[MRRiley]

I was reading the answers to the topic but it seems some have been removed...

So, uhm, anyway, today I called the service centre to see if they could give me an approximate turnaround time, and I was told it would be done in about 10 days. The guy also said it would be "repaired", which made me wonder... is it repairable at all? I always thought it would be a matter of replacing defective units instead of repairing them, although this might have been a case of "lost in translation", since the guy was German and only spoke limited French.

Either way, I'm gonna send it in next Monday and hopefully get it back in good working order before the 26th. Fingers crossed!

I would not take his quote of 10 days with ANY confidence. I had mine sent in (by the store I bought it from) a month ago and still no word from Pentax if they have even looked at it.

Mike

[JeffJS]

Thanks, I didn't realize it was that easy I use Linux, ExifTool come standard.

My K5 was manufactured on October 7.. no sensor stain (yet).. hopefully mine isn't one of the affected batches.

Keep an eye on it. You already know it's covered under warranty. Mine was manufactured September 26.

[soppy]

Newer 39xxx cameras seem to be just fine.

Just tested mine, it is not fine and is a 39 camera. I will have to send it back after I do the shoots I am scheduled for, which isn't until the 28th of March...

[maciek_w]

I have a 38xxx. Bought in February. Stained. I was told 3-4 weeks waiting time for a replacement. We'll see.

[Rin]

but how many had sensor stains of current batches? Received my second replacement yesterday and all seems ok. No issues at all. But i am afraid stains will develop over time. It is one of the last in the 339xxxx batches

[causey]

My friend who just got his new K-5 (S/N 39xxx) also has tiny stains on it... Much smaller than the previous ones, though.
I wouldn't wonder to see more such reports show up in, say, six months, when stains will become visible on many other sensors.

[Rin]

My friend who just got his new K-5 (S/N 39xxx) also has tiny stains on it... Much smaller than the previous ones, though.
I wouldn't wonder to see more such reports show up in, say, six months, when stains will become visible on many other sensors.

arent those simply not little dust speckles?

[sterretje]

Purusam, As you say, it's old serial numbers. So the dealers are to blame in my opinion. Every dealer should by now be aware of it and either should have shipped their stock back for testing or tested it themselves.

[Purusam]

urusam, As you say, it's old serial numbers. So the dealers are to blame in my opinion. Every dealer should by now be aware of it and either should have shipped their stock back for testing or tested it themselves.

Im all with you my friend

[hooverfocus]

I would not take his quote of 10 days with ANY confidence. I had mine sent in (by the store I bought it from) a month ago and still no word from Pentax if they have even looked at it.

Mike

Hmm, doesn't bode well on the other hand I'm still hopeful that, living in a small country and all, they won't be overwhelmed by requests. The guy on the phone sounded pretty confident in his 10-days prediction. At present I'm mostly worried about getting a faulty replacement, instead.

Either way, I'm shipping it off tomorrow, then only time will tell...

[causey]

arent those simply not little dust speckles?

They are no dust specks. I know the difference. I clean my camera's sensor and viewfinder myself.

My friend decided to keep the camera. I advised him not to use it for videos. I'm curious to see whether the stains will grow and/or others will develop.

[hooverfocus]

They are no dust specks. I know the difference. I clean my camera's sensor and viewfinder myself.

My friend decided to keep the camera. I advised him not to use it for videos. I'm curious to see whether the stains will grow and/or others will develop.

Well there's been at least one case, from a fellow friend Pentaxian here, which turned out to be dust rather than stains. He's no fool, and yet he almost fell for it, because apparently the spots looked the same. So in light of this, even I, at first, gave the benefit of doubt to my few isolated specks (of course, before they took a turn for the worst and developed into a somewhat severe, swarm-like case).

Best case scenario, it's just dust, really.
Acceptable case, it's stains, but if your friend doesn't need video or massive use, they'll just remain a few isolated spots indefinitiely.
Worst case, it's stains, your friend needs video or intense use, they'll develop further.
Give it a proper clean up and see if anything changes. If it's indeed a matter of stains, but he's in no rush, keep it that way and send it for replacement when the issue has settled.

[causey]

I'm pretty confident it's not dust; two of them have a specific form that I saw on the previous sensor: a kind of central point or nucleus surrounded by a circular 'fence'. In addition, dust doesn't show up with as much precision.

[mtngal]

It's interesting that yours developed stains after about 2 months. I don't think I've ever used video, but I have used live view several times, though never for very long. Just noticed (after about 2 and a half months) that mine has what looks very much like stains (along with some other dust). I had checked it a couple of times during the first month and didn't see anything, so thought I would be OK, even though my camera was made before the 49th week. While shooting at f18 today I noticed a ragged line near the center of the frame. While the rest of the "junk (dust)" disappeared after using the rocket blower a couple of times, the line of spots did not. My serial number is a 392 number, so having a serial number of 39 doesn't necessarily mean you won't have a stain issue. Tomorrow I'll do something about returning it.