NX 50-150mm S repair still possible?

I have the NX 50-150mm. A little while ago, while shooting with it, it stopped focusing past about 127mm zoom. I didn't drop or knock it at the time - I had been doing some shots at full zoom, then less zoom, then when I went back to full zoom it wouldn't focus.

It's been like that ever since. If past 127mm it won't focus, even manually. It just goes to one blurry extreme and stays there. Usually it will resume focusing if I zoom out, sometimes I have to cycle power.

So as this is a great lens and I love it, I'd like to get it repaired. I'm willing to send it to Korea if necessary (I'm already in Asia). Wondering if anyone has any lead or think this is still possible, thanks in advance for any leads.

Not sure about repair options.  Curious to know, though.

Can you manually focus throughout?  Have you tried changing the AF range mode switch on the lens to different settings?

Was the last available update applied to the lens?  It's been so long, I don't recall what number the last revision was.  I can only assume the means of verifying software versions still works.  I have both the S lenses and the NX1.  I'll dig around and see if old update tools still work but I have my doubts.

STexan wrote:

Not sure about repair options. Curious to know, though.

Can you manually focus throughout? Have you tried changing the AF range mode switch on the lens to different settings?

Was the last available update applied to the lens? It's been so long, I don't recall what number the last revision was.

ALL really Great suggestions
All the last updates are installed on my Lens and Body.
Below are the Firmware Revisions via NX1->Menu->Settings->Device Information:
1. Body Firmware: 01.41  (obviously my NX1)
2. Lens Firmware: 01.03  (obviously my connected 50-150 f2.8 S)

I can only assume the means of verifying software versions still works. I have both the S lenses and the NX1.I'll dig around and see if old update tools still work but I have my doubts.

1. NX1->Menu->Settings->Device Information->SoftwareUpdate returns "No response from server."
2. Samsung i-Launcher (.exe) Program no longer works: The URL is decommissioned.

The camera can show the firmware version of both in the menus. The lens firmware is 1.03 and camera firmware is 1.41 which are both the most recent AFAIK.

No, neither manual nor auto focus work past about 127mm. Yes, I have tried all settings on the AF range switch.

Yes, my NX1 and 50-150mm are both the same versions as yours. I updated both to the latest version some time ago. The focus problem appeared right in the middle of a shoot, between shots. One moment it would focus at full zoom, the next moment it wouldn't.

Unfortunately I can't offer any words of advice. However I hope you manage to get it fixed as it's an awesome (and expensive) lens.

Wouldn't a regular camera shop be able to have a go at fixing it?

Hi Eh,

This is what I read some time ago from a Nikon user:

"With the lens mounted to the camera, hold the outer shroud and twist the lens element clockwise by the two slots on the outer ring. I used a thin cloth and my fingers and it now works fine. "

Maybe the lens got stuck and it's a mechanical problem - worth a try....

expose eh wrote:

I have the NX 50-150mm. A little while ago, while shooting with it, it stopped focusing past about 127mm zoom. I didn't drop or knock it at the time - I had been doing some shots at full zoom, then less zoom, then when I went back to full zoom it wouldn't focus.

It's been like that ever since. If past 127mm it won't focus, even manually. It just goes to one blurry extreme and stays there. Usually it will resume focusing if I zoom out, sometimes I have to cycle power.

So as this is a great lens and I love it, I'd like to get it repaired. I'm willing to send it to Korea if necessary (I'm already in Asia). Wondering if anyone has any lead or think this is still possible, thanks in advance for any leads.

This is the EXACT same problem that I have with my 50-150mm!!

I have't figured a way to fix it and unfortunately there's no repairs available here in Australia.

Let me know if you've figured out.

White Widow wrote:

Hi Eh,

This is what I read some time ago from a Nikon user:

"With the lens mounted to the camera, hold the outer shroud and twist the lens element clockwise by the two slots on the outer ring. I used a thin cloth and my fingers and it now works fine. "

Maybe the lens got stuck and it's a mechanical problem - worth a try....

This is very interesting because the lens hood on my copy became very tight and I've had to use a lot of twisting force to attach and remove it....

I might give this a go and try not to break the lens (again)!

Cool - let me know whether this worked! I got the same lens but luckily no issue - yet!

I was on the fence about buying this lens, or should I say re-buying. For me it seems it's an expensive gamble now - very sad as I'd loved to have owned it (again).

Barple wrote:

White Widow wrote:

Hi Eh,

This is what I read some time ago from a Nikon user:

"With the lens mounted to the camera, hold the outer shroud and twist the lens element clockwise by the two slots on the outer ring. I used a thin cloth and my fingers and it now works fine. "

Maybe the lens got stuck and it's a mechanical problem - worth a try....

This is very interesting because the lens hood on my copy became very tight and I've had to use a lot of twisting force to attach and remove it....

I might give this a go and try not to break the lens (again)!

An update for anyone that's interested - no dice 

I did some digging around to find out the background behind this method and it turns out some Nikon 18-200mm lens would have a loosen front element, which they just simply tightened back up.

After twisting around various bits of my lens, nothing felt loose or out of place and there's isn't a visible way to tighten or loosen the front element like that Nikon lens.  Everything felt rock solid and Samsung really did built this lens like a tank.

Unfortunately it means my lens is still not fixed 

Barple wrote:

Barple wrote:

White Widow wrote:

Hi Eh,

This is what I read some time ago from a Nikon user:

"With the lens mounted to the camera, hold the outer shroud and twist the lens element clockwise by the two slots on the outer ring. I used a thin cloth and my fingers and it now works fine. "

Maybe the lens got stuck and it's a mechanical problem - worth a try....

This is very interesting because the lens hood on my copy became very tight and I've had to use a lot of twisting force to attach and remove it....

I might give this a go and try not to break the lens (again)!

An update for anyone that's interested - no dice

I did some digging around to find out the background behind this method and it turns out some Nikon 18-200mm lens would have a loosen front element, which they just simply tightened back up.

After twisting around various bits of my lens, nothing felt loose or out of place and there's isn't a visible way to tighten or loosen the front element like that Nikon lens. Everything felt rock solid and Samsung really did built this lens like a tank.

Unfortunately it means my lens is still not fixed

That's too bad..! Did the problem occur after you applied a lot of force with the lens hood?

Maybe you could crank the hood back and forth to see whether that changes anything...

Where I live (Thailand) there are many camera and lens repair shops. Maybe you can find one in your vicinity. But Samsung lenses are quite exotic in this country and after a couple of shoulder shrugs I ended up sending my 16-50S lens to Seoul where one of my daughters lives. She took the lens to a Samsung service center and they fixed it.

That means that the lenses can still be serviced, at least in Korea. But it was a pain to get my lens through customs, shipping fees and the repair wasn't cheap either.

White Widow wrote:

Barple wrote:

Barple wrote:

White Widow wrote:

Hi Eh,

This is what I read some time ago from a Nikon user:

"With the lens mounted to the camera, hold the outer shroud and twist the lens element clockwise by the two slots on the outer ring. I used a thin cloth and my fingers and it now works fine. "

Maybe the lens got stuck and it's a mechanical problem - worth a try....

This is very interesting because the lens hood on my copy became very tight and I've had to use a lot of twisting force to attach and remove it....

I might give this a go and try not to break the lens (again)!

An update for anyone that's interested - no dice

I did some digging around to find out the background behind this method and it turns out some Nikon 18-200mm lens would have a loosen front element, which they just simply tightened back up.

After twisting around various bits of my lens, nothing felt loose or out of place and there's isn't a visible way to tighten or loosen the front element like that Nikon lens. Everything felt rock solid and Samsung really did built this lens like a tank.

Unfortunately it means my lens is still not fixed

That's too bad..! Did the problem occur after you applied a lot of force with the lens hood?

Maybe you could crank the hood back and forth to see whether that changes anything...

Where I live (Thailand) there are many camera and lens repair shops. Maybe you can find one in your vicinity. But Samsung lenses are quite exotic in this country and after a couple of shoulder shrugs I ended up sending my 16-50S lens to Seoul where one of my daughters lives. She took the lens to a Samsung service center and they fixed it.

That means that the lenses can still be serviced, at least in Korea. But it was a pain to get my lens through customs, shipping fees and the repair wasn't cheap either.

I barely used the lens so I'm not 100% sure, but it was roughly at the same time and this happened about 1 year ago so the details are a bit fuzzy too.  I feel terrible because this lens was purchased as Samsung was leaving the industry and I wanted to make sure I have the lenses I may needed in the future, but I rarely used it.

You bet I've tried attaching the hood and twisting it both ways already!

Do you recall how much was the repair and roughly where in Seoul?  There's a high chance I'll be visiting Korea when this whole coronavirus business is finished.

Hi Barple,

I think I paid around $300 to get my lens fixed. Mine was de-centered and the left side of images was out of focus. I figured that I would get the lens back as new which was still the best deal. But when I got it back I wasn't happy with it and had to send it back once again. Finally, it is as good as new (they claimed to have replaced the entire inside of the lens) and I did not have to pay for the follow up repair.

I imagine that the problems with your lens are easier to fix so it could be considerably cheaper. If you happen to travel to Seoul then by all means you should take the lens with you to get it checked. I hope it works out fine!

Capella2 wrote:

My friend, I have the same focus problem as you and more... When I put my lens in, I don't have image information (everything goes black), but my lens update is still in at 1.01. I can't find the 1.03 update to download anywhere. Can anybody help me ?

Here is the link, you can still access the files via https://matteverglade.com/lenses/nx-firmware/ but you have to use the wayback machine as the links no longer work.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XocxGDS1B8JsSzMOdujjJqSFVPj__--u/view?usp=drivesdk