KM 70-210 mm soft at F4. Can it be fixed?


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leeshock

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I just recently acquired a 2nd hand 70-210, which does not give sharp pics at F4. Tried with other apertures - OK or better. Well, to be fair, the seller did warn me about the pics being soft at f4 and the price was reasonable.

I am wondering if the problem can be fixed? Can I send it to KM Service Centre (or Sony Service Centre) in Sg for checking and fixing?

What kind of price estimate will I be looking at, to fix this problem?

Any help would be most appreciated.
 

care to share some pics?
Shoot with bounce flash onto ceiling.....of a subject 1.5~2m away...
 

sulhan said:
care to share some pics?
Shoot with bounce flash onto ceiling.....of a subject 1.5~2m away...
Click to expand...

Hi Sulhan, don't u sleep?

Sorry to say this, but how do u post sample of pics to Club Snaps?
 

Try Posting Some F4 Pics...might Be Yr Handshake Which Is Why Yr Pics Are Not Sharp?
 

GENO said:
Try Posting Some F4 Pics...might Be Yr Handshake Which Is Why Yr Pics Are Not Sharp?
Click to expand...

I am using a dial up so give me sometime to upload the pics.

I don't think its due to handshake because I took the same shot using different f stops (without flash) on a tripod today.
 

At its widest aperture, you need good lighting and right lighting for sharpness.

If the light is poor, sometime with f4 type of lens, the images are soft... my experience anyway.

Hart
 

Could it be inaccurate focussing? I remember shooting at F4 with this lens and it looks very sharp, at least for 4R prints. Maybe try to do a sample shot and focus in the middle with something you can reference the foreground and background to check AF accuracy.
 

 

 

Hmm... The effect looks a little like fungus attack... :dunno:
 

Hieee...

Looks like an out of alignment elements that may have effect the image giving the solft image like the soft focus lens...

rgds,
sulhan
 

sulhan said:
Hieee...

Looks like an out of alignment elements that may have effect the image giving the solft image like the soft focus lens...

rgds,
sulhan
Click to expand...

But the problem can be fixed, right. I am planning to take it to KM Centre at Funan this Wed/Thu. How much would they charge to fix a problem like that?
 

KM at Funan has shifted to Commonwealth.

Konica Minolta Showroom & Camera Service Centre

401 Commonwealth Drive #05-02 (Lobby B)
Haw Par Technocentre
Singapore 149598
Tel: 64758345
Fax: 64753697
Operating Hours:
Mon to Fri 9.00am to 5.30pm
(Close on Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays)
 

It could also just be the inherent quality of the lens design. Have you read-up on the web about the experience of other people with this lens?

Or it could be QC. I remember that at a time when Minolta made zoom lenses for Leica, there was at least one shipment that Leica rejected 70% of the batch due to bad tolerances.

From my reading, it looks like flare. If you are using a protection filter, remove it. Use an adequate hood if you have not done so.
And lastly, look into your lens under very bright (preferably pin-point) light. If there is any fogging, you will see it.
 

Keltzar said:
It could also just be the inherent quality of the lens design. Have you read-up on the web about the experience of other people with this lens?

Or it could be QC. I remember that at a time when Minolta made zoom lenses for Leica, there was at least one shipment that Leica rejected 70% of the batch due to bad tolerances.

From my reading, it looks like flare. If you are using a protection filter, remove it. Use an adequate hood if you have not done so.
And lastly, look into your lens under very bright (preferably pin-point) light. If there is any fogging, you will see it.
Click to expand...

I did not use any filter for the test shots.

I didn't see any fogging when I looked through the lense.

If its due to QC problem, I wonder if it can still be fixed?
 

make sure you look thru the lens at different angles using the sun...
or else use a laser-point of light.
Just general lightbulb is not good enuff.

may or may not be able to fix, it depends. check with a repair guy.
 

Changing the glass might help. :think:
 

jsbn said:
Changing the glass might help. :think:
Click to expand...
Was in Sg last month but did not bring the lense to KMSC. Took it to KL KMSC and they said that they do not service the lense anymore. Rather "disappointing" because when I called them 2 days ago, they said OK. KM KL said that the coating could have worn out during the years of usage.

Took it to other repair shops and they said that high probability its due to glass coating problem.

Sent any email to KMSC Sg yesterday, asking them whether they have spare parts, still waiting for reply.

If I need to change the glass, any idea where to get spare parts? Maybe I have to find another faulty 70-210, which hopefully does not have the same problem with mine and take it apart and experiment which glass element is out.

Had a look at Peter Ganzel site. He made it (taking the lense apart) look easy. May be tempted to try later - when got no choice already.

In the mean time wait for reply from KMSC Sg.
 

Keltzar said:
It could also just be the inherent quality of the lens design. Have you read-up on the web about the experience of other people with this lens?

Or it could be QC. I remember that at a time when Minolta made zoom lenses for Leica, there was at least one shipment that Leica rejected 70% of the batch due to bad tolerances.

From my reading, it looks like flare. If you are using a protection filter, remove it. Use an adequate hood if you have not done so.
And lastly, look into your lens under very bright (preferably pin-point) light. If there is any fogging, you will see it.
Click to expand...
I think you could be right. I was reading Dpreview 2 days ago and I found other users with similar problems.

Check out the following :-
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1035&thread=17155500

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1035&thread=16843343
 

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