[JeffJS]

No other company in the USA can work on Pentax cameras except C.R.I.S.. They can but CRIS is the official repair center who gets all the info and parts from Pentax. Other companies would not be able to do warranty repairs and get parts at no cost. They would have to buy the parts and charge the customers. CRIS has been thee best service center for years. There is a reason Sigma uses them and many other before Pentax and why they have a remarkable rating from the BBB. The issues all seem to be with the K-5, now thats strange. Never read of a K10D coming back not working, or any other camera.

Bull.

From the Pentax USA Website.

Please ship all products requiring warranty repair to the service facility nearest you. We do accept walk-in or repair drop offs at the PENTAX Service Facility.

PENTAX Service Center
250 N. 54th Street
Chandler, AZ
85226

Advance Camera Repair & Sales
8124 S.W. Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway
Portland, OR
97225
503-292-6996

California Precision Service
1714 28th Street
Sacramento, CA
95816
916-451-1335

Camera Repair Japan
3435 Breckinridge Blvd, Ste. 130
Duluth, GA
30096
770-935-9771

C.R.I.S.
250 North 54th Street
Chandler, AZ
85226
480-940-1103

Forster's Camera Service
40 West 2950 South
Salt Lake City, UT
84115
801-487-1288

Photo Tech
1413 South King Street, Ste 201
Honolulu, HI
96814
808-952-6161

Picture Perfect Unlimited
25876 The Old Road, Ste 300
Valencia, CA
91381
818-998-5204

Precision Camera and Video Repair
3 Anngina Drive
Enfield, CT
06082
860-749-7380

United Camera and Binocular Repair
1062 Tower Lane
Bensenville, IL
60106
630-595-2525


The OPs camera slipped through whatever cracks there are in CRIS's QA checks. That's all. It isn't the end of the world nor the end of CRIS. They've provided him with a Prepaid UPS label to send the camera back. Hopefully for him it will be fixed right, he can then go on taking pictures with it or sell it (whatever he decides to do), and move on.

[jcp5]

jamesm007 -
Your post is all over the board/frantic and "off topic" from my post and others ---bogus posters??---CRIS A+ rating???---- Don't blame CRIS???- Hoya/Pentax poor QC?? (Who do you work for and what are you taking about??)

I stated in the first line that I was commenting on one "particular K5 repair" at CRIS by "one particular technician" at CRIS. This means I was not commenting on the overall performance of CRIS in general which, given their history, is quite good. I also stated they were doing their job and sending him a label so they can do a good repair. My "reality check" was all about a sloppy/careless repair by one tech. I think we all understand that service center technicians are not all the same. Some more through and capable then others. Some just have a bad day. This one had a really bad day. You simply do not change the ckt bd that has really outdated firmware on it without updating the firmware first --then you do the required adjustments. It is really important. I am sure the CRIS supervisor will try to sort out what happened with this repair because it not up to their usual quality repair standards.

As far as my comment on the response the OP got from the CRIS supervisor "YES" he should have simply said "I am very sorry". He had no knowledge of the quality of the repair yet. It has been by experience with customers that when they get a bad repair they should get a simple apology and a promise to make things right vs excuses.That is all a customer really wants/needs to hear. If there is a quality check at CRIS after the repair then "Quality Assurance" is not the appropriate term for "this particular camera" check.

You took my post and others about one specific repair and unnecessarily turned it in to something it wasn't. Learn to read better please.

[jamesm007]

Bull.

From the Pentax USA Website.

Please ship all products requiring warranty repair to the service facility nearest you. We do accept walk-in or repair drop offs at the PENTAX Service Facility.

PENTAX Service Center
250 N. 54th Street
Chandler, AZ
85226

Advance Camera Repair & Sales
8124 S.W. Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway
Portland, OR
97225
503-292-6996

California Precision Service
1714 28th Street
Sacramento, CA
95816
916-451-1335

Camera Repair Japan
3435 Breckinridge Blvd, Ste. 130
Duluth, GA
30096
770-935-9771

C.R.I.S.
250 North 54th Street
Chandler, AZ
85226
480-940-1103

Forster's Camera Service
40 West 2950 South
Salt Lake City, UT
84115
801-487-1288

Photo Tech
1413 South King Street, Ste 201
Honolulu, HI
96814
808-952-6161

Picture Perfect Unlimited
25876 The Old Road, Ste 300
Valencia, CA
91381
818-998-5204

Precision Camera and Video Repair
3 Anngina Drive
Enfield, CT
06082
860-749-7380

United Camera and Binocular Repair
1062 Tower Lane
Bensenville, IL
60106
630-595-2525


The OPs camera slipped through whatever cracks there are in CRIS's QA checks. That's all. It isn't the end of the world nor the end of CRIS. They've provided him with a Prepaid UPS label to send the camera back. Hopefully for him it will be fixed right, he can then go on taking pictures with it or sell it (whatever he decides to do), and move on.

See this address for CRIS Cameras?

C.R.I.S.
250 North 54th Street
Chandler, AZ 85226

Remember the street address. Then read below.


Nope your reading old INFO. Go to Pentax USA website and download a warranty return paper. It will only give one address and thats CRIS in Arizona. You don't know what your talking about no other company can do warranty work for Pentax other than CRIS.

For Factory Service, please send to:
PENTAX SERVICE DEPARTMENT:
250 N. 54th Street
Chandler, AZ 85226


The other shops were shut out of warranty work. Why do you think everyone in the USA sends cameras to CRIS?

Now click on the part in the website where it tells you how to send in your dSLR for warranty repair. This is something you may not know, but fact is only CRIS can do warranty work now for Pentax in the USA.

See the address that says Pentax Service below? Thats CRIS cameras!

How do I send my equipment to PENTAX Service?
Print a return shipping label:

CLICK HERE to open a return shipping label (PDF, 56 KB) that you can print and attach to the outside of your package.

If you are unable to print or use the above return shipping label for any reason, follow these instructions for packaging and shipping your PENTAX equipment for repair service:

Please package your PENTAX product carefully and ship it (postage pre-paid and insured) to the following address:

PENTAX SERVICE DEPARTMENT
250 N. 54th Street
Chandler, AZ 85226

Telephone: 1-800-877-0155











Please ship the following items along with your product:

• If within one year from the date of purchase, include a copy of your dated proof of purchase (sales receipt, charge slip, etc.). This is required for all warranty repairs; otherwise, we will send you a repair estimate
• Alternatively, if you own a PENTAX Extended Warranty for your product, you can also include the appropriate Extended Warranty documents
• A note explaining the problem
• Please include your address and daytime phone number

Please note: We only service the United States market (including U.S. territories). International customers seeking service must contact a PENTAX representative in their own country/region.

Now for the OP post here is his title "HELP! HELP! K5 not working/back from CRIS". Note he is in distress. I have written posts the same, I am no better. But the help he needed was to be told the truth.

Truth is we don't know how the camera arrived not in proper working order Given the QC issues with the K-5 odds are high IMO that the repair was done but something failed in transit. The OP wanted to know what to do. Truth is I could buy a K-5 but I would not touch it with a 10' poll at this time. So I am not a K-5 fanboy, but a Pentax fanboy and can give him a IMO from a none K-5 fans position.

He can still take the info written to you and think about it. Hoya sold to Ricoh while making the K-5. No other Pentax dSLR has had so many problems during its first year. Even repairs go bad. The repairs are done per Pentax spec with Pentax parts but fail. The OP was calling out CRIS name in bold and you can believe it was in distress. If the camera comes back fine, then what? I would sell it as fast as possible and buy a K-7 and wait for the next best thing. That's my help, the truth as I see it. There seems (even hard for me to believe) to be some QC issues with the K-5. I would not wait until its value goes down to find out how well it holds up. I may buy one, if the QC issues go away. I really wish they would.

No offence only IMOs. Don't read the tone with me and malice, but one of me caring. Why else would I write. I have been here for years and am a Pentax fanboy.

Take a look at this old post of mine calling out Samsung's name. I know why people put the repair centers name in the tilte
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/41162-poor-samsung-service.html

[jamesm007]

[quote=jcp5;1672660]jamesm007 -
Your post is all over the board/frantic and "off topic" from my post and others ---bogus posters??---CRIS A+ rating???---- Don't blame CRIS???- Hoya/Pentax poor QC?? (Who do you work for and what are you taking about??)

---

Last edited by jamesm007; 10-06-2011 at 03:31 PM.

[psychdoc]

Its not off topic, you have a post that says Help Help CRIS is sending back bad none working cameras.

Umm...Sorry! I think people are getting confused here. It appears that james007 is responding to a post by jcp5 who was commenting on one of his earlier post.

Me the original poster is not involved in this.

[P.S: The camera is back with CRIS]

[jamesm007]

Umm...Sorry! I think people are getting confused here. It appears that james007 is responding to a post by jcp5 who was commenting on one of his earlier post.

Me the original poster is not involved in this.

[P.S: The camera is back with CRIS]

Sorry

[lammie200]

YES" he should have simply said "I am very sorry". He had no knowledge of the quality of the repair yet. It has been by experience with customers that when they get a bad repair they should get a simple apology and a promise to make things right vs excuses.

I understand your sentiment, but I can also see it from the supervisor's standpoint, i.e. "We do quality repairs. Why would we send back a camera that wasn't repaired properly? Why should I take this customer's word that the repair wasn't done correctly when I don't have the camera in front of me to see if it wasn't dropped, soaked, abused in some way, etc.?"

If the supervisor really has control of the department, then he probably has a lot of confidence in his staff. I am not saying that this one didn't slip through the cracks, which is probably what happened. It happens though - practically everywhere. I don't think it is reasonable to assume that the supervisor should admit that it slipped through the cracks without seeing the camera though.

[Ex Finn.]

Umm...Sorry! I think people are getting confused here. It appears that james007 is responding to a post by jcp5 who was commenting on one of his earlier post.

Me the original poster is not involved in this.

[P.S: The camera is back with CRIS]

Well...see what you started.. And hope that the "trip to the home base" takes care of your problems.

Cheers, Mike.

[opiedog]

psychdoc - Sorry for all your stress with your K5 repairs. Your K5 is just back from CRIS and is very broken after they changed a ckt bd but all the CRIS technicians are supposed to do the following:

UPDATED FIRMWARE
CLEANED AND CHECKED TO MANUFACTURER'S SPECIFICATIONS

You said your camera came back with Firmware 1.02. The camera you got back from CRIS is "your camera" with your original "body serial number"----right?
If it is your camera there is no way it should come back from CRIS without them updating the firmware and doing all the necessary adjustments that are required after the ckt. bd replacement. None of this was done.

If I were you I would call Pentax support first (before CRIS), provide them with the CRIS work order numbers from both your repairs and "TELL THEM" you want a replacement camera based on eveything that has happened. It is important you discuss with them how your camera could have come back to you with firmware 1.02 when updating the firmware, all required adjustments and a full functional checkout is required/standard procedure and they did not do that and your camera is broken. See what they say and go from there.

Also make sure you use the "inquiry box" on the CRIS "Repair Status" form "online" for your CRIS work order to document this problem. Make sure you request a replacement camera here based on your camera repair history and this very bad repair. It will be logged on the form and you can keep a copy and CRIS has to respond in writing. Having it in writing on the repair status form is important. Do this after you talk to Pentax Support and get their response. Talking to CRIS is OK when things are going well but when they are not going well you need to write on the repair status form. It's a legal thing and gets more serious attention and response. It also protects your legal position. You are doing business --right. Good Luck.

with all the hassle you went thru, i agree that you INSIST they send you a new camera. i know i would

[jcp5]

I understand your sentiment, but I can also see it from the supervisor's standpoint, i.e. "We do quality repairs. Why would we send back a camera that wasn't repaired properly? Why should I take this customer's word that the repair wasn't done correctly when I don't have the camera in front of me to see if it wasn't dropped, soaked, abused in some way, etc.?"

If the supervisor really has control of the department, then he probably has a lot of confidence in his staff. I am not saying that this one didn't slip through the cracks, which is probably what happened. It happens though - practically everywhere. I don't think it is reasonable to assume that the supervisor should admit that it slipped through the cracks without seeing the camera though.

I agree, the supervisor does not need to admit anything because he has not seen the camera yet. He also should not piss off the customer and say the camera had to work when it left the service center because he does not really know that either. He just should of avoided that subject because the customer just wants to hear he is getting a shipping label and his camera fixed....fast on the second time around. Not good when someone buys a camera and starts to feel like they are just renting it cause its always in the shop.

While we know these things happen with all brands Pentax is going to run out companies to keep them alive if they don't wake up and take care of business in the "camera reliability" department.

[loveisageless]

I'm a Pentax fan-gal. I bought a K5 which turned out to have stains and focus issues. I returned it to B&H for a refund. I wound up selling my K7 and my Pentax glass and switched to Nikon. The D7000 has been a very reliable camera and Nikon "non-professional" lenses are excellent and affordable. I've been following along on the K5 forum hoping to find that the QC issues had finally been resolved (easy enough to sell Nikon equipment), but the threads have not been encouraging. I am waiting to see what Ricoh/Pentax comes up with for their next dslr. One thing is for sure. I won't be an "early adopter" lol

[Tommot1965]

I'm a Pentax fan-gal. I bought a K5 which turned out to have stains and focus issues. I returned it to B&H for a refund. I wound up selling my K7 and my Pentax glass and switched to Nikon. The D7000 has been a very reliable camera and Nikon "non-professional" lenses are excellent and affordable. I've been following along on the K5 forum hoping to find that the QC issues had finally been resolved (easy enough to sell Nikon equipment), but the threads have not been encouraging. I am waiting to see what Ricoh/Pentax comes up with for their next dslr. One thing is for sure. I won't be an "early adopter" lol

yes I remember when you bought your K5...its a great pity the K5 has had the issues it has.. otherwise I firmly believe it would be the best crop sensor body available at the moment....also a Fa77 would be great to own , but I cant see myself giving up my 70-200Vr II,

[jamesm007]

Not good when someone buys a camera and starts to feel like they are just renting it cause its always in the shop.

This is my real issue. Here and on DPR people are starting to blame CRIS for everything from repairs that take to long, repairs that fail... There is a physiological need to blame as I blamed Samsung in my post above. Really Hoya is to blame for the problems, wait time for parts, and repairs that fail. CRIS can only do what Pentax tells them. You can't blame Ricoh, don't want to blame Pentax so blame CRIS.

Normally in good times a repair that came back failed would not cause so much attention. People would not be calling out CRIS or the techs name. They would say thats strange and give CRIS a chance to make it right. Believe me the OP wrote that headline to grab everyone.

Now to be open minded if CRIS is starting to flutter with QC it would have to be an over whelming amount of Pentax repairs they were never equiped to deal with or have ever seen from any other manufacturer at anytime. But remember Pentax closed its shop and trained CRIS on how to deal with all of its factory warranty repairs. I am sure Pentax went there and checked them out.

I read about K-5s spending more time in the shop than in owners hands. So natural people are starting to yell out to CRIS. I am just saying its not right in the grand scheme of things (not speaking of this case only). It shows the idea of CRIS being not so good is spreading around when its really Pentax and its K-5 and parts, and wait time for those parts that are probably of poor quality.

Look at the OPs headline HELP! HELP! K5 not working/back from CRIS for those who have been here a few years or longer this headline says it all. People are now venting to CRIS. Who else can they vent to? And remember a shop does not want a camera to come back. Even if the tech had a really bad day, headlines like this are starting to pop up all over and its usually for wait times and repairs that fail after coming back. This would be a Hoya/Pentax issue. CRIS I would think wants to keep its A+ rating, and know in the USA as the best repair center for photography equipment.

Remember the person who trains CRIS on how to work on Pentax stuff is the one trained by and who is in direct contact with Pentax and who follows Pentax directions and this business does not want a bad rating or to lose its customers, us.

Its just another point of view and help for the OP. Call Pentax! Only they can authorize a replacement dSLR. That's is the truth. After 5 weeks CRIS contacts and gets approval from Pentax to replace the dSLR and guess where CRIS gets the dSLR from?

From a legal standpoint Pentax is in the line of fire not CRIS. CRIS must follow its contract conditions. And this repair issue does not even come close to warrant a court room.

See I have been there and done that. In the end I feel dumb for blaming Samsung Repair Center now. Read the link above a few posts.

[jcp5]

jamesm007---- When I was commenting on CRIS Supervisors response to the OP for his particular problem I was just nitpicking about the supervisors response. I thought he should know better then to defend and just should have stuck to getting the camera back. I know CRIS does a great job usually.

Repair times took a jump up recently because Pentax could not predict that they were going have to replace so many ckt. boards due the mirror-flop problem and they did not have enough repair stock to take care of the demand. They don't really stock too many of these bd for each model. They have new stock now. Hopefully this problem is fading away.

They ran out of LR buttons at one point. They have more in now and CRIS is doing a Mod to make it less likely to fall off.

The stain problem is like a curse that won't go away. It just keeps popping up enough to freak people out who are considering buying a K5. Can't blame them. Repair time has been 4-8 weeks to replace sensor or camera. I do not think it is widespread like at launch time but that is not much help to the people that get this defect.

Don't feel sorry for CRIS. They have an exclusive deal for warranty work (USA) with Pentax and we know they are doing good business these days. Unhappy customers are normal business for a service center and broken cameras is how they make their money. Since CRIS is Pentax USA authorized warranty repair center it is appropriate for a customer to see them as Pentax. Worked out nice for everybody that CRIS is also the exclusive authorized warranty USA repair center for RICOH. CRIS is doing fine.

[Tom S.]

with all the hassle you went thru, i agree that you INSIST they send you a new camera. i know i would

I had to read that a couple of times to make sure I was really reading it right. We are talking about a repair facility, not a factory. They can't pull a new camera out of thin air (or anywhere else for that matter) and give it to someone. Pentax has that option, and please note I used the term option and NOT responsibility. Neither CRIS nor Pentax are obligated to bow to your or the OP's INSISTENCE. Read the warranty - it says fix or replace at their option. So go ahead and insist or demand or command or whatever choice of forcefulness you choose to use, but remember, in the end, it doesn't mean squat.