[Qwntm]

I noticed in the K-5 serial number database that ALL of the SN's start with a 40. My new K-5 which I got today from B&H is 39546xx.

What's up with that? Grey market for the US? I'm scared and confused...

[Rin]

serial nr database?

my first K5 was within the 38xxxxx regio and the second 39xxxxx and my current is one of the last of the 39 series, manufacturing date was march of that one.

[lammie200]

I noticed in the K-5 serial number database that ALL of the SN's start with a 40. My new K-5 which I got today from B&H is 39546xx.

What's up with that? Grey market for the US? I'm scared and confused...

...perhaps you didn't look past the second page. Beginning on the third page there are serial numbers that start with 39xxxxxx. As some one has posted before, Pentax serial numbering isn't consistent. If you want to find out when your camera was manufactured you need to load the PhotoMe software and look at the EXIF data from a photo. It will tell you a lot of things including the internal serial number of the camera, the total cummulative shutter count, the manufacture date, etc. Check it out. I would assume that you have a camera that was manufactured in March or April of this year with practically no shutter count. Very unlikely grey market.

P.S. I am fairly new to Pentax and the K-5. Hopefully some one else can chime in and help if something that I wrote is wrong.

[Qwntm]

...perhaps you didn't look past the second page. Beginning on the third page there are serial numbers that start with 39xxxxxx. As some one has posted before, Pentax serial numbering isn't consistent. If you want to find out when your camera was manufactured you need to load the PhotoMe software and look at the EXIF data from a photo. It will tell you a lot of things including the internal serial number of the camera, the total cummulative shutter count, the manufacture date, etc. Check it out. I would assume that you have a camera that was manufactured in March or April of this year with practically no shutter count. Very unlikely grey market.

P.S. I am fairly new to Pentax and the K-5. Hopefully some one else can chime in and help if something that I wrote is wrong.

New to the forum, didn't see the other pages. OK, so why did B&H send me a camera from stock that should have been sold in January/February? Is it a refurbished model? It seemed new. Should I worry.

Cameras around these SN's had stain issues. I guess I have to check for that. Battery is charging...

[imtheguy]

If if makes you feel better, my first k-5 body from
October 15 was 3823875 and was stained, the new replacement body in
December was 3909188 and also stained, but the latest replacement (received yesterday)
July is 382388 manufacture date 2011-05-05.

The last one appears to have a perfect sensor, perfect low light focus and has not locked up in my preliminary testing with a low battery. It had 75 clicks on it per PhotoMe and narry a mark so appears new. But its almost the same serial I started with. Go figure.

[DogLover]

New to the forum, didn't see the other pages. OK, so why did B&H send me a camera from stock that should have been sold in January/February? Is it a refurbished model? It seemed new. Should I worry.

Cameras around these SN's had stain issues. I guess I have to check for that. Battery is charging...

Again, serial # is not an accurate indicator of build date. Check "mfr date" by opening a photo from the camera in PhotoMe. It's a free program.

[Qwntm]

Again, serial # is not an accurate indicator of build date. Check "mfr date" by opening a photo from the camera in PhotoMe. It's a free program.

Owning a Pentax is like owning an Alfa Romero... but what fun!!!

Yes, I'll do that. Battery is charging! Can't wait to start playing... Thanks!

[geezer52]

If if makes you feel better, my first k-5 body from
October 15 was 3823875 and was stained, the new replacement body in
December was 3909188 and also stained

Wow, my K5 also purchased in December with 11/26/2010 manufacture date had a SN 3909181. Yours is one of the closest SNwise to mine I've yet seen. Fortunately so far I've experienced none of the major problems reported with this edition, stains, flops, etc. The quality of this model has been kind of erratic, but if you get a good one it is a marvel.

(added) just looked at the SN DB, and saw that SN 3909179 and 3909183, even closer to my Sn also report no problems at least at the time of their posting, very odd how hit and miss the problems are.

[JeffJS]

New to the forum, didn't see the other pages. OK, so why did B&H send me a camera from stock that should have been sold in January/February? Is it a refurbished model? It seemed new. Should I worry.

Cameras around these SN's had stain issues. I guess I have to check for that. Battery is charging...

The camera has a 1 year warranty and you can extend it 2 years for $20..

Pentax Two-Year Extended Warranty for the K5 and KR 80227 B&H

What happened when you charged the battery, put a lens on the camera, and turned it on? If, and at this point that's a BIG if, you have a Stained camera, you will not see it in all likelihood until you have taken a few thousand shots. My first one had 3200+ before the stains appeared. Rather than worrying about the SN, take a picture, check the unmodified photo with PhotoMe and view the manufacture date. That's the number that Really matters.

Now, if you paid for New and feel you got a Used one (the shutter count should be 0 or nearly 0 for your first photo, also verifiable with PhotoMe), then return it for another one. If you're concerned you got gray market or refurb, register the SN with Pentax and check it with them.

Until you Have a problem, enjoy the camera.

[Qwntm]

The camera has a 1 year warranty and you can extend it 2 years for $20..

Pentax Two-Year Extended Warranty for the K5 and KR 80227 B&H

What happened when you charged the battery, put a lens on the camera, and turned it on? If, and at this point that's a BIG if, you have a Stained camera, you will not see it in all likelihood until you have taken a few thousand shots. My first one had 3200+ before the stains appeared. Rather than worrying about the SN, take a picture, check the unmodified photo with PhotoMe and view the manufacture date. That's the number that Really matters.

Now, if you paid for New and feel you got a Used one (the shutter count should be 0 or nearly 0 for your first photo, also verifiable with PhotoMe), then return it for another one. If you're concerned you got gray market or refurb, register the SN with Pentax and check it with them.

Until you Have a problem, enjoy the camera.

Yes, I agree. As soon as the battery gets done charging I'll fire off a few shots and check the date of manufacture with Photome.

I'm really not worried anymore, once I saw that the SN's are all jumbled up anyway. The packaging and the camera looked straight from japan. I'd be really surprised if the shutter count was anything but 1.

What a cool camera. So small and solid. battery sure takes a LOOONG time to charge!!

Thanks for everybody's help!

[JeffJS]

Yep, it's about 4.5 hours for a new battery to charge. Well worth the wait and I'm sure you'll enjoy the camera. Hoping to see some of what you see when you get it up and running.

[Class A]

It had 75 clicks on it per PhotoMe and narry a mark so appears new.

New ones should have a shutter count of zero. Not to worry, though, if you are happy with your copy.

Grey market for the US?

I think it is safe to exclude that possibility. Users on this forum, however, have reported to have received items from B&H that had been handled by someone else before. So you might have received one that someone else had tried before. The shutter count (-> check with PhotoME) will tell you whether you received a factory new model. As I wrote above, the count should be zero (plus the test shots you did).

[JeffJS]

New ones should have a shutter count of zero. Not to worry, though, if you are happy with your copy.


I think it is safe to exclude that possibility. Users on this forum, however, have reported to have received items from B&H that had been handled by someone else before. So you might have received one that someone else had tried before. The shutter count (-> check with PhotoME) will tell you whether you received a factory new model. As I wrote above, the count should be zero (plus the test shots you did).

My replacement K5 came with a shutter count of 3, factory fresh, from Japan (or wherever they originate from). The original one had a count of 0.

[Qwntm]

My replacement K5 came with a shutter count of 3, factory fresh, from Japan (or wherever they originate from). The original one had a count of 0.

Battery is charged, Photome says I had a count of 3 and a manufacture date of 02-09-2011.

I guess the 3 shutter count is due to the live view I hit and a preview shot and then the actual photo I took. I know I activated the shutter without taking a shot while I was playing around.

What a fantastically laid out machine! I'm going to really enjoy using this thing!

Thanks again for everyone's help, I learned a lot!

[Adam]

Pentax serial numbers are NOT always sequential:

Pentax K-5 Serial Numbers - Pentax Serial Number Database - PentaxForums.com