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LUMIX 12-35mm FOCUS MOTOR BROKEN?


Ricardo Constantino
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Good afternoon,

I have a Lumix 12-35mm that is right now giving me a headache and now I understand why I hate electronic lenses.

When trying to auto-focus on other distances different from 12mm it's starts searching for focus and then stops completely all blurred out and it looks like the motor stops working because I keep pressing the shutter and it only lightens the screen (as it does to search for a focus point) but that's it. No focus changes at all.

So I pretty much have a 12-35mm that's only good at 12mm because it's the only distance I can focus.

Any of you had this problem with this or another lens that had to be repaired?

Thanks in advance.

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Do you have a macro or manual focus setting enabled maybe?

If not, then I'm not sure, contact Panasonic for their thoughts on the matter.

I went with the 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO from Olympus. It might not have optical stabilization, but it's a super duper built lens and nice to work with. Gotta love the pull de-clutch that enables manual focus with hard stops.

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I just Googled, and don't see anything matching a description for 'Lumix 12-35mm repair', so I can only assume this is not a product defect. You don't say how long you've owned the lens, how often you use it, what conditions it is used in or how it is stored, but according to LensRentals.com, if you want a lens that will last decades, get a mechanical lens. 

All focusing motors will fail eventually. They are electronic and they move.

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Thanks for the replies and to answer them all;

I've got both the lens and the body at the latest firmware (it was my first thought).

I've got the lens for about 3 or 4 years, not sure but the worst scenario I've used the lens was at the beach and I carry it all the time in my backpack. 

To be honest I've only found out a couple months ago how the lens really worked (the focus ring transmitting information to the motor).

I've been getting away with ETC on the 12mm end while I can't send it to Panasonic but it's a pain.

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  • 1 year later...

Focus problems with the Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8

Got a problem with my Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8, it focuses well on 12mm to 14mm both on auto and manual, but at 18, 28, it does not focus at all on auto only on manual if i move further away or closer depending on the focal lenght i choose.

At 35mm it sometime comes into focus at a certain distance, but can cut out and not focus at all! The lens communicates with the camera well! Did an firmware update and checked that it read all the commands ie IBIS etc...

Anyone had similar problems? Focus motor gone? Anyone ever fixed this? What did it cost? The lens is out of warranty... 

Check it on both my gh4 & the gh5s, so it's nothing to do with the camera! What to do? 

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If you use the Panasonic app on Android or iOS you can use its manual focus control function to check to see if it can drive the lens from there at the different focal lengths.

That should at least give you some indication if the motor is defective for some reason at those focal lengths.

While you have to app open, also do the Touch AF from it to see if it can AF via that route at those focal lengths as well.

It won't fix it but it will give you a few more clues to go on.

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Thanks! Will check that now!

Focus problems with the Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8

Checked the lens through Panasonic image app aswell, so the one touch manual focus function, the focus ring & auto focus only works at 12mm
When you change to: 14, 18, 28 and 35 none of these functions work at all on camera or through image app. The lens only enters focus on: 14, 18, 28 etc
if i move with the camera. Impossible to move the focus point or change focus area! 

Problem: Loose focus motor flex-cable or or broken focus motor? Only things I can think of...

Thanks!

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  • 4 months later...
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The original poster didn't come back with a resolution but I suspect this thread from DVXUser is the same person.

Judging by that, the solution did seem to be sending it back to Panasonic for a repair (or replacement in his case as it was under warranty).

There is an interesting post further down in that thread from someone saying that their one didn't AF unless it was actually recording so that might be worth a try to at least try and see if it makes a difference.

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?356676-12-35mm-2-8-NO-FOCUS-past-12mm

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  • 1 year later...

I been through all of these problems mentioned above, sent it in to Panasonic and got it fixed at their support center i Poland for free, great service, now I got problems with the aperture! First the aperture got stuck and didn't respond to commands from the camera, was behaving unstable and in the end got stuck wide open at f2.8 and now it does not work to try to close down the aperture at all, only starts making a digital noise when turning the zoom ring between 18-25, that is constant when you reach a certain point...

AF and Manual focus works great still, only no communication between the camera and the lens! Tried other lenses, native mfts and they work fine, so it is nothing wrong with the camera. The problem is within the lens and it seems like the aperture blades are stuck somehow and this seems to be connected to the zoom function of the camera...

Any ideas why this happens?

 

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