[rawr]

From the diagram below, I can understand how it may be possible that something has gummed up one of the WR seals at the front of the lens. The WR on this lens seems more complex than, for example, that of the 60-250.

DFA 150-450


DA* 60-250

[colodion]

Hello a question, foot support 150 450 is compatible with Arca Swiss, there is a Quick Release Plate for?

[Zygonyx]

Not that i know actually.

---------- Post added 12-06-15 at 11:40 ----------

I have no idea who does the warranty repairs here. I'm guessing the lens will be sent back to the distributor, which IIRC is Pentax France. That's the bit I'm dreading... I have now clue how long I'll have to do without the thing, which is a bit stressful considering it's an item I use daily. Then again, I still have everything I used before I got that thing and managed to survive .

The normal way of doing things is to bring the lens back at your dealer's place, he will send it to Pentax's partnership reparator in one of the continental Europe countries.

My chance is that the PM2S contractor for France is based at about 10km from my home, and they accept direct deposit, under waranty or not.

[AdrianM]

Right. I have been using the lens on a daily basis since getting it, and so far I've been extremely happy despite developing a bit of neck/shoulder trouble that now seems to have disappeared. Then today this happened:



The barrel got stuck. Well, stuck... it won't retract past 180mm or so, meaning I can't engage the zoom lock, which is a major pain when you're some 30 km from home and on a bicycle. As luck would have it, today I was usuing my Lowepro Flipside AW 400 bag rather than the laptop bag I normally use, because I was out in The Wild rather than doing urban birding... in its present state, the lens wouldn't fit the laptop bag.

Anyway, going by the feel of the jam, I think a bit of the weather sealing of the zoom barrel got loose and is now preventing the barrel from being fully retracted. I'm not looking forward to having the thing repaired, because just for fun I took out the 300mm + converter a couple of days ago and couldn't believe how extremely cumbersome that combo was compared to the new lens. Urgh, or in the words of the inimitable Jon Spencer:
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Dang - YouTube

That is exactly what has happened to my copy 2 daysago. I am travelling internationally at the moment so I have to wait until I get back to Australia for a repair.

[Shanti]

That is exactly what has happened to my copy 2 daysago. I am travelling internationally at the moment so I have to wait until I get back to Australia for a repair.

How long have you owned it? serial # maybe we should make a database of these to see if any pattern or bad batches can explain why

I've had mine since June 1st ,ser#4359306, bought in Holland... and am getting paranoid now

[gaweidert]

That is exactly what has happened to my copy 2 daysago. I am travelling internationally at the moment so I have to wait until I get back to Australia for a repair.

Just ordered one. This seems like it may be a problem with for us early owners. Hopefully not.

[rawr]

Speculation here.
Having lots of thin little gaskets along a moving piston/lens barrel must make it challenging to make the system work reliably. Unless the lens barrel/bore surface is kept totally teflon smooth and clean, friction will be continuously (and perhaps unevenly) dragging against the ring seals, and tempting thin seals in particular to come loose and get kinked, or end up being dragged away from their original position and riding over the top of another seal. A classic hydraulic/pneumatic design challenge!

[Franc]

How long have you owned it? serial # maybe we should make a database of these to see if any pattern or bad batches can explain why

I've had mine since June 1st ,ser#4359306, bought in Holland... and am getting paranoid now

i've got mine from the same dealer, no problem what so ever.

[AdrianM]

How long have you owned it? serial # maybe we should make a database of these to see if any pattern or bad batches can explain why

I've had mine since June 1st ,ser#4359306, bought in Holland... and am getting paranoid now

Serial number 4360185. Bought from Pentax Australia. The 2 year warranty will be useful. Only had it for about 3 weeks.

[Shanti]

This seems to be the only/best case for camera/batt grip & lens & hood extended,and can even fit my DP3 in the front pocket Kinesis C750 about €110

[D1N0]

Right. I have been using the lens on a daily basis since getting it, and so far I've been extremely happy despite developing a bit of neck/shoulder trouble that now seems to have disappeared. Then today this happened:



The barrel got stuck. Well, stuck... it won't retract past 180mm or so, meaning I can't engage the zoom lock, which is a major pain when you're some 30 km from home and on a bicycle. As luck would have it, today I was usuing my Lowepro Flipside AW 400 bag rather than the laptop bag I normally use, because I was out in The Wild rather than doing urban birding... in its present state, the lens wouldn't fit the laptop bag.

Anyway, going by the feel of the jam, I think a bit of the weather sealing of the zoom barrel got loose and is now preventing the barrel from being fully retracted. I'm not looking forward to having the thing repaired, because just for fun I took out the 300mm + converter a couple of days ago and couldn't believe how extremely cumbersome that combo was compared to the new lens. Urgh, or in the words of the inimitable Jon Spencer:
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Dang - YouTube

Could it be a settings problem? Is there any way to reset the lens?

[OJGoreng]

That is exactly what has happened to my copy 2 daysago. I am travelling internationally at the moment so I have to wait until I get back to Australia for a repair.

Ouch, that sucks (though TBH it's comforting to know I'm not the only one).

Speculation here.
Having lots of thin little gaskets along a moving piston/lens barrel must make it challenging to make the system work reliably.

Looks like it's only one gasket that's in contact with the barrel, though:


All the other ones are at junctions between different parts.

Could it be a settings problem? Is there any way to reset the lens?

No; zooming is a fully manual process, there's no circuitry involved. Resetting requires a hammer, and that'll void the warrany I'm sure

This seems to be the only/best case for camera/batt grip & lens & hood extended,and can even fit my DP3 in the front pocket Kinesis C750 about €110

Neat! May I ask where you got it?

[normhead]

SO guys... how is the auto-focus? Is there anything predictive or is it still focus and grab?

[OJGoreng]

Faster and snappier, something I find painfully noticeable now I'm temporarily forced to use the 300 + 1.4x TC again.

[Mike.P®]

A friend for Rupert but this time actually taken with a 150-450mm