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08-20-2020, 09:03 PM   #1
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18 - 135 WR lens Focus Failure (again)

I bought my 18 - 135 from Adorama in Nov 2014 -it came with a free 3 year drops and spills warranty from New Leaf. Almost 3 years later the focus mechanism failed ( it wouldn't focus either automatically or with the manual ring). New leaf repaired it and it worked great until yesterday. Now, 3 years later, the focus failed again. I'm asking for advice on how to proceed. Repair again? Replace? I love the lens.
Thanks Jim

08-21-2020, 03:45 AM   #2
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QuoteOriginally posted by JimmyL Quote
I bought my 18 - 135 from Adorama in Nov 2014 -it came with a free 3 year drops and spills warranty from New Leaf. Almost 3 years later the focus mechanism failed ( it wouldn't focus either automatically or with the manual ring). New leaf repaired it and it worked great until yesterday. Now, 3 years later, the focus failed again. I'm asking for advice on how to proceed. Repair again? Replace? I love the lens.
Thanks Jim
Replace, it sounds like you got a bad copy.
I agree that is a great lens. I purchased a used copy here on PF at a reasonalbe price over three years ago, and it has served me well through lots of travel and harsh environmental conditions.
08-21-2020, 07:35 AM   #3
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I'd say it is a simple calculation: cost of repair versus cost of new or used copy. You might have gotten a lemon or maybe just unlucky but either way there isn't a different lens that I would recommend to replace it. The 18-135 is very good at what it does.

Take a look here in the marketplace or on auction sites and see what a used one is going for. It might not be much different than the cost of repair.

If I remember right my wife bought her 18-135 about the same time. Maybe 2015. It was repaired under warranty by Precision for focus failure. It failed again within a month or so and this time was replaced by Ricoh with a new one. Supposedly they asked Precision to send the first one to Japan for review. Her second copy has been flawless ever since.
08-21-2020, 07:39 AM   #4
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Something , not the whatever was repaired is causing the problem. The chief suspect for me with lenses like this is that the inner lens barrel is at the top end of spec. and the outer one is at the lower end of spec. The resulting friction puts extra stress on the AF components. I wouldn't repair such a lens.

My 18-135 is probably 10 years old now, and still working flawlessly despite having been my most used lens for years (now replaced by the DFA 28-105 on the K-1.) My guess is I've taken over 10,000 exposures with mine. Yours shouldn't be like that.

08-21-2020, 01:36 PM   #5
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I've had mine also for nearly 10 years. Still works great and I continue to be amazed by the quality images it produces, even in the face of my also habitually using top-rated lenses, zooms and primes. It has seen use on various camera models over the years, yet after my last upgrade to the excellent KP, the lens kept pace, and image from it look better than ever.

It appears Norm is onto a valid theory in his analysis of this problem.
08-23-2020, 11:33 PM   #6
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Thanks for all the input, I appreciate it. If New Leaf or Adorama won't do anything I'll probably go for another lens. What about all the 18-135 used ones on Ebay from Japan? Has anyone had experience with these?
Thanks
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