[Wild Mark]

A pack of Pentax gear recently emerged on a local classified site and it contained, among other nice items, a Pentax DFA 150-450mm lens. At the list price provided I did not hesitate (in fact I was tempted to fly to the city where it was located and buy in person).

Anyway, with every good buy comes risk and so it happened for me. The Pentax DFA 150-450 had the dreaded zoom jam and zoom lock switch freeze. Bummer right?

Well, since the lens was out of warranty and I really had no recourse against the seller (purchase price was ridiculously low), I decided to have a go myself.

And it wasn't a silly decision at all!!!!!!

In the image below I show with the red arrow a set of sandwiched 'spacers' located just inside the rear mount. You can get to this part of the lens by removing three screws and the rear element shroud (real easy after some gentle force to remove the shroud).

The picture shows the spacers in the position they ought to be in. The 'blockage' (not shown as I fixed it before taking a photo), was simply rectified by pushing one of the misaligned spacers back into place. Imagine one of the spacers being dislodged and 'poking out' - blocking the retraction of the zoom all the way back to 150mm setting.

Magically, after restoring the removed shroud I tested the zoom lock feature. Wha la! FIXED.

So, if you are inflicted by this problem (or are worried by it), do not fear. It is a truly easy fix. You do not need courage (despite the lens being really expensive. Just a JIS screwdriver, some good lighting, a little patience and you will have the problem fixed in 20 minutes flat.

As for dust in the elements problem - EASY fix there too. Remove the front element grouping by screwdriver and one inner element with a lens wrench and then you can blow away all the dust!! Easy.

As for the price I paid for this lens I am not sharing (and I do not feel guilty either!) - the seller decided the cost of repair was too great and in wanting to get some money back was not entirely truthful in their declaration on condition. One of the rare times you end up being rewarded I guess.

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[hyyz]

Great news! Congratulation to you for the lens and your courage to fix it! Thank you for sharing this "magic". I wonder how you found out such simple fix. I'm sure it will help me a lot in case my copy experiences the zoom jam in future.

[Wild Mark]

I wonder how you found out such simple fix.

Unbridled curiosity - a screw driver and no fear

[ChipB]

Glad that worked out for you!

[Craig66]

Reading about the zoom jam thingy of this lens had me a little worried. As this is a lens on my want/must have list.

Thanks for this post, fix solution. Makes me feel a little more relaxed about laying down a few thousand for one. Knowing it's, most likely an easy fix. If it does happen.

[biz-engineer]

FIX for jammed DFA 150-450

I have the D-FA150450, never had this issue but always bookmarked related threads in case my copy would be affected. Thanks a lot for sharing that post. Very appreciated.

[JackvanS]

Given the circumstances i would have probably done the same. Thanks for sharing, as we can all learn from it. That's what forums are for.

[tomcook]

This is a great lens. Glad to see you will get to enjoy it.

[travelswsage]

Thanks for posting -- I have this lens also and am always worried this problem might crop up. There is a point in the middle of the zoom range where the rotation is much stiffer than before and after -- I am hoping with continued use this will smooth out but so far it remains almost a year after purchase.

[hyyz]

I'll mark this post. Hope I don't have to do this fix, but just in case. It is very helpful!

---------- Post added 07-29-18 at 10:16 AM ----------

Forgot to congratulate OP for a good deal and now a great working lens!

[buzzinhornet]

Thanks for posting this fix. I have this lens as well and hope to never have to use the fix, but if I do I will refer to this thread.

[sealight]

not sure, if I had dared that myself hope my copy won't force me to do similar things....

[garywakeling]

Great info thanks for sharing, mine had the 180mm lock and was sent away for repair, has been fine ever since thank goodness

[pjsaure]

That's great news!
I'm still waiting for mine to come back from repair from Japan (AF problem for me...), but if I ever have this problem, I'll know how to fix it thanks to you.

[pxt]

You are lucky! I'm afraid damage when I'll do myself.