43 Limited Possible Problem.

Hi guys, maybe you could help me out here?
Bought a secondhand 43 from SRS The other day and the lens is now in my hands and is in beautiful condition, so no probs there then.
Took it out today because it's World pentax day and all! First problem of the day is that I forgot to set up the date on my K7 so it's sat at 19/04/2010, bugger!
Second problem, The 43 doesn't seem to be able to find infinity focus? No confirmation of focus in the view finder the hexagon is flashing and no beeep (Turned the beep off now anyways!) I don't want to send it back for a refund as I'm already fond of it, but I suppose I could live with a repair job! Up to the last indicated mark of eight Mtr's it's fine but after that I am no longer getting confirmed focus. Some of the days Shots have come out decidedly blurry. I'm not sure if it's me not giving SR enough time or if the Lens just ain't in focus! Using F11 and around 125th Of a second with SR on in bright-ish light, test charts anyone?
Is this a known Ltd problem?
Cheers Jules.

Try cleaning the lens and mount contacts with a soft clean cotton cloth. It may be a lack of communication between lens and body.

What camera body do you have? One of them (can't remember which) is 'internet rumoured' to have issues with SR at precisely your 1/125th mark. Can't imagine that this problem, even if it does exist, would have any effect whatsoever on the AF confirm though.

Still: since you bought from SRS (rather than an auction site or forum) you have a six month warranty and can therefore get it fixed at no cost if you can't get it to work.

I have no problem focussing to infinity with my 43 but, like nearly all AF lenses, it will focus past infinity at the end of the throw. So if you were overriding the camera and focussing manually (without backing off just a smidge) then that could be the reason for your blurry shots.

Otherwise I'm not aware of any known 43 issues and it's generally regarded as being just about the sharpest lens that money can buy (in any mount) - if yours isn't then I'd suggest cleaning the contacts as John says above and if that doesn't work ask about getting it swapped. It's quite possible it's been dropped and the elements have become mis-aligned.

1: If you are not getting focus confirmation at infinity, either your subject is not at infinity, or the lens/camera/combination is faulty or in need of adjustment.

2: You can check if SR had stabilised by looking at the EXIF of a suspect image using Photome.

I suggest contacting SRS at your earliest opportunity.

Firstly, have you got the latest firmware?

Secondly, take a shot in jpeg and post it unedited. It might help confirm that it is a focussing problem.

And don't be afraid to call SRS. I can pretty much guarantee that they'd take back any lens you're not 100% happy with.

It's worst at the 1/100 mark with the K7 but it has nothing to do with the SR but with the movement the shutter cause. link

Thanks for all the replies guys, I got in touch with SRS Today and they'd be quite happy to get it serviced for me, so thats good anyway. Did a little in formal testing tonight when II got in but it was a bit dark really but I get the feeling it's focusing a bit to the front, now I'm wondering if it's within the K7's ability to correct so I'll need to test. All my weekend shots were hand held so am I right in thinking Falks tests would of been done on a sturdy tripod? (He is a Pro after all:twisted However at home tonight the 43 was soundly thrashed by my Kit zoom 18-55 WR so there is something wrong here methinks...
Cheers Jules...