[Paul the Sunman]

My SMC DA 15 Limited was badly decentred, possibly following a fall some time ago. I haven't actually been using it much for a few years as I was shooting mostly FF. However, when I bought the K3iii and tried it out, I found it unusable. The edges in particular were horrible. I think whatever damage had been done (loosening?) was worsening over time.

So I took it in to CRK in Melbourne. They tested it and agreed with my assessment. Unfortunately, despite having a very good service department on site, it was beyond their capabilities, and they sent it to Japan.

Six weeks later I have it back, but now it is a Frankenstein DA 15! The repair notes:

**LENS REPAIRED BY PENTAX JAPAN**
Dismantled lens to replace adjusting plate, moving guide
ring, roller, contact brush, diaphragm spring, mount related
parts, 1st lens frame, 2nd lens group and lens frame related
parts. Reassembled and adjusated resolution as required.
Checked/tested all functions.

Not only does it now say HD DA 15 on the lens barrel, the serial number has changed. By the way, the aperture blades are straight, the ring is still green, I'm pretty sure the coating is still SMC and not HD, and the EXIF reports SMC DA 15. So they used some HD DA 15 parts, but didn't change anything significant.



No problem with that, but I can see that selling it would involve a long explanation.

Anyway, I'm very happy with the results. It is now performing as I remembered it. The IQ is very good across the centre and beyond, with the extreme edges being slightly soft and with some CA. As expected.



It is nice to have it back! It certainly beats hauling around the DFA 15-30.

[Unregistered User 8]

but I can see that selling it would involve a long explanation.

Simple, Paul.......................never sell it.
But joking aside, it sounds like you had a very successful outcome, mate.
If ever you do decide to part ways, sell it on the forums with a link to this thread included in the listing to act as your explanation for the differences.

[BigMackCam]

That's pretty cool - you now own what must be a pretty unique DA15 right there Glad to hear it's performing as expected. Ironically, given the personal attention it's now had by Ricoh, it's probably better optically than a number of new, off-the-shelf examples...

[Paul the Sunman]

That's pretty cool - you now own what must be a pretty unique DA15 right there Glad to hear it's performing as expected. Ironically, given the personal attention it's now had by Ricoh, it's probably better optically than a number of new, off-the-shelf examples...

I can almost claim it is "Made in Japan"

[Madaboutpix]

Wow, that's what I call committment to one's product. It may have lost a bit of outer barrel paint here and there over the years, but it seems they performed some serious surgery on it to get it back in perfect working order. Congrats and many more years of happy use!

[PJ1]

It is good to hear that they went to all that trouble instead of just saying "irreparable".

[AfterPentax Mark II]

I can almost claim it is "Made in Japan"

You can claim it as "Re-Assembled in Japan".

[MarkJerling]

A rare "one-of" model! It will be worth lotsa $$$ some time in the future!

[UncleVanya]

That’s a neat story. Glad it worked out.

As for selling it, keep a copy of your explanation and a link to this thread. An upfront honest seller is always welcome on any platform.

Of course the half joking reply, “problem solved, don’t sell it” seems on target as well.

[Lhorn]

Is there any chance they just replaced it with a returned lens because that was easier than repairing yours?

[Kevin B123]

HD versions have a red ring, not green so it is original, at least in part.

[Paul the Sunman]

HD versions have a red ring, not green so it is original, at least in part.

Also, as I say in the original post, the aperture blades are straight, not rounded as in the HD version, and the EXIF says "smc PENTAX-DA 15mm F4 ED AL Limited", so it's definitely an SMC DA at its core.

[kiwi_jono]

Actually thats what I call a customised lens!

Glad you have it back working but hope the damage to your wallet was not too crippling!

[Paul the Sunman]

Actually thats what I call a customised lens!

Glad you have it back working but hope the damage to your wallet was not too crippling!

About 40% the cost of a new one, so worth doing. I've had the lens for 10 years, since new, and didn't want to relegate it to a bottom spare-parts draw.

[ramseybuckeye]

My SMC DA 15 Limited was badly decentred, possibly following a fall some time ago. I haven't actually been using it much for a few years as I was shooting mostly FF. However, when I bought the K3iii and tried it out, I found it unusable. The edges in particular were horrible. I think whatever damage had been done (loosening?) was worsening over time.

So I took it in to CRK in Melbourne. They tested it and agreed with my assessment. Unfortunately, despite having a very good service department on site, it was beyond their capabilities, and they sent it to Japan.

Six weeks later I have it back, but now it is a Frankenstein DA 15! The repair notes:

**LENS REPAIRED BY PENTAX JAPAN**
Dismantled lens to replace adjusting plate, moving guide
ring, roller, contact brush, diaphragm spring, mount related
parts, 1st lens frame, 2nd lens group and lens frame related
parts. Reassembled and adjusated resolution as required.
Checked/tested all functions.

Not only does it now say HD DA 15 on the lens barrel, the serial number has changed. By the way, the aperture blades are straight, the ring is still green, I'm pretty sure the coating is still SMC and not HD, and the EXIF reports SMC DA 15. So they used some HD DA 15 parts, but didn't change anything significant.

It's nice to have all new of those moving parts, and the second lens group (which must have been where the problem was). But the awesome part was that they adjusted the resolution, I'm guessing the optics are as perfect as they could possibly be.