So, I'm supposed to send my camera to these people...? (Precision Camera)

Ronald Oakes · 02-23-2018, 08:34 PM

In a Nutshell here is my take on it.....
Ooohhh Sweet....NICE Upgrade Offer !......Ohhhh Noooo......with Prescision........mehh.....

Sorry , but with their track record of past success and failures , they are not opening up my camera and messing up the weather proof seals unless its a warranty issue.....NOPE.
I would like to see an offer DIRECT from Pentax/Ricoh to do the service upgrade , Not through a third or fourth party warranty center.
This doesn't instill any confidence in the brand at all....in fact its a very weak link.

Last edited by Ronald Oakes; 02-23-2018 at 08:43 PM.

awscreo · 02-23-2018, 08:49 PM

I had a pretty bad experience with them too, sent k-1 for hot pixels calibration, they lost my documents, sent them 3 emails with scans, after two weeks they told me Pentax needs to approve my extended warranty, had to talk to Pentax directly, another 3 weeks back and forth, finally everything approved, camera sent to me, everything the way it was, nothing done to it as far as I can see. And I found a broken screw on the mount now, need to fix it back to them and prey they'll fix it. Don't even think they can do the hot pixels calibration in house.. Just need the mount fixed..

LFLee · 02-23-2018, 08:53 PM

way too many negative experiences seen on PF to send them the camera for upgrade.

can it be done in Japan?

Ronald Oakes · 02-23-2018, 08:56 PM

Originally posted by LFLee

way too many negative experiences seen on PF to send them the camera for upgrade.

can it be done in Japan?

BINGO ! Exactly Right ! This would instill strong confidence in Pentax.

Not a Number · 02-23-2018, 10:13 PM

Post K-1 bugs/issues (feedback for Ricoh) - Page 27 - PentaxForums.com
Sent my damaged K-1 and 15-30mm to Precision today 12-26-16 - PentaxForums.com
Positive experience with Precision - PentaxForums.com

amoringello · 02-24-2018, 06:11 AM

I've had three experiences with Precision repairs... all of them failures.

Sent a lens to Precision. Came back worse than before - THREE TIMES.
After several months of sending the unit back to give Precision their contracted three tries to repair, Ricoh finally sent me a new lens.
Good on Ricoh for doing the right thing, but they do little to ensure Precision actually does any work.

Sent a flash back. Mostly good but missing the diffuser and catchlight panel.
I won't even send it back -- to wait two months and potentially have it come back broken.

Had a camera sent in for cracked top LCD glass cover. Came back with a scratch on the inside of the new glass cover.

I can only imagine what they'll do when the entire camera is opened.

Ronald Oakes · 02-24-2018, 06:29 AM

Originally posted by amoringello

I've had three experiences with Precision repairs... all of them failures.<snip>
I can only imagine what they'll do when the entire camera is opened.

My thoughts exactly ! Hey Pentax.....I hope Your watching !

tax · 02-24-2018, 12:09 PM

Originally posted by awscreo

I had a pretty bad experience with them too, sent k-1 for hot pixels calibration, they lost my documents, sent them 3 emails with scans, after two weeks they told me Pentax needs to approve my extended warranty, had to talk to Pentax directly, another 3 weeks back and forth, finally everything approved, camera sent to me, everything the way it was, nothing done to it as far as I can see. And I found a broken screw on the mount now, need to fix it back to them and prey they'll fix it. Don't even think they can do the hot pixels calibration in house.. Just need the mount fixed..

I dealt with Precision Camera twice regarding hot pixels issue.
First time, when I got my camera back, their whatever calibration they did introduced even more hot pixels than before. I even started to notice sensor artifacts that were visible in pictures taken under normal conditions. I had to prove to them that my original K-1 sensor was defective from the get go, and PC should have noticed it when I sent them my camera in the first time. I called Ricoh, told them about this problem, and then I elevated this issue up to Precision Camera's top level manager, before sending them my camera for a second run.
Second time, they replaced the entire sensor (SR unit). The hot pixel problem was finally fixed for good. I don't know whether such "service" amounts to a plain incompetence or PC just flooded with camera repairs and cannot give a deserved attention to the each of its customers.
I have a very decent camera repair service in my area which can fix any Pentax DSLRs. Unfortunately, they don't have a service agreement with Ricoh, and I don't want to pay out of my pocket for a promised warranty repair either. May be Ricoh should broaden its service agreements with other camera repair services throughout the US.

awscreo · 02-24-2018, 01:58 PM

I just think they're overloaded with repair orders, they are processing Pentax, Olympus and Sony cameras afaik, that's quite a lot of orders. I'd imagine they rarely look at user complaints and just "return function to factory standard" in majority of cases, which probably works for most of the issues, but some (like hot pixels) aren't that easy to replicate. Next time I send my camera in (in a week or two) I'll call them right away to make sure they have all the documentation I sent with it, and make sure they know exactly what I want to fix. Maybe worth calling Pentax right away too lol.

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02-23-2018, 08:34 PM	#16
Ronald Oakes Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2017 Location: Virginia Posts: 1,583	In a Nutshell here is my take on it..... Ooohhh Sweet....NICE Upgrade Offer !......Ohhhh Noooo......with Prescision........mehh..... Sorry , but with their track record of past success and failures , they are not opening up my camera and messing up the weather proof seals unless its a warranty issue.....NOPE. I would like to see an offer DIRECT from Pentax/Ricoh to do the service upgrade , Not through a third or fourth party warranty center. This doesn't instill any confidence in the brand at all....in fact its a very weak link. Last edited by Ronald Oakes; 02-23-2018 at 08:43 PM.

02-23-2018, 08:49 PM	#17
awscreo Veteran Member Join Date: May 2016 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,722	I had a pretty bad experience with them too, sent k-1 for hot pixels calibration, they lost my documents, sent them 3 emails with scans, after two weeks they told me Pentax needs to approve my extended warranty, had to talk to Pentax directly, another 3 weeks back and forth, finally everything approved, camera sent to me, everything the way it was, nothing done to it as far as I can see. And I found a broken screw on the mount now, need to fix it back to them and prey they'll fix it. Don't even think they can do the hot pixels calibration in house.. Just need the mount fixed..

02-23-2018, 08:53 PM	#18
LFLee Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Southern California Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,292	way too many negative experiences seen on PF to send them the camera for upgrade. can it be done in Japan?

02-23-2018, 08:56 PM	#19
Ronald Oakes Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2017 Location: Virginia Posts: 1,583	Originally posted by LFLee way too many negative experiences seen on PF to send them the camera for upgrade. can it be done in Japan? BINGO ! Exactly Right ! This would instill strong confidence in Pentax.

02-23-2018, 10:13 PM	#20
Not a Number Moderator Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Venice, CA Posts: 10,526	Post K-1 bugs/issues (feedback for Ricoh) - Page 27 - PentaxForums.com Sent my damaged K-1 and 15-30mm to Precision today 12-26-16 - PentaxForums.com Positive experience with Precision - PentaxForums.com

02-24-2018, 06:11 AM	#21
amoringello Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Virginia, USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,562	I've had three experiences with Precision repairs... all of them failures. Sent a lens to Precision. Came back worse than before - THREE TIMES. After several months of sending the unit back to give Precision their contracted three tries to repair, Ricoh finally sent me a new lens. Good on Ricoh for doing the right thing, but they do little to ensure Precision actually does any work. Sent a flash back. Mostly good but missing the diffuser and catchlight panel. I won't even send it back -- to wait two months and potentially have it come back broken. Had a camera sent in for cracked top LCD glass cover. Came back with a scratch on the inside of the new glass cover. I can only imagine what they'll do when the entire camera is opened.

02-24-2018, 06:29 AM	#22
Ronald Oakes Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2017 Location: Virginia Posts: 1,583	Originally posted by amoringello I've had three experiences with Precision repairs... all of them failures.<snip> I can only imagine what they'll do when the entire camera is opened. My thoughts exactly ! Hey Pentax.....I hope Your watching !

02-24-2018, 12:09 PM	#23
tax Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2017 Photos: Albums Posts: 113	Originally posted by awscreo I had a pretty bad experience with them too, sent k-1 for hot pixels calibration, they lost my documents, sent them 3 emails with scans, after two weeks they told me Pentax needs to approve my extended warranty, had to talk to Pentax directly, another 3 weeks back and forth, finally everything approved, camera sent to me, everything the way it was, nothing done to it as far as I can see. And I found a broken screw on the mount now, need to fix it back to them and prey they'll fix it. Don't even think they can do the hot pixels calibration in house.. Just need the mount fixed.. I dealt with Precision Camera twice regarding hot pixels issue. First time, when I got my camera back, their whatever calibration they did introduced even more hot pixels than before. I even started to notice sensor artifacts that were visible in pictures taken under normal conditions. I had to prove to them that my original K-1 sensor was defective from the get go, and PC should have noticed it when I sent them my camera in the first time. I called Ricoh, told them about this problem, and then I elevated this issue up to Precision Camera's top level manager, before sending them my camera for a second run. Second time, they replaced the entire sensor (SR unit). The hot pixel problem was finally fixed for good. I don't know whether such "service" amounts to a plain incompetence or PC just flooded with camera repairs and cannot give a deserved attention to the each of its customers. I have a very decent camera repair service in my area which can fix any Pentax DSLRs. Unfortunately, they don't have a service agreement with Ricoh, and I don't want to pay out of my pocket for a promised warranty repair either. May be Ricoh should broaden its service agreements with other camera repair services throughout the US.

02-24-2018, 01:58 PM	#24
awscreo Veteran Member Join Date: May 2016 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,722	I just think they're overloaded with repair orders, they are processing Pentax, Olympus and Sony cameras afaik, that's quite a lot of orders. I'd imagine they rarely look at user complaints and just "return function to factory standard" in majority of cases, which probably works for most of the issues, but some (like hot pixels) aren't that easy to replicate. Next time I send my camera in (in a week or two) I'll call them right away to make sure they have all the documentation I sent with it, and make sure they know exactly what I want to fix. Maybe worth calling Pentax right away too lol.