[PCFiend138]

So my D FA 70-200 f/2.8 has decided to be difficult. I took it to Arches National Park late September early October and had no issues with it. Its been in my camera bag since then. Yesterday I took it out yesterday and it doesn't autofocus. Not only that, when I turn on the camera with the lens attached it flashed the "select focal distance" screen. It does this with my K-1II, K-70, and K-5II. Its basically a manual focus lens now. The bodies don't even detect focus with the lens in manual focus. My warranty with Ricoh has expired by about 18 months but I still have about that much time on the New Leaf I bought from Adorama when I bought the lens. I figured I'd ask if anyone has used it before I filed a claim. I have tried everything I can think of, actuated all the switches attached to all three bodies, I even left it on attached to the K-1II and let two batteries drain just to try it. If the New Leaf doesn't get me anywhere, since I'm not obligated to send it to Precision, what do you all recommend? Thanks in advance.

[MarkJerling]

Precision is about the only place in the USA that can get parts.
But, seeing as you have the New Leaf cover, it's best to contact them and find out where they'd like you to send it.

[ramseybuckeye]

You didn’t mention cleaning the contacts, do that if you didn’t already.

[AstroDave]

I took it to Arches National Park late September early October and had no issues with it. Its been in my camera bag since then.

It can be dusty there! As ramseybuckeye notes, make sure the contacts are clean - and that there is no sand or dust affecting any of the little contact balls.

[OrchidJulie]

Precision is about the only place in the USA that can get parts.
But, seeing as you have the New Leaf cover, it's best to contact them and find out where they'd like you to send it.

With respect, dear colleague...I'm not sure that's true. I had my K70 in to Southern Photo Technical a while back, and they were able to get parts. Non-warranty service, of course. You're right, though, about contacting New Leaf. (with whom I have no experience).

[ramseybuckeye]

With respect, dear colleague...I'm not sure that's true. I had my K70 in to Southern Photo Technical a while back, and they were able to get parts. Non-warranty service, of course. You're right, though, about contacting New Leaf. (with whom I have no experience).

If you don't mind, how was your experience with the repair? What parts did they get? How long did it take and was the price competitive?

[MarkJerling]

With respect, dear colleague...I'm not sure that's true. I had my K70 in to Southern Photo Technical a while back, and they were able to get parts. Non-warranty service, of course. You're right, though, about contacting New Leaf. (with whom I have no experience).

Ah! That's good to hear Julie.

[OrchidJulie]

If you don't mind, how was your experience with the repair? What parts did they get? How long did it take and was the price competitive?

It took about 2 weeks, as I recall, and the price was $200-ish. This was about two years ago. I don't know if the price was competitive -- Southern is more or less* local so I didn't hesitate to take the camera in to them. I had had other repairs done there, quite satisfactory although the repairs to the boss's Nikon cost a lot more and took more than a month, something about "waiting for parts". So slow parts delivery isn't only a Pentax issue. I think the K70 issue was the solenoid, to be honest, but they did a CLA as well. I'd have to excavate the paperwork to be more precise.

Many, many years ago there was a local camera store (more than one, actually) that sold Pentax gear, and I had the Spotmatic in to them for a minor thing. But all those standalone camera stores are long gone now. Alas.


*more or less local -- the shop is nowhere near my neighborhood, it's frankly on the other side of the county, ~20-odd miles from here. But easy to get to, if you wait for morning rush hour to clear on The Dreaded Palmetto Expressway (Miami traffic on the Palmetto is not for the faint of heart)

[OrchidJulie]

Ah! That's good to hear Julie.

Yep, "authorized" Pentax service (other brands, too, but we won't mention them ) They did tell me, at the outset, that they estimated 2 weeks, depending on the parts. It was 2 weeks and a couple of days.


As I just noted to Tom, they did some repairs to the boss's Nikon, and it took weeks and weeks to get parts.

Anyway I added them to the Repair and Service list.

[RobA_Oz]

So my D FA 70-200 f/2.8 has decided to be difficult. I took it to Arches National Park late September early October and had no issues with it. Its been in my camera bag since then. Yesterday I took it out yesterday and it doesn't autofocus. Not only that, when I turn on the camera with the lens attached it flashed the "select focal distance" screen. It does this with my K-1II, K-70, and K-5II. Its basically a manual focus lens now. The bodies don't even detect focus with the lens in manual focus. My warranty with Ricoh has expired by about 18 months but I still have about that much time on the New Leaf I bought from Adorama when I bought the lens. I figured I'd ask if anyone has used it before I filed a claim. I have tried everything I can think of, actuated all the switches attached to all three bodies, I even left it on attached to the K-1II and let two batteries drain just to try it. If the New Leaf doesn't get me anywhere, since I'm not obligated to send it to Precision, what do you all recommend? Thanks in advance.

A friend here had a similar experience with his 70-200. It turned out to be a broken contact for the AF, and the repair (at the Australian distributor in Melbourne) took only a few minutes and involved this part:

[PCFiend138]

A friend here had a similar experience with his 70-200. It turned out to be a broken contact for the AF, and the repair (at the Australian distributor in Melbourne) took only a few minutes and involved this part:

I think you solved it. I looked at my lens when I got home and it looks like the top of a connector broke off. Any idea of what the repair cost was? And thanks for the input.

[jddwoods]

About 6 years ago my HD DA 40 Limited focus ring froze up one week after the warranty expired. I sent it to Precision for repair hoping they would still perform a warranty repair. They would not repair the lens under warranty. When I checked the sales receipt I noticed I did get the New Leaf extended warranty. I called New leaf for warranty support. They told me they would contact Precision to process a warranty repair. The phone contact at New Leaf was friendly and kept me updated on the warranty repair status. Long story short the lens was repaired at no cost to me. New Leaf even called me back after I received the lens to ensure the repair was completed to my satisfaction.
So my experience with New Leaf was very positive but, that was six years ago. Hopefully their customer service remains as good as it was when I contacted them.

[ramseybuckeye]

You might even think about a "donor lens" to salvage the part from.

[RobA_Oz]

I think you solved it. I looked at my lens when I got home and it looks like the top of a connector broke off. Any idea of what the repair cost was? And thanks for the input.

No sweat – that’s part of what this forum’s about.

That lens was bought from the distributor and they didn’t charge for the repair, even though it was out of warranty, so I’d be guessing at a cost, but it was taken directly to the repairer, so no carriage cost either.

[RobA_Oz]

You might even think about a "donor lens" to salvage the part from.

Yes. That would have to be a common component for all lenses with those contacts, even maybe my old FA* zooms.