Sticky zoom lens

Hi,
I have a Pentax 55-300mm zoom lens on my K3II and it's become a bit sticky, leading to difficulty with manual focusing. It's a couple of years old, so presumably out of warranty. Any advice? I guess it needs to go to a pro repair place.

If its been dropped or knocked this could poss be the cause, not much use could also be an explaination, does it work ok with autofocus ?

Have you tried working the manual focus range for a while to see if it eases the issue, could you be just working against the autofocus drive ?

@Chrism8
Thanks. No, I don't believe it's been dropped. I saw online a few people have experienced similar problems with Nikon lens, so I was wondering whether there was a known issue with Pentax zooms. Watched this video online of someone taking a Nikon apart and greasing it!!
link
Works fine on auto, but I like to use manual sometimes, especially with macro shots.

Just a thought, as the lens works fine in AF, ensure your putting the camera into manual focus as well as the lens, there's a switch by the lens mount

Thanks Chris. I'll look into it a bit more.

You don't say which version of the lens you have. It is important re the point Chrism8 makes about putting the camera into manual focus as well as the lens.

For one of the versions (the DA L version), putting the camera into manual focus is essential if you want to focus manually. If that isn't done, the focus ring remains coupled to the focus motor in the camera so turning the focus ring means you'll be trying to turn the motor which produces a fair bit of resistance (as well as not being very good for the camera).

The other versions of the lens have a clutch that decouples the focus ring from the focus motor when the ring is turned. The ring can then be turned freely and without significant resistance whatever is set on the camera (it's called 'quick shift' in Pentax jargon and is very useful for quickly tweaking focus if auto fucus doesn't quite get it right). If you have one of those versions of the lens (i.e. not DA L), any significant resistance when turning the focus ring, whether the camera is set to auto or manual focus, is a bad sign.

Good luck.

Steve

Then there's the newer PLM version too to add to the mix.

@Lubbyman

Thanks for that!
I'll check on the version and do some research.

@JAK

Cheers! I checked my firmware and found that there is a newer version which, amazingly, seems to refer to my zoom lens:

"Corresponded to [KAF4 lens mount] that is equipped with an electromagnetic diaphragm control system.
Enable new lens HD PENTAX-DA 55-300mmF4.5-6.3ED PLM WR RE to shoot stable by updating firmware. "

Now the unfortunate bit: I downloaded the zip file 'k3II_v110.zip' but WinZip comes up with the following message: "Error: Central directory not found"

As a result, I can't extract Fwdc230b.bin to put in my SD card.

Am I doing something wrong?

If you've got the PLM version (retractable) then the sticky manual focus might be linked to the fact that it uses a focus-by-wire mechanism. There's a chance the contacts between the lens and the camera might need cleaning.

@HarisF1
Thanks. I'll look into it.

I'm having great difficulty downloading the firmware upgrade.

The file I need to download is k3II_v110.zip and I then need to extract fwdc230b.bin. I keep getting error messages when I try to unzip.

Could I ask if any forum member could kindly have a go at downloading and extracting (just to rule out any issues my end)?

Here's the link:

link

TIA

Nick

Try downloading the update again just incase it corrupted and recommend you follow the instructions to the letter. its a while since I've updated any camera firmware, but its fairly easy.

btw - the link to the firmware didn't work, I have found the update and it worked fine, just drag the BIN file to your SD card and follow the instructions.

Locate the extracted .BIN file and copy it to the root (top level i.e. outside of any folder) of a formatted SD card

Insert the card into your camera and ensure it is fully charged

Turn the camera power on while pressing the MENU button

Select "Yes"at the firmware prompt

Once the screen displays "Complete", turn off your camera

Power your camera back on and resume normal use

In order to verify that the firmware update was successful, go to the firmware option under the setup (wrench icon) menu tab, and confirm that the indicated firmware version matches that of the update.

Read more at: https://www.pentaxforums.com/articles/firmware-updates/pentax-k-3-ii-firmware-v1...#ixzz6igDImb1j

Thanks Chris,

I went back and tried again. This time, instead of saving the download file, I chose the option to option to "Open with Winzip" directly and it seems to have worked!!

I'll now find an SD card and follow the instructions to the letter.

Cheers all,

Nick