[stillshot2]

I think you would be happier switching to one of the brands that have no flaws.



(BTW, please report back when you find out which brands those are so we can all make the switch. )

No, I think he wants one of these amazing, flawless machines:

[mee]

I think you would be happier switching to one of the brands that have no flaws.



(BTW, please report back when you find out which brands those are so we can all make the switch. )

You're missing his point.. he isn't looking for a perfect brand. But rather this particular brand to sort out it's seemingly recurring issues..

[derekkite]

I'am challenging the fact that if you are doing a shooting in middle of nowhere the pro service will deliver you instantly anyway... In theses cases either it you that move or they will ask for big money and you'll have to wait. Maybe at least 1-2 days. Try to ask the service when you cover Irak or Ukraine, just to see... Or simpler when you do something in Tibet or in some Autralian desert. You might be disapointed.

For the Olympics,I'am sure thoses guys come with the spare material in case of. This is too critical to rely on a "pro" service as 1 hour waiting is already a huge problem that cost you lot of money. If the thing fail while you shoot, you take a new one... And because you don't have one shoot but a team of maybe 15 shooters to get all good shooting positions, they don't care in fact.

I'm a professional (not in the legal sense) in my field, I and my customers require overnight service. My suppliers are geared to provide that level of service. Of course I pay for it, my customers do, but the alternative is far more expensive.

I purchased a tool bag, expensive but geared to what I do. It came with a 5 year warranty. One of the fasteners failed. I called the company, they had a new bag to me as fast as it could be shipped, two days, with a box to ship it back prepaid.

If I was doing photography for a living, of course I would make sure that I had adequate backup, but I would expect similar service from the vendors that I deal with. It may be that there are some retailers that could satisfy my needs, not sure. I'm not in that business. But the demands are real and reasonable. I wouldn't expect this level of service for nothing; I would expect to pay for it. I would need to have a contact that I could call that would go to the end of the earth to get what I need.

I'm certain that in some markets Pentax is providing that level of service either directly or through arrangements with retailers.

[stevebrot]

You're missing his point.. he isn't looking for a perfect brand. But rather this particular brand to sort out it's seemingly recurring issues..

I have to admit that I have not read Clavius' comments posted across multiple threads that way. It is my impression that he is spamming* this and other threads because he wants Ricoh to give him a new K-3 and believes that public shaming of the brand will accomplish that end. As for the so-called recurring issues, do the research and you will find that they are not related, pervasive, or even particularly (with the possible exception of the original "mirror flop" in the K-5) wide-spread.


Steve

* One definition of "spam" is insertion of blatantly off-topic posts on a single theme across multiple threads on an online forum.

---------- Post added 07-29-14 at 06:41 PM ----------

I imagine nearly all camera brands are using the same hardware sourced from the same place, so to me it seems that it would be a software issue Pentax still hasn't solved.

Your assumption is correct that camera makers source the shutter assemblies and controllers from outside vendors such as Seiko and Copal. That being said, it is my understanding that they are not generic. The vendors apply their platforms to craft product to the camera maker's required specification. That would include the low-level firmware that coordinates things like mirror timing. If there is a marginal lapse of quality in a single run of the vendor's product, a production batch of cameras may have a significant number of defective units find their way into the market with no issues detected by QA monitors at either the vendor or camera maker's line.

This is apparently what happened with the original K-5 "mirror-flop". Pentax handled that by offering replacement of the defective component. I don't know what the actual incidence of the problem was, but I suspect that it was below the defacto industry standard of 3-5% defective units for dSLR cameras.*


Steve

* If you have a subscription to the Consumer Reports Web site, they publish the incidence of failure and serious repairs for digital cameras. Pentax used to be on the list (not so today) and was a point or two lower (less defects) than Canon and Nikon and about the same as Olympus.

[monochrome]

For the Olympics,I'am sure thoses guys come with the spare material in case of

I recall seeing an article about the Canon equipment room for the 2012 Olympics - where they stored a supply of cameras and lenses for rental and emergency replacement. There were at least 50 of the best camera bodies and several dozen each of the fastest, longest primes and zooms.

It was nearly ridiculous how much pro gear was in that room.

For example:

[stevebrot]

I recall seeing an article about the Canon equipment room for the 2012 Olympics - where they stored a supply of cameras and lenses for rental and emergency replacement. There were at least 50 of the best camera bodies and several dozen each of the fastest, longest primes and zooms.

It was nearly ridiculous how much pro gear was in that room.

For example:

Yikes! It looks like an armory!


Steve

[Venom3300]

Yikes! It looks like an armory!


Steve

well an armory is a good place to store canons

[mee]

Supply closet in the death star.. it makes sense now.. Canonites are part of the dark side. eww.

[SpecialK]

It was nearly ridiculous how much pro gear was in that room.

You could buy a house or three with that.

[johnmflores]

You could buy a house or three with that.

How about a cool half mil of Canon gear to take a bullet-time shot that could have been taken with 50 Pentax Qs...

Canon Professional Network - EOS extremes: stopping time with 50 EOS-1D X DSLRs

[Nicolas06]

I'm a professional (not in the legal sense) in my field, I and my customers require overnight service. My suppliers are geared to provide that level of service. Of course I pay for it, my customers do, but the alternative is far more expensive.

I purchased a tool bag, expensive but geared to what I do. It came with a 5 year warranty. One of the fasteners failed. I called the company, they had a new bag to me as fast as it could be shipped, two days, with a box to ship it back prepaid.

If I was doing photography for a living, of course I would make sure that I had adequate backup, but I would expect similar service from the vendors that I deal with. It may be that there are some retailers that could satisfy my needs, not sure. I'm not in that business. But the demands are real and reasonable. I wouldn't expect this level of service for nothing; I would expect to pay for it. I would need to have a contact that I could call that would go to the end of the earth to get what I need.

I'm certain that in some markets Pentax is providing that level of service either directly or through arrangements with retailers.

I would say overnight shipping on non working days to be impressive. The 2 days service for the bag doesn't look that impressive in practice. As a result you had to live without for 2 days anyway.

I agree that this kind of service can be really usefull (and you pay for it!)... What I'am really less sure is that it is mandotory for everybody...

[Cynog Ap Brychan]

This full page ad was in the biggest selling UK photography magazine. I didn't know we had a Pro Centre, so it looks encouraging.

[Clavius]

Did Pentax repair your K-5? (the only model having the mirror flap issue as originally described)

I don't know if they repaired it. They confirmed receipt. And then after six months of chasing, they admitted to losing it. They apologized a lot. Well I can't shoot with an apology. Nor does 'sorry' make everything right again. But that's all I got though.

Did you get replacement/repair of your K-3? (assuming you tried)

Yes, that one made it back this week. Issue seems to be completely fixed.

Can you point me to a post where a K-50 is flapping (the thread on this site is mis-named)?

I learned in this thread - from you, no less - (Post 192) that the K-50 had some issues related to the mirror too. You can't really expect me to no use that in my venting.

Why are your posting your rant here? This is not a Pentax quality, Pentax is doomed, or mirror flap thread.

There was a discussion a few posts earlier about Pentax being o-so professional. Of course, I had an opinion about that. Short version: some of their gear may be pro level, their service clearly isn't there yet.

Why the hell didn't you buy a D600 so you could experience a truly unresponsive maker?


Steve

I bought an A7r. Which might also break down of course. I love the impressive noise that the shutter makes, but I would be surprised if it really lasts with all that hammering. I haven't had experience with Sony's repair yet. Doesn't matter, it's Pentax failure that's making me think it's worth giving it a shot.

Not that I'm going to let go of Pentax. I have more lenses then I dare to admit. To be fair: none of those have ever broken down on me. Not even the ones with SDM, which others rant about.

But I'll repeat: it's not about gear breaking down, that just happens. It's about telling a paying customer you lost his gear and then telling him to go away. That's not pro-grade service. Not even up to par with amateur-grade, imho.

[Nicolas06]

But I'll repeat: it's not about gear breaking down, that just happens. It's about telling a paying customer you lost his gear and then telling him to go away. That's not pro-grade service. Not even up to par with amateur-grade, imho.

When they admited they lost it, you ask firmly and insisted to get your gear back or an equivalent one and they refused to do so or even to give you money in exchange for what they lost?

[VisualDarkness]

You could buy a house or three with that.

Here in Sweden I could buy a house with just 3-4 of the big canons there, so it's more like buying a neighbourhood.