Sadly this doesn't leave us "advanced amateurs" in a happy place. I don't shoot as much as a fulltime pro, I don't have the cashflow of a pro either, but unfortunately I have a pro's taste in gear. I have few lenses, but what I've selected is Pentax' fastest current glass and those are mostly SDM (except for a Ltd macro).
So I don't always have the dough to fix blown SDM motors. I'm just waiting for the right moment (and mindset) to get my twice-kaput 50-135/2.8 repaired again. (Meanwhile my MF skillz are improving.) However, I've done my homework and I know I'll not do better elsewhere, so I've made no plans to do a wholesale brand switch. Pentax, for all its faults, is still at the intersection of performance, function and budget for me. On Thu, Aug 22, 2013 at 9:56 AM, Paul Stenquist <[email protected]> wrote: > I expect to spend a certain amount on maintenance of my equipment. I don't > know any pro shooters who don't -- whether they shoot Canon, Nikon or > something else. I think my equipment expenses have been reasonable, with the > possible exception of flash unit failures. But I think flashes in general are > more failure prone. > > Paul > On Aug 22, 2013, at 9:48 AM, Boris Liberman <[email protected]> wrote: > >> I'm with you, Paul, on this one. Pentax did not do as noble by not >> admitting the problem, but it stands to reason that the technology was >> being improved following consumer reports. I cannot tell from first >> hand experience, but I wouldn't be surprised if nowadays all these >> issues are hammered out and Pentax is merely suffering from bad >> reputation that SDM technology managed to acquire. >> >> On Thu, Aug 22, 2013 at 4:41 PM, Paul Stenquist <[email protected]> >> wrote: >>> >>> On Aug 22, 2013, at 9:06 AM, Zos Xavius <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> Does the tokina variations of these lenses have SDM like the 50-135? >>>> If it were me I would just use the screw drive. SDM sucks anyways. I'd >>>> be thankful pentax put in a screw drive for backwards compatibility, I >>>> imagine they will get away from SDM entirely with new lenses. >>> >>> Pentax will not abandon SDM.. In lens focusing motors have become the >>> industry standard. SDM is faster, more accurate and much quieter than screw >>> drive. Pentax's initial attempt wasn't a perfect one. The motor could have >>> been better. But I'm a heavy user who can't always take as good care of my >>> equipment as I might wish, and I've had only one SDM motor failure on my >>> three DA* lenses after at least 70,000 frames. >>> >>> Paul >>>> >>>> On Thu, Aug 22, 2013 at 7:42 AM, SV Hovland <[email protected]> wrote: >>>>> I have tested this on my own K-7 and DA*16-50. I wanted to find out if >>>>> this is a good solution for me and I did the test before the warranty >>>>> went out. I found it to be perfectly good. It focuses just as fast as >>>>> SDM, but with more noise of course. So I decided to not send my lens in >>>>> and complain about slow SDM after all. I could wait to complete break >>>>> down and continue with the "old" focusing instead. >>>>> >>>>> Regards >>>>> Stig Vidar Hovland >>>>> >>>>> ________________________________________ >>>>> Fra: PDML [[email protected]] på vegne av Boris Liberman >>>>> [[email protected]] >>>>> Sendt: 22. august 2013 09:09 >>>>> Til: Pentax-Discuss Mail List >>>>> Emne: Re: Giving up on Pentax (probably) >>>>> >>>>> Well, it was easier than I thought. >>>>> >>>>> Here is the link: >>>>> >>>>> http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/208353-how-deactivate-sdm-silent-autofocus-allow-screw-drive-autofocus-da-16-50mm-f-2-8-a.html >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On Thu, Aug 22, 2013 at 9:49 AM, Chris Mitchell >>>>> <[email protected]> wrote: >>>>>> Hi all >>>>>> >>>>>> The last straw has been that my DA* 16-50 has stopped auto-focussing >>>>>> again. The internal motor was replaced a couple of years ago (so out >>>>>> of warranty) and now it looks like there's another couple of hundred >>>>>> quid to be spent on it. And yes, I've cleaned all of the contacts and >>>>>> yes, my DA* 50-135 works OK on my only remaining K-7 body. >>>>>> >>>>>> So the decision's nearly made to sell off the K-7, DA* 16-50 (either >>>>>> repaired or as is), DA* 50-135, a lovely F*300 4.5 (the one with the >>>>>> tripod mount), an FA-135 2.8 (probably my favourite lens ever) and an >>>>>> FA-50 1.7. I'll put the proceeds towards a backup Fuji X body and get >>>>>> the excellent 55 - 200 zoom to cover the long end of the range and to >>>>>> sit alongside my growing collection of Fuji X primes. I'll keep a >>>>>> number of MF lenses so may still be able to appear in the PDML >>>>>> annual... >>>>>> >>>>>> Any guidance on how to price? Or if anyone's interested in making me >>>>>> any sensible offers, contact me off list and I'll get more details and >>>>>> photos arranged and we can sort out logistics. >>>>>> >>>>>> Yours sadly, Chris >>>>>> >>>>>> -- >>>>>> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >>>>>> [email protected] >>>>>> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >>>>>> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and >>>>>> follow the directions. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> Boris >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >>>>> [email protected] >>>>> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >>>>> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and >>>>> follow the directions. >>>>> -- >>>>> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >>>>> [email protected] >>>>> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >>>>> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and >>>>> follow the directions. >>>> >>>> -- >>>> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >>>> [email protected] >>>> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >>>> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and >>>> follow the directions. >>> >>> >>> -- >>> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >>> [email protected] >>> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >>> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and >>> follow the directions. >> >> >> >> -- >> Boris >> >> -- >> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >> [email protected] >> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and >> follow the directions. > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. -- -bmw -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
