I will answer the following points to clear up any confusion.
Then from here on out, I will not be answering any more arguers inside of this thread.
I will keep track of the reports and update the original post numbers when new reports come in, and I will reply to
legitimate questions about the issue itself, but
I will no longer respond to people who cannot seem to follow a simple request, or who lack reading comprehension. Especially when those same people tell me over and over that I've posted all over the internet about this problem, but still don't seem to know the story, lash out at me, and then pat themselves on the back for it, as if they've actually achieved something.
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Originally posted by Ray Pulley You do not seem to be getting the point, so let me try one more time:
You had a problem with your K3s.
I had the problem with one K3 first, the one I bought in November...
Originally posted by Ray Pulley You tested them to death and they still showed the problem.
I didn't test them to death. I used the first K3 for my job, along with a K5-II, and a K-01. The K3 started to exhibited the mirror-flap issue within the first month of ownership. I had two contacts at Pentax because of an issue with my K5 that was in for repair, so I utilized those same contacts to let them know of my problem with the K3.
Originally posted by Ray Pulley You spoke to Pentax about it, but did not send the cameras in for service because you decided that they could not fix them because they did not know what was wrong. Just how would Pentax could tell you what was wrong with your cameras via email and over the phone I am not sure.
In the first month of ownership with K3 #1 I had the mirror-flap problem and talked to Pentax about it. They did not ask me to send it in, but asked me a series of questions, all of which I answered. The specialist I spoke with on the phone suggested that maybe it was battery related, and offered to send me a new battery (I didn't think it would help, but was willing to give it a try). It did not solve the problem.
This went on for quite a while... them asking me to try something, or me suggesting that maybe it might be something else. Each time this kind of conversation took place, where I would suggests something to them, or them to me, it then had to be "tested". And by "tested" I mean I waited until the next photoshoot I had (I have regular photo shoots 1-3 times per week), and proceeded to use the camera as intended, and then report back to them when I had the problem. I'd report by email and phone, and even took video of it occurring.
In the midst of all this, I was also dealing with the holidays, my mother having emergency surgery and me having to care for her, and going to photoshoots for work.
So each time the occurrence happened, or another "test" occurred, it may have been a few days, or week. I couldn't always get back to Pentax instantly, nor did they always get back to me instantly. All the communication went back and forth until February, when it was finally decided I should exchange the K3 #1 for a new K3. Even the communication for that took some time, and by the end of February I was able to get K3 #2.
The first photoshoot with the second K3 resulted in crazy mirror-flapping.
I used the camera for a little while longer, reporting back to Pentax and still trying different things suggested by them and, by that point, some people online. No matter conditions, settings, SD cards, batteries, etc... the problem would continue to occur with K3 #2...
Originally posted by Ray Pulley You returned your k3s and bought 2 K5II bodies.
...So by the end of March I finally decided, along with Pentax, to just return it, and use the store-credit for something else.
Originally posted by Ray Pulley You started your internet crusade, ultimately threatening Pentax that you were going to publish your diatribe if they did not respond, even though it seems that you have received a full refund for your K3s. BTW, Pentax owes you nothing at this point as you no longer own a K3.
You continued to post your story over and over and over and over and over here and at DPReview, long after you no longer had a K3.
And see above. K3 #2 was returned the end of March.... and I decided to get two K5-IIs bodies.
There was no internet crusade. LOL. I started a couple of threads here and on DPR. I didn't start twenty of them. I didn't start ten of them. I think I started exactly three on DPR over the course of 3 months, and two here...
Initially, in February, I posted asking other's if they had experienced it, mostly to see if I was alone and if others had suggestions on what might be causing it. My goal was to keep the K3 because I liked it so much in every other way. I posted a thread here, and on DPReview about the same time. That was when I still had body #1.
I also did some searching around, to see if others were having the problem, partially because I remembered a similar issue with the original K5 when it came out.
In the life of that thread I got some replies and several PMs and someone suggested along the way to try to get everyone to report inside one thread, to see how many were dealing with the issue. That seemed like a pretty logical idea, so I went ahead and did that. Hence this thread... thread number two here on the issue. I started that thread over a month later.
Similar pattern on DPR. Since I've been a member of both places for a long time, I sought input from both places. It was never a crusade, especially since I'm still a Pentax owner.
I never said Pentax sucks. I never said I hated Pentax. I never called them an evil corporation. I gave them the benefit of the doubt at every turn in my process, and even started that article stating the Pentax took care of me personally. In that article I talked about how reliable and solid the K5-II and K5-IIs bodies have been. I even mentioned how much I like the K-01. LOL
Originally posted by Ray Pulley You started this thread and asked that people simply report if they have the problem,
but then you continue to break your own rules for this thread and re-hash your story even though you no longer have a K3,
but others are not supposed to post anything but new reports, just you. Because of people like you who have nothing better to do than question every single word that comes out of my mouth and accuse me of having some agenda against Pentax, which I absolutely have a right to respond to. The only other types of posts inside this thread are reports of the issue and an
occasional update. It seems to me, you couldn't follow the simple request/rule from the beginning, but you expect me to just be silent about it.
Originally posted by Ray Pulley You order others to not respond but you keep responding to detractors here and also to those that report a problem. Since you no longer have a K3, by your own rules, you cannot report a new incident of the K3 mirror flap and therefore should not be adding anything to this thread.
I keep "responding to detractors" -- why are detractors even here to begin with? There are LOTS of other threads to play detractor in. There's a whole forum to start your own griping "I hate DRabbit" post if you like. If you or anyone else is going to mischaracterize my story, or attack what I say, I have a right to reply.
Originally posted by Ray Pulley No one here can fix whatever was wrong with your cameras and anyone who has the problem can take advantage of the warranty period or return the camera just as you did. Had you simply stopped where I put the little cool smiley
above, I do not think you would be seeing the reactions you have seen.
I can't return something under warranty when Pentax tells me over the phone and by email that they have no idea what is wrong. Neither can the others when they call and they are told "we can't reproduce the problem" or "we've never heard of that". If I'm remembering correctly, one guy has had his camera in for over a month already. Another sent it in and when it was returned, nothing had been done but to update the firmware. (and the problem has been reported, and personally confirmed, with all instances of firmwares).
Originally posted by Ray Pulley The best way for Pentax to get the message, AND be able to figure out the root cause of the problem is for cameras to be returned for service for the problem, or if the circumstances permit, back to the vendor for exchange or refund. This costs them money and at the same time gets cameras that do fail into the hands of the Engineers and Technicians who CAN figure out the root cause of the problem.
And on this point I absolutely agree with you... which is why I was SHOCKED they never requested either of my K3 bodies back, when they knew with certainty that I had two different bodies that had the problem. I'll even give them a pass on the first body, because maybe they wanted to believe it was a fluke. But after the second body had the same issue right away, why wouldn't they offer me the exchange, as they did, AND request that body come back to them to investigate further? (rhetorical question).
Originally posted by Ray Pulley Your continued obsession with this makes you look like an internet nutjob, which we have experienced before, both here and at DPReview, and trust me, you do not want to Rabbit to be synonymous with RiceHigh and Barry Fitzgerald....
I've been very level-headed and patient throughout this whole thing. Anyone who thinks otherwise is just playing fan-boy sticking up for Pentax at all costs, nothing more. I'm not obsessed. I'm just not the type to drop the issue just because it doesn't effect me personally anymore. There are others who have had the problem and we all want to see it get fixed.
You say I have not dog in this fight, and you are absolutely right, in the sense that I got the credit for my K3s and was able to buy something else.... FROM PENTAX. Which means I actually care about seeing them solve the problem. I don't want to be afraid to buy a Pentax camera in the future. I don't want others to be afraid to buy a Pentax. Matter of fact, I'd love to buy another K3, but I'd like to know first that I won't have the same issue crop up again. I'd like to know their top tier cameras (other than the 645Z) are reliable.
And one last thing about me publishing an article. I've written reviews for Steve Huff's site before. Pentax absolutely knew that right from back in October, before I owned a K3. I didn't threaten them. I did absolutely tell them I wanted to be able to write a GOOD review for any of their products I choose to use, which it not at all an unreasonable thing to say. I've written positive reviews about their products before. Their CEO featured a video of mine on his own blog a few years ago. But I'm not one of their hired marketing people. I'm not a shill for them. And if I have the experience of bad reliability in one of their products (or any camera company's), I am certainly going to share it.
I'm not going to do that to be spiteful or exercise resentment. I do it because other's have the right to know. And I was
more than reasonable in my assessing two K3 bodies over the course of five months. I certainly gave them plenty of time to figure out the problem. I even asked them a week before publishing the article if they had fixed it yet, and their answer was that they hadn't heard anything [from Japan] yet, and that "any solution would have to be engineered and tested before a solution can be offered"... which in its best light, indicated that the solution to the problem isn't going to come the next day... and in its worst, that they're not working on the problem at all. There's a few other interpretations as well, but none leave me feeling warm and fuzzy.
From here on out, I will not be answering any more arguers inside of this thread.
I will provide any updates when necessary, and I will keep the original post updated.
Last edited by DRabbit; 04-21-2014 at 12:56 AM.