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02-28-2015, 07:28 AM   #16
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UPDATE on repair!

Well I got my body back from Precision Camera repair - what did they do? They cleaned the sensor (((on a four month old camera - only used as a back up/second body))) I was willing to bet that this was not caused by a dirty sensor!!! Anyway, the camera works fine inside. I waited until this morning to test the cold factor shooting - I took the body with a lens and placed it outside for a half an hour at a temp of 38 degrees - NADA! ZIP! ZILCH! Camera is doing the EXACT same thing that it did when I spent 20 bucks to mail it out for repair! Needless to say, I'm more than a bit peeved! Now I must wait until Monday to speak to Pentax/Ricoh,,,not a happy camper today!

02-28-2015, 06:04 PM - 1 Like   #17
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I've used my k-50 in -1 deg weather and had no problems (other than battery not lasting very long due to cold). 29 deg's should be a cinch for that camera body, there is def. something wrong with it. Give them an earful when you talk to them.
03-01-2015, 01:37 AM - 1 Like   #18
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QuoteOriginally posted by GAjeeperGirl Quote
Well I got my body back from Precision Camera repair - what did they do? They cleaned the sensor (((on a four month old camera - only used as a back up/second body))) I was willing to bet that this was not caused by a dirty sensor!!! Anyway, the camera works fine inside. I waited until this morning to test the cold factor shooting - I took the body with a lens and placed it outside for a half an hour at a temp of 38 degrees - NADA! ZIP! ZILCH! Camera is doing the EXACT same thing that it did when I spent 20 bucks to mail it out for repair! Needless to say, I'm more than a bit peeved! Now I must wait until Monday to speak to Pentax/Ricoh,,,not a happy camper today!
Definately video the fault and burn it to disc or compress and email it to them it was the only way I got anything done had same issue sent away they found no fault come back and it died on my holiday to which we videoed it. Can't say I was real happy either. In saying that the replacement they sent seems to be fine 6 months on but barely getting used as I have my K-3 but nice to know your back up will back you up if you need it.
03-01-2015, 06:16 AM   #19
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Same as Sorver, document the issue and return it. They replaced my Q on the second trip and I never had any other problems. K-30 and Q7 have been working well in 20 degree temperatures. Be persistent and good luck!

03-02-2015, 06:59 AM   #20
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I like the idea of doing a video! Sounds like a smart way to document it for them - the frustration is uber high right now as it seems like they never even looked at WHY it was sent to them. If the body is non operational in cold temps, why clean the sensor? I didn't say I had spots on my shots,,,I said I'm not GETTING the shots period in cold temps. It bothers me that they didn't even listen to me or pay attention to the words of why it was sent to them!
03-03-2015, 03:22 AM - 1 Like   #21
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QuoteOriginally posted by GAjeeperGirl Quote
I like the idea of doing a video! Sounds like a smart way to document it for them - the frustration is uber high right now as it seems like they never even looked at WHY it was sent to them. If the body is non operational in cold temps, why clean the sensor? I didn't say I had spots on my shots,,,I said I'm not GETTING the shots period in cold temps. It bothers me that they didn't even listen to me or pay attention to the words of why it was sent to them!
I totally know how you feel I think the general practice is if they can't find anything we will give it a clean. I had mine for just on 3 months when it faulted and no way it could of had a dirty sensor and same thing. I think you will find they will send you a new one if you video the fault. The irony was they didn't even tell me they replaced it they just sent it back and I checked the serial number no documentation nothing it was just the serial number was different.
03-06-2015, 06:19 AM   #22
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I find it all too common these days that customer service, and people in general have a tendency to not listen. I've had to stop cs reps for various companies (notably amazon) because I noticed they weren't paying attention to what I was saying. Other times I'll be talking to co-workers and one of them will just blatantly start talking over what I'm saying. Listening, comprehension, and conversational skills have almost all but gone out the window these days, so you need to hand-hold the rep in the conversation, or snap their attention into focus quickly by letting them know you know they aren't paying attention. If it fails.... wrap the camera body in a note describing the problem. If that doesn't work... send it in again wrapped in another note using choice words, lol.

03-06-2015, 07:40 AM   #23
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Out of curiosity, if you are using AA's (can't see if you were or weren't), what brand, and have you tried a different set?

Only asking as I was having all sorts of issues with my sparkly new K-30 back when I first received it, using the Pentax AA adapter, and it finally took me physically removing the batteries and looking at the things to realize that I had screwed up AA's in the camera, causing intermittent contact.

I keep this photo handy to remind myself about not cheaping out on my batteries for my camera.

03-06-2015, 01:42 PM   #24
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QuoteOriginally posted by Auzzie-Phoenix Quote
I find it all too common these days that customer service, and people in general have a tendency to not listen. I've had to stop cs reps for various companies (notably amazon) because I noticed they weren't paying attention to what I was saying. Other times I'll be talking to co-workers and one of them will just blatantly start talking over what I'm saying. Listening, comprehension, and conversational skills have almost all but gone out the window these days, so you need to hand-hold the rep in the conversation, or snap their attention into focus quickly by letting them know you know they aren't paying attention. If it fails.... wrap the camera body in a note describing the problem. If that doesn't work... send it in again wrapped in another note using choice words, lol.

I suspect a big part of this is that we no longer carry the item to the repair facility and have the technician come to the counter to accept it from us. That way we used to be able to SHOW the fault. Even if we did not see the technician, the shop knew we would come back and pick it up face to face, so they would have to get it to work. All manner of problems arise when the description is written and also when the person doing the work does not have a face to face relationship with the person for whom they are doing the work.
03-07-2015, 06:37 AM   #25
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QuoteOriginally posted by Sagitta Quote
Out of curiosity, if you are using AA's (can't see if you were or weren't), what brand, and have you tried a different set?

Only asking as I was having all sorts of issues with my sparkly new K-30 back when I first received it, using the Pentax AA adapter, and it finally took me physically removing the batteries and looking at the things to realize that I had screwed up AA's in the camera, causing intermittent contact.

I keep this photo handy to remind myself about not cheaping out on my batteries for my camera.

Yes, I can see where that could be a problem. Unfortunately for me, this is not the case. I have three OEM batteries for my K-50 - and 4 OEM batteries for my K-30 - double A's are pretty much never used because it is primarily used as a second body when I'm doing a sporting shoot outside at a gun range, and I take a LOT of pictures with both of my cameras. The K-3 gets more work, but the K-50 does get its fair share of that work as well, simply because the dust factor at the range is always an issue, and changing lenses is NOT optimal out there. If I were using double A batteries, I think I'd be in trouble for cost in a big way - $29 for an OEM battery seems like a large upfront cost at first, but in the end it really does pay for itself.

---------- Post added 03-07-15 at 08:42 AM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by tim60 Quote
I suspect a big part of this is that we no longer carry the item to the repair facility and have the technician come to the counter to accept it from us. That way we used to be able to SHOW the fault. Even if we did not see the technician, the shop knew we would come back and pick it up face to face, so they would have to get it to work. All manner of problems arise when the description is written and also when the person doing the work does not have a face to face relationship with the person for whom they are doing the work.
Even if I could bring the body to them, it is temperature specific, and only does its 'quitting job' when its below 40 outside (which really is nothing compared to the temps that its supposed to work in!) ,,,and, it only takes about 15 minutes for it to warm up and get back to normal :-( so even the repair company would have to replicate the event - by perhaps putting it into a cold environment. The note was specific in telling them what the problem was, and it seem like they ignored it - I for one am not happy about having to spend the money to ship it out insured without proper scrutiny of the issue on their part.
03-07-2015, 12:38 PM   #26
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QuoteOriginally posted by GAjeeperGirl Quote
If I were using double A batteries, I think I'd be in trouble for cost in a big way - $29 for an OEM battery seems like a large upfront cost at first, but in the end it really does pay for itself.

---------- Post added 03-07-15 at 08:42 AM ----------



Even if I could bring the body to them, it is temperature specific, and only does its 'quitting job' when its below 40 outside (which really is nothing compared to the temps that its supposed to work in!) ,,,and, it only takes about 15 minutes for it to warm up and get back to normal :-( so even the repair company would have to replicate the event - by perhaps putting it into a cold environment. The note was specific in telling them what the problem was, and it seem like they ignored it - I for one am not happy about having to spend the money to ship it out insured without proper scrutiny of the issue on their part.

They could replicate it by putting it in the freezer part of the fridge that they probably have in the staff tea room. Most places I have worked have a fridge so staff can put their lunch and not risk food damage from excessive temperatures.


Overall, if it can be shown that the temperature effect is not the battery the solution is in the realm of replacing major internal components and likely to make it cheaper to replace. If it is still under warranty this is an issue to argue out. If not, it would become a fair weather extra body.


I like your analysis of the cost of AAs. My opinion is, AAs are useful to cover for times when one does not have the charger. Happened to me twice when travelling. Once the airline mislaid my bag for 3 days and the other time I had to rapidly repack before travelling because the bags were too heavy and the charger got posted home rather than carried to the next destination. But I did like the way the K100DS would use NiMH AAs because I got the cost advantage of rechargeable with a camera which could take supermarket available batteries for the emergency. (K100DS was the camera which gave me the experience I described in my first post here.) The other advantage is that if all my devices use batteries that can be charged in the same charger it is quite a help when travelling - look less like an electronics shop (or worse) on airport scanners - and less bother. The K3 has only the Li battery which is physically different than any other device I have and only charges in a special charger. So if I was travelling and mislaid the charger I would be done.

Last edited by tim60; 03-07-2015 at 12:44 PM.
03-08-2015, 07:00 AM   #27
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QuoteOriginally posted by tim60 Quote
They could replicate it by putting it in the freezer part of the fridge that they probably have in the staff tea room. Most places I have worked have a fridge so staff can put their lunch and not risk food damage from excessive temperatures.


Overall, if it can be shown that the temperature effect is not the battery the solution is in the realm of replacing major internal components and likely to make it cheaper to replace. If it is still under warranty this is an issue to argue out. If not, it would become a fair weather extra body.


I like your analysis of the cost of AAs. My opinion is, AAs are useful to cover for times when one does not have the charger. Happened to me twice when travelling. Once the airline mislaid my bag for 3 days and the other time I had to rapidly repack before travelling because the bags were too heavy and the charger got posted home rather than carried to the next destination. But I did like the way the K100DS would use NiMH AAs because I got the cost advantage of rechargeable with a camera which could take supermarket available batteries for the emergency. (K100DS was the camera which gave me the experience I described in my first post here.) The other advantage is that if all my devices use batteries that can be charged in the same charger it is quite a help when travelling - look less like an electronics shop (or worse) on airport scanners - and less bother. The K3 has only the Li battery which is physically different than any other device I have and only charges in a special charger. So if I was travelling and mislaid the charger I would be done.
Yay - I managed to replicate the entire thing on video this morning, and it was already a balmy 39 degrees out! Can you believe that I have such a temperamental camera, that it won't work when its a pretty normal temp outside??? The camera thankfully is WELL within the warrantee time frame - I'm just so glad that it happened this winter, so I could see what it was doing BEFORE the warrantee ran out. Considering that its only 4 months old, this was obviously a manufacturing problem that was going to happen at some point, due to something not being right with the body. Thank you to those that suggested that I get it on video, such a simple thing, and for some reason my college educated brain, didn't think of doing it - Yes, I believe that frustration over the entire thing has given me a bit of a ding bat brain! I'll try and post the video here later on,,,,today I want to get things done around the house while its so pretty out! (spring may very well be here in Georgia!)
03-08-2015, 12:46 PM - 1 Like   #28
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QuoteOriginally posted by GAjeeperGirl Quote
Yay - I managed to replicate the entire thing on video this morning, and it was already a balmy 39 degrees out! Can you believe that I have such a temperamental camera, that it won't work when its a pretty normal temp outside??? The camera thankfully is WELL within the warrantee time frame - I'm just so glad that it happened this winter, so I could see what it was doing BEFORE the warrantee ran out. Considering that its only 4 months old, this was obviously a manufacturing problem that was going to happen at some point, due to something not being right with the body. Thank you to those that suggested that I get it on video, such a simple thing, and for some reason my college educated brain, didn't think of doing it - Yes, I believe that frustration over the entire thing has given me a bit of a ding bat brain! I'll try and post the video here later on,,,,today I want to get things done around the house while its so pretty out! (spring may very well be here in Georgia!)


That sounds like a progressive fault which soon will result in the camera never working. You just happened to first notice it because of the quite cold weather.


Did you buy at a B&M site? It is easy under warranty - take it back there and explain over the counter what is happening. They send it on to the repair facility. At least in Australia. The over the counter clerk will make sure they communicate with the repairers what is wrong because they will be too embarrassed to hand it back to you not working. Mail order repairs do not have that relational advantage as well as the communication problem of explaining what is wrong.
03-09-2015, 02:50 AM - 1 Like   #29
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QuoteOriginally posted by tim60 Quote
That sounds like a progressive fault which soon will result in the camera never working. You just happened to first notice it because of the quite cold weather.


Did you buy at a B&M site? It is easy under warranty - take it back there and explain over the counter what is happening. They send it on to the repair facility. At least in Australia. The over the counter clerk will make sure they communicate with the repairers what is wrong because they will be too embarrassed to hand it back to you not working. Mail order repairs do not have that relational advantage as well as the communication problem of explaining what is wrong.
Yes I must say my pentax seller was more than helpful getting things moving for me and the video was what did the trick for me so glad that you got it on video it is pretty hard to argue with that and since it has already been to them once you will find things will be dealt with pretty quickly. Yay new pentax on the way. Be aware that you won't get renewed warranty though it is only your ongoing warranty from your present camera that will cover you. Well that is how it was with me anyhow. So snap like crazy on your replacement to make sure you didn't get a dud on that one either.
03-18-2015, 10:44 PM   #30
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Any progress on the issue past getting it video captured for the repair facility?
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