Thanks. I'm going to shoot with it quite a bit over the next few weeks. I just hope my back doesn't give way trying to lug it around.
-Brendan --- Godfrey DiGiorgi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Well, good luck with it. I'm glad it did work out in > the end, these > kinds of situations can get ugly. > > That's a meaty bit o glass... ;-) > > Godfrey > > On Sep 20, 2006, at 7:23 PM, Brendan MacRae wrote: > > > I thought I'd relay this story to you all. > > > > Back in July I was looking for a long lens for the > 67 > > since the longest lens in my bag was the 165mm f4 > LS. > > I was thinking about buying a new 300mm and a > > teleconverter (from the results posted on Luminous > > Landscape this seemed like a good option) but I > saw a > > used 400mm ED on Ebay at a good price and jumped > at it > > with the Buy It Now option. The description said > the > > lens was well used but "optically perfect." > > > > So, the lens arrived about a week later and boy > was I > > not happy. The lens was shipped in its dedicated > trunk > > case but in a box with packing peanuts and > > miscellaneous scraps of styrofoam. The trunk was > not > > packed snuggly and it shifted around inside the > box. > > When I took the lens out of the truck case to > inspect > > it I had it tilted slightly on end and my heart > sank > > when I heard a loud "thud" from inside the lens. > Yep, > > the IF helicoid was stripped and was just sliding > back > > and forth. And that wasn't the worst of it. Upon > > looking into the lens from the front element I > could > > see that one of the internal elements was > scratched at > > the edge, a fairly large scratch, maybe 4-6mm > long. I > > was wondering if there was a screw loose inside > that > > caused it but I never saw or heard one. > > > > So, I contacted the seller and explained my dismay > and > > told him that he needed to claim it (yes, I > insisted > > on insurance) and that even though the box had no > > obvious damage it should've been more carefully > packed > > (the box wasn't even marked 'fragile'). I told him > > that even if the focus was operable I would insist > on > > a refund since there was no way I was buying a > lens > > with a scratched element, especially one described > as > > "optically perfect." After a few terse emails the > > seller told me that the claim was going through > and > > that UPS would be by to pick up the lens for > > inspection. > > > > In the end, UPS decided to pay to have the lens > > repaired at Pentax in Colorado. I told the seller > to > > have them fix everything, including replacing the > bad > > element, and I'd be happy to have it. Suprisingly, > I > > got the lens today, over two months later from the > > close of the auction, packaged nearly the same way > as > > before, but this time in good shape, no focusing > > issues, no scratched element and freshly aligned > and > > CLA'd from our friends in Golden, Colorado. Even > so, > > when I went to fit the lens on the camera, well to > be > > honest, with this lens you fit the camera to the > lens, > > it wouldn't present flush. I tried it again and > still > > no luck. When I examined the lens mount In noticed > > that one of the six screws holding the mount to > the > > lens hadn't been fully tightened and was proud of > the > > surface. I tightened it down and then mounted the > > camera with no trouble. Finally, being a cautious > guy, > > I checked the focus scale against a tape and it > > matched almost exactly. > > > > In eight years as a seller and buyer on eBay this > was > > first time I had a major issue with a seller. I > > suppose I should count myself very lucky in that I > was > > dealing with a seller who was committed to making > the > > transaction work one way or the other. But, then, > > before I bid I did what I always do which is check > his > > feedback rating, read a few comments (especially > the > > negative ones, if there are any) and look at the > > seller's eBay store if they have one. In this > case, > > the guy was camera retailer from Florida with a > good > > rating so the purchase seemed very safe. In the > end, > > I'm happy with result but wondering if I'll be > buying > > gear like this off eBay in the future. > > > > -Brendan > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > __________________________________________________ > > Do You Yahoo!? > > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam > protection around > > http://mail.yahoo.com > > > > -- > > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > > [email protected] > > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
