Repairs are slow

keos · 03-05-2019, 10:09 AM

I know the expectation given is something like 15-21 business days. Which I can understand given the size of the user base here in the US and the complexity of most repairs. But it's now been 5 weeks and I'm still waiting for the repair to even start.

Backstory: I originally used my glass at high f numbers with my K1-II to capture large DoF, and would use the center point to MFA new lenses. I used it for the first time for a portrait shoot where I shot at larger aperture (1.4-2.8) using more of the focus points available to me. Some of my images were really out of focus, and after some testing for focus accuracy at other focus points, I realized some of them in the same area were misaligned with the rest, and sent in the camera for warranty repair. I had the same problem with my Canon 7D2 earlier, and as a CPS member it was done in a few days. I had to do it a couple of times because they missed some adjustments the first time around, but the repair times + shipment times for that repair is less than half the time I've waited for the K1-II repair.

One thing that gets lost in all the technical specs is the after sales support. If Pentax had a program similar to CPS from Canon, I'd pony up to join it just for the turnaround time on repairs. I have enough cameras to use so it doesn't impact me, but wouldn't surprise me if it's one of the bigger reasons more pros don't use Pentax.

Not a Number · 03-05-2019, 10:43 AM

First off there used to be Professional Service program in the US. You had to derive at least 51 percent of your income from photography. Ricoh discontinued this a few years ago but have revived it in Japan either in 2017 or 2018. It is unknown if Ricoh will introduce this to other markets. I should have asked Adam to ask at CP+.

Ricoh does have a Sliver/Platinum Service for 645z owners who are mostly "professionals".

Have you spoken to someone at Precision? Relying on email or even the website for job status is typically not the most up-to-date or reliable source of communications. Precision is probably backlogged with K-1ii upgrades since they recently got parts. Those would take precedence since the upgrade orders were put in months ago.

Finally, have you spoken to someone at Ricoh? The customer service number is on the warranty card and sometimes a nudge from Ricoh is needed to get things moving at Precision.

keos · 03-05-2019, 12:02 PM

Originally posted by Not a Number

First off there used to be Professional Service program in the US. You had to derive at least 51 percent of your income from photography. Ricoh discontinued this a few years ago but have revived it in Japan either in 2017 or 2018. It is unknown if Ricoh will introduce this to other markets. I should have asked Adam to ask at CP+.

Ricoh does have a Sliver/Platinum Service for 645z owners who are mostly "professionals".

Have you spoken to someone at Precision? Relying on email or even the website for job status is typically not the most up-to-date or reliable source of communications. Precision is probably backlogged with K-1ii upgrades since they recently got parts. Those would take precedence since the upgrade orders were put in months ago.

Finally, have you spoken to someone at Ricoh? The customer service number is on the warranty card and sometimes a nudge from Ricoh is needed to get things moving at Precision.

yeah I called them, they are waiting for parts, will get me an ETA once they have one.

I think Sony's and NIkon's professional services are similar in nature. Not that it impacted by purchase decisions, but Canon's is much simpler; as long as you own enough Canon gear you will qualify 99.9% of the time, which I'm not sure how many amateurs take advantage of, but based on my conversation with the CPS rep it's not an insubstantial amount who do (even at the pricier gold and platinum levels).

KiloHotelphoto · 03-05-2019, 12:20 PM

Service does seem like something they need to improve on, five weeks is a ridiculously long time.

CPS is a great program not just for repairs but also for training and learning events. I took advantage of a one on one trianing sessions a couple months after I bought my Canon gear and it was a huge help with learning a new system.

Pentax should have something in the North America similar, it’s such a huge selling point when people are spending thousands of dollars on equipment.

**stihlmania** · 03-05-2019, 09:55 PM - **1 Like**

Imagine if you have an A * 400 f2.8, No one will guarantee any repair..... I have had this lens since 1988 and it cost an arm and a leg 30 years ago. But it still can take wonderful images if you take the time to learn vibration control on a long telephoto lens with a digital camera,..K1, K11, K70, K3II.... I am now shooting ISO 8000 with my K 3II, but some day I will need a better full autofocus 400 f2.8 lens. Are you
Istening Ricoh?

michealm · 03-31-2019, 04:41 AM

5 weeks would be good in Canada! I had one lens sit at Sun Camera for over 2 months a year ago. I sent in my FA 28-105 in November last year and every time I call I get the "waiting on parts" story.

Long story short I asked for the part numbers from Sun Camera just over a month ago then started bothering Pentax directly, finally got a response (after a week) that the part was being shipped from Malaysia and would be arriving in 2 weeks. I waited an extra week before calling Sun Camera and they can't confirm if they have the part or not, but guess they don't as the lens is still sitting on the workbench with a sticker saying waiting for parts.

At the rate we are going the warranty will expire before the lens is repaired! If I didn't have a bunch of other lenses in that range I would be out of luck. I was going to buy the Pentax 70-200 2.8 instead got the Tamron, simply for the warranty and that when my older Tamron had an issue I had it back in a two weeks. I was willing to pay the extra $ for the weather sealing and minor performance improvements from the Pentax lens, but can't afford to buy 2 of them in case one breaks and I have to wait 5-6 months for a repair. If I wasn't so invested in Pentax bodies and K-Mount lenses the warranty service (or lack of) would be enough for me to switch brands. As it is I am still considering switching despite being a Pentax user for over 25 years.

Even Pentax / Ricoh were not helpful and almost impossible to get hold of - never reply to email messages, and the 1800 number is for the US and is basically the equivalent of an answering machine.

03-05-2019, 10:09 AM	#1
keos Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2018 Posts: 108	Repairs are slow I know the expectation given is something like 15-21 business days. Which I can understand given the size of the user base here in the US and the complexity of most repairs. But it's now been 5 weeks and I'm still waiting for the repair to even start. Backstory: I originally used my glass at high f numbers with my K1-II to capture large DoF, and would use the center point to MFA new lenses. I used it for the first time for a portrait shoot where I shot at larger aperture (1.4-2.8) using more of the focus points available to me. Some of my images were really out of focus, and after some testing for focus accuracy at other focus points, I realized some of them in the same area were misaligned with the rest, and sent in the camera for warranty repair. I had the same problem with my Canon 7D2 earlier, and as a CPS member it was done in a few days. I had to do it a couple of times because they missed some adjustments the first time around, but the repair times + shipment times for that repair is less than half the time I've waited for the K1-II repair. One thing that gets lost in all the technical specs is the after sales support. If Pentax had a program similar to CPS from Canon, I'd pony up to join it just for the turnaround time on repairs. I have enough cameras to use so it doesn't impact me, but wouldn't surprise me if it's one of the bigger reasons more pros don't use Pentax.

03-05-2019, 09:55 PM - 1 Like	#5
stihlmania Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Spring Branch, Tx Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 705	Imagine if you have an A * 400 f2.8, No one will guarantee any repair..... I have had this lens since 1988 and it cost an arm and a leg 30 years ago. But it still can take wonderful images if you take the time to learn vibration control on a long telephoto lens with a digital camera,..K1, K11, K70, K3II.... I am now shooting ISO 8000 with my K 3II, but some day I will need a better full autofocus 400 f2.8 lens. Are you Istening Ricoh? Last edited by stihlmania; 03-24-2019 at 07:45 PM.

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03-05-2019, 10:43 AM	#2
Not a Number Moderator Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Venice, CA Posts: 10,526	First off there used to be Professional Service program in the US. You had to derive at least 51 percent of your income from photography. Ricoh discontinued this a few years ago but have revived it in Japan either in 2017 or 2018. It is unknown if Ricoh will introduce this to other markets. I should have asked Adam to ask at CP+. Ricoh does have a Sliver/Platinum Service for 645z owners who are mostly "professionals". Have you spoken to someone at Precision? Relying on email or even the website for job status is typically not the most up-to-date or reliable source of communications. Precision is probably backlogged with K-1ii upgrades since they recently got parts. Those would take precedence since the upgrade orders were put in months ago. Finally, have you spoken to someone at Ricoh? The customer service number is on the warranty card and sometimes a nudge from Ricoh is needed to get things moving at Precision.

03-05-2019, 12:02 PM	#3
keos Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2018 Posts: 108 Original Poster	Originally posted by Not a Number First off there used to be Professional Service program in the US. You had to derive at least 51 percent of your income from photography. Ricoh discontinued this a few years ago but have revived it in Japan either in 2017 or 2018. It is unknown if Ricoh will introduce this to other markets. I should have asked Adam to ask at CP+. Ricoh does have a Sliver/Platinum Service for 645z owners who are mostly "professionals". Have you spoken to someone at Precision? Relying on email or even the website for job status is typically not the most up-to-date or reliable source of communications. Precision is probably backlogged with K-1ii upgrades since they recently got parts. Those would take precedence since the upgrade orders were put in months ago. Finally, have you spoken to someone at Ricoh? The customer service number is on the warranty card and sometimes a nudge from Ricoh is needed to get things moving at Precision. yeah I called them, they are waiting for parts, will get me an ETA once they have one. I think Sony's and NIkon's professional services are similar in nature. Not that it impacted by purchase decisions, but Canon's is much simpler; as long as you own enough Canon gear you will qualify 99.9% of the time, which I'm not sure how many amateurs take advantage of, but based on my conversation with the CPS rep it's not an insubstantial amount who do (even at the pricier gold and platinum levels).

03-05-2019, 12:20 PM	#4
KiloHotelphoto Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Glen Mills, PA Photos: Albums Posts: 1,030	Service does seem like something they need to improve on, five weeks is a ridiculously long time. CPS is a great program not just for repairs but also for training and learning events. I took advantage of a one on one trianing sessions a couple months after I bought my Canon gear and it was a huge help with learning a new system. Pentax should have something in the North America similar, it’s such a huge selling point when people are spending thousands of dollars on equipment.

03-31-2019, 04:41 AM	#6
michealm New Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Carlingford, NB Photos: Gallery Posts: 22	5 weeks would be good in Canada! I had one lens sit at Sun Camera for over 2 months a year ago. I sent in my FA 28-105 in November last year and every time I call I get the "waiting on parts" story. Long story short I asked for the part numbers from Sun Camera just over a month ago then started bothering Pentax directly, finally got a response (after a week) that the part was being shipped from Malaysia and would be arriving in 2 weeks. I waited an extra week before calling Sun Camera and they can't confirm if they have the part or not, but guess they don't as the lens is still sitting on the workbench with a sticker saying waiting for parts. At the rate we are going the warranty will expire before the lens is repaired! If I didn't have a bunch of other lenses in that range I would be out of luck. I was going to buy the Pentax 70-200 2.8 instead got the Tamron, simply for the warranty and that when my older Tamron had an issue I had it back in a two weeks. I was willing to pay the extra $ for the weather sealing and minor performance improvements from the Pentax lens, but can't afford to buy 2 of them in case one breaks and I have to wait 5-6 months for a repair. If I wasn't so invested in Pentax bodies and K-Mount lenses the warranty service (or lack of) would be enough for me to switch brands. As it is I am still considering switching despite being a Pentax user for over 25 years. Even Pentax / Ricoh were not helpful and almost impossible to get hold of - never reply to email messages, and the 1800 number is for the US and is basically the equivalent of an answering machine.