Originally posted by Merv-O Whoa--abandon a system over a singular failure? If this camera was bought used, Buyer Beware. It's 4 years old. If it was bought new, then there is an issue here. But, many manufacturers have failures...the landfill is full of old Canons, Nikon, Sonys, et al. that failed after 3 to 5 years. The realistic life of a digital has an average of 6 years, this fellow's K-S2 failed near that mark. Also, 'good will' of Pentax sometimes remediates this issue, without declaring a full recall.
If the user likes Pentax, then he should keep shooting it and perhaps buy a lightly used flagship like a K-3 or K-5ii--honestly, they are terrific and have durability.
As a final notation: My K-S2 is still going strong, but it's my back up shooter....
If I buy a new camera, and after 5 years
750 click use it has this kind of problem, I'll be mad, especially if I'm a first-time buyer with limited investment in the system and I'll try my luck elsewhere.
If that was a car and the gearbox failed after 750km after 5 years, I'm sure nobody would have been impressed, but Pentax should not be criticized because of a problem that continued over a series of different models, with some new ones still on shelves, waiting for unsuspecting customers to fall into the trap.
The aperture failure should not have gone further than the K-30, and although other models like the K5ii/s, which I've got, by the way, are stellar products, Pentax lost my sympathy and committed support as a brand. Blame the parent companies if you want, but the reliability of Pentax is not in the same league than cameras like the K1000, which I also still use, with just one battery change since 81.
I have never had another ILC brand, so can't compare, but I stick to my original post
Who knows how many customers Pentax lost as a result of the aperture block failures