Pentax DA* 60-250mm

Hi all, I just bought a for spares or repair da* 60-250 from ebay that apparently wouldn't zoom between 200 and 250 mm. I have just got it today and tested it and it seems to work fine, autofocus, etc works, no scratches/fungus on the lens.

I have not had this lens before and notice that the barrel gets bigger between the markings, 60, 85,135, 200, and 250. Between 200 and 250 it the increase is much less pronounced that the other graduations, between 200 and 250 it only gets about 0.5 cm larger. Is this normal? Is there any chance anybody else with this lens can measure the increase of size between 200 and 250 to see if they get the same.

I only bought it as the issue described seemed more mechanical than electronic so would be a nice lens to have a play with to try and fix. It only cost me £99, so I either got the deal of the century or I have a nice 60-200ish lens or I try and fix it myself.

Hey there, I think that seems fairly normal from my experience with one of these lenses.

When you try and compare the focal length/field of view with another 200+ lens just remember that these have focus breathing due to the internal focusing design. The lens will have a narrower field of view when focusing towards infinity.

Yeah I did notice an internal lense also moved as I extended it between 200 and 250. My main concern was that the seller was park cameras and surely they wouldn’t send a fully working one out. Maybe it is the first time for me that rough handling from delivery guy has fixed something

Ah, quick update. I didn’t think previously about testing it against other lenses so I tried it on a 55-300 at around 250 and it is much more zoomed in so I am guessing that even though it doesn’t stop me from twisting the zoom ring all the way, the must be an internal issue. I think I will just say the famous last words “how hard can it be” and get my screwdriver out

Okay so took it apart as I wanted to remove the baffle anyway. Dismantled it as far as getting the outer cover off so I could see the two barrels and the tracks that guide the two barrels when they zoom in. Twisting it to both extremes it definitely seems okay to me, I can even see where the guide gets much shallower between 200 and 250 which correlates to how it is working. So maybe it is working perfectly at all ranges but I am not very good at judging magnification in the viewfinder/camera screen.