pop up flash on k3

mariakruse · 10-20-2014, 08:28 AM

I bought my K-3 August 8th or so from B&H and just this morning the pop up flash stopped working. Anybody know what I should check before calling Pentax? Battery is full and contacts clean.
thank you,
maria

chimpwithagun · 10-20-2014, 09:06 AM

Check it on the X sync mode. Go to your flash settings and change them around. Push the down arrow on the four way controller - with the lightning bolt - try the flash on the first option, then other options.

mariakruse · 10-20-2014, 10:00 AM

Originally posted by chimpwithagun

Check it on the X sync mode. Go to your flash settings and change them around. Push the down arrow on the four way controller - with the lightning bolt - try the flash on the first option, then other options.

Thanks Chimp, I tried those, no joy. Called Pentax repair and they said to send it off to be fixed. Was odd because I have never had an onboard flash go out on any camera before. it's okay tho, I will play with my Kx while they fix it.
thanks again for the help.
maria

**ivanvernon** · 10-20-2014, 10:06 AM

Flash stopped working on my K-01, simply would not pop up when the flash button was pushed. It was fixed free under warranty.

pgamble · 10-20-2014, 10:07 AM

Why would you accept this for repair ?

It's brand new ... if you give to someone to play with and worse still take apart, there is a good chance it won't be the same again. I'd certainly consider it second hand repaired rather than 'nearly new'. In the UK, with something this new, you'd get the supplier to replace with a new boxed one.

I certainly had no problem with my 60-250 ... in fact, having realised that two other shop samples had the same problem (it was perhaps 3 months after purchase), the store gave me option of refund or credit for other lens. I took up the latter. To me ... less than 3 months ... it's DoA.

Paul.

stevebrot · 10-20-2014, 10:30 AM

Originally posted by pgamble

I'd certainly consider it second hand repaired rather than 'nearly new'. In the UK, with something this new, you'd get the supplier to replace with a new boxed one.

She has owned the camera for almost three months. If the camera were purchased from a local merchant (not a "big box store"), they may be be willing to negotiate a replacement even at this late date. B&H, on the other hand, has a stated policy of 30 days for exchange or return. That does not mean that they won't work with the OP, though they are not constrained by law or common business practice to do so.*

To the OP: I would suggest contacting B&H to see if they will allow a return as defective. They are not obligated to you, but have a reputation for excellent post-sale customer service and may be willing to help in this circumstance.

Steve

* No this is not the UK, but then again we in the U.S. are not paying UK prices are we?

pgamble · 10-20-2014, 11:38 AM

Hi Steve

I know there are different approaches in different regions. In the UK we tend to have better protection in some areas and not so good in others. We have something called sales of goods act which can cover things like fit for purpose / of merchantable quality for up to 7 years I think. It's often hard to prove, but decent stores will normally replace if less that 3-6 mths ... sometimes you have to threaten a little.

You are right ... pricing in the UK stinks. In many cases it is still pounds for dollars. We certainly are not getting the heavy Pentax discounts you are seeing right now.

For me ... I pay a premium ... not just for the UK, but also because I'm usually daft enough to buy when things first come out. I live with that ... but it's important for me to know I've got protection against things not meeting expectations of quality. Distance selling act gives you no questions asked refund but only for a week. Other protection tends to give you solid cover in the first 3 months at least. Interestingly with Amazon, with very little trouble, I've had things that have failed in a year replaced with new. With an AEG drill that had a hammer drill selector fail after 13 months ... (it had had virtually no use at all), Amazon refunded total cost including return and original postage ... I only called them to get their support with the manufacturer.

I'd just hate to have something less than 6 months repaired ... I'd feel cheated. I guess that is quite a personal / subjective attitude.

Paul.

stevebrot · 10-21-2014, 04:32 PM

Originally posted by pgamble

I'd just hate to have something less than 6 months repaired ... I'd feel cheated. I guess that is quite a personal / subjective attitude.

I might feel the same way except that I have 6800 actuations on the shutter and have not yet hit the 6 month mark yet

The camera hardly feels "new" anymore.

Steve

mariakruse · 10-21-2014, 05:59 PM

Originally posted by pgamble

Hi Steve

I know there are different approaches in different regions. In the UK we tend to have better protection in some areas and not so good in others. We have something called sales of goods act which can cover things like fit for purpose / of merchantable quality for up to 7 years I think. It's often hard to prove, but decent stores will normally replace if less that 3-6 mths ... sometimes you have to threaten a little.

You are right ... pricing in the UK stinks. In many cases it is still pounds for dollars. We certainly are not getting the heavy Pentax discounts you are seeing right now.

For me ... I pay a premium ... not just for the UK, but also because I'm usually daft enough to buy when things first come out. I live with that ... but it's important for me to know I've got protection against things not meeting expectations of quality. Distance selling act gives you no questions asked refund but only for a week. Other protection tends to give you solid cover in the first 3 months at least. Interestingly with Amazon, with very little trouble, I've had things that have failed in a year replaced with new. With an AEG drill that had a hammer drill selector fail after 13 months ... (it had had virtually no use at all), Amazon refunded total cost including return and original postage ... I only called them to get their support with the manufacturer.

I'd just hate to have something less than 6 months repaired ... I'd feel cheated. I guess that is quite a personal / subjective attitude.

Paul.

Paul,
I do agree. After finding out today that to ship my 2 month old K-3 to the only repair shop Pentax has in the US will cost me more than 80 bucks if I insure it. That is obscene. A 2 month old camera. I might just let the popup flash go since I don't use it much anyway but what if it's something serious. I love this camera, but I am less fond of the company. Not sure why they shut down the other repair shops but the guy on the phone just said it was a "corporate decision".
maria

stevebrot · 10-21-2014, 08:50 PM

Originally posted by mariakruse

I do agree. After finding out today that to ship my 2 month old K-3 to the only repair shop Pentax has in the US will cost me more than 80 bucks if I insure it.

Ouch! That bites. Did you check out USPS in addition to UPS and FedEx? I usually ship camera stuff Priority Mail.

As for "the other repair shops", there has only been one for a long time. Before Precision, it was C.R.I.S. in Arizona and before that it was Pentax Repair in Colorado. At one time Pentax had about a dozen Pentax-owned repair facilities in the U.S., but that network disappeared some years ago. There are still many Pentax-authorized repair shops, but they are not allowed to do warranty repairs.

Steve

10-20-2014, 08:28 AM	#1
mariakruse Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 199	pop up flash on k3 I bought my K-3 August 8th or so from B&H and just this morning the pop up flash stopped working. Anybody know what I should check before calling Pentax? Battery is full and contacts clean. thank you, maria

10-20-2014, 10:06 AM	#4
ivanvernon Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Medina, OH Photos: Albums Posts: 7,224	Flash failure Flash stopped working on my K-01, simply would not pop up when the flash button was pushed. It was fixed free under warranty.

10-20-2014, 10:07 AM	#5
pgamble Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Hook, Hampshire Posts: 61	Repair of a brand new camera Why would you accept this for repair ? It's brand new ... if you give to someone to play with and worse still take apart, there is a good chance it won't be the same again. I'd certainly consider it second hand repaired rather than 'nearly new'. In the UK, with something this new, you'd get the supplier to replace with a new boxed one. I certainly had no problem with my 60-250 ... in fact, having realised that two other shop samples had the same problem (it was perhaps 3 months after purchase), the store gave me option of refund or credit for other lens. I took up the latter. To me ... less than 3 months ... it's DoA. Paul.

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10-20-2014, 09:06 AM	#2
chimpwithagun Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: California Posts: 57	Check it on the X sync mode. Go to your flash settings and change them around. Push the down arrow on the four way controller - with the lightning bolt - try the flash on the first option, then other options.

10-20-2014, 10:00 AM	#3
mariakruse Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 199 Original Poster	Originally posted by chimpwithagun Check it on the X sync mode. Go to your flash settings and change them around. Push the down arrow on the four way controller - with the lightning bolt - try the flash on the first option, then other options. Thanks Chimp, I tried those, no joy. Called Pentax repair and they said to send it off to be fixed. Was odd because I have never had an onboard flash go out on any camera before. it's okay tho, I will play with my Kx while they fix it. thanks again for the help. maria

10-20-2014, 10:30 AM	#6
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by pgamble I'd certainly consider it second hand repaired rather than 'nearly new'. In the UK, with something this new, you'd get the supplier to replace with a new boxed one. She has owned the camera for almost three months. If the camera were purchased from a local merchant (not a "big box store"), they may be be willing to negotiate a replacement even at this late date. B&H, on the other hand, has a stated policy of 30 days for exchange or return. That does not mean that they won't work with the OP, though they are not constrained by law or common business practice to do so.* To the OP: I would suggest contacting B&H to see if they will allow a return as defective. They are not obligated to you, but have a reputation for excellent post-sale customer service and may be willing to help in this circumstance. Steve * No this is not the UK, but then again we in the U.S. are not paying UK prices are we?

10-20-2014, 11:38 AM	#7
pgamble Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Hook, Hampshire Posts: 61	Hi Steve I know there are different approaches in different regions. In the UK we tend to have better protection in some areas and not so good in others. We have something called sales of goods act which can cover things like fit for purpose / of merchantable quality for up to 7 years I think. It's often hard to prove, but decent stores will normally replace if less that 3-6 mths ... sometimes you have to threaten a little. You are right ... pricing in the UK stinks. In many cases it is still pounds for dollars. We certainly are not getting the heavy Pentax discounts you are seeing right now. For me ... I pay a premium ... not just for the UK, but also because I'm usually daft enough to buy when things first come out. I live with that ... but it's important for me to know I've got protection against things not meeting expectations of quality. Distance selling act gives you no questions asked refund but only for a week. Other protection tends to give you solid cover in the first 3 months at least. Interestingly with Amazon, with very little trouble, I've had things that have failed in a year replaced with new. With an AEG drill that had a hammer drill selector fail after 13 months ... (it had had virtually no use at all), Amazon refunded total cost including return and original postage ... I only called them to get their support with the manufacturer. I'd just hate to have something less than 6 months repaired ... I'd feel cheated. I guess that is quite a personal / subjective attitude. Paul.

10-21-2014, 04:32 PM	#8
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by pgamble I'd just hate to have something less than 6 months repaired ... I'd feel cheated. I guess that is quite a personal / subjective attitude. I might feel the same way except that I have 6800 actuations on the shutter and have not yet hit the 6 month mark yet The camera hardly feels "new" anymore. Steve

10-21-2014, 05:59 PM	#9
mariakruse Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 199 Original Poster	Originally posted by pgamble Hi Steve I know there are different approaches in different regions. In the UK we tend to have better protection in some areas and not so good in others. We have something called sales of goods act which can cover things like fit for purpose / of merchantable quality for up to 7 years I think. It's often hard to prove, but decent stores will normally replace if less that 3-6 mths ... sometimes you have to threaten a little. You are right ... pricing in the UK stinks. In many cases it is still pounds for dollars. We certainly are not getting the heavy Pentax discounts you are seeing right now. For me ... I pay a premium ... not just for the UK, but also because I'm usually daft enough to buy when things first come out. I live with that ... but it's important for me to know I've got protection against things not meeting expectations of quality. Distance selling act gives you no questions asked refund but only for a week. Other protection tends to give you solid cover in the first 3 months at least. Interestingly with Amazon, with very little trouble, I've had things that have failed in a year replaced with new. With an AEG drill that had a hammer drill selector fail after 13 months ... (it had had virtually no use at all), Amazon refunded total cost including return and original postage ... I only called them to get their support with the manufacturer. I'd just hate to have something less than 6 months repaired ... I'd feel cheated. I guess that is quite a personal / subjective attitude. Paul. Paul, I do agree. After finding out today that to ship my 2 month old K-3 to the only repair shop Pentax has in the US will cost me more than 80 bucks if I insure it. That is obscene. A 2 month old camera. I might just let the popup flash go since I don't use it much anyway but what if it's something serious. I love this camera, but I am less fond of the company. Not sure why they shut down the other repair shops but the guy on the phone just said it was a "corporate decision". maria

10-21-2014, 08:50 PM	#10
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by mariakruse I do agree. After finding out today that to ship my 2 month old K-3 to the only repair shop Pentax has in the US will cost me more than 80 bucks if I insure it. Ouch! That bites. Did you check out USPS in addition to UPS and FedEx? I usually ship camera stuff Priority Mail. As for "the other repair shops", there has only been one for a long time. Before Precision, it was C.R.I.S. in Arizona and before that it was Pentax Repair in Colorado. At one time Pentax had about a dozen Pentax-owned repair facilities in the U.S., but that network disappeared some years ago. There are still many Pentax-authorized repair shops, but they are not allowed to do warranty repairs. Steve