[VoiceOfReason]

I have spent hours calling Pentax retailers and repair shops that are listed online and the ones I have worked with and none of them sell parts. I have not called CHRIS Camera recently because I have had issues in the past with repairs they did in the past but the last time I did talk to them they did not sell parts, maybe that has changed. As far a Ricoh cameras, I have yet to see any of their cameras that can come pair to the quality of Pentax, Canon and Nikon SLRs but that is just my opinion. I am curious as to what everyone thinks that Ricoh can bring to Pentax that would make Pentax better.

You may want to pick up one of the iterations of the K5, though you wouldn't want to pick up and try a K3 because of what it says on the back! Unless you have gaffers tape, a good sharpie, or a file and paint...

My uncle got mad that I was consistently getting better shots with my K5 than he with his Canon 5D mk II.

[aleonx3]

No individual can buy parts from Pentax USA as of 4-1-2014. There no Pentax retailers or repair shops that sell parts to individuals, I would call your dealer in Canada and double check.

If I lost my lens hood, I want to get a replacement part, do I need to send my camera/lens in to get the replacement hood? or are we talking about something more complicated such as a front-end assembly of a lens?

[borisv6971]

If I lost my lens hood, I want to get a replacement part, do I need to send my camera/lens in to get the replacement hood? or are we talking about something more complicated such as a front-end assembly of a lens?

I think lens hoods and caps are accessories. I am talking about body parts and internal parts as well as parts to repair lenses.

[Lowell Goudge]

Somewhere in this I am confused.

If I call ford and ask for a hubcap, they send me to a dealer. As long as someone can distribute the parts, does it matter who. I can understand there may be some confusion at the moment, but I am sure it will ultimately get resolved.

[mikeSF]

Hi,
I am new here so if this has been posted I am sorry but I need to VENT!!
I just went to order parts for my K200D today, 4-17-2014, and was informed as of April 1, 2014 they do not sell parts to individuals anymore due to a policy change from RICOH.
This just makes me BEYOND ANGRY!!!!!!! I have owned Pentax for over 25 years and love the cameras but this makes me stop and rethink everything. If this type of thing continues I will sell all my equipment and never buy Pentax again. I was extremely angry when I heard RICOH bought Pentax in the first place because I knew what was coming. Ricoh has not made even an average camera in a VERY long time and now they are going to butcher Pentax. I would like to hear your thoughts.

Man, i acknowledge your...outrage...but we gotta pick our battles, and not being able to order parts direct seems a little trivial. You would still be able to buy them through a dealer, no? Most other manufacturing in the USA seems to work like that. We need to trust Ricoh to do what is right to strengthen the Pentax brand...surely the economics of processing small orders to end users cannot be favorable.
breathe, just breathe.

[borisv6971]

Man, i acknowledge your...outrage...but we gotta pick our battles, and not being able to order parts direct seems a little trivial. You would still be able to buy them through a dealer, no? Most other manufacturing in the USA seems to work like that. We need to trust Ricoh to do what is right to strengthen the Pentax brand...surely the economics of processing small orders to end users cannot be favorable.
breathe, just breathe.

Trivial??????
#1 Pentax is not selling parts to anyone except camera repair centers.
#2 These repair centers are not selling parts to individuals either.
#3 This means if your camera has an issue and you want to repair it yourself, you can't. The only way is to send it in to get repaired.
I can't be the only one who repairs his own equipment or at least what's that option?

---------- Post added 04-17-14 at 06:38 PM ----------

Somewhere in this I am confused.

If I call ford and ask for a hubcap, they send me to a dealer. As long as someone can distribute the parts, does it matter who. I can understand there may be some confusion at the moment, but I am sure it will ultimately get resolved.

I understand your point but there are no Pentax dealers or repair centers selling parts to individuals at all.

[aleonx3]

Trivial??????
#1 Pentax is not selling parts to anyone except camera repair centers.
#2 These repair centers are not selling parts to individuals either.
#3 This means if your camera has an issue and you want to repair it yourself, you can't. The only way is to send it in to get repaired.
I can't be the only one who repairs his own equipment or at least what's that option?

---------- Post added 04-17-14 at 06:38 PM ----------


I understand your point but there are no Pentax dealers or repair centers selling parts to individuals at all.

Are you saying that Pentax/Ricoh is doing that while the other brands will allow you to purchase parts (not accessories) directly and do the repair yourself?

[borisv6971]

Are you saying that Pentax/Ricoh is doing that while the other brands will allow you to purchase parts (not accessories) directly and do the repair yourself?

Yes, I am talking about parts not accessories. Someone posted earlier that Nikon has done the same thing. I can still get Canon parts.

[aleonx3]

Yes, I am talking about parts not accessories. Someone posted earlier that Nikon has done the same thing. I can still get Canon parts.

There you go, you have a real good reason to switch to Canon. Good luck and happy shooting.. but it could be a matter of time when Canon will copy other manufacturers to do the same, or may be they won't.

[mee]

OP, I see this is your first and, at this point, only post here. If you joined the forum to participate, learn, teach, and socialize; welcome!
If your only purpose for joining was to berate and complain about the brand, you may find that your time would be better spent, and your presence more welcome, elsewhere.

I didn't get that from his post at all. He is venting. He also informed us of the policy change.

That said, I had NO idea I could have ordered parts directly from 'Pentax' -- that would be fantastic on a number of parts where sending the whole camera body or lens would be wasteful (shipping costs/handling concerns).

Did they say why they stopped this ability, Boris?

[dms]

Yes, could order shims directly from Pentax USA (several years ago for K20d). **IF** that sort of thing cannot be done now it is a significant change IMO.

[PPPPPP42]

Actually shims is the first thing that came to mind for me too as I also had ordered them for my K20D.
If I want to put an EES screen in my K5 and now can't get shims anywhere that's going to be an issue. You would suddenly see the aftermarket screen companies stop making things for Pentax because the sales are going to go to zero if we can't install them.
No access to parts is for throw away industries only. Even with things like motorcycles and watercraft where access to required repair and diagnostic equipment is dealer only you can still order whatever you want from any dealer, its part of the dealer agreement.

At this point the problem is with the dealers, Pentax is to blame only so far as being stupid enough to deny the end user parts without requiring the dealers to become parts outlets. Any place that services them has the complete exploded diagrams with all the part numbers and can order whatever they want. Those diagrams seem to be rather difficult to come up with for anything newer than maybe a K10 however outside of the dealer network.
I'm not sure Pentax parts even have a retail price assigned to them in addition to the dealer cost. If Pentax turned off the tap without having that set up we are essentially screwed for at least 6 months to a year assuming they plan to bother at all.

In the mean time someone figure out where we can order shims from.

[borisv6971]

I didn't get that from his post at all. He is venting. He also informed us of the policy change.

That said, I had NO idea I could have ordered parts directly from 'Pentax' -- that would be fantastic on a number of parts where sending the whole camera body or lens would be wasteful (shipping costs/handling concerns).

Did they say why they stopped this ability, Boris?

When I talked to Pentax parts dept. they said that they didn't even know until it was announced on 4-1. They did say this came down from Ricoh and they do not have a clue on what it happening.

[Clavius]

But you can just buy a new camera instead of repairing it though.

[GibbyTheMole]

'Fraid I'm gonna have to side with Boris on this one. For Ricoh/Pentax to discontinue making parts available without giving us another option for finding parts is inexcusable. You have to be able to get parts from somewhere, whether it's from the company, from CRIS, or a dealer. I'm curious to see how this situation will pan out in the near future.