To repair or not to repair? DA* 16-50.
That 16-50 is by far one of the worst examples of PK ever made; nothing comes close. I'd even settle for any of the entry level lenses before wanting or needing to use the 16-50
That's the opinion of someone who never worked with one.
Mine is the best Pentax standard zoom I've ever had. It's now going on it's seventh year without ever letting me down.
I've had my 50-135 repaired BECAUSE I dropped it on a concrete floor. Otherwise, it woks flawlessly.
I've had the Pentax 16-50 since day number one when it was released. The first one did not last even six months of casual use before needing complete replacement. got the second replacement Pentax 16-50; it lasted less than one year.
Now reacquired a third copy just recently. It has already shown many issues. It's about on par for quality and reliability (but the 16-50 still being worse than) with the Pentax 35mm DA L F2.4. Even the Rokinons are better, darn even the Mitakon, except they don't have the locking aperture,
To conclude, I've had nothing but bad experiences with the Pentax 16-50. I'm certainly not alone on that one,
My DA* 16-50mm is still going strong - I think it must have been one of the earlier ones because I bought it around 2007 or 2008. If the SDM fails the lens will be sent to Johnsons, I would be silly to even consider the expense of buying a replacement or an alternative model from another manufacturer.
Both these lenses produce first class image quality and are in constant use.
David
PPG: http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/artists/davidtrout
par for quality and reliability (but the 16-50 still being worse than) with the Pentax 35mm DA L F2.4,
Whats wrong the 35mm DA L F2.4? Its an excellent lens for the price and quite a simple lens so not much to go wrong I would have thought.
I went from a tamron 17-50 to a DA* 16-50 and the difference in image quality was there to see, as was the WR and silent focussing. My Tamron also hunted for focus far more than the 16-50mm.
As I understand it the focussing issues affected the 'casual user' more than the regular user, at least that's the perception to me.
Concert photography
Currently on a Pentax hiatus until an FF Pentax is released
Actually not a single item wrong with the DA 35mm. It's relatively small and lightweight in it's lens class, and the price is quite outstanding. It's above average optically, even for a fixed focal length.
But there's also some irony... That this DA 35 and most every single other PK lens is considerably more reliable than something costing many times more - the 16-50
I was under the impression Pentax has never said anything about whether the motors were upgraded or not? The general feel I've gotten from the web is that of general indifference to the problem from Pentax?
If working it would probably be used pretty much all the time, and it was by me when it was............
The reality is there have been far too many accounts of SDM failure but Pentax doesn't seem to care. Good job they don't make cars. From my own searches I can see many people are still looking for solutions.
I don't use mine for video so hacking the firmware to convert it to use the camera's noisier screw drive was a far cheaper and, I suspect, more reliable option. It wasn't easy following the different guides available but I am grateful to those who took the trouble to publish how you do it.
Is it worth repairing the DA* 16-50? Maybe if you want to sell it but why would you? It's a great lens and the screw drive focuses just as fast in my view.
I understood the motors had been upgraded, but all this happened so long ago.....the problem was only with early lenses and hasn't been a problem for several years. Unfortunately, things take a long time to be forgotten on the web.
Hmmm.... I wonder if the problem is restricted to older SDM lenses. I had mine repaired in 2013 at a cost of £180 and without much subsequent use it has died again. Johnson's offered to fix it for a reduced cost of £120 but it seems that might be the price others have paid anyway so no big favour there.
The reality is there have been far too many accounts of SDM failure but Pentax doesn't seem to care. Good job they don't make cars. From my own searches I can see many people are still looking for solutions.
I don't use mine for video so hacking the firmware to convert it to use the camera's noisier screw drive was a far cheaper and, I suspect, more reliable option. It wasn't easy following the different guides available but I am grateful to those who took the trouble to publish how you do it.
Is it worth repairing the DA* 16-50? Maybe if you want to sell it but why would you? It's a great lens and the screw drive focuses just as fast in my view.
My situation may be of interest.
In the last two weeks I have bought a used DA* 16-50. It was supplied new earlier this year by a Pentax official retailer, and had the SDM replaced in July.
I was able to do a deal from a private individual who was unable to sell it on eBay at a price of £340 - I thought it was worth taking a chance. I have both the original sale and Johnsons repair invoices.
It appears to be working perfectly - so fingers crossed !!
There will always be some issues with all these lenses though, just as there are with other marques. Lenses are not the simple things they once were, so I guess there's more to go wrong.
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3665 posts
15 years
Grimsby,
UK
Concert photography
Currently on a Pentax hiatus until an FF Pentax is released