[Ispriluc]

The K-r seems to be the perfect choice for me. After extensive documentation on the K-r, the Nikon d5100 and the Canon 600d, I concluded that the Pentax has better specs and best price by far, but seems to suffer from a few issues: front focus in tungsten, mirror flip and e-dial. Properly adjusting the white balance seems to eliminate the FF, but using only rechargeable batteries and opening the camera to clean the excess of lubricant, in order to fix the other two issues, is too much for me.
My guess is that even though these issues are "famous", as oone pentaxian said on another thread, they don't happen that often. At least, that's what I hope.
So I'm asking you, who read this, to post and briefly say whether you have encountered the issues or not. I'm hoping to calculate some kind of percentage.
Many thanks!

[Adam]

Most people aren't affected by these issues at all, so you shouldn't worry too much Best thing about buying a camera new is that you can always exchange it or get it repaired under warranty

[ducdao]

The K-r seems to be the perfect choice for me. After extensive documentation on the K-r, the Nikon d5100 and the Canon 600d, I concluded that the Pentax has better specs and best price by far, but seems to suffer from a few issues: front focus in tungsten, mirror flip and e-dial. Properly adjusting the white balance seems to eliminate the FF, but using only rechargeable batteries and opening the camera to clean the excess of lubricant, in order to fix the other two issues, is too much for me.
My guess is that even though these issues are "famous", as oone pentaxian said on another thread, they don't happen that often. At least, that's what I hope.
So I'm asking you, who read this, to post and briefly say whether you have encountered the issues or not. I'm hoping to calculate some kind of percentage.
Many thanks!

If this helps to comfort you, my K-r is not affected by the two last ones.

[lammie200]

If this helps to comfort you, my K-r is not affected by the two last ones.

...don't really have the FF problem either. Buy from an authorized Pentax dealer and get the genuine $20 USD Pentax 2 year (3 years total) extended warranty. Nothing to worry about unless you like worrying.

[ablundon]

I've had both e-dial and front focus issues. I sent my K-r to Pentax for servicing back in Feb with no issue since. I love my K-r. I've tried my sister in law's Nikon D3100 and I must say that the K-r seems to be a much better camera especially from a build point of view. Plus, I get to have a lot of fun trying out old lenses.

The biggest problem with my K-r is that it has forced me to upgrade my computer....RAW photo editing on my 6 year old PC was just too slow....

AB

[Philoslothical]

...but seems to suffer from a few issues: front focus in tungsten, mirror flip and e-dial. Properly adjusting the white balance seems to eliminate the FF, but using only rechargeable batteries and opening the camera to clean the excess of lubricant, in order to fix the other two issues, is too much for me.

Here's a quick run-down of the issues you list:

The ff issue under tungsten light seems to happen for some people. Some of those have had luck with getting Pentax to recalibrate the camera. Others have worked around it by setting a manual white balance or using one of the other presets. Still others work around it entirely by shooting in Live View under tungsten light. It is not a severe issue, unless what you like to do much of the time involves shooting faster than f/2 under incandescent lighting. In other words, it's only apparent at large apertures. My own experience is that I can't reproduce the issue, but I don't shoot under tungsten very often. The times I have, no problems.

There is a long thread in this forum about the e-dial issues, and I suggest you take a look at it. This one is so simple to fix, it's a non issue. A small squirt of contact cleaner on the dial, followed by working it one way and then the other for a couple minutes, and it works as intended. The whole issue was caused by a bit too much non-conductive grease on the dial mechanisms. It's probably not happening in more recently assembled copies. I still haven't come across the issue yet myself.

You're likely confusing the mirror flop issue with the K-5. There have only been one, maybe two people who thought it was happening with their K-r, and it's not an established issue of the K-r. There is a similar sounding issue regarding use of some m42 lenses that have shiny metal mounts, and using the green button to meter. This is peculiar, but not specific to the K-r, and easily worked around by putting a ring of paper or other thin non-conductive material between the lens mount and body.

I bought my K-r back in June, knew about the possibility of the ff issue, and knew how to fix the e-dial should it act up, before I bought it. I decided I don't shoot enough indoors to worry about it, and I was right. You'll have to make your own call about the ff issue, but at least I can put the other two to rest for you, that should simplify things. The vast majority of people posting about their new K-r here has been very positive, and I'd agree, it's a great camera at that price point.

[MJL]

I do not have issue with my Kr in ~10K clicks of use. The FF on my Kr was fixed by sending the lens & body back to Pentax and now works well. Because it has a brighter viewfinder, I find It is even better than K5 in manual focusing.

[Drom]

I love mine. I love the images it takes. I don't believe mine is affected by any of those issues. I researched for about a year because people say when you get your first DSLR you are buying in to a system, not just buying a camera. In the end, the 5100 and the T2i/T3i were the only others that I considered. But after looking at lots of sample photos, the Nikon dropped off my list because the sample images always looked softer than the Canon and Pentax. The Canon sample pictures were very sharp, but I didn't like the Canon color. The Canon T3i JPEG images I saw looked washed out compared to the K-r. In RAW the Canon color was as good.
Also, the entry level Pentax cameras were better specified and a better value than the Nikon or Canon. I would have paid $250-300 more for the Canon or Nikon and the K-r had faster continuous shooting and faster max shutter speed. Since I am interested in wildlife, that was important to me.

[Tonyr99]

I purchased my K-r about a year ago. I have experienced trouble free performance since. I'm not a "heavy duty" user, but the only problems I have had are based on my own limitations as I am not as experienced as many who subscribe to this forum. I purchased the 18-35 and 55-300 kit lenses and have had great results. I decided to purchase a 35 mm f2.4 prime lense recently, and have been very pleased with the results. The only limitation is that I work day to day and lack the freedom to spend more time pursuing and sharpening my skills with the camera. No regrets, and looking forward to increasing my overall photographic skills and techniques. I have not taken the "perfect image" but I'm having great fun in the pursuit.

[luizpaulo]

Got my K-r some time ago and I'm very satisfied by it, with no issues so far. As with any electronic equipment (regardless of brand) I always buy from a reputable seller with a nice warranty, so I can be worry free. It's been a lot of fun working on improving my skills and taking pictures I never thought I could do before. The camera's capabilities open a new range of possibilities. The problem seems to be the nasty LBA disease that tends to afflict DLSR owners... I think I might have cough it... (I'm thinking about my 4th and 5th lens purchase already)

[Ispriluc]

So far, so good. It looks like there is nothing to be really scared of. Philoslotical, thanks, it's good to hear that the e-dial is so easy to fix, in case it happens. I don't shoot indoor that much either, so I can stop worrying about the FF too. I'm quite sure I'm not confusing the mirror flip issue, I recall reading about it happening on the K-r and also seeing a video on youtube. However, having read some of your posts around here and realising you have a good knowledge on these matters, I'll stop thinking about this last issue too.
Thank you all for your input!

[ajlec2000]

I've had my K-r for a month now and not a single glitch.

[Darlene]

I've had my K-r since late August and have had no problems with it EXCEPT that I came down with LBA (lens buying addiction). Our lighting is mostly non-tungsten with one room that uses tungsten lights (we use mostly CFL's and fluorescent) and my widest aperture is f2.4 which is ample for indoor shooting without flash with ISO at 3200. I never had the e-dial problem. Its a great little camera as far as I am concerned. I have the 16-45mm, the 18-135mm, and the 35mm f2.4 prime. I would like a couple of Limited primes. I find it very ergonomic and fast. One other problem to report. The cuteness and satisfaction of my camera caused me to buy a Domke bag for it, a small messenger style. So be ware of LBA and a camera so cute that it requires a designer bag.

[loco]

I was a total newb to DSLRs before I bought my K-r in March. I've had over 8000 shutter clicks since and have not encountered any mechanical issues with the camera. Does it front focus under certain conditions? Yes, it does. Does that affect 95% of the photos I've taken so far? No, it does not. Some lenses are much more effected by the front focus problem. I've found the DA 35/2.4 to be the worst offender. It's a great lens, but for whatever reason, it does not work well on my K-r under tungsten lighting. Even at a -10 focus adjustment. So ... I use Live View in those situations.

I have encountered the mirror flop only recently. I believe it happens with certain lenses and only when the battery is very low. It has happened only with my Panagor macro lens with a low lithium ion battery. Not a big deal.

This camera has been a joy for me. Ergonomically, it is really wonderful. I have small hands and it was important to me to get a camera that fits my hands and the reach of my fingers very well. This one is perfect! It doesn't weigh a lot and that is important to me as well. My journey into photography has been and continues to be one of the best, most satisfying periods of my life so far. And it's all due to the K-r! It's a wonderful value with some nice features that other cameras in this price range simply don't have. You will enjoy that it's simple to get started with and also still has capability that you can learn and grow into.

Pentax lenses are fantastic as well. Once you start discovering the older glass and the Limiteds, you'll be like me and Darlene and come down with serious LBA! I heartily recommend the camera as long as you understand the FF issue and do not feel that you will be troubled by it. Good luck!

[Mr Spocko]

I've been having serious problems with FF in tungsten light and low kelvin light. According to the official Pentax UK service centre they cannot fix this issue. Pentax UK also admit that all models are affected and currently there is no solution to this problem.

I'm afraid this time whilst I'd love to say it's "all forum talk nothing wrong with the camera" I'm of the view some folks simply won't notice it until they come to shoot in this type of light. When you do..you're pretty much going to have all your shots showing severe FF. The only exception to this is if you have a very high contrast AF subject then you might actually get a shot in focus!

The K-r is a great camera with a pretty bad AF problem with that in mind I'd avoid this model until a fix is made available, if a fix actually turns up is another topic of debate for K-r users.
I am glad the issues are being raised more recently this might encourage Pentax to actually do something about it.