Pentax brand lense build quality

[eman]

I don't know if it is my bad luck or there is a general QA issue with some of the Pentax lenses. I gotten my K10D a little more than a month ago, last week I brought a Pentax 50-200mm lense, took it home and shot a few test shots, than the auto focus on the lense broke! Lucky the store let me exchange it for another lense the very next day. Then just last Saturday I went to a outing to shoot a bunch of pictures with my kit lense (16-45mm). When I got home I notice all the pictures were either over or under exposed! After scratching my head for a good while, I discover the apecture control on the lense is broken (the little black lever that controls the apecture springs back no longer springs)!! This lense I cannot exchange over the counter for another one and now I will be out 2 weeks while waiting for it to be repaired!:mad:
Has anyone have QA issues with any of the Pentax lenses?? I did notice both of the lense are made in Vietnam.

[SpecialK]

Every massed-produced product has a small percentage of defects - which is why waranties are provided. If everything was perfect there would not be a need for warranties.

Still, without knowing anything else about your situation, you seem to have bad luck :-(

[eman]

Every massed-produced product has a small percentage of defects - which is why waranties are provided. If everything was perfect there would not be a need for warranties.

Still, without knowing anything else about your situation, you seem to have bad luck :-(

I hope it is just bad luck on my part, as I already too deep to pull out (change brands)! I also liked the K10D and the pictures captured by the lenses I have. I notice you have a 12-24mm ultra wide and the fish eye, I was thinking of getting one of them, but have not 100% sure which is better (I shot mostly landscapes shots). I do found the wider the better, but not sure how much the fish eye distortions I can live with. Any advise for a newbie?

[SpecialK]

I like the fisheye FOR the distortion. The 12-24 has its moments, but I find the leaning buildings (though straight) can be more distracting than the curved fisheye for some reason. And the 12-24 is just about twice the cost of the fisheye.

10mm
26798


12mm
26799

[eman]

Neat picture with the roundish flag poles :) ! Do you have the "unfish" software? If you do have it, after "unfished" to make the distortion not noticeable, approximatly how many degrees of viewing angles it loss?

[SpecialK]

I think Pentax Photo Laboratory might have that feature to some degree, but I'd never use it.