[LightBug]

What size was the retainer ring? Where can we get it?

[Borrelli]

I have a K-5 here that's missing the button. I'm guessing the retainer ring should still be in the camera as it is larger than the hole. I ordered the button and packing. When it comes in I'll take off the front of the camera and try to find it. If I can I hope to take pictures and create a guide.

[figmental1978]

I was sent out a new button & plunger a few years ago, recently it came off again. The issue this time is that the super glue has corroded the plunger and now the plunger is half stuck in there and I'm not sure how to get it out.

[dayhiker]

Here's my chat with RICOH just a few minutes ago on me trying to get a replacement:
Please wait while we find an agent to assist you...
All agents are currently busy. Please stand by.
You have been connected to Paul C.
Paul C: Thank you for contacting RICOH IMAGING Chat Support. How may I help you?
John Jones: I have a k5 and the lens release button recently came off. I have called 720-988-2653, which I believe is the parts department, several times today and there is no answer. I wasn't sure how else to proceed, so I thought I would try the chat
Paul C: The repair of the lens relese button would have to go into the repair facility in Enfield CT for repair ... Ricoh no longer sells parts to the public , only the repair shop .... I'll get that info for you .. one moment
John Jones: I found a good bit of into online where they would mail the part since it has been so problematic. Is that no longer the case? Spending a couple hundred dollars for hte standard repair fees for a $.75 seems like a bit much
John Jones: I meant for a $0.75 part seems like a bit much. I left out a word.
Paul C: as I understand it, the complete relese componant is replaced not just the button
Paul C: here is the info for sending in
Paul C: We recommend (for US residents only) you return your camera
to the address listed below for examination.

Precision Camera
7 Anngina Drive
Enfield, CT 06082
800-665-6515
Precision Camera - Digital Camera Repair, Video Camera Repair

Be sure to use adequate packing material to prevent damage during shipping,
and have the parcel insured. Please include a note describing the problem and
give your name, return shipping address, and telephone number. For initial tracking purposes,
please note the serial number of your equipment for your own records.

If your camera is within the warranty period,
(one year from the original date of purchase),
please supply us with a dated proof of purchase,
and a request for warranty service.
John Jones: RICOH previously mailed people the button and a silicone cone for them to do it themself
Paul C: I believe they have change the way they handle these issues .... and we no longer have a way to contact the parts administrator
John Jones: This is an example of why people are switching to other brands.

[Not a Number]

John Jones: This is an example of why people are switching to other brands.

So despite reading the thread which tells us numerous times it is now useless to call the 702 number for parts or to ask Ricoh to send you the parts you decide to do so anyway and have to leave a cheap shot about switching brands. What did that achieve.? Paul C is in customer service and in sales so he could probably care less what brand you buy. All "he" is doing is going through the customer service decision tree menu and parroting back the canned responses.

Besides you can buy the parts (except the retaining ring which is probably just a "c" ring) from US Camera:
Genuine Pentax Replacement Parts from USCamera.com
Genuine Pentax Replacement Parts from UScamera.com

Whether or not it will still be WR after a DIY repair even with a new rubber cone remains to be seen.

Or just switch brands and be happy and probably make a lot of other people happy too. That is until you find out that brand has a similar policy.

[dayhiker]

Actually, I found the info about calling on a thread that was a couple of years old from a Google search. I tried calling and the parts numbers no longer worked. I did the chat and posted the results in the thread where I found the info. After posting, I see this newer thread and post the duplicate info then see that the issue had been clarified on the previous page. I totally did things in the wrong order but as to the issue at hand, this is really bad CS on the part of Ricoh.

So despite reading the thread which tells us numerous times it is now useless to call the 702 number for parts or to ask Ricoh to send you the parts you decide to do so anyway and have to leave a cheap shot about switching brands. What did that achieve.? Paul C is in customer service and in sales so he could probably care less what brand you buy. All "he" is doing is going through the customer service decision tree menu and parroting back the canned responses.

Besides you can buy the parts (except the retaining ring which is probably just a "c" ring) from US Camera:
Genuine Pentax Replacement Parts from USCamera.com
Genuine Pentax Replacement Parts from UScamera.com

Whether or not it will still be WR after a DIY repair even with a new rubber cone remains to be seen.

Or just switch brands and be happy and probably make a lot of other people happy too. That is until you find out that brand has a similar policy.

[Rupert]

Paul C is in customer service and in sales so he could probably care less what brand you buy.

So who do you vent on? All of us have had this type of experience at one place or another. What did it accomplish? Well, you can bet Paul C is not recommending Pentax to his friends.
Good service is a right, and not a convenience. If you accept bad service, don't expect it to get better because it won't.

Having a product failure due to the mfg. is not reason to shoot the messenger.

Regards!

[Not a Number]

I was sent out a new button & plunger a few years ago, recently it came off again. The issue this time is that the super glue has corroded the plunger and now the plunger is half stuck in there and I'm not sure how to get it out.

So maybe Ricoh has a valid point in trying to discourage DIY fixes after all, ya think?

[Borrelli]

If you want to do it right, you do need the (or a suitable) retainer clip and you have to open up the camera quite a bit. That superglue solution is just not durable enough in the long run. The proper fix is not something I would recommend anyone doing unless they feel safe opening up the camera to a fair extent and confident they could get it back the correct way round again.

[figmental1978]

So despite reading the thread which tells us numerous times it is now useless to call the 702 number for parts or to ask Ricoh to send you the parts you decide to do so anyway and have to leave a cheap shot about switching brands. What did that achieve.? Paul C is in customer service and in sales so he could probably care less what brand you buy. All "he" is doing is going through the customer service decision tree menu and parroting back the canned responses.

Besides you can buy the parts (except the retaining ring which is probably just a "c" ring) from US Camera:
Genuine Pentax Replacement Parts from USCamera.com
Genuine Pentax Replacement Parts from UScamera.com

Whether or not it will still be WR after a DIY repair even with a new rubber cone remains to be seen.

Or just switch brands and be happy and probably make a lot of other people happy too. That is until you find out that brand has a similar policy.

I'm in Australia and USCamera have an international page, I bought it from them for $22AUD which included postage. Skip Ricoh and use USCamera. My issue is still the glue in there.

[MikeD]

So despite reading the thread which tells us numerous times it is now useless to call the 702 number for parts or to ask Ricoh to send you the parts you decide to do so anyway and have to leave a cheap shot about switching brands. What did that achieve.? Paul C is in customer service and in sales so he could probably care less what brand you buy. All "he" is doing is going through the customer service decision tree menu and parroting back the canned responses.

Besides you can buy the parts (except the retaining ring which is probably just a "c" ring) from US Camera:
Genuine Pentax Replacement Parts from USCamera.com
Genuine Pentax Replacement Parts from UScamera.com

Whether or not it will still be WR after a DIY repair even with a new rubber cone remains to be seen.

Or just switch brands and be happy and probably make a lot of other people happy too. That is until you find out that brand has a similar policy.

Thanks for the info re: us camera they have the parts needed (2) totaling a little over $15 However the rest of your response to the other poster was what you and I would call a cheap shot. How is this poster supposed to reach Ricoh he has little other options other than complain to customer service, and frankly he is correct. My button just popped off and I am not too pleased either. I will order the parts and wait to see what comes this spring for new cameras from Pentax then wait to see it I will leave also, but it won't be over a button. I will say that Precision Camera wants $206 just to look at the camera not to mention shipping etc so for about $230 assuming they don't rip us off on the parts someone could get that button that should have never come off put back on.

[Rick_B]

I can report that a year later my "trick" of using the foam is still holding fast...in fact, I never have given it a second thought until today when I saw that this thread had postings to it..

All FWIW, of course.

[tempelorg]

I, too, just lost the button on my K-5. I checked the USCamera site (Pentax Genuine K5 Replacement Spare Parts | uscamera.com) and see that they now list also a "K5 Lens Lock Button Retaining Clip".

Previous posts here only mentioned the other two parts, and suggested that they'd have to be secured with a bit of glue, which isn't perfect.

Has anyone tried the new clip yet? Are those three pieces all one needs to re-attach the button without glue and without disassembling the camera?

[dayhiker]

I haven't tried it. I've been putting scotch tape over the button, which looks fantastic. I'll look into that clip. Thanks for the tip.

[tempelorg]

As I'm in Germany, buying the parts (with rather expensive shipping of $18) adds up to half of what I'd have to pay for a professional replacement by Foto Maerz in Germany. So I'll wait for someone else to report success with these parts before I decide whether to go that route or rather have the pros do it (fortunately, I still have a K20D and a K3 to work with).

Oh, and the service in Germany informed me that the replacement button would now be using a metal instead of a plastic part, making it less likely to come off again in the future.

I also suspect that this new C ring part goes at the end of the pin, i.e. inside the camera frame, meaning we'd have to disassemble it. I wonder if anyone who repaired this piece also did open the camera case in order to put a generic C ring onto the pin's end that way, instead of using glue on the cone shaped part? I could not find any message on this board that confirmed this, though.

So, if anyone has tried this with a generic C ring or this new C ring part, let us all know here, please!