[twitch]

However many symptoms, you have 1 faulty body. Seems hasty to ditch Pentax over 1 bad body.

[psychdoc]

However many symptoms, you have 1 faulty body. Seems hasty to ditch Pentax over 1 bad body.

It is my second k5. The first one was replaced...due to sensor stains and repeated freezing. The replacement was also freezing but I just decided to live with it. Then came the stuck shutter problem. Now we are talking about either QC or more worriedly a design flaw?

Plus I was not planning to ditch Pentax entirely but to use a different brand as my higher end camera. My old K2000 with the limiteds. And ?? to replace k5.

[twitch]

Ah OK, well 1 is bad luck, 2 is perhaps a pattern, id give it 1 more chance but id imagine many wouldnt

[dreamfoto]

My first body had stains, but I didn't bother returning it until I got faulty shutter speed dial

The replacement is working great I must say, the IQ even seems better to me

[garyk]

Yea, personally i would not ditch Pentax for sure. Canon is good but I like the K-5 body much better. It is smaller and lighter. And the lenses are smaller and lighter also. I use Sigma but will have to say the Sigma EX series lenses are really sharp. The L series lens is HEAVY and the CAmera is HEAVY. I am hanging on to my pentax glass hopping for a good camera. But I aint got my hopes up. I have been let down for the past 2 years with Pentax... Ahhhh. Except for the K-x... I love that guy.
Now that I have canon as a good backup. I am going to hound the hell out of Pentax. I want a camera worthy of the 1350 I paid damnit. Not a Edsel... Does anyone remember the Edsel...

[Rupert]

Can't argue with you much.....I'm not in your shoes and my K5 is near perfect so far, not even any flash problems whatsoever.

There are things that are not easily explained....like my 43 year old son that is about to embark on his 4th marriage.......got three bad ones? Well, there are all kinds of ways to look at it, isn't there? They were all different "brands", and so is his new one......eventually he will get a "good one"......or take up golf......do you play golf?

Best Regards & Good Luck!

[Ash]

like my 43 year old son that is about to embark on his 4th marriage.......got three bad ones?

Ha! He certainly hasn't given up on marriage/women yet, has he?
But back to topic, it's totally up to you whether you want to stay with the K-5 or not. There are plenty of other choices out there, and one of them may be more suited to you... or not. Check your needs, and look around for the right system. And keep it in perspective, you're not going into a marriage contract or property mortgage here.

[jimH]

I've never had a computer that didn't cause me problems. Let's face it, us old guys, used to simple, mechanical, 35mm cameras, just aren't prepared to deal with these computerized new DSLRs. If it's got a CPU in it, it's going to give you grief. If you get a good one, no problems. If you get some bad ones, you will loose your religion trying to get them to behave.

I'm guessing that if you owned a Canon or a Nikon, or Panasonic, you would have probably experienced similar problems, if you use them enough. I'm confident that Pentax is no better or no worse from the standpoint of a failure rate than the other brands.

[eaglem]

Can't say that I've had any problems with my K-5 whatsoever but will say, if you have problems and it's still in warranty send it back and let them know you'll continue to send it back until they get it right. If they know this is going to happen they may just put the extra effort in to sort the problem out. Good luck with it!

[Byrd-2020]

Well, I guess this is what happens when you attach a lens to a computer. Computers (and their software) are fairly complex things. Lots of problems to work out, and there's always pressure to release your latest creation before it has been thoroughly 'debugged'.

It is with some pleasure,then, that I look at my two (one silver, one black) Pentax MXs. I have owned the silver MX for app. twenty-four years. (It was my second.) I have owned my black MX (my third) for around ten years now.

No 'bugs', here. Just solid, reliable performance.

Eric H. (at Pentaxs.com) just went over my silver MX. And this baby is running like it was 'showroom new'.

A shot a few rolls this week with my 77ltd and my Zeiss 100mm on the MXs. (*All* my lenses are 'full frame'.)

Forget the K-5. (I just bought one and I'm probably sending it back.) My investment in K mount glass is secure as long as I have my MXs.

[djc737]

My Canon experience was with a Elan 2 and an EOS-3 back in the film days. The Elan had the very well known bad battery contact problem so it would periodically go dead when the mirror slap caused it to jump off it's contacts. The EOS-3 could not shoot in low light to save it's life and it was a PRO camera. My Oly digicams worked very well for their time, liked some models better than others.
Am going to sell out of Oly at least the FT side soon as the E-5 plus Oly zooms are still too big for me. I am settling on my K-5 plus primes and my mFT bodies and lenses. My direction has been to smaller and smaller setups so Pentax and mFT are where it is at at this time.
With cameras more so than other electronic gear, it is still quite a crap shoot as to weather you get a good copy of a body or a lens. The bad ones are not numerous but they are out there and when you get one, you pay for it in frustration and images lost. I feel your pain and don't blame you for wanting to exit. I have a favorite saying, "The solution to every problem will soon be the next problem". YMMV, Dave

[psychdoc]

Went to the camera store to try out the Nikon D7000 as a possible replacement for K5 if after I send it in for repair it acts up again.

No hope of salvation! Just did not like the way it felt in my hands. Did not like the way you check for white balance options after a shot.

Guess I need to look at some Canon options. I had a friend who had a cheaper one that had some kind of jog-wheel that I detested. Hope they have one with a nicer body.

What is a comparable Canon with the K5 and Nikon D7000. Anybody?

[twitch]

Went to the camera store to try out the Nikon D7000 as a possible replacement for K5 if after I send it in for repair it acts up again.

No hope of salvation! Just did not like the way it felt in my hands. Did not like the way you check for white balance options after a shot.

Guess I need to look at some Canon options. I had a friend who had a cheaper one that had some kind of jog-wheel that I detested. Hope they have one with a nicer body.

What is a comparable Canon with the K5 and Nikon D7000. Anybody?

The Canon 60D is certainly lower spec (no weather sealing, no sync port, no per lens AF adjustment), the Canon 7D is perhaps slightly higher spec (or at least higher price). No exact match for K-5.

There's a 7D vs K-5 review on this site.

[DaveBlack]

Ugh!
After enduring stain, then camera freezing at AF-C hi speed shooting, now my K5 wont take pictures. It tries to focus and then states 'battery depleted'. Changed to a newly charged battery. Says the same thing. But when I turn the camera on and off, it shows a full battery and will playback the pictures on the card. When I try to take a picture the shutter wont fire...

This is getting to be a bit much...

I have one K-5 that died annd stated "battery depleted". I sent it to CRIS and they fixed it in less than three weeks with Pentax paying since it is under warrenty. They replaced the main PCB/FPC plus adjust to manufactorers sped, general check & clean, update foirmware and reset All. Camera worked great for a week (about 400 shots) and then died again over the 4th of July holiday weekend. So off to CRIS again. Luckily I have two K-5's and the other one is working perfectly with about 3,000 shots. The one that isn't working had about 8,000 shots on it.

Dave

[abgsiddiq]

Chill dude, my k10d and k7 shutter died last time. I did also wonder of jumping ship. After some checking, it was my lens which destroyed both of the shutter. Just take it to repairs.