My A200 Kit (18-70) lens seems to have stripped its teeth

[gawebbe]

My A200 has been a good bit of kit, producing some really good images. However, this morning when I went to photograph the Olympic Torch it made a noise like a waste disposal unit chowing down on granite, and refused to focus. The camera was quite happy with the other lens, but as soon as I put the kit lens on then the problem recurred.

Research has shown that this is a fairly common fault with the Chinese-made lenses, which is why, I suppose, they're no longer used.

Given the considerable number of videos/web-related reports of this fault, are Sony repairing these lenses because they have a known manufacturing fault?

[Mick2011]

Hi gawebbe, welcome to the Sony Forums

I'm not sure about this; I've certainly not heard of any recall for the lens.

Your best bet is probably to contact Sony

Cheers

Mick

[gawebbe · Accepted solution]

Well...that was a result! I entirely forgot that I took out a service agreement when I bought the camera, and as a result I'm getting the lens replaced. So...win

[Mick2011]

Great result

The a200 has quite a high-torque focus mechanism, a good feature that improves focus speed. I'm not sure how often you use the camera in AF-C mode, but the constant adjustments this makes can put a lot more stress on the lens gearing, especially with higher-torque models. AF-S is a better choice for default setting if you're not shooting moving subjects.

Just a thought, should you want to prolong the life of your replacement lens

Cheers

Mick

[gawebbe]

This became something of a moot point, because the warranty company rang and told me they'd had to write off not only the lens but the A200 as well.

This was quite disappointing.

Up to the point where they offered me an A57, kit lens, 70-300 Sony lens and 5 year warranty as a replacement.

I was A) stunned, and B) quite happy with the result

And yes, the A57 is a really nice bit of kit.

Gaz