23mm f1.4 "Clicking" and Shifting Frame when Focusing?

Yippee! I'm back! I am one of the "X-Men" again! or more appropriately like Dietrich’s - Lola, sings in The Blue Angel (1930), “Falling in Love Again, What am I to do?, I now have a new... X-E2!"

They may have stolen a piece of my heart when they stole my X-E1 and kit last May in Spain but I have persevered and replaced it all piece by piece and it has finally been delivered to me in Ireland and I am en-route to Europe again.

Everything replaced; I have an X-E2 now, and a new 14mm - my basic set which I used for more than 60% of my work. That 14 - WOW! It just doesn't get any better.

I also opted to forego replacing the 18-55; 1.) Because Adorama dragged their feet so that I missed the Kit pricing, and 2.) because I realized that I was habitually "setting" the zoom to 23 or 35 before raising the lens to my eye most of the time anyway. Solution: I got the 23mm f1.4 and 35mm f2 primes instead! I wasn't disappointed in the slightest... until

I got the 23mm f1.4 out on a blustery moon lit night to shoot a few HDR brackets and once everything was solidly upon the tripod I began to do critical focusing on an object in the foreground. I pulled in the focus okay but when fine tuning, as I do to confirm precise sharpness, I noticed the frame "jumping" up and down vertically with every minute change in the turn of the focus ring, HUH? Really? - Yes!, Really. Bummer. It's also accompanied by an audible "Tick!" or "Bump Feeling" as the frame "Jumps" down and left when dialing to closer focus then "Jumps" upward and to the right when dialing towards infinity. OOPS! This doesn't happen with my 14, ever! It is happening on my new 23 when manual focus is engaged and turning the focus ring just a few grooves back and forth to fine tune focus. The frame jumps approximately 1/3 the distance of the vertical height of the [MF] Icon that displays lower left in the LCD display. I don't think this is the normal anomaly associated with focus-by-wire that is discussed when we are talking of these primes.

Yes, I got the 23mm f1.4 for a bargain; $649, as I did all the new kit. (Overall saving more than 35% over what I originally invested in my first X Gear collection, EURIKA!) But I didn't believe I was buying "seconds"! I was buying "New" so I thought - I hope this is not so. Did FUJI pass all of us Q.C. rejects in their recent promotional pricing programs?

I also purchased, albeit without my usual investigative research, a 55-200. Not happy there too. Very soft overall. (Another post coming soon)

So anyone having now or don't know if they are having the same symptoms yet with their 23 please chime in. I would like substantial ammunition when approaching FUJI service when I walk the lens into their service center in Germany.

Keeping the E-Type alive!

Thanks!

I can only say I've not had that problem with my 23mm f1.4 nor my 14mm f2.8 of same clutch type manual focus.

Surely you can swap it as faulty for a new one in within the EU. If in the UK, return to the store or website where you purchased it for replacement.

I hope you get it sorted out after just getting back to taking pictures.

It might be worth checking the contacts and cleaning them since the manual focus is focus by wire.

At 28 months old I wouldn't call it an early lens - it's only just started walking.

I've been using the 23 1.4 for years, it's solid as a rock and always tack-sharp.  Apparently your copy was flawed from the beginning.  You will love your replacement lens.

Sal

umanemo wrote:

I have gotten in touch with FUJI Service Center in Germany and they will allow me to "walk-in" the lens(es) instead of the usual post-it-in scheme, Great! but;

Even though I have just received these lenses "Brand New" just out of the box some 3 weeks ago, a colleague brought them from USA to me in Ireland, they are only telling me that they will "inspect" and "repair" the lenses in their service process. Bummer:-(

Yes, I am bummed, I had wished to start out all over again with all new gear just to make me grin every time I looked at the new stuff in order to help me shrug off the whole bad scene that caused me to have to replace the gear in the first place! Bad enough to have every thing stolen once - this is like it's being stolen from me again, well sort of in a way.

If I had wanted "Refurbished" lenses I would have saved loads of time and money and bought them from The Fuji Shop UK !!!

http://shop.fujifilm.co.uk/lenses/refurbished-lenses?dir=asc&order=price

(1 Pound Sterling = $1.25, and falling. The lenses are attractively priced considering the disastrously crashing de-valuation of the £.)

Anyone have a better strategy that can get me a "New" lens replacement? and/or has anyone dealt with this or a similar situation with a defective product from FUJI?

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

The only place you have any chance of replacement is the USA and even then it is unlikely since I don't think that is what they do there  - I believe they repair the items. The right to immediate replacement of damaged or faulty goods by the vendor in the EU is good to have but it doesn't transfer to goods bought elsewhere otherwise Fuji (UK/EU) would be out of pocket.