FYI

There was some confusion as to who services the W/A lens that Fujinon makes specifically for the EX-3. Sony or Fuji? Even the Sony people were unsure.

Well, it's Fujinon. I just sent mine in because the zoom was not zooming well.

This is only for the W/A. I believe that if you have a problem with the stock lens that comes with the EX-3, that's still a Sony warantee repair.

can i ask what "not zooming well" means?
and was this right after you purchaced it? or after many zooms?
and what enviroment was the lens used in? does it get exposed to natural elements?

Lens would stutter or hesitate on slow zoom in. Lens has seen VERY VERY light use since new. Can't say absolutely but I think it came with the problem.
Fujonon in Wayne NJ is very supportive, even offering a loaner lens.

i was wondering with all this plastic in stuff (nowdays) and it comming out of machines and molds, and being quickly tossed together , if a little WEAR, might smooth off the edges a bit. get a little plastic grind going there.
i would bet they avoid almost every form of lubrication, as it can change over time, be effected by heat and cold, that users could manage to get it on the glass , even if it was an impossibility :-)

but i donno, being in the market for this junk, i would like to know , not how many weeks it takes to fix it, but what the original problems are and how to surpass them somehow, even if i have to take the lense apart myself.

could japanese manufactures have folded to international pressure and cheapskates jerks like me and turned over parts of thier manufacturing to China :-) the new Fujixiwang lenses. (not that china cant manufacture great stuff, just that when they want to up profits they get china to maufacture junk)

It's under warantee. Not worth messing with.

Hope it works out for you Ed. I would be just a bit upset about laying out that amount of money for the wide-angle lens made for the EX and have it bugger up like that on the zoom of all things.

How is the barrel distortion on the lens, pretty clean when extended at full wide?

laying out $4000 is a hell of a lot less than $20,000 for a 2/3" HD W/A. you get what you pay for. Hopefully Fuji service will come through. Any piece of manufactured equipment can have hickups

Fuji service sent me a brand new loaner W/A while they figure out what to do with my W/A. Very helpful service coordinator. I have a sense they may tell me to keep the replacement.

Does your loaner lens have the same problem? hopefully not.

finally put the loaner W/A up to look at.

It does have some barrel distortion. My unscientific observation is that the distortion is less than I would expect for a W/A lens on a 1/2" imager for $4000. Not any different that what I see in $20,000 HD W/A lenses for 2/3" cameras.

The lens zooms fine, the skipping is not there.

I own a microforce zoom control. I think they sell for about $2000 now. That's for the controller only. Of course I get fantastic zooms on broadcast lenses; much better than what I can get on either EX lens I own. But these 2 EX lenses do pretty well with my Manfrotto zoom control. Significantly better than my panasonic DVX100.


Here's a trick I just discovered. You can set the zoom control settings for the handle to do a very slow creep but it can't speed up. The external zoom control won't do as slow a creep but it can ramp up to a faster speed.

Combine the two...After starting the slow creep with the handle, then add in the remote zoom control to ramp up the speed. you get a wider zoom speed range.