[Henk N]

Hello,Pentax lovers,could someone help me with this? I just bought an SMC FA 35-80mm F4-5.6 lens,secondhand.While examening it I noticed a strange thing I've never experienced before with any Pentax zoom,during the 40+ years I use Pentax cams and lenses.When I set the zoom function on 50 mm,the forcus ring doesn't turn fully to the closest setting but it stops at about 0.43 mtr. unless I use some force to get it past the obstruction.

On the other hand:when I set the focus ring at 0.4 mtr. and turn the zoom ring around,there's some kind of obstruction as well,at 50mm,but not before,or over 50 mm.Tere seems to be a link between this 50mm setting,and the last fwe millimeters of the forcus ring (from 0.40 to 0.43 mtr on the scale.

My cams do push the focusring beyond this obstruction,all the way to the 0.4 mtr.setting but I'm afraid this might damage the focus motor of my cam(s),or the screwdriver mechanism.

Does anybody recognize this behavior? Is this the normal behaviour for this lens? It's so strange that it only manifestates at the 50mm zoom setting,and this last little piece of the traject of the focus ring.Please,help me with this problem;I have a deal with the person who sold it to me,that I can send it back in case of a mechanical problem,but,of course,there's a time limit on this deal.So,I need an answer within a few days.Thank you,in advance,for a helping response.

[twilhelm]

I had to pull out my 35-80 to check. Mine is the same way yours is, just a bit tougher at .43 and only at 50mm. It acts like a lens going into “macro” mode.

I’ve used mine this way for many years on all of my film and digital cameras with no issues. This seems as though it’s just the way this lens is.

Maybe someone else has more insight?

[Henk N]

Thank you for your reaction. I bought a Pentax SMC F 35-70mm as well,a while ago, and this one,as well,got similar problems,but only with the zoom ring.Have done a quick resolution test on my K-1 with that one and it performs quite well,optically.Gonna test this F 35-70,too,now that you've soothed me,might test other lenses as well and write some reviews,as soon as I find the time to do so.And some nice weather might help ;-)) First impression on both these lightweight zoomlenses is:the build quality of both is far below the K- and M-series,of which I own a few.

[Gary H Perth]

I tested my FA35-80 and it moves smoothly in both AF and MF when rotating each ring. The 50mm focal length is important for another reason, it is the minimum lens length. When you zoom from 35mm the inner body with the lens attached retracts until 50mm, then the inner tube starts to protrude more and more as you go to 80. Maybe the ones with a problem have some dirt inside or on the moving barrel?

[Henk N]

Thank you for reacting to my question.What you write might a reason for the obstruction,but when I put the focus ring out of that 0.40 to 0.43 mtr. area,my zoomring moves smooth all along the full traject. And only when I set my zoomring on 50 mm first,the focusring meets an obstruction at about 0.43 mtr,and I have to use some extra force to push it over this obstruction,to 0.40 mtr (shortest focussing length.I think it might be some kind of mechanical damage,in some but not all FA 35 - 80 mm lenses.My main worry is: do I risk damage of the camera focus system when I auto-focus with a lens/object distance of 40 cm's or shorter?Greetings.