[Joyce Keay]

Hi, I bought a Pentax K-70 this summer and it has been fine until this past week. I took some pictures on Wednesday and I could see that the sensor needed cleaning which I did. Thursday I took a lot of pictures and everything was fine and the sensor cleaning had worked. That night I shot a picture of a plain wall to recheck to see if there were any spots and there were not. However, the monitor went off and I couldn't get it back on again. Then after a few minutes it did come on. Friday night I thought I better check to see if the monitor was OK because on Saturday I was going to attend a group two-day photo shoot. Well the monitor came on but when I touched the shutter (not even pressing it, just touching it), the monitor went off and came back on again when I let go of the shutter. I think the same thing happened this morning but the big thing was that after arriving at the first spot for our photo shoot (Coast Guard Beach on Cape Cod) with temps around 25 and windy the camera would not do anything. I couldn't push the back button or the shutter and the monitor would not come on. The only thing that came on was the green light on the shutter. The battery had been recharged the previous evening but I switched batteries just in case. Nothing. Somebody suggested taking the lens off and putting it back on again. Nope. Thank heavens I anticipated trouble and brought a back-up camera (a very basic digital camera). However, I have one more day of this photo shoot to go and two more weeks of a five-week photography course. I am really bummed about this. Can you think of any fixes? I don't think there are any Pentax repair people on the Cape but I will check. Thank you. Joyce Keay

[Adam]

What happens when you try to take a photo- does it work? If so it might just be a stuck button or something like that that's causing the display to cut out as it's designed to.

Also, in cold conditions, battery life significantly decreases. Try to keep the camera as warm as possible and the batteries topped off. A voltage drop could certainly cause erratic behavior.

[Joyce Keay]

What happens when you try to take a photo- does it work? If so it might just be a stuck button or something like that that's causing the display to cut out as it's designed to.

Also, in cold conditions, battery life significantly decreases. Try to keep the camera as warm as possible and the batteries topped off. A voltage drop could certainly cause erratic behavior.

Hi, Thanks for your reply but the shutter button will not depress at all. I was wearing a down parka on the outside and an LLBean windproof polar fleece jacket inside that and the spare batteries were in an inside pocket of the inside jacket as close to me as possible. There was no way to keep the camera warm in that situation. The camera had been in my heated car prior to trying to use it.

[Adam]

Hi, Thanks for your reply but the shutter button will not depress at all. I was wearing a down parka on the outside and an LLBean windproof polar fleece jacket inside that and the spare batteries were in an inside pocket of the inside jacket as close to me as possible. There was no way to keep the camera warm in that situation. The camera had been in my heated car prior to trying to use it.

Are you saying the button is literally frozen?

Adam
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[caliscouser]

Hard to say what is going on.

Random thoughts:

The shutter button may be stuck or sticky.
What happens if you turn on the camera and hit 'menu' can you see and navigate through the menu?
Try the Live View button. What happens?
Take battery out and let it sit overnight. Try in the morning. How old are the batteries? Are they OEM?
Try to move the flip screen around and see if the screen comes on or off intermittently.

[Joyce Keay]

I put the camera near a heating duct last night and this morning the monitor came back on and I was able to take a picture then the monitor went back off. Meanwhile the display on my back book pro has gone totally bad - probably also from exposure to temps in the 20's while in my car yesterday awaiting the critiquing session in the afternoon. I was able to use it last night for a little while. Fortunately I have the Apple protection plan. Thanks for your responses.

[Tatouzou]

As your computer had the same problem, it might be caused by the cold and not be specific to K70.
If you remove the batteries, wait overnight so that everything has time to settle back, then reinitialieze both the camera and the computer, maybe with a new battery for the camera, maybe it will work again.

[Joyce Keay]

As your computer had the same problem, it might be caused by the cold and not be specific to K70.
If you remove the batteries, wait overnight so that everything has time to settle back, then reinitialieze both the camera and the computer, maybe with a new battery for the camera, maybe it will work again.

I seem to r member this MacBook Pro had a problem with the screen maybe a year ago, so perhaps the cold was just the last straw before it happening again. Please read what I said in my last post about what occurred this morning; I.e., warming up the camera and the computer did not solve the problem. It was exhibiting problems before being exposed to the really cold temps. I had used it on Thursday when the temps were probably in the low 30's without a problem. I

[Joyce Keay]

Hi, I bought a Pentax K-70 this summer and it has been fine until this past week. I took some pictures on Wednesday and I could see that the sensor needed cleaning which I did. Thursday I took a lot of pictures and everything was fine and the sensor cleaning had worked. That night I shot a picture of a plain wall to recheck to see if there were any spots and there were not. However, the monitor went off and I couldn't get it back on again. Then after a few minutes it did come on. Friday night I thought I better check to see if the monitor was OK because on Saturday I was going to attend a group two-day photo shoot. Well the monitor came on but when I touched the shutter (not even pressing it, just touching it), the monitor went off and came back on again when I let go of the shutter. I think the same thing happened this morning but the big thing was that after arriving at the first spot for our photo shoot (Coast Guard Beach on Cape Cod) with temps around 25 and windy the camera would not do anything. I couldn't push the back button or the shutter and the monitor would not come on. The only thing that came on was the green light on the shutter. The battery had been recharged the previous evening but I switched batteries just in case. Nothing. Somebody suggested taking the lens off and putting it back on again. Nope. Thank heavens I anticipated trouble and brought a back-up camera (a very basic digital camera). However, I have one more day of this photo shoot to go and two more weeks of a five-week photography course. I am really bummed about this. Can you think of any fixes? I don't think there are any Pentax repair people on the Cape but I will check. Thank you. Joyce Keay

This is an update to my original post. Last Sunday I called Amazon to explain the problem I have been having with the camera and to ask for a replacement. They said that because it actually came from another seller (Adorama) I would have to ask them. I e-mailed them and they said because I've had the camera for more than 30 days they could not take it back. So I called Amazon back and told them. They gave me the phone number of the outfit with whom I have the 3- or 4-year protection plan who said during the first year it is under the manufacturer's warranty. I tried to call Pentax but couldn't get past their main phone menu (when I hit 2 for repair, it bounced me back to the main menu). Finally I hit 0 and got a live person. I explained the situation and she gave me the number of Precision Camera which, she said, is the only authorized Pentax repair facility in the USA. I called and waited through several cycles of "your call is important to us" then the recording switched to "We can't take your call now. Please leave a message." which I did leaving my land line. I also left a detailed message on their web site leaving my e-mail address. That was Wednesday and nobody has gotten back to me. I'm calling Amazon again tomorrow. They said last Sunday, basically, that if all else failed they would take care of me. Right now I am pretty unhappy with Pentax. Be very careful about buying anything expensive from Amazon that is actually being supplied by another company. You will be at the mercy of that company's return policy.

[caliscouser]

Sorry to hear your still having problems with your K-70.

Adorama and Amazon and the 3rd party warranty company are all correct. Outside of 30 days and inside the manufacturer warranty it is for the manufacturer to deal with. No point talking to anyone else.

It has to go back to Precision Camera (the Ricoh/Pentax official repair center). Unfortunately their customer service skills are known to be lacking. I would just keep calling until you get someone, then arrange to send it in under warranty.
It sucks, but that is the reality.

If Precision is still non-responsive I believe some people have had luck escalating back to Ricoh who can then give Precision a prod.

[monochrome]

When using Precision aren't you supposed to do everything on line?

[caliscouser]

monochrome could be right on this...looks like you can submit it online by following the 'get your FREE repair quote now' dialog on the their main page.

[Tonytee]

This is an update to my original post. Last Sunday I called Amazon to explain the problem I have been having with the camera and to ask for a replacement. They said that because it actually came from another seller (Adorama) I would have to ask them. I e-mailed them and they said because I've had the camera for more than 30 days they could not take it back. So I called Amazon back and told them. They gave me the phone number of the outfit with whom I have the 3- or 4-year protection plan who said during the first year it is under the manufacturer's warranty. I tried to call Pentax but couldn't get past their main phone menu (when I hit 2 for repair, it bounced me back to the main menu). Finally I hit 0 and got a live person. I explained the situation and she gave me the number of Precision Camera which, she said, is the only authorized Pentax repair facility in the USA. I called and waited through several cycles of "your call is important to us" then the recording switched to "We can't take your call now. Please leave a message." which I did leaving my land line. I also left a detailed message on their web site leaving my e-mail address. That was Wednesday and nobody has gotten back to me. I'm calling Amazon again tomorrow. They said last Sunday, basically, that if all else failed they would take care of me. Right now I am pretty unhappy with Pentax. Be very careful about buying anything expensive from Amazon that is actually being supplied by another company. You will be at the mercy of that company's return policy.

Hi Joyce,

There is a Pentax Sales/Service Center by the name of: Advance Camera. Their address is: 8124 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy, Portland, Oregon 97225. Tel: 503-292-6996. Advance Camera Repair. Paul is their Pentax magician and he is very honest and very skilled. If Paul is not available, please ask for Kathy, Dave or Gabe, who are also very well grounded in Pentax equipment. In fact, Paul only works on Pentax equipment, exclusively. You can tell them that Tony recommended you contact them. Now it would be helpful for you to know that Advance Camera is not on Ricoh's list of authorized retailers, however, they are on Pentax's list. Good luck, and If I can help in any way, please let me know and I will call Advance Camera. You will be in good hands with them.

Rgds,

Tony

[MarkJerling]

Your camera should still be under warrantee so you'll most likely have to send it to Precision. As it came from Adorama, you may wish to contact Helen Oster who's the Adorama rep here on PF and she's a very efficient and helpful lady.

[Joyce Keay]

Your camera should still be under warrantee so you'll most likely have to send it to Precision. As it came from Adorama, you may wish to contact Helen Oster who's the Adorama rep here on PF and she's a very efficient and helpful lady.

Hi Mark, Thanks for your reply. Is it possible to reach Helen here on the Forum? If so, do you have her contact info? I kind of doubt she will be able to help but I'd like to give her a shot. Joyce Keay

---------- Post added 02-13-17 at 04:39 AM ----------

Hi Joyce,

There is a Pentax Sales/Service Center by the name of: Advance Camera. Their address is: 8124 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy, Portland, Oregon 97225. Tel: 503-292-6996. Advance Camera Repair. Paul is their Pentax magician and he is very honest and very skilled. If Paul is not available, please ask for Kathy, Dave or Gabe, who are also very well grounded in Pentax equipment. In fact, Paul only works on Pentax equipment, exclusively. You can tell them that Tony recommended you contact them. Now it would be helpful for you to know that Advance Camera is not on Ricoh's list of authorized retailers, however, they are on Pentax's list. Good luck, and If I can help in any way, please let me know and I will call Advance Camera. You will be in good hands with them.

Rgds,

Tony

Hi Tony, Thanks for your reply. If Amazon still does not come through for me today I will definitely call Advanced.