[MrSkelter]

I recently sold my black made in Japan 43mm and 77mm lenses and bought silver made in Japan versions of the same items. They're all mint examples but the silver ones are early, low serial number, examples with brown and green pouches.

I notice that shifting the new lenses from a selected aperture to 'A' is stiffer than on the black ones. It requires real effort. I think in focusing they might also be a little noisier.

Questions.

1. Can the lenses be lubricated?
2. If so will that improve ease and noise?
3. Who's the best person to employ to lubricate these items or is it something I can do myself?

In case your wondering, I replaced the black copies for reasons of aesthetics and collect-ability. The change didn't cost me any money overall.

[gp1806]

Were they my lenses, I would not lubricate them. I don't know what lube is safe to use (if any) or how to apply it. I would just use them and see if they smoothed out.

[panoguy]

3. Who's the best person to employ to lubricate these items or is it something I can do myself?

Eric Hendrickson at pentaxs.com is the go-to service guy in North America for older or precious Pentax equipment (and, yes, he does lenses). Nothing but praise for his work around here!

That said, the perceived noise or stiffness may not be something he can "fix," if it's just the way they were manufactured and assembled. I have all three "early series" FA Limiteds and none of them seems particularly stiff or noisy, but then I give them regular workouts...

[builttospill]

My black MIJ FA 43 has a very stiff aperture ring, always has. I bought it new nearly six years ago, and while it's difficult to rotate I've never worried about it. It hasn't become stiffer or loosened up over time. On the other hand my black MIJ FA 77 has an aperture ring that's very easy to turn.

[MrSkelter]

I should elaborate.

They're not unusually noisy or stiff, they're just markedly different from the black ones. Given my newness to Pentax I want to ensure there are no problems and that I am doing the right thing.

I'm shooting the lenses today and think the noise comment was probably misguided. Now I'm not in a reverberant room they are as quiet as the black lenses.

The Aperture rings also seem less stiff when mounted. When I wrote the post I was handling the lenses off-camera - probably a silly thing to do but I was excited to have received them.

[MrSkelter]

Eric Hendrickson at pentaxs.com is the go-to service guy in North America for older or precious Pentax equipment (and, yes, he does lenses). Nothing but praise for his work around here!

That said, the perceived noise or stiffness may not be something he can "fix," if it's just the way they were manufactured and assembled. I have all three "early series" FA Limiteds and none of them seems particularly stiff or noisy, but then I give them regular workouts...

I intend to do the same. I am on the lookout for an early, silver, mint FA31 with paperwork, red pouch etc. Let me know if you know of one

[panoguy]

I should elaborate.

They're not unusually noisy or stiff, they're just markedly different from the black ones. Given my newness to Pentax I want to ensure there are no problems and that I am doing the right thing.

They're very expensive mechanical & optical bits - it makes sense to be curious and cautious!

I intend to do the same. I am on the lookout for an early, silver, mint FA31 with paperwork, red pouch etc. Let me know if you know of one

Well, there's mine, but it's not for sale any time soon. Took me two years to find it... so here's hoping Pentax decides to release a full-frame digital camera with a K-mount someday!

[Spodeworld]

I second having Eric Hendrickson working on your lenses if you have any issues. Excellent work.

[frank]

The other reason might because they are old batch, lack of use for long time. That's why I'd rather buy later version of these FA lenses, even the AIV ones I've had MIJ and AIV versions, some how those AIV versions work smoother and seem sharper wide open. Ended up I sold all my MIJ version, now only keeping an AIV FA31.

As to black vs silver, I prefer silver one here because the black FA lenses don't have the same quality surface coating/finishing as the silver ones. Black ones got scratched easily, especially the 31 and 43.

[MSM]

Nice incite Frank. I have the MIJ 43 which I love. I also have/had several DA Limiteds of course all AIV. I love the build quality. I wouldn't hesitate buying an AIV FA Limited if needed. In fact, I am not sure why one would pay a premium for a used MIJ when a new AIV made FA Limited could benefit from any manufacturing or coating changes. Of course I am not saying there has been any change. But as in the past there were updates in coatings. Pentax doesn't always make a big announcement. I wonder if Pentax will start releaseing the limiteds with the HD coatings. They said that it would be for their best lenses. I think most would agree the FA Limiteds would fall into that category.

[elpolodiablo]

I sent my MIJ FA43 and FA77 to C.R.Kennedy for a service because the FA43's focus ring is stucked and the FA77 gives slight grinding noise when turning the focus ring, I bought them both used and used them at the beach so I consider a service essential to keep them working.