[gjm]

...HELP...

Over the summer I purchased my dream lens, Pentax FA 600mm F4. The lens was and is in good shape and I have gotten good results with the lens over the 8 months months that I have been using it.

In just the last few days I have noticed the APATURE RING housing assembly is loose (see the pic below). The APETURE RING housing rocks back and forth less than a millimeter.

This lens is no longer supported for repair by Precision Camera and I am at a lose for what to do. The lens is still useable and I have a temporary fix for the lens, I am using packing tape to reinforce the seem and this repair seems to be working well and there is no noticeable pay in the APETURE RING housing. The only down side is the APETURE RING is no longer and option (I never use it any way).

Any ideas on the PROBLEM and/or a SOLUTION for getting the lens repaired?

Attached Images

 

[aslyfox]

here is a listing of businesses that might be able to help

follow the link

KEH.com (GA, Most current and vintage gear)
Eric Hendrickson (Vintage cameras, Current and vintage lenses)
Precision Camera (Authorized to perform warranty service, NC)
Advance Camera (Most current and vintage gear, Portland, OR)
General Camera Repair (LA, CA)
Garry's Camera Repair (IL, select film SLRs)
International Camera Repair (LA, CA)
Halcyon Cameras | Vintage Camera Restoration (Vintage film cameras, San Diego, CA)
Camera Repair Japan (Services Sigma lenses and more, Atlanta, GA)
Allied Camera (MN, manual film cameras)
Bill Rogers Camera (LV, NV, film-era cameras and lenses)
Phototronic (Topeka, KS, film and digital camera repair)
Lezot's Camera Center (VT, film SLRs / medium format)

Read more at: Pentax Repair Facilities (Wordwide listing) - Page 9 - PentaxForums.com

I have used Phototronic here in Topeka KS

Camera Repair - phototronic.biz

[Not a Number]

There is always NSB Tekunos in Japan - run/owned by former Pentax techs and engineers.

See the last thread for tips on contacting them.

Lens Repair Co. run by Retired Pentax Engineers - PentaxForums.com
Repair report - good experience with NSB-Tekunos repair - PentaxForums.com
Focus ring jammed on a SMC Pentax A* 300 mm f/2.8 - PentaxForums.com

[Ron Boggs]

Back when Pentax was headquartered in Colorado (pre-Ricoh) I had them send my FA*600/4 back to Japan to tighten that spot...it does mess up focus with the "slop" in the joint. The Japan fix only lasted a few months. So back to Japan my lens flew...only to get loose again. So one of the customer service guys went an extra couple miles to work with his techs to come up with a permanent solution. I hand-carried my 600/4 to them. They tightened it on site there in Colorado and used some sort of Loc-tite type product (I think) and the lens is still tight to this day--decades later (lens is now owned by a forum member in Australia). But of course, none of the Pentax in-house techs is still working in-house on such things. Hope someone stateside can get a solution for you! Good luck!
In the meantime, to assure focus across the frame you'll need to push the camera body tight to the lens when shooting. If you let the camera body hang it's weight or if you hang on the body it will move it that one millimeter which will render half the frame ever so slightly out of focus. Drove me nuts until I figured it out...
The F* 600/4 held tight for me for several years and is holding for the buddy I sold it to, but the F*600/4 is ten times harder to locate than the FA*

[luftfluss]

I sent my Tamron Adaptall-2 SP 400/4 to Camera Repair and Cleaning | Advance Camera Repair in Portland, Oregon for CLA, and although it took them a few months they did a good job, including repairing an issue with the mount (which I never bothered to disclose) at no additional charge. Another member sent his A* 200/4 Macro there and was also satisfied with the result.

Here is the original thread: Now what? - PentaxForums.com

[Not a Number]

Advance Camera is an authorized Ricoh/Pentax repair center and has a very good reputation from the posters on Pentax Forums.

[gjm]

Wow, THANKS for the quick replies. I have contacted a few of the place you'll have mentioned and I am waiting their responses.

[luftfluss]

Wow, THANKS for the quick replies. I have contacted a few of the place you'll have mentioned and I am waiting their responses.

Whichever place you ultimately send your lens to, I would advise to also send a copy of the post @Ron_Boggs made - it could prove to be beneficial years down the line.

[aslyfox]

Wow, THANKS for the quick replies. I have contacted a few of the place you'll have mentioned and I am waiting their responses.

hopefully the OP will keep us informed on the journey to get the lens repaired

[Pål Jensen]

It is a common problem with this lens. Loose screws. Any Pentax repair facility can fix this. I had mine repaired three times for the same issue. Apparently there are only three screws keeping this part of the lens together. The lens was modified during its production and later models have six screws.
The main problem with the older long telephotos is that they are not supported anymore. The only optical bench that takes such long super telephotos is in Japan at the facility mentioned in a post above.

[gjm]

Pål Jensen,

Thanks for the technical info and background on this lens. Any idea how you access those screws? Is it through the bayonet of the 3 external screws that show on the section with the focus window?

FYI - Talked with The Camera Doctor in Kearney, Nebraska and Alan has been very helpful. In the past he has worked on the 600mm and is confident that he can fix the issue. Kearney is only 5 hours from the Denver Metro area and now I just need to figure out mailing or delivery. ALSO, Nebrask Camera The Camera Doctor is a current Pentax dealer and is a helpful and small town shop.

I will report back once the issue is fixed.

[Pål Jensen]

Pål Jensen,

Thanks for the technical info and background on this lens. Any idea how you access those screws? Is it through the bayonet of the 3 external screws that show on the section with the focus window?.

I don't know how to access those screws. I sent mine to Pentax service here in Norway. It was he who told me that this was a weakness with this lens....

[caliscouser]

Should be fairly easy to repair for someone who knows the way around lenses.
There is a lot of force and leverage in that area so it's not surprising the screws work loose over time.

Some purple or blue loctite on those screws should hopefully take care of it.

It's good you're addressing it sooner rather than later.

[Not a Number]

Sounds like some good leads. We await your feedback.

[gjm]

OK, After several months and approximately 1500 miles my 600mm is fixed and back in my hands.

The journey started out in Kearney Nebraska with the Kearney Camera (Camera Doctor). Allen at KC was amazing to work with and offered great communication. However after a few weeks of attempting to tighten the 3 screws holding the aperture ring assembly to the main lens body Allen was not confident in continuing with the repair. So, Allen mailed the lens back to me and let me know that my "band aid" fix had integrity and he would use the lens if it was his.

Luckily Advance Camera in Portland Oregon had contacted me via email just after I dropped of the lens in Kearney. Once I received the Lens back for KC I began to pack for a month long photography trip to the Yellowstone area and the Pacific Northwest. While making my way to Wyoming I contacted AC and discussed the potential repair with the team at AC. Dave at AC asked who had attempted the repair because he would like to speak with them before committing to repairing the lens. So, I sent an email to Dave with Allen's contact info and to my surprise the two gentlemen talked and share their knowledge with one another. Dave then contacted me an said that he was confident that he could repair the lens.

It gets even better...

I asked Dave what he thought that his turn-around-time would be and he said that for my special situation he could have it done in a weeks time. He also said that I could drop of the lens at me earliest convenience. This was great news because I was going to be in the Portland area on a Monday which is a day that AC is closed. So, I dropped of the lens on a Monday afternoon and made my way to Washington to visit friends and photography bald eagle. Just after shooting the eagle on a Tuesday afternoon I got a call from Dave to let me know that the lens was repaired and ready for me to pick up. I was blown away by the communication and customer service!

On Wednesday after my shoot with the eagles I made my way to Portland to pick up the lens. As I was waiting to pay I mounted my Pentax K-1 on the lens to give it a test. My heart sank as I discovered that the Auto Aperture function was not working. I quickly spoke with the young man helping me and he said that he would talk with Dave. Dave came out of the back and calmly said he would take a look at the lens. After about an hour Dave came out to the parking lot and asked me to come into the store. He apologized for the inconvenience and then let me know that the mistake in reassembly was fixed.

After all was said and done Dave charged me $89.00 to do an emergency repair.

I have had the lens out for several shoots and the results are great! I am so pleased with both Kearney Camera and Advance Camera and I will continue to support and do business with this two small privately owned camera shops.