Help with getting a "bad copy" of a lens.

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shufflemoomin

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I've read countless examples of people talking about good and bad "copies" of lenses. My question is if you buy a new lens and you're unhappy with certain aspects of it like problems with AF or sharpness, is the only option to return the lens and hope to get a better one or can the lens be submitted to the manufacturer to fix these issues? Essentially, is a "bad copy" stuck like that due to a manufacturing issue or is it generally fixable with repair or calibration?
 
Buy it online then you can return it no questions asked under the "Distance Selling Regulations" get yer brass back then buy another and so on till you get a good copy

Best is to use a local store and try several copies and choose the best, if the store wont let you do that then walk away
 
Is that only option though? The reason I asked is that since Denmark is eyewateringly expensive, I can save 30%+ by buying from Germany or the UK and I'd like to know if it's possible to have the lens dealt with by a local Tamron repairer or ship it once to Tamron rather than pay to keep shipping lenses back and forward.
 
Side note.....All lenses that leave the factory are within manufacturer tolorence. However no single lens is spot on. It could be but you would never know.

If we have a scale. -10 to 0 to + 10.

And if the manufactuere tolorence is between -2 to + 2.

And all lenses that are within that will be boxed and sold, those that are not will go back to the line and get recall rated until they are.

Bodies are the same, hence you can do micro adjustments.

So if you have a lens that is -2 and a body that is +2, you will get a spot of end result.

That person will say he has a sharp copy.

If that person has a body that is also -2 then he will end up with a -4, he will no doubt rant about he has a terrible copy. He can then send it back, what canon, Nikon or sigma will do then calibrate it again to their tolorence*. You can get it back and be ok as they might adjust it this time to +2.

Do you see where I am going? Therefore, there really isn't such a thing as a bad copy, there is just a copy that matches your body.

*thats why pros used to send their entire kit, bodies included to get calibrated, so all their lenses are calibrated to their bodies. It is why the CPS was created.
 
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I suppose your best thing to do would be to contact Tamron and ask them direct.
 
boliston said:
I doubt many stores would agree to unbox several of the same lens just so that someone can try them and "choose the best".
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You mean that you don't test the lens on your camera if you are buying it in person?

That's a bit daft!
 
Maybe you should look at buying a used lens off a forum like this. Then you can use the previous owners experience with the lens and view pics that have been taken with it.
I have only ever had perfect equipment from the classified section. I've had a couple of new ones that were duff from dealers though and have sent them back.
Its easier to get a good used one .......
Allan
 
I think I drove the guy in Jessops mad when I was testing a Canon 24-70mm before buying. He was pulling funny faces but at £900 I couldn't care about the person behind who wanted to spend a tenner on some paper. I wasn't 100% happy and he wouldn't open another one so I went to Jacobs one block down and they opened up three until we got the perfect one for my camera.

They were happy, I was happy and I'm sure Mike Jackson from these forums who bought it from me is also happy that I was such a pain in the arse in the stores! lol
 
Raymond Lin said:
Side note.....All lenses that leave the factory are within manufacturer tolorence. However no single lens is spot on. It could be but you would never know.

If we have a scale. -10 to 0 to + 10.

And if the manufactuere tolorence is between -2 to + 2.

And all lenses that are within that will be boxed and sold, those that are not will go back to the line and get recall rated until they are.

Bodies are the same, hence you can do micro adjustments.

So if you have a lens that is -2 and a body that is +2, you will get a spot of end result.

That person will say he has a sharp copy.

If that person has a body that is also -2 then he will end up with a -4, he will no doubt rant about he has a terrible copy. He can then send it back, what canon, Nikon or sigma will do then calibrate it again to their tolorence*. You can get it back and be ok as they might adjust it this time to +2.

Do you see where I am going? Therefore, there really isn't such a thing as a bad copy, there is just a copy that matches your body.

*thats why pros used to send their entire kit, bodies included to get calibrated, so all their lenses are calibrated to their bodies. It is why the CPS was created.
Click to expand...


It is not that simple. Left side may be +1 and right -14 at the same time! Something else may be entirely a miss and sharp photos will be impossible with the bad optic. While such lens should never leave the factory, many do, and the service usually fails to suss out the culprit.
 
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