	#39
awscreo Veteran Member Join Date: May 2016 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,722	Originally posted by unapye Today I received the Pentax DFA* 70-200 from the official Pentax service. I asked them for an expert opinion. Here's what they wrote: " Summary: The lens is mechanically and optically in very good condition (...) the reduction of resolution on the left side of the frame does not matter in use ( at 70mm focal length, while maintaining the standard lens angle of view) ... no chromatic or spherical aberrations were found " . I do not know what to think about it. Here's what the lens on the right side and left side looks like in real. Contact Pentax, and talk to them directly. I didn't find any discussions with the company that services Pentax gear in US (Precision camera) of any use, they don't really care and just say everything is returned to spec even if it clearly wasn't. Making a bit of a fuss is not a bad idea either, especially when it comes to their pro line of lenses (in your case it's even a * lens).

05-14-2018, 01:16 PM	#40
Unregistered User Guest	Bummer... What does "the reduction of resolution on the left side of the frame does not matter in use" mean? Are they retarded? What country are we talking about?

05-14-2018, 01:21 PM	#42
awscreo Veteran Member Join Date: May 2016 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,722	Originally posted by unapye This is an expertise of the official Pentax service "Opto-technika" in Poland. Before I tried to get an email address to Pentax in Japan from the Ricoh-aftersales in France (they know the matter too), but they refused. Check your warranty card, it should have a direct phone number that you can call and talk to someone there.

05-14-2018, 01:47 PM	#43
pentaxfall Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Bangalore, India Posts: 581 Original Poster	Originally posted by unapye Today I received the Pentax DFA* 70-200 from the official Pentax service. I asked them for an expert opinion. Here's what they wrote: " the reduction of resolution on the left side of the frame does not matter in use ( at 70mm focal length, OK. We will pay half the price that is for the sharp side . ---------- Post added 05-14-18 at 02:03 PM ---------- Originally posted by unapye Awscreo, yes this is the new replacement of the DFA 70-200 which was broken too. I can not deal with them for over a year. My K-1 is broken too. So was my previous 5 examples k-5 and k-5II. This is really bad. There does not seem to be permanent solution. Worst part is they are selling this in spite of knowing that fair amount of copies are bad. Good that auto industry has something called as re-call. No accountability here.

05-14-2018, 02:09 PM	#44
unapye New Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 20	In general the main thing I wanted them to check was misalignment. The technician said that the lens is not telecentric, but he did not write it into the expertise, because there is no need to enter it - he explained. I had to argue for half an hour to have it on paper. When he kindly agreed to include a mention in the documents I asked him to take a picture and look at how huge the defect is, but he said he is about to finish his work, he turned around and went away. And the receptionist said: "the expertise is completed, bye."

05-14-2018, 02:50 PM	#45
awscreo Veteran Member Join Date: May 2016 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,722	Originally posted by unapye In general the main thing I wanted them to check was misalignment. The technician said that the lens is not telecentric, but he did not write it into the expertise, because there is no need to enter it - he explained. I had to argue for half an hour to have it on paper. When he kindly agreed to include a mention in the documents I asked him to take a picture and look at how huge the defect is, but he said he is about to finish his work, he turned around and went away. And the receptionist said: "the expertise is completed, bye." ouch, that's very bad service in all honesty. It's not like we're talking about hugely expensive professional grade gear, and not lolipops.. Again, I suggest making some fuss with Pentax directly. In my case, after talking to them directly, they seemed to take it very seriously, got the servicing company to issue me a free shipping label, and from what I understand, if this last time (sending my lens in for second attempt tomorrow) lens isn't fixed, I'll be raising a possibility of a refund. I had nothing but trouble with my copies of 15-30 unfortunately.