Anyone else have this DA* 50-135mm problem?

asdf · 02-02-2010, 02:45 PM

Originally posted by JerryFu

I talked with Pentax support over chat, and the solution was to send my lens in, of course. I took a picture of the serial number on the lens, so I'll keep everything documented.

I brought up the fact that I read that a lot of people were having this problem with SDM lenses, and the lady told me that there was an issue that happened with older cameras. I have a K-7 though...and although all these reports of problems doesn't represent those who haven't had issues, it does seem like there is something going on...

Did she say older lenses or cameras?

PentaxPoke · 02-02-2010, 11:01 PM

Originally posted by JerryFu

...and the lady told me that there was an issue that happened with older cameras.

What a load of BS. When my DA*s (note the plural) failed, they didn't work on my k10d, k20d, or k-7. I don't recall ever reading a post about someone having a DA* AF failure due to the camera body. Also, her statement is not only BS, her action is completely illogical!! If she thinks that this is a problem with older camera bodies, why isn't she asking you to send in the body instead of the lens!?!

My guess is that you will get a new lens. Hopefully they will zero out the time on the warranty for you so you will have another year. Make sure you keep an eye on it and send the next one in at the first sign of problem.

LeDave · 02-05-2010, 11:04 PM

Found this video on Youtube with the 50-135 using a screw-drive and comparing to SDM.

I'm not sure which camera the person was using but it might be the K10D with an older firmware if it didn't short-circuited. SDM seems faster on this one, but it might be a bit different if AF'd on the K-7.

[YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JChvQs_Dh94[/YT]

[YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKnRBDG_YWc[/YT]

jrvalverde · 02-16-2010, 07:03 AM

Hi,

recently I started having the same problem with the kit lens of my K20D. It is an SMC DA 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL II.

The lens would not focus at all on Sunday (two days ago, after some months unused) and I had to use manual focus. The camera (a K20D) also refused to use AE or any exposure program at all, so I had to revert to manual exposure as well. Curiously some of the pictures where overexposed but it might have been my nerves.

Yesterday, with more time I tried again and noticed it did allow exposure control now, but AF didn't work. After a few tests I noticed AF working when it was already very close to actual focus. It seemed to become a bit better, but then I also noticed the battery was too low, so took it to charge. Noteworthy is that a Tamron 18-250 worked flawlessly all the while.

Today, I tried with a fully charged battery and it seems to work OK. As my warranty is expiring next March, I need to take a decision soon. In principle the problem is too similar to the one described, but it might be a low battery charge problem, so I feel tempted to send the lens for repair, but I would hate to have it back as OK and having to pay all transport costs.

BTW, it may make sense to check if the problem may be battery related. I do not mean the battery itself, but may be the contacts, or as someone else mentioned, may be the lubricant in the motor rearranges because of gravity making it more difficult to move and a simple light shaking redistributes lubricant again and makes it work (much like an old car's motor).

Again, my problem is warranty expires in a few weeks, I don't feel tempted to wait for a new failure to check (I'll wait though, just in case it was low power issue and if it happens again will try a few common sense tricks before sending it quickly to repair).

jrvalverde · 02-18-2010, 07:54 AM

Just a quick update. Yesterday it worked flawlessly, but today the lens failed again. In this case it does not seem to be able to focus.

One thing I notice is the focus ring seems loose. With other lenses the focus ring is stiff when in AF mode (as one would expect), but with this one it slides softly in AF mode. I suspect that something is either broken or disengaged in the motor/ring connection.

Has anyone else noticed this looseness when their lenses fail?

I'll be returning mine for repair while the guarantee lasts.

AOShep · 02-20-2010, 12:44 AM

After reading most of the posts on this topic I thought I would try the storage position/gravity posibility. Noticing that the possition of my bag ment the lens was at rest in a horizontal postion at least over night if not longer, I remonted the SDM 50-135mm. So far I have had no failures but I will need to give it a heavy workout to be sure. In the mean time I will make sure it is not stored in a vertical position until I can verify.
Anyone else testing this theory?
From the list of symptoms I assume not all SDM lenses will respond positively to any quick fix.

PentaxPoke · 02-20-2010, 01:08 AM

Originally posted by AOShep

After reading most of the posts on this topic I thought I would try the storage position/gravity posibility. Noticing that the possition of my bag ment the lens was at rest in a horizontal postion at least over night if not longer, I remonted the SDM 50-135mm. So far I have had no failures but I will need to give it a heavy workout to be sure. In the mean time I will make sure it is not stored in a vertical position until I can verify.
Anyone else testing this theory?
From the list of symptoms I assume not all SDM lenses will respond positively to any quick fix.

Shep,
Maybe I am misunderstanding your post, but wouldn't you have to have an SDM lens that is having problems, to test your theory? Otherwise, how do we know that it is the storage position that is preventing a problem?

AOShep · 02-20-2010, 02:17 AM

Sorry I didn't make that clear. My DA* 50-135 started failing on the AF about a month ago. I have had focus lock problems, but now it will out of the blue snap to minimum focus. I tried flipping the AF/MF switch off and on. The only thing that seemed to restore AF was to turn the focus ring by hand then it would wake up.
Like I said, I need to spend some quality time testing it to see if the storage position my be a factor. Even if it proves to be a work-a-round, this still should not happen

PentaxPoke · 02-20-2010, 02:27 AM

Originally posted by AOShep

Sorry I didn't make that clear. My DA* 50-135 started failing on the AF about a month ago. I have had focus lock problems, but now it will out of the blue snap to minimum focus. I tried flipping the AF/MF switch off and on. The only thing that seemed to restore AF was to turn the focus ring by hand then it would wake up.
Like I said, I need to spend some quality time testing it to see if the storage position my be a factor. Even if it proves to be a work-a-round, this still should not happen

Aha. I understand now. I assume it is out of warranty, or you would be sending it in for service right?

AOShep · 02-20-2010, 02:33 AM

Originally posted by PentaxPoke

Aha. I understand now. I assume it is out of warranty, or you would be sending it in for service right?

I bought the lens last summer while state-side but I am in Taiwan. So I need to find out if my warrentee can be serviced from here. By my next trip it will be too late.

xGene · 02-22-2010, 06:44 AM

I thought I was one of those very few unlucky guys that had a defective SDM on a 50-135mm... Guess what? I had my first one replaced by Pentax Canada back in August last year. SDM would wake-up only after 5-10 minutes... I posted this issue back then (in this thread).

Now my SECOND COPY is acting the SAME, but now on my K-7!!!!! (as well as my older K20D). Was working OK since August, yesterday I was outside for a shoot, was (only) 0 degree C, and it started to do the same thing! I am so P****D right now! Tried it last night, this morning (inddor), no diff!

Bottom line: on my experience, life expectancy of the SDM on a 50-135mm is about 6 months, used on a regular basis (at lest every week-ends...).

Seriously, I can't just blame this on bad luck anymore...

I'll have a drive at Pentax Canada tomorrow (I work around the corner) and I will have a chat with Stephen Ho. enough is enough!

xGene

PentaxPoke · 02-22-2010, 11:14 AM

Originally posted by xGene

I thought I was one of those very few unlucky guys that had a defective SDM on a 50-135mm... Guess what? I had my first one replaced by Pentax Canada back in August last year. SDM would wake-up only after 5-10 minutes... I posted this issue back then (in this thread).

Now my SECOND COPY is acting the SAME, but now on my K-7!!!!! (as well as my older K20D). Was working OK since August, yesterday I was outside for a shoot, was (only) 0 degree C, and it started to do the same thing! I am so P****D right now! Tried it last night, this morning (inddor), no diff!

Bottom line: on my experience, life expectancy of the SDM on a 50-135mm is about 6 months, used on a regular basis (at lest every week-ends...).

Seriously, I can't just blame this on bad luck anymore...

I'll have a drive at Pentax Canada tomorrow (I work around the corner) and I will have a chat with Stephen Ho. enough is enough!

xGene

Yes, that sounds familiar.

It will be interesting to hear what Pentax Canada has to say. Hopefully it is not the: "SDM problem? We haven't heard of that before" we get here.

sandpipe · 02-28-2010, 11:03 PM

Originally posted by xGene

I thought I was one of those very few unlucky guys that had a defective SDM on a 50-135mm... Guess what? I had my first one replaced by Pentax Canada back in August last year. SDM would wake-up only after 5-10 minutes... I posted this issue back then (in this thread).

Now my SECOND COPY is acting the SAME, but now on my K-7!!!!! (as well as my older K20D). Was working OK since August, yesterday I was outside for a shoot, was (only) 0 degree C, and it started to do the same thing! I am so P****D right now! Tried it last night, this morning (inddor), no diff!

Bottom line: on my experience, life expectancy of the SDM on a 50-135mm is about 6 months, used on a regular basis (at lest every week-ends...).

Seriously, I can't just blame this on bad luck anymore...

I'll have a drive at Pentax Canada tomorrow (I work around the corner) and I will have a chat with Stephen Ho. enough is enough!

xGene

My 50-135 also is exhibiting this required 5 minute wakeup time before auto-focus starts working. Spinning the focus ring does not help me get it to work any quicker.

I bought my lens over a year ago but it was on a credit card. I hope it is the one I have that doubles the manufacturer's warranty.

I think Pentax should do a recall on this defective lens. Are there any stats on what percentage have this problem?

sterretje · 02-28-2010, 11:38 PM

Originally posted by jrvalverde

Just a quick update. Yesterday it worked flawlessly, but today the lens failed again. In this case it does not seem to be able to focus.

One thing I notice is the focus ring seems loose. With other lenses the focus ring is stiff when in AF mode (as one would expect), but with this one it slides softly in AF mode. I suspect that something is either broken or disengaged in the motor/ring connection.

Has anyone else noticed this looseness when their lenses fail?

I'll be returning mine for repair while the guarantee lasts.

It is normal that you can very easily turn the focus ring on a DA 18-55 AL II without any resistance. As far as I know, it's called quick shift.

rei_vilo · 03-03-2010, 03:39 PM

Hi,

I got one of the 1st DA* 50-135 2.5 years ago.

I've experienced strange behaviour on my DA* 50-135. When connected to the Pentax K-7, it doesn't respond to AF.

It takes up to 2 minutes to have it fully operational with the SDM. I've cross-checked with my other lenses: both the DA* 16-50 and DA* 60-250 work instantly.

So I sent my DA* 50-135 to be repaired. Verdict is the SDM motor needs to be changed

Total cost : 300 EUR / USD

This is very disappointing for a prime lens

. According to many forums, it seems to be a common issue.

02-16-2010, 07:03 AM	#79
jrvalverde New Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Madrid, Spain Posts: 4	Similar problem with kit lens Hi, recently I started having the same problem with the kit lens of my K20D. It is an SMC DA 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL II. The lens would not focus at all on Sunday (two days ago, after some months unused) and I had to use manual focus. The camera (a K20D) also refused to use AE or any exposure program at all, so I had to revert to manual exposure as well. Curiously some of the pictures where overexposed but it might have been my nerves. Yesterday, with more time I tried again and noticed it did allow exposure control now, but AF didn't work. After a few tests I noticed AF working when it was already very close to actual focus. It seemed to become a bit better, but then I also noticed the battery was too low, so took it to charge. Noteworthy is that a Tamron 18-250 worked flawlessly all the while. Today, I tried with a fully charged battery and it seems to work OK. As my warranty is expiring next March, I need to take a decision soon. In principle the problem is too similar to the one described, but it might be a low battery charge problem, so I feel tempted to send the lens for repair, but I would hate to have it back as OK and having to pay all transport costs. BTW, it may make sense to check if the problem may be battery related. I do not mean the battery itself, but may be the contacts, or as someone else mentioned, may be the lubricant in the motor rearranges because of gravity making it more difficult to move and a simple light shaking redistributes lubricant again and makes it work (much like an old car's motor). Again, my problem is warranty expires in a few weeks, I don't feel tempted to wait for a new failure to check (I'll wait though, just in case it was low power issue and if it happens again will try a few common sense tricks before sending it quickly to repair).

02-22-2010, 06:44 AM	#86
xGene Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Toronto, Ontario Posts: 151	I can't bloody believe it!!!! I thought I was one of those very few unlucky guys that had a defective SDM on a 50-135mm... Guess what? I had my first one replaced by Pentax Canada back in August last year. SDM would wake-up only after 5-10 minutes... I posted this issue back then (in this thread). Now my SECOND COPY is acting the SAME, but now on my K-7!!!!! (as well as my older K20D). Was working OK since August, yesterday I was outside for a shoot, was (only) 0 degree C, and it started to do the same thing! I am so P****D right now! Tried it last night, this morning (inddor), no diff! Bottom line: on my experience, life expectancy of the SDM on a 50-135mm is about 6 months, used on a regular basis (at lest every week-ends...). Seriously, I can't just blame this on bad luck anymore... I'll have a drive at Pentax Canada tomorrow (I work around the corner) and I will have a chat with Stephen Ho. enough is enough! xGene

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Problem with new old Mamiya 135mm 2.8	Ira	Pentax SLR Lens Discussion	4	08-09-2010 09:09 AM
DA*50-135mm f2.8 SDM Problems / No Problem	rustynail925	Pentax SLR Lens Discussion	30	03-22-2010 06:08 PM
Help - Infinity focus problem with DA* 50-135mm 2.8	Eyewanders	Pentax SLR Lens Discussion	9	08-06-2009 10:20 PM
Pentax 50-135mm Vignetting Problem?	nah	Pentax SLR Lens Discussion	6	04-15-2009 11:55 AM
Problem with the 50-135mm DA*	offertonhatter	Pentax SLR Lens Discussion	15	03-01-2009 09:53 PM

02-02-2010, 02:45 PM	#76
asdf Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Canada Posts: 1,252	Originally posted by JerryFu I talked with Pentax support over chat, and the solution was to send my lens in, of course. I took a picture of the serial number on the lens, so I'll keep everything documented. I brought up the fact that I read that a lot of people were having this problem with SDM lenses, and the lady told me that there was an issue that happened with older cameras. I have a K-7 though...and although all these reports of problems doesn't represent those who haven't had issues, it does seem like there is something going on... Did she say older lenses or cameras?

02-02-2010, 11:01 PM	#77
PentaxPoke Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 1,411 Original Poster	Originally posted by JerryFu ...and the lady told me that there was an issue that happened with older cameras. What a load of BS. When my DAs (note the plural) failed, they didn't work on my k10d, k20d, or k-7. I don't recall ever reading a post about someone having a DA AF failure due to the camera body. Also, her statement is not only BS, her action is completely illogical!! If she thinks that this is a problem with older camera bodies, why isn't she asking you to send in the body instead of the lens!?! My guess is that you will get a new lens. Hopefully they will zero out the time on the warranty for you so you will have another year. Make sure you keep an eye on it and send the next one in at the first sign of problem.

02-05-2010, 11:04 PM	#78
LeDave Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Minneapolis - St. Paul Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,067	Found this video on Youtube with the 50-135 using a screw-drive and comparing to SDM. I'm not sure which camera the person was using but it might be the K10D with an older firmware if it didn't short-circuited. SDM seems faster on this one, but it might be a bit different if AF'd on the K-7. [YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JChvQs_Dh94[/YT] [YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKnRBDG_YWc[/YT]

02-18-2010, 07:54 AM	#80
jrvalverde New Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Madrid, Spain Posts: 4	Just a quick update. Yesterday it worked flawlessly, but today the lens failed again. In this case it does not seem to be able to focus. One thing I notice is the focus ring seems loose. With other lenses the focus ring is stiff when in AF mode (as one would expect), but with this one it slides softly in AF mode. I suspect that something is either broken or disengaged in the motor/ring connection. Has anyone else noticed this looseness when their lenses fail? I'll be returning mine for repair while the guarantee lasts.

02-20-2010, 12:44 AM	#81
AOShep Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Eastern PA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 293	After reading most of the posts on this topic I thought I would try the storage position/gravity posibility. Noticing that the possition of my bag ment the lens was at rest in a horizontal postion at least over night if not longer, I remonted the SDM 50-135mm. So far I have had no failures but I will need to give it a heavy workout to be sure. In the mean time I will make sure it is not stored in a vertical position until I can verify. Anyone else testing this theory? From the list of symptoms I assume not all SDM lenses will respond positively to any quick fix.

02-20-2010, 01:08 AM	#82
PentaxPoke Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 1,411 Original Poster	Originally posted by AOShep After reading most of the posts on this topic I thought I would try the storage position/gravity posibility. Noticing that the possition of my bag ment the lens was at rest in a horizontal postion at least over night if not longer, I remonted the SDM 50-135mm. So far I have had no failures but I will need to give it a heavy workout to be sure. In the mean time I will make sure it is not stored in a vertical position until I can verify. Anyone else testing this theory? From the list of symptoms I assume not all SDM lenses will respond positively to any quick fix. Shep, Maybe I am misunderstanding your post, but wouldn't you have to have an SDM lens that is having problems, to test your theory? Otherwise, how do we know that it is the storage position that is preventing a problem?

02-20-2010, 02:17 AM	#83
AOShep Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Eastern PA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 293	Sorry I didn't make that clear. My DA* 50-135 started failing on the AF about a month ago. I have had focus lock problems, but now it will out of the blue snap to minimum focus. I tried flipping the AF/MF switch off and on. The only thing that seemed to restore AF was to turn the focus ring by hand then it would wake up. Like I said, I need to spend some quality time testing it to see if the storage position my be a factor. Even if it proves to be a work-a-round, this still should not happen

02-20-2010, 02:27 AM	#84
PentaxPoke Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 1,411 Original Poster	Originally posted by AOShep Sorry I didn't make that clear. My DA* 50-135 started failing on the AF about a month ago. I have had focus lock problems, but now it will out of the blue snap to minimum focus. I tried flipping the AF/MF switch off and on. The only thing that seemed to restore AF was to turn the focus ring by hand then it would wake up. Like I said, I need to spend some quality time testing it to see if the storage position my be a factor. Even if it proves to be a work-a-round, this still should not happen Aha. I understand now. I assume it is out of warranty, or you would be sending it in for service right?

02-20-2010, 02:33 AM	#85
AOShep Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Eastern PA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 293	Originally posted by PentaxPoke Aha. I understand now. I assume it is out of warranty, or you would be sending it in for service right? I bought the lens last summer while state-side but I am in Taiwan. So I need to find out if my warrentee can be serviced from here. By my next trip it will be too late.

02-22-2010, 11:14 AM	#87
PentaxPoke Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 1,411 Original Poster	Originally posted by xGene I thought I was one of those very few unlucky guys that had a defective SDM on a 50-135mm... Guess what? I had my first one replaced by Pentax Canada back in August last year. SDM would wake-up only after 5-10 minutes... I posted this issue back then (in this thread). Now my SECOND COPY is acting the SAME, but now on my K-7!!!!! (as well as my older K20D). Was working OK since August, yesterday I was outside for a shoot, was (only) 0 degree C, and it started to do the same thing! I am so P****D right now! Tried it last night, this morning (inddor), no diff! Bottom line: on my experience, life expectancy of the SDM on a 50-135mm is about 6 months, used on a regular basis (at lest every week-ends...). Seriously, I can't just blame this on bad luck anymore... I'll have a drive at Pentax Canada tomorrow (I work around the corner) and I will have a chat with Stephen Ho. enough is enough! xGene Yes, that sounds familiar. It will be interesting to hear what Pentax Canada has to say. Hopefully it is not the: "SDM problem? We haven't heard of that before" we get here.

02-28-2010, 11:03 PM	#88
sandpipe Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: N.W. Massachusetts Photos: Gallery Posts: 85	Originally posted by xGene I thought I was one of those very few unlucky guys that had a defective SDM on a 50-135mm... Guess what? I had my first one replaced by Pentax Canada back in August last year. SDM would wake-up only after 5-10 minutes... I posted this issue back then (in this thread). Now my SECOND COPY is acting the SAME, but now on my K-7!!!!! (as well as my older K20D). Was working OK since August, yesterday I was outside for a shoot, was (only) 0 degree C, and it started to do the same thing! I am so P****D right now! Tried it last night, this morning (inddor), no diff! Bottom line: on my experience, life expectancy of the SDM on a 50-135mm is about 6 months, used on a regular basis (at lest every week-ends...). Seriously, I can't just blame this on bad luck anymore... I'll have a drive at Pentax Canada tomorrow (I work around the corner) and I will have a chat with Stephen Ho. enough is enough! xGene My 50-135 also is exhibiting this required 5 minute wakeup time before auto-focus starts working. Spinning the focus ring does not help me get it to work any quicker. I bought my lens over a year ago but it was on a credit card. I hope it is the one I have that doubles the manufacturer's warranty. I think Pentax should do a recall on this defective lens. Are there any stats on what percentage have this problem?

02-28-2010, 11:38 PM	#89
sterretje Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Roodepoort, South Africa Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,561	Originally posted by jrvalverde Just a quick update. Yesterday it worked flawlessly, but today the lens failed again. In this case it does not seem to be able to focus. One thing I notice is the focus ring seems loose. With other lenses the focus ring is stiff when in AF mode (as one would expect), but with this one it slides softly in AF mode. I suspect that something is either broken or disengaged in the motor/ring connection. Has anyone else noticed this looseness when their lenses fail? I'll be returning mine for repair while the guarantee lasts. It is normal that you can very easily turn the focus ring on a DA 18-55 AL II without any resistance. As far as I know, it's called quick shift.

03-03-2010, 03:39 PM	#90
rei_vilo Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Paris, France Posts: 50	Hi, I got one of the 1st DA* 50-135 2.5 years ago. I've experienced strange behaviour on my DA* 50-135. When connected to the Pentax K-7, it doesn't respond to AF. It takes up to 2 minutes to have it fully operational with the SDM. I've cross-checked with my other lenses: both the DA* 16-50 and DA* 60-250 work instantly. So I sent my DA* 50-135 to be repaired. Verdict is the SDM motor needs to be changed Total cost : 300 EUR / USD This is very disappointing for a prime lens . According to many forums, it seems to be a common issue.