[Rupert]

I'm trying to determine how many have this problem? One is too many, but a defective batch of parts is common in any electronic product. It appears that only a limited number of K5's are affected.........is that a fair analysis? Best guess?
A faster turn around time would make this less of a problem.......I am sure hoping to see better from Ricoh, they have a lot of PR work ahead of them.

Regards

[toooldtocare]

My K5 was delivered via UPS a few hours ago. The box was rather hot from sitting in the UPS truck when I unpacked it. I reset everything to my liking and have been shooting it since. So far all is well. Mine did not fail until after being in the heat (mostly sunny) for several hours. I was not comfortable, and I am sure it wasn't either. Hopefully this ends the problem, I really do like this camera.

Wayne

[Edvinas]

Don't lough at me... but it seems that I can't figure out what those mirror flops are about.

What are the symptomps of them?

[lammie200]

Don't lough at me... but it seems that I can't figure out what those mirror flops are about.

What are the symptomps of them?

Evidently the camera's mirror moves up and down multiple times when any button is activated and/or moves up and down multiple times when the shutter is activated. Evidently the camera is not taking multiple pictures when this happens. I have not experienced it myself. Some people seem to think that it is related to heat and/or humidity. Some people seem to think that it is related to a fully charged (or overcharged?) battery. At least one reputable person has said that his camera was fine for appoximately 6500 shutter actvations before the flopping started. It seems like a problem that only happens with some substantial camera usage, if at all.

Some defective cameras have been serviced. The USA service agency has termed the problem "mirror overrun." The concensus for a defective part seems to be the main circuit board. At least one person has said that their returned camera began flopping soon upon return. Other people have said that they have received their camera back fully repaired.

Some people are serioulsy freaked out about it. Other people seem to be taking it in stride. It has been difficult to ascertain what percentage of cameras are actually defective. In the USA, an inexpensive $20 Pentax extended warranty is available to extend the warranty period from 1 year to 3 years from the purchase date. That seems like cheap insurance if you can push your camera to take thousands of shots to be sure that your camera will continue to function properly or will need to be repaired.

---

Last edited by lammie200; 08-30-2011 at 11:08 PM.

[Schraubstock]

Don't lough at me... but it seems that I can't figure out what those mirror flops are about.

What are the symptomps of them?

Look here: RiceHigh's Pentax Blog: K-5 Mirror "Jumpy" Videos Galaxy

[Edvinas]

Thank you for an explanation.

No, both my K-5s don't have this problem... yet one is around 20 thousand actuations, another around 10 thousand.

[dlacouture]

In my instance, symptoms were:
- at first, a slightly louder noise (feels like I'm back in my K20 days) for some shots.
- then, the mirror fails to drop down immediately after a photo. It takes one second or about then moves down.
- and last, the mirror starts moving by itself between shoots...

Not really troublesome for the moment, but as my K5 had to be serviced for the stains and a defective front wheel, I hope they will fix this too...

[toooldtocare]

Some people are serioulsy freaked out about it. Other people seem to be taking it in stride. It has been difficult to ascertain what percentage of cameras are actually defective. In the USA, an inexpensive $20 Pentax extended warranty is available to extend the warranty period from 1 year to 3 years from the purchase date. That seems like cheap insurance if you can push your camera to take thousands of shots to be sure that your camera will continue to function properly or will need to be repaired.

Can you tell me about the $20 warranty? I got my K5 from B&H and they quoted about $200 for an extended warranty. Below is a cut and paste from the K5 section on their site. I though $200 was a little high for a warranty on a camera I will probably replace in 3 years anyway, but $20 would be worth it. Is this from Pentax, or another dealer that also sells the cameras, or CRIS?

Thanks,

Wayne

"From B&H site for K5 body only"
Buy Together & Save
Protect Your Purchase
Learn More
3-Year: $194.99
5-Year: $389.98 best value!

"From B&H site for K5 body and kit lens"
Protect Your Purchase
Learn More
3-Year: $204.99
5-Year: $409.98 best value!

[lammie200]

Can you tell me about the $20 warranty? I got my K5 from B&H and they quoted about $200 for an extended warranty. Below is a cut and paste from the K5 section on their site. I though $200 was a little high for a warranty on a camera I will probably replace in 3 years anyway, but $20 would be worth it. Is this from Pentax, or another dealer that also sells the cameras, or CRIS?

Thanks,

Wayne

"From B&H site for K5 body only"
Buy Together & Save
Protect Your Purchase
Learn More
3-Year: $194.99
5-Year: $389.98 best value!

"From B&H site for K5 body and kit lens"
Protect Your Purchase
Learn More
3-Year: $204.99
5-Year: $409.98 best value!

This is from Adorama. They seem to keep it in stock whereas B&H's website frequently says that it is out of stock. It is from Pentax, not a third party. I think that Pentax wants you to purchase it within 90 days of the purchase of your camera. However, I have heard that they will honor it if it is purchased within a year. I also think that it is just for camera bodies, not lenses.

I have two, one for the K-5 and one for the K-r. My biggest problem is going to be pushing them both for the three year warranty period so that they have enough clicks to present problems if there will be any. Work is getting the best of me.

80227 Pentax 2 Year Extended Warranty for K5, KX and KR Digital SLR Camera (Total Warranty 3 years - 1 Year Standard + 2 Years Additional)

[Jim Radcliffe]

I was the one who started this thread and wanted to report that my K5 is now back from CRIS in Chandler, AZ. They installed new firmware and repaired the mirror-overrun issue. So far the camera is working properly. No mirror-flops to date but I have not had a chance to really use it.

I was pleased with the turnaround time, just under two weeks. The camera arrived packaged properly.

My job is keeping me from getting out to take photos with it so I really cannot give it a workout yet. (I work with hurricane related matters and the impact of Irene is causing me to work 15 hour days). I will report further when I get a chance to use the camera more.

Bottom line is that the camera appears to be working as it should now and I am pleased with both the work and the turnaround time from CRIS.

[FotoPete]

Evidently the camera's mirror moves up and down multiple times when any button is activated and/or moves up and down multiple times when the shutter is activated. Evidently the camera is not taking multiple pictures when this happens. I have not experienced it myself. Some people seem to think that it is related to heat and/or humidity. Some people seem to think that it is related to a fully charged (or overcharged?) battery. At least one reputable person has said that his camera was fine for appoximately 6500 shutter actvations before the flopping started. It seems like a problem that only happens with some substantial camera usage, if at all.

Some defective cameras have been serviced. The USA service agency has termed the problem "mirror overrun." The concensus for a defective part seems to be the main circuit board. At least one person has said that their returned camera began flopping soon upon return. Other people have said that they have received their camera back fully repaired.

Some people are serioulsy freaked out about it. Other people seem to be taking it in stride. It has been difficult to ascertain what percentage of cameras are actually defective. In the USA, an inexpensive $20 Pentax extended warranty is available to extend the warranty period from 1 year to 3 years from the purchase date. That seems like cheap insurance if you can push your camera to take thousands of shots to be sure that your camera will continue to function properly or will need to be repaired.

I don't think this is a model issue but a unit specific or one as pertains to the electronics. My K200D did that a long time ago. I had multiple sets of Eneloops and Sony CycleEnergy AA NiMH's but couldn't really pinpoint the issue but it would show similar symptoms sporadically. It would flop on the shutter half press sometimes one, sometimes, multiple times. It was fixed under warranty but there was no mention what part but that was the end of that.

[vario]

Thats good news Jim. I hope you get a chance to give it a workout, so you can see if the repair holds over time.

[toooldtocare]

This is from Adorama. They seem to keep it in stock whereas B&H's website frequently says that it is out of stock. It is from Pentax, not a third party. I think that Pentax wants you to purchase it within 90 days of the purchase of your camera. However, I have heard that they will honor it if it is purchased within a year. I also think that it is just for camera bodies, not lenses.

I have two, one for the K-5 and one for the K-r. My biggest problem is going to be pushing them both for the three year warranty period so that they have enough clicks to present problems if there will be any. Work is getting the best of me.

80227 Pentax 2 Year Extended Warranty for K5, KX and KR Digital SLR Camera (Total Warranty 3 years - 1 Year Standard + 2 Years Additional)

Thanks, I sent them an email asking if I can also purchase it even though the camera came from B&H. It appeared that I could, but I do not know how they would link the warranty to my camera since I was not purchasing one from them.

Wayne

[lammie200]

Thanks, I sent them an email asking if I can also purchase it even though the camera came from B&H. It appeared that I could, but I do not know how they would link the warranty to my camera since I was not purchasing one from them.

Wayne

As far as I know it shouldn't matter if you bought the camera from someplace different than where you purchase the warranty. I did the same thing. I think that what they will want is a proof of purchase date for each. I just saved the receipts. The purchase dates between my cameras and the extended warranties are within 90 days of each other. I am sure that Pentax will be reasonable enough to honor them. Like I said, I even heard that they will honor them if you purchase the warranty within the first year of possession of the camera. You just might not want to wait that long in case they stop offering it.

Let me also add that the warranty card mentions something about calling or registering online. That is crap. There is nothing that allows you to register the extended warranty. Like I said above, the validity is based on the receipts. Don't lose them!

[rvannatta]

I was the one who started this thread and wanted to report that my K5 is now back from CRIS in Chandler, AZ. They installed new firware and repaired the mirror-overrun issue. So far the camera is working properly. No mirror-flops to date but I have not had a chance to really use it.

I was pleased with the turnaround time, just under two weeks. The camera arrived packaged properly.

My job is keeping me from getting out to take photos with it so I really cannot give it a workout yet. (I work with hurricane related matters and the impact of Irene is causing me to work 15 hour days). I will report furether when I get a chance to use the camera more.

Bottom line is that the camera appears to be working as it should now and I am pleased with both the work and the turnaround time from CRIS.

You must have pull. YOurs got fixed quicker than mine, I haven't used it a lot since I got it back, but so far so good, and it was 'over-running' so aggressively that you couldn't use it normally when I sent it in.

I too got the latest sofware upgrade --- I hadn't put in the GPS upgrade (either one of them) since no one admitted that it changed anything except to add GPS support, and I don't have a GPS for it....