My K-5 repair saga

Jeff Charles · 07-26-2013, 08:44 AM

My K-5 is at CRIS for repair for the fourth time since last November:

November: "Battery depleted" freeze
December: Malfunctioning AF Mode button
February: Mirror flop
June: Malfunctioning SR

This time, for the SR problem, the camera has been at CRIS since June 18. On June 25, they sent me an email stating that they could not replicate the problem, so I sent them some sample photos. When I checked on July 9, they had lost or misplaced the samples, so I sent them again. As of today, the camera is still being evaluated.

My hope now is that they are able to replicate my SR problem, which I posted about a while ago here. It is clearly demonstrated by the sample photos. My feeling, even if they cannot get the SR to malfunction in their shop, is that they should send me a new K-5, or, why the heck not, a K-5 II

, to compensate me for the hassle.

Jeff

mrNewt · 07-26-2013, 08:52 AM

Next time... buy camera from someone else... maybe they are incredibly unlucky... for you.

Jeff Charles · 07-26-2013, 09:14 AM

Originally posted by mrNewt

Next time... buy camera from someone else... maybe they are incredibly unlucky... for you.

I bought my K-5 from Adorama. C.R.I.S. is the official Pentax repair facility in the US.

mrNewt · 07-26-2013, 09:47 AM

Originally posted by Jeff Charles

I bought my K-5 from Adorama. C.R.I.S. is the official Pentax repair facility in the US.

I see... thanks for telling me.

Adam · 07-26-2013, 10:41 AM

Originally posted by Jeff Charles

My K-5 is at CRIS for repair for the fourth time since last November:

November: "Battery depleted" freeze
December: Malfunctioning AF Mode button
February: Mirror flop
June: Malfunctioning SR

This time, for the SR problem, the camera has been at CRIS since June 18. On June 25, they sent me an email stating that they could not replicate the problem, so I sent them some sample photos. When I checked on July 9, they had lost or misplaced the samples, so I sent them again. As of today, the camera is still being evaluated.

My hope now is that they are able to replicate my SR problem, which I posted about a while ago here. It is clearly demonstrated by the sample photos. My feeling, even if they cannot get the SR to malfunction in their shop, is that they should send me a new K-5, or, why the heck not, a K-5 II

, to compensate me for the hassle.

Jeff

Out of curiosity, what's wrong with the SR?

DeadJohn · 07-26-2013, 11:09 AM

Is all this work under warranty or are you stuck paying each time?

CRIS isn't owned by Ricoh and probably can't decide to send a new camera even if you have a lemon. Try contacting Ricoh in Denver and see what they can do.

Jeff Charles · 07-26-2013, 08:40 PM

Originally posted by DeadJohn

Is all this work under warranty or are you stuck paying each time?

CRIS isn't owned by Ricoh and probably can't decide to send a new camera even if you have a lemon. Try contacting Ricoh in Denver and see what they can do.

I have requested a new camera directly from Pentax. They told me that it needed to be evaluated before a decision about replacement could me made. They also sent me a prepaid UPS label to send it to CRIS.

Jeff Charles · 07-26-2013, 08:46 PM

Originally posted by Adam

Out of curiosity, what's wrong with the SR?

With SR on I was getting vertical blur, even though SR had locked. When I first sent the following 100% crops to CRIS, they told me that "The images are indicating a problem with the “SR” mechanism." Unfortunately, now that they have the camera, it's working fine.

rawr · 07-26-2013, 11:43 PM

Out of curiosity, do you have a JPG with the full EXIF for those?
What's there has a lot of XMP and Adobe stuff in it, but none of the really useful Manufacturer Notes information is in there.

RonHendriks1966 · 07-27-2013, 03:01 AM

That looks like trouble.

On the other hand maybe it was just a hick-up for the camera that was gone by the time they set everything back to factory settings.

Jeff Charles · 07-27-2013, 12:11 PM

Originally posted by rawr

Out of curiosity, do you have a JPG with the full EXIF for those?
What's there has a lot of XMP and Adobe stuff in it, but none of the really useful Manufacturer Notes information is in there.

I did not realize that LR does not include Maker Notes in its JPEG exports, and I have not figured out a way to produce JPEGs that include those notes. Instead, I've uploaded the DNGs to a Dropbox folder here.

I used ExifTool to examine the DNGs. When SR was on, the Maker Notes indicate that SR had stabilized.

Jeff

rawr · 07-27-2013, 05:15 PM

From the DNG EXIF it's hard to see anything wrong. To a casual observer though it looks like camera motion blur, and it would be hard to isolate whether it was you accidentally moving the camera or the SR doing this. The fact that the blur seems in one direction seems particularly strange, as I would have expected the SR to produce more complex blur. Were those shots using a tripod? SR and tripods don't mix, as the manual makes clear.

Also FYI an easy way to make sure some more useful EXIF is saved into a JPG from a DNG is to open the DNG in Pentax Digital Camera Utility and save it as a JPG. Or shoot RAW+. But a full EXIFtool text dump of a DNG is really the best way to extract the most info.

Jeff Charles · 07-27-2013, 08:17 PM

Originally posted by rawr

From the DNG EXIF it's hard to see anything wrong. To a casual observer though it looks like camera motion blur, and it would be hard to isolate whether it was you accidentally moving the camera or the SR doing this. The fact that the blur seems in one direction seems particularly strange, as I would have expected the SR to produce more complex blur. Were those shots using a tripod? SR and tripods don't mix, as the manual makes clear.

Also FYI an easy way to make sure some more useful EXIF is saved into a JPG from a DNG is to open the DNG in Pentax Digital Camera Utility and save it as a JPG. Or shoot RAW+. But a full EXIFtool text dump of a DNG is really the best way to extract the most info.

The vertical blur is unusual looking, i.e., not like what can occur sometimes when SR has not locked, but my first response from CRIS identified it as an SR problem. Also, I took a number of photos in addition to the ones I posted, all hand held, with SR off and then SR on, and the same thing occurred each time. That tells me that it did not come form me accidentally moving the camera.

Thanks for the EXIF information.

Jeff Charles · 08-10-2013, 09:06 AM

C.R.I.S. has not been able to replicate my SR problem. I spoke to a tech supervisor yesterday, and he told me that they had tried many different setups, but none of them produced the blur that I got. That blur was very evident in the samples I sent them.

Their only theory was that I had used a non-Pentax lens that had IS turned on, but I took the photos with the 18-135. Even if the problem was lens related, which I doubt, that lens has been working without a problem on my K-30.

The supervisor did apologize to me for the amount of time they took, which I appreciated, but I did not feel it was necessary. Despite the troubles that I have had with the camera, I've got nothing really bad to say about C.R.I.S. They committed some minor screw ups, but who doesn't?

I'm also not down on Pentax. I've just had some bad luck.

This episode did force me to buy a K-30, so that's one positive. I like the K-30 and it will serve as a backup to my K-5.

Jeff

Dlanor Sekao · 08-21-2013, 05:20 PM

I too am in process to buy a K-30. I had my new K5IIs for about 10 days and it got very warm , shut down , and cannot be turned back on. It just got sent to be evaluated. It is a bummer. I guess you know that though or I wouldnt be reading this post.

07-26-2013, 08:44 AM	#1
Jeff Charles Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Oaxaca, Mexico; Shohola PA, USA Posts: 219	My K-5 repair saga My K-5 is at CRIS for repair for the fourth time since last November: November: "Battery depleted" freeze December: Malfunctioning AF Mode button February: Mirror flop June: Malfunctioning SR This time, for the SR problem, the camera has been at CRIS since June 18. On June 25, they sent me an email stating that they could not replicate the problem, so I sent them some sample photos. When I checked on July 9, they had lost or misplaced the samples, so I sent them again. As of today, the camera is still being evaluated. My hope now is that they are able to replicate my SR problem, which I posted about a while ago here. It is clearly demonstrated by the sample photos. My feeling, even if they cannot get the SR to malfunction in their shop, is that they should send me a new K-5, or, why the heck not, a K-5 II , to compensate me for the hassle. Jeff

07-26-2013, 10:41 AM	#5
Adam Administrator Site Webmaster Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Arizona Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 51,595	Originally posted by Jeff Charles My K-5 is at CRIS for repair for the fourth time since last November: November: "Battery depleted" freeze December: Malfunctioning AF Mode button February: Mirror flop June: Malfunctioning SR This time, for the SR problem, the camera has been at CRIS since June 18. On June 25, they sent me an email stating that they could not replicate the problem, so I sent them some sample photos. When I checked on July 9, they had lost or misplaced the samples, so I sent them again. As of today, the camera is still being evaluated. My hope now is that they are able to replicate my SR problem, which I posted about a while ago here. It is clearly demonstrated by the sample photos. My feeling, even if they cannot get the SR to malfunction in their shop, is that they should send me a new K-5, or, why the heck not, a K-5 II , to compensate me for the hassle. Jeff Out of curiosity, what's wrong with the SR? Adam PentaxForums.com Webmaster (Site Usage Guide \| Site Help \| My Photography) PentaxForums.com server and development costs are user-supported. You can help cover these costs by donating or purchasing one of our Pentax eBooks. Or, buy your photo gear from our affiliates, Adorama, B&H Photo, KEH, or Topaz Labs, and get FREE Marketplace access - click here to see how! Trusted Pentax retailers:

07-27-2013, 05:15 PM	#12
rawr Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 11,913	From the DNG EXIF it's hard to see anything wrong. To a casual observer though it looks like camera motion blur, and it would be hard to isolate whether it was you accidentally moving the camera or the SR doing this. The fact that the blur seems in one direction seems particularly strange, as I would have expected the SR to produce more complex blur. Were those shots using a tripod? SR and tripods don't mix, as the manual makes clear. Also FYI an easy way to make sure some more useful EXIF is saved into a JPG from a DNG is to open the DNG in Pentax Digital Camera Utility and save it as a JPG. Or shoot RAW+. But a full EXIFtool text dump of a DNG is really the best way to extract the most info. Last edited by rawr; 07-27-2013 at 05:43 PM.

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07-26-2013, 08:52 AM	#2
mrNewt Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: ON, RH Posts: 2,181	Next time... buy camera from someone else... maybe they are incredibly unlucky... for you.

07-26-2013, 09:14 AM	#3
Jeff Charles Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Oaxaca, Mexico; Shohola PA, USA Posts: 219 Original Poster	Originally posted by mrNewt Next time... buy camera from someone else... maybe they are incredibly unlucky... for you. I bought my K-5 from Adorama. C.R.I.S. is the official Pentax repair facility in the US.

07-26-2013, 09:47 AM	#4
mrNewt Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: ON, RH Posts: 2,181	Originally posted by Jeff Charles I bought my K-5 from Adorama. C.R.I.S. is the official Pentax repair facility in the US. I see... thanks for telling me.

07-26-2013, 11:09 AM	#6
DeadJohn Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: New York Posts: 4,834	Is all this work under warranty or are you stuck paying each time? CRIS isn't owned by Ricoh and probably can't decide to send a new camera even if you have a lemon. Try contacting Ricoh in Denver and see what they can do.

07-26-2013, 08:40 PM	#7
Jeff Charles Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Oaxaca, Mexico; Shohola PA, USA Posts: 219 Original Poster	Originally posted by DeadJohn Is all this work under warranty or are you stuck paying each time? CRIS isn't owned by Ricoh and probably can't decide to send a new camera even if you have a lemon. Try contacting Ricoh in Denver and see what they can do. I have requested a new camera directly from Pentax. They told me that it needed to be evaluated before a decision about replacement could me made. They also sent me a prepaid UPS label to send it to CRIS.

07-26-2013, 11:43 PM	#9
rawr Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 11,913	Out of curiosity, do you have a JPG with the full EXIF for those? What's there has a lot of XMP and Adobe stuff in it, but none of the really useful Manufacturer Notes information is in there.

07-27-2013, 03:01 AM	#10
RonHendriks1966 Banned Join Date: Jan 2009 Photos: Gallery Posts: 9,675	That looks like trouble. On the other hand maybe it was just a hick-up for the camera that was gone by the time they set everything back to factory settings.

07-27-2013, 12:11 PM	#11
Jeff Charles Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Oaxaca, Mexico; Shohola PA, USA Posts: 219 Original Poster	Originally posted by rawr Out of curiosity, do you have a JPG with the full EXIF for those? What's there has a lot of XMP and Adobe stuff in it, but none of the really useful Manufacturer Notes information is in there. I did not realize that LR does not include Maker Notes in its JPEG exports, and I have not figured out a way to produce JPEGs that include those notes. Instead, I've uploaded the DNGs to a Dropbox folder here. I used ExifTool to examine the DNGs. When SR was on, the Maker Notes indicate that SR had stabilized. Jeff

07-27-2013, 08:17 PM	#13
Jeff Charles Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Oaxaca, Mexico; Shohola PA, USA Posts: 219 Original Poster	Originally posted by rawr From the DNG EXIF it's hard to see anything wrong. To a casual observer though it looks like camera motion blur, and it would be hard to isolate whether it was you accidentally moving the camera or the SR doing this. The fact that the blur seems in one direction seems particularly strange, as I would have expected the SR to produce more complex blur. Were those shots using a tripod? SR and tripods don't mix, as the manual makes clear. Also FYI an easy way to make sure some more useful EXIF is saved into a JPG from a DNG is to open the DNG in Pentax Digital Camera Utility and save it as a JPG. Or shoot RAW+. But a full EXIFtool text dump of a DNG is really the best way to extract the most info. The vertical blur is unusual looking, i.e., not like what can occur sometimes when SR has not locked, but my first response from CRIS identified it as an SR problem. Also, I took a number of photos in addition to the ones I posted, all hand held, with SR off and then SR on, and the same thing occurred each time. That tells me that it did not come form me accidentally moving the camera. Thanks for the EXIF information.

08-10-2013, 09:06 AM	#14
Jeff Charles Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Oaxaca, Mexico; Shohola PA, USA Posts: 219 Original Poster	C.R.I.S. has not been able to replicate my SR problem. I spoke to a tech supervisor yesterday, and he told me that they had tried many different setups, but none of them produced the blur that I got. That blur was very evident in the samples I sent them. Their only theory was that I had used a non-Pentax lens that had IS turned on, but I took the photos with the 18-135. Even if the problem was lens related, which I doubt, that lens has been working without a problem on my K-30. The supervisor did apologize to me for the amount of time they took, which I appreciated, but I did not feel it was necessary. Despite the troubles that I have had with the camera, I've got nothing really bad to say about C.R.I.S. They committed some minor screw ups, but who doesn't? I'm also not down on Pentax. I've just had some bad luck. This episode did force me to buy a K-30, so that's one positive. I like the K-30 and it will serve as a backup to my K-5. Jeff

08-21-2013, 05:20 PM	#15
Dlanor Sekao Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Posts: 1,457	I too am in process to buy a K-30. I had my new K5IIs for about 10 days and it got very warm , shut down , and cannot be turned back on. It just got sent to be evaluated. It is a bummer. I guess you know that though or I wouldnt be reading this post.