FS5: Anyone having parfocal issues with the Sony 18-110?

markfpv said:
I'm thankfully not having any issues with my 18-110... but am curious about Pro support.... do you sign up annually? And what is the cost / features? And if you don't mind answering - how much do they charge to fix the lens back to it's original working condition? Thanks.
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You do sign up annually. It's the Sony Imaging PRO Support. You have to apply (not hard to get accepted) and then pay what I believe is $100 a year if I remember correctly. This is my second year with it. With it you get 24/7 phone and email support, three-day repair turnaround time so long as they have the parts you need in stock (if a part is needed for repair), in-person service centers that you can go to in seven locations around the US, on-site support at select major events, invitation to special Sony events, free trial loans to test out new gear, free loaner gear next-day aired to you for when repairs will last for more than three days, three complimentary maintenance services per year (including free cleanings), and free over-night shipping to and from repair facilities. It's pretty dang good for the money.

I haven't had to pay anything for a repair so far. I've sent in a 100-400 GM to have it fixed when the lens collar stripped and got in back in three days free of charge. I sent a second 100-400 GM in when the rings where the lens hood mounts chipped and got it back in about a week and a half (they didn't have the part in stock). That too didn't cost me and they offered me a loaner 100-400 to use while mine was being repaired. I'm now sending my 18-110 in today to have it cleaned and have the parfocal issue fixed and it too won't cost. They said I should have it back in three days as well.

So far I'm pretty happy with the Sony Imaging PRO Support. The only catch is that it's only for their lenses and their mirrorless line. I wish I could have my FS7II listed under it, but as far as I know it can't be. That being said, it's been completely worth it to have for the lenses alone and I'm happy to have it for my A7RIII and A7III as well. I recommend it.
 
Well here is my saga with Sony repair on that lens. First I don't have Sony Pro Support which seems like a deal and I will get it .
My 18-110 was dropped in November '18. The lens continued to function perfectly and remained parfocal but there was a crack in the outer housing that looked like a small replacement piece to me.
I sent it to Sony in LA but it couldn't go to normal Pro support that I was used to , instead going to their consumer or industrial repair department because Pro did not service e mount lenses at the time.
A couple weeks later i got the lens back with a $750 repair tag. The broken part was $100 and $650 was their charge to completely recalibrate the lens which they said they did as a matter of course because it was dropped.

Unfortunately the lens wasn't parfocal anymore. They had apparently miscalibrated it . When I called the repair department they first denied that it was even supposed to be parfocal but after I pointed them to Sony literature they agreed to fix it. I sent it back to them and it came back a few weeks later slightly improved but still not right. I had explained from the outset that the best way to judge this was with either a very large monitor (bigger than 24") , or best - you can see it in the VF on 4x's and 8x's blow up. It seemed to me that they were either not clear on the concept , didn't know how to do the adjustment, or just didn't check in the VF like I explained and trusted a monitor that was to small to see critical focus at f4 & 18mm - which is tricky because there is so much DOF already.

The nice thing was they respected my professionalism and didn't try to tell me the lens was fine. Instead they sent me 2 used lenses straight from "Borrow Lenses" and told me to pick the best one. They were both par focal and so I just picked one and we traded.

Happy ending and I felt I was treated very well, but it did make me wary of their repair process on those lenses. Hopefully they've improved over the year .

Now that I have an FX9 I'm curious about the 28-135's. I've only tried one and it was softer than the 18-110 (when I looked on a chart) and that one was not parfocal. Anyone else have experience with the 28-135?
 
LennyLevy said:
Now that I have an FX9 I'm curious about the 28-135's. I've only tried one and it was softer than the 18-110 (when I looked on a chart) and that one was not parfocal. Anyone else have experience with the 28-135?
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I've had quite a bit of experience with 28-135 lenses...on the FS7m1 though. Initially...I hated the lens and a lot of that rubbed off on the FS7m1. It was the primary reason I wanted to put only Canon lenses on the FS7 early on. The lens (for me) was always slow to respond, slow to autofocus (if you're into that kind of thing...I'm not judging), and it wasn't a good tight or wide lens...it just didn't do anything well. It just felt like a huge compromise on every front.

The 18-110 lens helped round out some of the compromises, and I usually bring it along when I have clients that want me to use their FS7mk1 cameras with their 28-135 lenses.

Now, with the FX9 being FF instead of S35...maybe that will solve some of the focal range issues I've had...but quite frankly...my first response when I read that Sony was bringing this lens back for the FX9 was, "Oh! Cool...they've made a mk2 version of the 28-135! Maybe it'll be better this time. Wait...not a mk2? Same one as before? MMMMMnnnnooooo."
 
Joshua Milligan said:
To follow up with my last comment, I just got off the phone with Sony Pro Support who sent me a shipping label. I've worked with them before as a pro user and they are typically pretty good to work with. The guy I spoke with claimed that the 18-110's parfocal issue is not uncommon and that the engineers claim that all of the 18-110's should be parfocal electronically, so if you have one that's not you should definitely send it in so that they can make the necessary adjustments. They said they should have my lens fixed and cleaned and sent back to me in under a week. I am pretty excited about that.

If any of you are having issues with your 18-110 not being parfocal still, you should definitely send it off so that Sony can get that working for you. And if you're not a Pro member yet, I HIGHLY recommend it. They've been awesome about repairing things for me and getting my gear back to me almost immediately.
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Joshua, Can you get me the name of the person you're dealing with at Sony Pro Support . My friend who's 18-110 I just diagnosed as not parfocal contacted B&H (it was past the return period) & Sony and just got this response from Sony:

"Thank you for contacting us today, are you losing focus when zooming out after zooming in and setting focus in manual focus?
If so this is normal as the lens is not parfocal and requires AF to be enabled to keep the focus during zoom operation.
To verify focus I would recommend the magnify function.
Let me know if you have any other issue or question.
Sincerely,
Yohan
Sony Imaging Support Program"

This is incorrect and is exactly the same response I got when I initially complained about my lens after Sony repair misadjusted my previously parfocal lens. After I directed them to Sony's own marketing they agreed to try to fix the lens and when they failed at that they sent me a new lens. I am mystified by what's going on with Sony about this . Please keep us informed about your progress getting yours repaired.
Based on your experience I will recommend that my friend join Sony Pro support but a name would be valuable. Where did you send the lens to BTW?

Lenny Levy
 
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