Screwdrive conversion service here

Hi all,

I've seen a quite a bit written about converting the DA* lenses to screwdrive lately and I wanted to offer the service to PU members. I've got a K100d and have converted a bunch of my own lenses to screwdrive in the past so would be willing to help out other members. I'm based in West Yorkshire so drop offs possible. I've seen a guy on the US forum help out loads of their users for a nominal fee + postage so it might work here too.

I've also seen other members discuss their own conversions so maybe we can build a little network of peeps that can do it. I'm wary that members may not want to send their expensive kit off just like that so it'd be nice if you could meet someone local-ish to get it done in an hour or less.

Best Regards
Haris

EDIT: Just wanted to add that the conversion would be for 16-50 and 50-135 lenses mainly, although the 200 and 300 can also be converted. I believe the 60-250 is currently not convertable to screwdrive unless a physical modification is made.

The 60-250 cannot easily be done. The usual "method" of changing the lens ROM doesn't fully disable the SDM in the 60-250 electronically and so a physical mod has to be done. Although some very clever people are working on it, as far as I'm aware, the only person to manage it is in Russia.

I'm near Lincoln and often in Birmingham or near Northampton. I'm also more than happy to carry out the conversion if anyone wants it done.

I know this isn't meant to be commercial, but we're not supposed to use the forum to advertise our own businesses, and what you're thinking of doing just might be regarded, certainly by HMRC, as a business. Tax issues aside, there's also a question of insurance - what happens if your conversion should go horribly wrong?

If you want to do this, the best way forward is probably to provide a link to your own website in your profile, which is what is suggested in the Terms of Use.

I guess the best option then would be to close/delete the thread - I'm sure that members would be able to lend help on a case-by-case basis (I've been asked recently which triggered this idea).

I'm not sure how it is commercial or why HMRC would be interested if I do a friend ie forum member a favour completely free of charge. And I did rather think that one of the purposes of forums such as this was to offer help and advice. However, if this "forum" believes helping others out is "commercial" or a business, then I guess I may be in the wrong one.

I applaud you Haris, what a great and kind offer and thank you for posting this on the Forum. I'm sure this will be of interest to a lot of members, including me. I will be in touch regarding my DA*50-135 when the SDM finally dies, which will be very soon I think.

We are all big enough and grown up enough on here to assess the risk of asking someone to provide a service, whether free or for a small charge and I can't really understand why anyone would be offended by your post or would want to remove it.

Best regards
David

I would think a bit less commercial than SRS listing their lens reductions in the forum or highlighting every instance of Amazon in red in PU with an automatic hyperlink? (I didn't put that one in myself just now.) And we'd certainly be upset if SRS stopped doing what they do. As David says, we surely understand any potential risks and if the lens is otherwise dud is it taking a risk at all?

SRS and Amazon have made their arrangements and are entitled to post, it isn't what we're talking about here.

Nobody doubts the good intentions, but the forum isn't the place to do this, especially if a "nominal fee" is involved. The caution about insurance is just in case, because not everybody is understanding and forgiving if things do go wrong. I've seen it happen between friends and it ain't pretty.

As a site sponsor (and Pentax supporter) I understand (and am thankful for) SRS posting in this forum. I am however unaware of what arrangements a company named after a South American river have with the Pentax User Club and this forum and would be very interested to find out?

I think "arrangements" equals they pay ephotozine to support this site and advertise heavily. This forum, unlike many others was not set up by a group purely as a photo forum. It was started by ephotozine. I may be wrong but it feels like "commercial pressure" at work. Advertisers/sponsors tend to get grumpy if someone else is allowed to "advertise" free. I may also be a cynic, but if a member fixes a lens for another member then those advertisers/sponsors might lose the sale for a replacement.

For John. If you look closely at what Haris wrote, it was that a member of a certain US forum offered to do it for a nominal fee. That site also has a rule of no "commercial" advertising but allow it because it is not a commercial venture but a service for other members for what amounts to expenses. Certainly I never mentioned a nominal fee. Over the years I have repaired many lenses, some from all over the world. (Though many of those were for jobs I am not allowed to mention on this forum). I have never charged a penny for it. In very many cases I haven't even asked for the return postage because I considered it as a favour to friends. If someone wanted to try out a lens and say I offered to lend it to them, If I asked for the postage cost to send it to them, would that be "commercial", would I be running a rental business?

The guy on the US forums has made his name despite charging his nominal fee - I'd do it for postage only if that means it can help someone. And I'd be happier if the user has had dealings with me before.

Well let's not get too bogged down by this, but there's no commercial pressure just pointing out that the forum rules are what they are, so we should keep within those boundaries.

I am puzzled because there are no "site sponsor members" on PU and I have no idea what South American river is being referred to. If there's something somewhere that shouldn't be, then please make a report and we'll zap it accordingly. I'm going to have a look now, but if I don't spot it then do please explain.

Also, the origins of PU don't exactly spring from EPZ, it's a bit different to that. PU stems from the PU Club that was taken on by Peter Bargh and Magezine Publishing (who publish EPZ) and was an added service to the printed magazine.

Anyway, we digress.

Thanks John. That South American river also shows as a hyperlink in your post above made at 22.31. In fact it happens every time that retailer is named on PU unless to poster has tweaked the spelling to stop it happening. I've always presumed it was a site sponsor as the American Forum also has similar hyperlinks for some retailers (wonder if theirs are intended?) If it isn't intended on PU has someone craftily added it in as a site feature for their own benefit perhaps? Let the conspiracy theories begin!
Anyhow let's let Haris and Kim get back on topic and the site people investigate that one.

If I can make one small point: Whoever it is that pulls the strings (or not), we are allowed to use this fairly complex bit of software and the servers that it runs on for exactly nothing. It is free. Before we take the owners to task over how they run their property we would do well to consider that little fact.

That's very true, but without the people who post here there is no PU. John's said there are no site sponsors so if the board has been misused somehow it needs investigating by its owners. Surely it doesn't hurt to make them aware?
Advertising should be labelled as such, not by crafty hyperlinks.