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04-12-2011, 04:33 PM   #1
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Vivitar lens flange "hurt" the inside of my K20D.. Crap!

I recently purchased a Vivitar 70-150mm f/3.8 from the Marketplace. It's a great lens, but there's a trade-off: I got it and mounted on my K20D. Mounting felt stiffer and a little more "forced" than normal, but I thought nothing of it. Later, after taking some test shots, I took the lens off.. That's when I really found a big problem. The lens would come halfway off, but I had real difficulty getting it fully off my camera.. Once I did, however, I was horrified to find this scar on the inside of my K20D:



The K20D is functioning fine, but that's quite a blemish to have on the interior.. Will this have any effect on the life of the camera? Has this happened to any of you before? Should I touch it up with a black sharpie to prevent reflections? Am I overreacting?

TIA for any help. I DID get the Vivitar's flange filed down, but it still mounts too stiffly for my liking and I'd like to get a Dremel tool to properly shape it down.

04-12-2011, 05:40 PM   #2
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This is probably nothing to worry about - I would:
a) Make sure the little pieces of metal don't get to the sensor - scrape them off with a fingernail and shake them out of the cam
b) Paint the spot with a sharpie

Look at the bright side (pun intended) - the lens will mount much better from now on

QuoteOriginally posted by SMPhoto Quote
I recently purchased a Vivitar 70-150mm f/3.8 from the Marketplace. It's a great lens, but there's a trade-off: I got it and mounted on my K20D. Mounting felt stiffer and a little more "forced" than normal, but I thought nothing of it. Later, after taking some test shots, I took the lens off.. That's when I really found a big problem. The lens would come halfway off, but I had real difficulty getting it fully off my camera.. Once I did, however, I was horrified to find this scar on the inside of my K20D:



The K20D is functioning fine, but that's quite a blemish to have on the interior.. Will this have any effect on the life of the camera? Has this happened to any of you before? Should I touch it up with a black sharpie to prevent reflections? Am I overreacting?

TIA for any help. I DID get the Vivitar's flange filed down, but it still mounts too stiffly for my liking and I'd like to get a Dremel tool to properly shape it down.
04-12-2011, 06:10 PM   #3
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That shouldn't have happened. If the lens is made to fit, it should fit, not just about fit. I don't have an answer for you, but I do think that I would find the offending part of the lens and see if it is protruding un-necessarily into the camera. If possible try to remove any projections that caused the problem. I don't think it is right.
04-12-2011, 08:01 PM   #4
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Much easier solution for the flange would just be screwing it off - there should be 2-3 screws holding it.

04-12-2011, 09:31 PM   #5
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This is a known problem with some, but not all, Vivitar lenses. Vivitar lenses were made by a variety of manufacturers. I don't know if the offending lenses all came from one lens maker, or not.

The problem is the guard that protects the aperture actuating lever. On Vivitar lenses, this guard is sometimes longer than on genuine Pentax lenses. The solution is to either cut/grind the excess guard off, or remove it altogether.

Seeing as how it struck the part of the lens mount casting that holds the electrical contacts for the SDM lenses, which are the same as the old Power Zoom power contacts in the PZ series cameras, I wonder if these lenses would have trouble on a PZ film camera. I've never heard that they do. If this is the problem, then the lens should mount properly on a dslr without the SDM power contacts, such as a K100D (not K100D Super) or an *istD.

This, and the infamous Ricoh pin, are the two caveats whenever someone asks if their old k-mount lenses will fit on a new dslr.
04-12-2011, 09:39 PM   #6
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I say you have absolutely nothing to worry about but as another poster said I would make sure none of those metal pieces get further into your camera. I would use a damp napkin or some tape to make sure you pick up all filings.
04-13-2011, 12:18 AM - 1 Like   #7
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As others have pointed out, you have moste likely encountered a problem common with Vivitar lenses with PK-mount. They fit fine on analogue Pentax SLRs, but the flange protecting the diaphragm lever is much too long to fit into a Pentax DSLR. Here's an example with my Series 1 Vivitar 24-48 mm:



Fortunately the solution is simple and straightforward: Loosen the three screws (of which one is pointed at on the picture); lift off the ring with the flange and use a hack saw to reduce the flange to about "normal Pentax size":



No harm done to your lens with that surgery - and no more harm to your camera thereafter !

B.R. / Steen G. B.

04-13-2011, 09:20 AM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by jimH Quote
That shouldn't have happened. If the lens is made to fit, it should fit, not just about fit. I don't have an answer for you, but I do think that I would find the offending part of the lens and see if it is protruding un-necessarily into the camera. If possible try to remove any projections that caused the problem. I don't think it is right.
I would disagree with "that shouldn't have happened"

One thing to remember is that the any camera that uses the KAF2 mount and this also includes the PZ film bodies, is that the power contacts are located in a place where previously, on K mount bodies nothing existed.

The lens in question was produced about 10 -15 years in advance of the KAF2 mount and therefore the third party manufacturer is not to blame for being unable to see into the future.

One thing that needs to be clearly cautioned with respect to mounting ANY old / legacy lens, or adaptor is to inspect it first, and very carefully look for any differences, before mounting it. There are several pitfalls, like the ricoh pin and this flange, that make interchangeable mounts non interchangeable.

maybe what we need, is a single sticky, at the top of each forum titled "Is it safe to....."

This should include all known warnings about lens mounts, flashes, lens adaptors etc...
04-13-2011, 11:08 AM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by vw_michael Quote
This is probably nothing to worry about - I would:
a) Make sure the little pieces of metal don't get to the sensor - scrape them off with a fingernail and shake them out of the cam
b) Paint the spot with a sharpie

Look at the bright side (pun intended) - the lens will mount much better from now on
Done and done. Thanks, and good one :P

QuoteOriginally posted by Wheatfield Quote
The problem with 3rd party lenses sometimes. Clean the camera up as well as possible, and either Sharpie it for reflections or else if you have some matte black model enamel, you could paint the offending spot with a toothpick.
And grind that flange off some more before you mount the lens again!!
Right.. I'll get to that flange problem in a sec.

QuoteOriginally posted by KxBlaze Quote
I say you have absolutely nothing to worry about but as another poster said I would make sure none of those metal pieces get further into your camera. I would use a damp napkin or some tape to make sure you pick up all filings.
Thanks man. Good idea with the damp napkin.

QuoteOriginally posted by Stone G. Quote
Fortunately the solution is simple and straightforward: Loosen the three screws (of which one is pointed at on the picture); lift off the ring with the flange and use a hack saw to reduce the flange to about "normal Pentax size":
[snip]

B.R. / Steen G. B.
Thanks! Here's the problem though: I've seen that diagram before, but my flange looks NOTHING like that. Mine looks normal, but still did that much damage. Look:



So I'm not sure exactly which part to file down/off. Ironically the Match Multiplier that came with this lens mounts without any issues.
04-13-2011, 03:10 PM   #10
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your flange looks like it was cut down but not enough. that is why you could mount it at all. Usually it stops the lens from being mounted

compare it not just in size but orientation to your pentax lenses
04-13-2011, 03:34 PM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by Lowell Goudge Quote
I would disagree with "that shouldn't have happened"

One thing to remember is that the any camera that uses the KAF2 mount and this also includes the PZ film bodies, is that the power contacts are located in a place where previously, on K mount bodies nothing existed.

-------------

maybe what we need, is a single sticky, at the top of each forum titled "Is it safe to....."

This should include all known warnings about lens mounts, flashes, lens adaptors etc...
Great idea - I'll vote for that!

B.r. / Steen G. B.
04-14-2011, 04:54 PM   #12
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FYI Vivitar made 2 models of the 70-150mm Close Focus Zoom. The earlier single ring zoom/focus (I bought mine in 1980) fits on my K20d with no problems. My wife's newer 2 ring zoom will not fit without modifying the lever protector. Hmm. I wonder if the 2X Matched Multipliers are the same or different. I know that the one I got with my zoom works fine. I don't know about my wife's.
06-26-2011, 03:04 AM   #13
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Shit, just nearly bought one of these for a song at a boot fair - then realised it didn't fit and passed... Coulda would shoulda...
06-26-2011, 02:58 PM   #14
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But making it fit takes about five minutes. Why would you pass on it
06-26-2011, 05:58 PM   #15
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I have the 70-150 and a 75-205 that both had the large flange. I just removed them completely instead of filing, and have had no problems at all with that. I kept the bits to put back on if ever I want to sell them. I like these lenses.
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