My Mamiya 55-110 zoom, purchased new only four months ago, has gone belly up. This morning I was changing the focal length and the zoom ring seized up. It wouldn't turn either way. I rotated the focus ring a bit and the zoom ring freed up, but then the focus ring seized up. After a little more fiddeling, during which one or the other ring would freeze up and then free up, both rings froze up and wouldn't turn. I eventually got them to turn, but now there's an ominous clicking sound coming from the lens, and it still freezes up every once in awhile. Something's obviously come loose inside. Arrrggh.
Anyway, before I send it in for repair, I thought I'd check to see if anyone else here has had similar problems. Is this an isolated problem, or a known issue with this lens?
I generally view most of my Mamiya lenses as having a fairly flimsy build quality, except for the 55-110, which is built like a tank. It's ironic that it should be the one to fail. In over 30 years of photography, this is the first ever lens failure I have experienced. I'm sure it's just an isolated failure, but still, it doesn't fill me with confidence in my lens set.
