[sumitkar1971]

I sent my almost new Pentax K1 to Precision Camera in Connecticut for repair which they received two weeks ago. I still have not heard from them on how much the repair will actually cost ( they have a templated response of $470 but mention that someone from service will contact you once they look over the camera ) and how long the repair will take. This is my first experience sending something to Precision. I have even called twice and all the lady told me is that they have not got to it yet but will call me when someone diagnoses the issue. For those of you who have gone through Precision, is this common and is this the expected customer service level?

[blackcloudbrew]

Sounds about right from my experience.

[ramseybuckeye]

Yep, and that's better than the previous company that did the Pentax warranty work. If it's almost new is it under warranty?, or damaged?

[sumitkar1971]

Yep, and that's better than the previous company that did the Pentax warranty work. If it's almost new is it under warranty?, or damaged?

Damaged = camera crashed after trying to install new firmware

[DWS1]

I sent a lens to them last summer. After 2-3 weeks the repair status change to "sent to manufacture's repair facility". I had to call them to find out what that meant. They sent it to Pentax in Japan. About a month later I received an email with the final estimate. Took about 6 weeks after giving them authorization to get it back. It did come back in almost new condition and is better than it was when I bought it.

Your situation sounds about normal, 2-4 weeks for an estimate. They should give you a final cost estimate, and time estimate after they receive your authorization to proceed. I would think they could do your repair in house and not have to send it to Japan. But one never knows. Precision could do a lot better job communicating. The only way I knew it was on the way back to me was a notice from FedEx that I had an incoming package on its way.

[nitehntr]

I sent my almost new Pentax K1 to Precision Camera in Connecticut for repair which they received two weeks ago. I still have not heard from them on how much the repair will actually cost ( they have a templated response of $470 but mention that someone from service will contact you once they look over the camera ) and how long the repair will take. This is my first experience sending something to Precision. I have even called twice and all the lady told me is that they have not got to it yet but will call me when someone diagnoses the issue. For those of you who have gone through Precision, is this common and is this the expected customer service level?

they are very poor at communication and by the admission of a lady I spoke to literally have only one person to answer telephone inquiries. and I just don't understand why an authorized repair center has to send so much stuff to the "manufacturer" for repairs. I took radio and TV repair in high school and worked on radar in the navy after my stint in the brown water navy in Vietnam. a competent tech should be able to repair anything with the proper parts, tools and bench setup. its way past time for a new device center

[ProfessorBuzz]

... I just don't understand why an authorized repair center has to send so much stuff to the "manufacturer" for repairs. I took radio and TV repair in high school and worked on radar in the navy after my stint in the brown water navy in Vietnam. a competent tech should be able to repair anything with the proper parts, tools and bench setup. its way past time for a new device center

The #1 problem is the parts. There are far too many mechanical parts to stock, optical glass parts are in short supply, and semiconductors are next to impossible to get. Circuit boards and flex circuits (those brown ribbon strips) require the highest level of skill and special tools to rework. The FPGA and memory devices used in modern cameras use ball-grid-array contacts under the chip, and so manual techniques can't be used to repair them. Right now, many common semiconductor parts have 52+ week lead times, and a premium is being charged by manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and brokers. So my advice to everyone is be patient, and be prepared for a higher cost.

[chuck_c]

I have had two experiences with Precision over the years, both of which were positive. The first was a repair on a DA* 300 and the other was a model upgrade of the K-1 up to a K-1 Mark II. The communication was slower than I would have liked, part of that being separation anxiety on my part, but I never felt that I was being ignored. The turn around time on both I thought was reasonable and I have had no issues with either item since.

With the lens it was about a month from the time that I shipped it until it arrived back on my doorstep. The camera was a different process. I notified them that I wanted the upgrade done and they told me that they would let me know when they were ready to do it, since other people were also having the conversion done at that time. I appreciated that because I still had my camera to use while I waited. They contacted me about two weeks after that, I sent it to them and had it back in two weeks from the day that I had sent it to them.

I would not hesitate to use them again. I think that you just have to have realistic and reasonable expectations.

*Other folks may have had different experiences but I can only speak to mine.

[sureshgvv]

I am currently dealing with Precision camera and have a positive experience with. My camera was knocked down at an event and the shutter got messed up. Sent it to Precision, and the response was prompt. They even expedited the fix and sent it overnight shipping. I had to contact them back because of some autofocus issues and they promptly sent me a shipping label to check it out under repair warranty.

[Rondec]

When I've sent things to Precision, they have done a poor job of updating me on what they were doing, but they fixed things well and sent them back in reasonable time.