Pentax smc DA* 50-135mm SDM Issue

Britney Elvis wrote:

Please… where did you get the anecdotal evidence? Does that include failures after the '1 year warranty?

”Pentax's biggest issue with SDM was managing peoples expectations rather than any inherent failure in design, anecdotal evidence points to about a 4-8% higher failure rate fro the 16-50/50-135 in their early releases again pretty much in line with new technology releases.

Failure rates now seem to be in line with every other OEM .

Other forum member have had significantly worse experience than me and some significantly better, That is life , I wouldn't base my purchasing decisions based on either rather as I did research the technology and understand the real risks.

You get the same reports from dissatisfied users for any brand you just need to look

Her you go for Sigma

"I had a Sigma EX 70-200 f2.8 hsm II that had the AF motor repaired 3 times so I sold it before it was out of warranty and bought a Tamron instead."

First off anyone on this forum for a few years knows that the failures of the first two SDM zooms were much higher than any previous pentax lens (and any lens since)

Really 'Knows' and 'much higher' would you like to quote your source ?

… and that Pentax never officially acknowledged the problem…

Maybe the problem is not Pentax's ? surely if SDM was as prone to failure as you imply Pentax would have gone bust with warranty repairs.?

I suspect you have zero SDM lens along with Zero first hand experience and wonder at your vehement posts on the subject and what you angle is.?

I can only go by my knowledge and that is I have 4 SDM lens there all on average 5 years old 1 has failed that gives a mtbf of 20 years. That is something I know

It also seems 90% of anti SDM rants are made by people who do not own SDM ?

have a look @pf reliability survey (google 'SdM reliability survey)

the 3 lens with higher failure rates are 16-50, 50-135 and 17-70.

Yet the 17-70 has a good reputation versus the other two yet is statistically more likely to fail than the 50-135 !! This tells you a lot about 'perception' Vs fact and how your vision can be clouded by taking to much stock of 'web' reports.

and to give some perspective to those figure here is lens rentals failure rate worst offenders for other manufacturers.

These lens do not make 1 year between failures !!

http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2013/08/lensrentals-repair-data-2012-2013

and to all the 'glad I went Sigma HSM' I give you a quote from Roger (a man who knows)

• Sigma’s big zooms still have trouble with their HSM motors and OS units, but Sigma really does seem to be doing better. Their large zoom lenses are still on the list but the frequency is lower than it used to be, in a year when my new accounting system made most numbers look worse. Sigma’s prime lenses and smaller zooms have excellent repair rates.

But the real issue has always been, since it was an obvious issue, why not extend the crappy 1 year warranty? Show your customer base that you respect them and will take care of a design flaw on your Flagship lenses.

You assume Pentax has a crappy 1 year warranty globally ?

the Uk has 2 years manufacturer warranty on everything and 6 year consumer warranty on faulty design.

In your Sigma example, it is an EX lens which I believe has a total of 4 years warranty and of course all Tamron’s have a 6 year warranty…

In the UK that is just acknowledging their legal requirements, Maybe the issue is Pentax are out to make money and will operate within the commercial requirements of the country their operating in.

I believe Pentax's US extended warranty comes in at a princely $19.99 given choice is good it is surely your risk if your decide to save 20 bucks . Bleating about opting out is just that bleating !!

If you don't like their options then spend your $ elsewhere and they may change it.

Is Pentax SDM more likely to fail than screw.? bet your life on it, Is it more likely to fail the similar technology from other manufactures the stats say NO.

When roger releases hie 2014 reports they will include Pentax so that will be interesting and maybe put the conjecture on SDM to bed, with direct comparison available with all other brands.

gus

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"It is not necessary to understand things in order to argue about them."
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