Wobbly 16-45 Focus Ring

I would like to ask if other users of the Pentax 16-45 experience a slight wobble/knock of the focus ring.

I've just received the lens from SRS (who have been very helpful during my recent initial purchases with them), and whilst the image quality is fine, I'm a bit disappointed about the slackness of the focusing ring.
The ring operates fine whilst focusing manually, but as you move the lens around, either on or off camera, you can feel (and slightly hear) this wobble/knock from the focusing ring.

For example, if I take the lens in hand, and gently move hand and lens from side to side, I can feel and hear the focusing element(s) going clunk, clunk, clunk! Crikey, I sold my Sony A200 and kit lens because of such issues!

I must also say, that whilst manually focusing, if I deliberately wobble the focusing ring, the image in the view-finder 'jumps', as you might expect.

Could I ask pleae, is this normal for the 16-45 lens, or could it be that I'm just intolerant of unacceptable tolerances?!

My thanks to all.
Alan Lowe-Jones.

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Camera: K20D.
Lenses: Pentax DA* 55mm f1.4 SDM, Pentax DA* 16-50 SDM, Pentax 18-250 SMC DA, Pentax-M 50mm f1.7, Sigma 70-300 F4-5.6 DG macro.
Flash: Pentax AF360.

It's hard to say, because modern AF lenses are very loose compared with manual focus ones.

The only way to be sure is to compare it with another sample, so maybe someone within range of you could meet up for coffee and have a look at two lenses side by side?

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Best regards, John

Well I think this is the first time I've held lenses to my ears and shook them. My 16-45 behaves as you describe but nowhere as noisy as the 18-55! Stop being intolerant.

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Ken
“We must avoid however, snapping away, shooting quickly and without thought, overloading ourselves with unnecessary images that clutter our memory and diminish the clarity of the whole.” - Henri Cartier-Bresson -

Thanks, gartmore.

I feel a bit more reassured now.

Cheers.

Alan.

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Camera: K20D.
Lenses: Pentax DA* 55mm f1.4 SDM, Pentax DA* 16-50 SDM, Pentax 18-250 SMC DA, Pentax-M 50mm f1.7, Sigma 70-300 F4-5.6 DG macro.
Flash: Pentax AF360.

Just tried mine and it also does the same thing.
Never noticed before now .. so it's REALLY going to annoy me next time I use it.

Thanks for bringing it to my attention ...


Seriously though, never been an issue before I noticed so it won't be now.

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. My Flickr

Same with mine.

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K5 + 8mm-500mm zooms and primes
Please feel free to play with any images I post.
My flickr: link