Originally posted by dlhawes My experiences were similar to yours. I wonder, though, whether it isn't a matter of the contacts not making their connections. I've had lenses act that way on a few occasions with both Canon and Pentax cameras, and each time, simply removing and reinstalling the lens solved the problem.
I've taken the position that Ricoh/Pentax simply does not have "customer service" or "support" functions - like applying for disability payments with the SSA or medical care from the VA, they seem to exist to simply deny claims - the attitude is "ok, let's see you make me." I've found that Precision does good work if you pay up front and don't use the phrase, "warranty service"; but when they're acting as Ricoh's agents, getting something done and done right under warranty is like pulling teeth without an anaesthetic. I've still got a lot of Pentax stuff that works fine (other than one lens that had the SDM problem "fixed" under warranty - my one success story as to "warranty service", but which has since bitten the dust again for exactly the same reason - they'd replaced the original defective part with a new defective part). So I'm keeping and using the stuff I've got until it dies.
I've never liked Nikon; it's always felt like too much money for too little product. And Sony's been on my "do not buy list" since the Walkman days for reasons that Ricoh now is.
I've always liked Canon since the AE-1 came out (the commemorative lens cap reads, "Official Camera of the 1980 Olympics"), so I went out and bought a Canon EOS model 5DS-R with some appropriate lenses when I found Pentax to be administratively impaired. (Saved money by buying a camera that's been out for three or four years, but which is still a fantastic machine.)
My experience with Canon gear is a lot like my experience with early word processors. You may be old enough to recall a product called, "WordPerfect". Everyone was buying WordPerfect because the Orem, Utah company had a reputation for outstanding customer support. I went with Lotus WordPro, which I still, in fact, use on an old XP machine. My observation at the time was, why not just get a product that really works? In other words, why would you buy a product that needs "customer support" so badly that it was the one issue that compelled people to buy the software? Same thing here. My recent Pentax stuff (I hadn't used one before I bought the K-1 since I was a sophomore in college) has been full of problems - and they don't even have a good reputation for customer support. I'm going with Canon, I'm sure like any manufactured product, they're going to have problems, but I've never had one with anything I bought with their label on it, nor have I known anyone with such a problem. Let alone a customer service complaint.
Now, let me tell you what I REALLY think...
I have a friend who uses Canon semi-professionally, and loves it.
I paid Precision up front, and they've been very good about troubleshooting the K-1 after doing a replacement of the shutter and checking all the other problems. However, I am starting to wonder if
I am crazy when their engineers cannot duplicate a problem which is obviously occurring right in front of my eyes.
It could be a contact issue someplace, but when the camera was just cleaned and checked by Precision and the lens was just warranty checked by Pentax at their factory and the problems are the same I was having in February...
---------- Post added 06-04-21 at 01:38 PM ----------
Originally posted by mee Sony uses Precision too as their authorized warranty repair. So FYI.
Oh, well, then it might be Canon if I cannot get this resolved.