[fkaufman]

Just wanted to share the terrific experience I had with the Pentax service in Colorado.

I was recently given a Pentax *ist-DS camera by someone who inherited it and found it way too complicated to use. It looked practically new and when I fired it up, it worked fine and took very nice pictures. The problem showed up when I put in a 16GB SDHC card, and it was not recognized.

A quick check showed that there is a firmware upgrade that fixes the issue and is freely downloadable. I did so, but when I followed the instructions, it did not work. A few emails back and forth to Pentax customer service established the fact that I was doing everything right.

What we found at the end was that the downloadable file and installation method is for cameras with firmware version 1.00 and above, while my camera had firmvere version 0.20 in it.

It was suggested that I send the camera in and they will do the firmware upgrade. When I asked what the cost would be, the response was "We don't have any set fee for doing a firmware upgrade on your ist D but the charges, if any, would probably be minimal."

So I sent it in, and it was returned to me (no shipping cost) two weeks later. It now has firmware version 2.2 in it and the SDHC card works fine.

The enclosed paperwork stated that they replaced the circuit board, cleaned, lubricated and adjusted everything and brought the camera up to factory new specifications. And all this was done as a warranty repair at no cost to me.

This was way beyond my expectations, and I am truly thankful to the great people at Pentax in Colorado for looking after this for me.

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Last edited by fkaufman; 03-30-2009 at 06:16 AM.

[N4AC]

I’m in a similar situation with my Pentax — can you share the details in a PM?

And BTW, that is above and beyond expectations these days for customer service.


Thanks.

[fkaufman]

N4AC, PM with details have been sent.