Jonas B wrote:
Déjà vu... that's exactly the same way my lens was packed. I hope you got a working copy this time. Do we have any firmware news?
I'm on Z, which has no FW updates. My new lens is roughly 30 units newer than my first based off serial numbers.
In my preliminary round of testing on the Zf, in which I set up conditions to ensure Lens 1 failed reliably, I cannot get Lens 2 to fail at all.
All mechanical vignetting is gone. Almost zero focus pulsing in any situation, including AF-C which barely worked on Lens 1. Very little visible distortion manifesting in the same way as Lens 1 during focusing near to far, or vice versa. Early days, and this lens will be all I shoot for about a month as I build my review, so I'll keep you updated.
It feels like it's a real lottery as to what kind of lens you get.
RoamingScott wrote:
[...]
All mechanical vignetting is gone. Almost zero focus pulsing in any situation, including AF-C which barely worked on Lens 1. Very little visible distortion manifesting in the same way as Lens 1 during focusing near to far, or vice versa. Early days, and this lens will be all I shoot for about a month as I build my review, so I'll keep you updated.
It feels like it's a real lottery as to what kind of lens you get.
Good and bad news at the same time then. I hate these lottery situations.
At least you can review the lens now having a working copy. Happy shooting and writing!
It sounds like this is one I would want to stick to buying new from a big seller that moves a lot of stock fast (hopefully having freshest product with the issues addressed), and to avoid buying "open box" and from discounted Amazon returns, where someone has already decided it's a lemon and returned it.
I guess at that point with your new purchase, if you get lucky on the first one, great, if not, then you have to decide if you're willing to try again and see if the replacement is a winner or just forget about it and send it back for a refund.
The good news is, it's not a super expensive gamble, and if you get a good one, it seems a nice lens.
Yeah I'd highly rec buying from B&H first and Amazon second in terms of packing quality and easy returns. Way better than buying from China and dealing directly with TTA.
RoamingScott wrote:
My replacement lens for testing showed up today. Given the reports on how the 75/2 AF motors need to have the lens physically struck to "reset", it makes me wonder if their awful packaging is leading to me collecting duds.
All of a sudden, my shipment was scanned locally last night and it is out for delivery today. Let's see how mine comes. That packaging really is terrible.
RoamingScott wrote:
I'm on Z, which has no FW updates. My new lens is roughly 30 units newer than my first based off serial numbers.
In my preliminary round of testing on the Zf, in which I set up conditions to ensure Lens 1 failed reliably, I cannot get Lens 2 to fail at all.
All mechanical vignetting is gone. Almost zero focus pulsing in any situation, including AF-C which barely worked on Lens 1. Very little visible distortion manifesting in the same way as Lens 1 during focusing near to far, or vice versa. Early days, and this lens will be all I shoot for about a month as I build my review, so I'll keep you updated.
It feels like it's a real lottery as to what kind of lens you get....Show more →
Maybe all that bumping around in the package made it a better lens.
POV: you're the replacement lens and I've just lectured you about how you are going to be sharp and focus where I tell you or I'm sending you back to China in a box with no padding
RoamingScott wrote:
POV: you're the replacement lens and I've just lectured you about how you are going to be sharp and focus where I tell you or I'm sending you back to China in a box with no padding
It is...I do really like the rendering wide open! Just the right amount of glow where I don't feel like I'm seeing through Vaseline like I do on my Z 40/2.
It finally got delivered but it is already dark outside to test. The firmware on the lens is dated 8/14. From a quick test, it has the same focusing issue when the lens is stopped down. At f2, it focuses without any issue, but, any other f-stop, it pulsates. Sometimes a lot, sometimes very little. I will test it out more tomorrow.
Btw, my lens was packaged very nicely. It had extra bubble wrap padding and no room to move inside. Maybe I should toss it around a bit to see if it fixes the issue.
nepali wrote:
It finally got delivered but it is already dark outside to test. The firmware on the lens is dated 8/14. From a quick test, it has the same focusing issue when the lens is stopped down. At f2, it focuses without any issue, but, any other f-stop, it pulsates. Sometimes a lot, sometimes very little. I will test it out more tomorrow. [...]
Let's hope the 20250811 v.02 firmware helps a little!
Jonas B wrote:
Let's hope the 20250811 v.02 firmware helps a little!
So, the pulsating issue when stopped down is definitely there with 8/14 firmware. I then tried the 8/11 firmware and it sure is much better. There is still some hesitation with AF every now and then, especially with low-contrast scene, but, the AF is much better with this firmware. Hope TTA releases a newer firmware soon.
nepali wrote:
So, the pulsating issue when stopped down is definitely there with 8/14 firmware. I then tried the 8/11 firmware and it sure is much better. There is still some hesitation with AF every now and then, especially with low-contrast scene, but, the AF is much better with this firmware. Hope TTA releases a newer firmware soon.
Exactly. The same experience. I wonder why the 250811 fw was superseeded by the 250814? They must have experienced something we miss.
Anyway, I wonder why they haven't presented a new fw by now. The way it is they will get new frustrated customers only.
Here are some random snapshots with this lens. These are about 35% crop of the original images. For the price, I am happy with this lens. It will make a nice walk-around/casual setup with my a7CR.
