[JayBee]

Well, just sent my k5d in to Pentax Canada service this morning... let's see what kind of turn around we'll have.

Pat

And the race is on! I sent mine today too.

John

[Cannikin]

I hoped it wouldn't come to this, but after a month and some more video since I first discovered the stains, they have indeed gotten noticably worse. They've become darker and more obvious, becoming visible down to f/11. A few other suspicious spots have also appeared, though I haven't conclusively determined them to be new "stains".

Oh well, just shipped it off to Pentax today. Time to pull out the good ol' K-x in the meantime (and retrain myself to avoid the 1/100s mirror slap/shutter blur). I'm missing all the features of the K-5 already.

[vario]

Pentax Canada has sent me a new body instead of trying to fix the stain issue with the body i sent them. A new body is on the way now, as i was just informed.
I got this originally from ProDigital 2000 on Ebay, and they have been great in this whole process as well. I should also mention i am in the US.

[Moritz]

Stains also on my K 5
SN:3821433

[Tringle WP]

Great news for me today. Had an email from Pentax France's head of service apologising profusely for the sensor problem, and the Christmas hols delay. They have ordered a replacement and it should be in the mail to me by the end of the week. Huzzah!

[Mikhail_Kriviniouk]

Mine has stains
SN 3822449

Russian Pentax repair shop told me that
1. Pentax International Warranty does not apply in Russia (so - sending back to UK, where I bought it)
2. Software correction of the data from the sensor must be done on my camera. They make me laugh. They call it service ))

SRS Microsystems just told me to send it to them to get replacement. I have to wait now until 11 January as EVERYTHING is on holiday in Russia until then, including express shipping companies.

[bobmaxja]

This seem like dust to me not stain

[Mortox]

from B&H - will be here Friday - if it's affected i'm saving up for the D800.

[mcbishton]

I had two bodies that were stained, the third was clean (much later serial number than the first two)

Can I vote three times

[telfish]

I had two bodies that were stained, the third was clean (much later serial number than the first two)

Can I vote three times

I am on my 5th body, finally got one with just one spot, will stick with it as I am tired of playing camera roulette.

[Hound Tooth]

I am on my 5th body, finally got one with just one spot, will stick with it as I am tired of playing camera roulette.

Better hope it doesn't start developing more stains later on!

I bought mine a lot more than 30 days ago, so Adorama referred me to Pentax Warranty for support. My camera is going to CRIS in AZ tomorrow at a huge shipping cost (fast cross-continent shipping insured for $1600 costs a lot of money). I was told to expect a 15-20 day delay before anything gets sent back to me. Funny, this doesn't feel like the kind of treatment I should be getting for professional gear. I get better service from eBay sellers who pander trinkets.

Sucks to be an early adopter... also sucks to have wasted $50 on professional cleaning only to find out these stains don't come off.

[Hypocorism]

I had two bodies that were stained, the third was clean (much later serial number than the first two)

Can I vote three times

To make the poll accurately representative you both should vote on the condition of every single body that you are issued with. How many untested trys do they need to fluke it right?

I am on my 5th body, finally got one with just one spot, will stick with it as I am tired of playing camera roulette.

That's sick. Five tries is way beyond a joke. You really should send an official correspondence to Pentax detailing your saga, it would be interesting to see if they even know about it -- I suspect that there's a lot of dealers playing musical chairs going on over this fiasco.
What next? Undertakers issuing 5 or 6 different size coffins at funerals until they strike one that fits?

Pet hate Proposal:
I want to see cameras (and lenses too) sealed at manufacture level in that super-strong clear plastic preformed welded-sealed stuff that you have to use a box-cutter to even get at it.

Most of you would be familiar with the tamper-proof shit I mean, lots of goodies we buy come in it these days, totally form-fitted and destructive. It must be cut and then non-resealable if opened.
Then no dealer could resell an opened & returned or in store-opened unit passed off as a new, incl. new replacements, item. Instead it would have to go back to the mfgr to be checked and sealed-repackaged as a genuine refurbish.

For customers who insist on handling a camera before purchase, B&M dealers should have demo-allocated-only units for that, just like automobile dealers have dedicated demo car models for hands-on showroom and test-drive purpose that can't be [re]sold as new cars (by law).

Yep let 'em add $10 to the price if they must, I'd gladly pay that for the surety.

Is that too much to ask for both consumer protection & industry benefit all round?

.R.

[Mikhail_Kriviniouk]

This seem like dust to me not stain

do these two look like dust to you? Well, not to the dealer that sold me the camera. They agreed to exchange it ;-)

[Hound Tooth]

do these two look like dust to you? Well, not to the dealer that sold me the camera. They agreed to exchange it ;-)

Anyone who would call those dust specks is blind.

[cbaytan]

do these two look like dust to you? Well, not to the dealer that sold me the camera. They agreed to exchange it ;-)

They are definitely stain spots, dust is lot more low contrast, like below.