Broken Fuji 55-200

[Lbisackson]

I was shooting a video last night and my 55-200 ceased up .. It took about 5 times the effort to zoom out to about 180 mm and then it was easy ..going back in you could hear a grinding sound.. I bought it 14 months ago, so I phoned Fuji Canada.. No problem they said send it in by purolator which they are paying for... Under warranty still

No I didn't get sand on it or anything else.. I am very careful with my gear.. I am not sure if this a common issue or what exactly is the problem.. I imagine it is guide bushings or something like that,there is only so many moving parts in a lens barrel.. Other than that it has been a great lens.. Any ideas on the cause of this failure?

[romi.gilles]

if anything else, you'll get the reason on the receipt you get back with the lens.

 

did you have continuous focus on by chance?

 

(Sent from another Galaxy)

[Lbisackson]

Continuous focus on ... Yes ...

But the lens zoom was stiff on or off the camera

No problem focusing even though the zoom was stiff ...

[romi.gilles]

maybe the motors just gave up in continuous AF. does that sound like a possibility? how long was it running for? I should try to use mine more while I'm still on the one year warranty.

 

(Sent from another Galaxy via Tapatalk)

[Lbisackson]

It was only running about 10 min and I tried to zoom in .. That is when it was really hard ..

But I don't see how the zoom function which is totally hand driven mechanically has anything to do with the focus motors ..

It was still focusing fine after 3 sessions of 15 min video recording ... I would of expected if it was focus motor issue it would of stopped focusing ... Still scratching my head

[romi.gilles]

d'oh! i kept thinking you had the 50-140. either way, does the 55-200 have external focusing/zoom? my pancake 27mm has external focusing. when i dropped it on the front, i opened it up to see if it was something i could fix without needing new parts. i found that when it landed on the front, it pushed the focusing mechanism back cracking a piece of a plastic gear that kept the front element from moving too far forward. i was able to repair it enough that the front element section doesn't pop out. but because of that broken plastic piece, i can't use AF (locks up and camera shuts down) and am stuck with just MF. anyway, the point was.. if your 55-200 did have external focus/zoom, could you have maybe pushed the front element/s section in (putting force on any gear/s)?

 

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[Lbisackson]

Well it is external zooming ... Internal focusing

So the whole barrel moves out about 2 1/2 to 3 inches to zoom

i will find out I guess when the lens comes back with a report .. If not I will phone Fuji to see what caused it

[romi.gilles]

definitely report back. it'd be useful info.. for me, at least.

 

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[Lbisackson]

Well I got my 55-200 back today from Fuji Canada .. A little over a month getting repaired

Diagnosed as : Replaced Axis rollers

I have no idea what caused the problem ... I have never dropped the lens or used it in sandy conditions..

I was shooting a video and it ceased up

I will put it through a workout this weekend on a road trip...