Asahi Photo Ltd

I took some photos of the damage and emailed them as an attachment, perhaps this may help.
Will send PM with email address as may help too

All sorted now but thanks anyway

Though with the 16-50 there were apparently two problems: poor quality SDM motors, and also the decentering issues with the lenses themselves. Apparently this (essentially the lens not being built straight), if you're unlucky enough to get a bad copy with this problem, puts extra strain on the SDM motor making it more likely to fail - and they aren't exactly bastions of reliability to begin with.

I used Asahi Photo Ltd to clean the sensor on my K10D. I drove down from Cambridge and made it there for around 4:15pm. I went back after 5pm to pick the camera up. He had held the shop open for me and had done a fantstic job of cleaning tee sensor. I was happy and my clients were happy with their pictures. Service was great/fantastic, email and phone communications were as good as I would expect a one man band to be.

Hi!
One year ago I sent one of my lenses to the Asahi Photo for a service. It is a A50mm f1.2 with filter ring damage. They told me then (after few unanswered emails) that parts for my lens is very hard to find, and that I have to be patient. So I was
Few day ago I sent them an email, but no answer as usual. Then I went to their website http://asahiphoto.co.uk/
and got an error. So I am a little worried now. Does anyone know if they still work, are they closed down, or did they maybe change web address or something else?

That's interesting. He also has one of my lenses for repair (for almost a year now). I have just tried to phone him but with no reply - not surprising as I think he shuts at 5pm - I will try again tomorrow morning.

Strange that, I last spoke to them at the end of October and they appeared not to know what a Pentax DFA 100 macro was!
I posted a comment about this at the time.

It does seem that their website is 'down' at the moment.


Roger.

I tried phoning as soon as Marko posted and there was no reply.

Thanks Mike. I hope this situation is just temporary, otherwise...uff, I don't want to guess. I live in Croatia, it is not so easy for me to go and pay them a visit to collect my lens.

Not sure what the connection is, but Brentford Radio Control are at 5 Albany Parade, the address for Asahi Photo.

Their telephone number is 020 8560 6856; web site www.brentfordrc.com. Maybe they can throw some light on the Asahi Photo situation? (albeit tonight their website is down for maintenance)

I phoned this morning and spoke to him. He said the website is down because he is changing provider. Having replaced the SDM motor in my 16-50 he has now discovered a crack in one of the barrel components so is waiting for the part. I'm not holding my breath but at least he is still in business and hasn't done a runner. I just wish he would occasionally communicate so I know what is happening.

Thanks for the info, Phillip. That is really a good news. I wish also that he sends email from time to time, just to know that he is working on the lens. After I sent him few emails to confirm that the lens arrived safely from Croatia to UK, I got the impression that he doesn't like to be asked to many questions. It is almost like it irritates him in some way. I decided not to send an email every two months to ask about repair progress, so one year passed by and I haven't heard a word from him. Then I saw webpage down
Good to hear that everything is ok, now I just have to wait for an answer to my email, if it ever arrives.

He seems to prefer to talk on the phone rather than email.

Despite the communication failings I have some sympathy for his situation. He comes across as a genuine guy trying to do a good job. I would guess that as a very small business he cannot afford to keep a large stock of spare parts 'just in case'. This means he is dependant on the Pentax spares ordering service which seems to be painfully slow. It must be hard to make a living under those circumstances.

'Asahi Photo' is Pramath Pandya, a really nice guy who has a workshop at the back of his radio controlled model shop in Brentford, West London. He was a Pentax engineer for ten years. It is one and the same place, I've been there. Completely genuine.