[BruceBanner]

Right, having followed all of the guidance above, I think I have established that the problem is the shutter not opening. The camera functions electronically. The display works well for reviewing older images. The mirror opens and closes as normal. But the shutter is utterly motionless. So the repair seems do-able. The only thing is that getting these things fixed from Australia takes an extended period, even in normal times - let alone during a pandemic. So we shall see how long I am without it in this case... I am assuming that C.R. Kennedy is my only option in Australia (acting as Pentax's agent) to get this repaired.

Thanks everyone again for your magnificent advice and support. I am feeling slightly calmer now than I did last night, though I will be without my beloved camera for an unknown period of time...

By the way, to answer the questions above about what happened, I was shooting the moon and a coastal scene near by my home. The camera was working as normal for various shots, then - without warning - the camera simply stopped recording anything other than apparently blank files. The sound changed (I now realise it was the absence of shutter noise, though the mirror still worked). I tried with and without cable release, I demounted and remounted the lens (and tried other lenses), I removed the battery and replaced it, I took the memory cards out and replaced them with others. All to no avail. I now realise why...

Keep in touch Ed, as a fellow Eddy and Sydney sider who uses CR Kennedy often, I'm interested to know how much a repair like this stings you (before I also embark upon a used 645D or Z in the future and need to factor in repair costs). Sorry to hear this happened

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Last edited by BruceBanner; 05-09-2020 at 02:53 PM.

[rdenney]

I just had a new shutter and mirror box replaced on my Canon 5DII, cost was around $400 and they had it back to me in 3 weeks. A 645z will be more and slower, I’m sure, but replacing the shutter is perhaps not a disaster.

Rick “hoping for the best” Denney

[barondla]

Keep in touch Ed, as a fellow Eddy and Sydney sider who uses CR Kennedy often I'm interested to know how much a repair like this stings you (before I also embark upon a used 645D or Z in the future and need to factor in repair costs). Sorry to hear this happened

I remember someone in the US either having a shutter replaced, or at least inquiring about it. It was $900. Ouch, but the camera is worth far more than that.

Ed, I wouldn't send it via Auspost. Since April 24 my DFA 35 has been sitting, awaiting shipping to the US. Hasn't moved an inch. It has been cleared to leave the country for 5 days. Hopefully some other delivery service is faster for you.

Good luck,
barondla

[BruceBanner]

I remember someone in the US either having a shutter replaced, or at least inquiring about it. It was $900. Ouch, but the camera is worth far more than that.

Ed, I wouldn't send it via Auspost. Since April 24 my DFA 35 has been sitting, awaiting shipping to the US. Hasn't moved an inch. It has been cleared to leave the country for 5 days. Hopefully some other delivery service is faster for you.

Good luck,
barondla

Yeah, we definitely have an impacted delivery service here in Australia, especially overseas. I sent a A24/2.8 to Germany late March, it took 10 days for it to leave Australia (and I live just outside Sydney)... Still has not arrived in Germany yet (10th May today).

[yucafrita]

I dont know about packages being sent out of Australia, but what I know is that atm no "private" / mail packages enter Australia, at least from Germany (business stuff may be different). German mail is telling me that, I looked after information because my sister in law is living in Australia, sometimes we send packages. So, even if the camera may leave Australia and get repaired in Japan, dont expect it to be back anytime soon. Your Pentax agent doesnt do repairs on location?

[BruceBanner]

I dont know about packages being sent out of Australia, but what I know is that atm no "private" / mail packages enter Australia, at least from Germany (business stuff may be different). German mail is telling me that, I looked after information because my sister in law is living in Australia, sometimes we send packages. So, even if the camera may leave Australia and get repaired in Japan, dont expect it to be back anytime soon. Your Pentax agent doesnt do repairs on location?

How do you come to know this? Perhaps it's the same way for us, and thus explains why a package from oz posted 28th March has yet to arrive to my buyer (a friend) in Germany... :/

We do have some level of repairs, CR Kennedy fixed an aperture block on my K-50 for example on location. I guess it just depend on the repair and skills of their technicians.

[Paul the Sunman]

I think CRK head office in Melbourne is able to do most K-mount repairs, but I have no idea about 645Z. I've had only good experiences with them.

[Ed Hurst]

I'll be sure to keep you all posted.

Since several of you have suggested sending it directly to Pentax (presumably in Japan, rather than anywhere else, such as the US), do you know how I would go about it? Would I need to contact the repair facility in Japan directly, in advance, to arrange to send it - or just send it without any preliminaries? It feels a little risky to just send it and hope, especially with the language barriers I have experienced in the past when liaising with the Japanese team...

I will also be calling C.R. Kennedy tomorrow morning to see what they say. But past experience suggests it will amount to "send it to us, we will assess it, then let you know what has to be done and whether than involves sending to to Japan". Which, in practice, seems to mean a long delay while they take their time to decide what needs to be done, followed by further delays sending it, then further delays getting a quote from Japan via C.R. Kennedy, further delays while they do the work, and further delays sending it back. But it might be the only option. Perhaps they can do the work in Oz, but I am not hopeful of that...

Thanks everyone again,
E

[BruceBanner]

I'll be sure to keep you all posted.

Since several of you have suggested sending it directly to Pentax (presumably in Japan, rather than anywhere else, such as the US), do you know how I would go about it? Would I need to contact the repair facility in Japan directly, in advance, to arrange to send it - or just send it without any preliminaries? It feels a little risky to just send it and hope, especially with the language barriers I have experienced in the past when liaising with the Japanese team...

I will also be calling C.R. Kennedy tomorrow morning to see what they say. But past experience suggests it will amount to "send it to us, we will assess it, then let you know what has to be done and whether than involves sending to to Japan". Which, in practice, seems to mean a long delay while they take their time to decide what needs to be done, followed by further delays sending it, then further delays getting a quote from Japan via C.R. Kennedy, further delays while they do the work, and further delays sending it back. But it might be the only option. Perhaps they can do the work in Oz, but I am not hopeful of that...

Thanks everyone again,
E

I feel your pain and fear you're right. Before sending it I would try and get a chat with their best technician, explain the issue and even inquire if they have the capacity to do something like replacing the shutter (for the 645Z). If they can't then see if you can get the address for Japan HQ etc and contact emails to get the ball rolling quickest by yourself. I like CR Kennedy but have had some slow service in the past, if they do have to act as a middle man I really think you could be looking at an additional month of unnecessary pain to sorting this out (even longer with C-19, bad time to have a camera need the hospital )

Please keep us updated.

[barondla]

I'll be sure to keep you all posted.

Since several of you have suggested sending it directly to Pentax (presumably in Japan, rather than anywhere else, such as the US), do you know how I would go about it? Would I need to contact the repair facility in Japan directly, in advance, to arrange to send it - or just send it without any preliminaries? It feels a little risky to just send it and hope, especially with the language barriers I have experienced in the past when liaising with the Japanese team...

I will also be calling C.R. Kennedy tomorrow morning to see what they say. But past experience suggests it will amount to "send it to us, we will assess it, then let you know what has to be done and whether than involves sending to to Japan". Which, in practice, seems to mean a long delay while they take their time to decide what needs to be done, followed by further delays sending it, then further delays getting a quote from Japan via C.R. Kennedy, further delays while they do the work, and further delays sending it back. But it might be the only option. Perhaps they can do the work in Oz, but I am not hopeful of that...

Thanks everyone again,
E

Before sending the 645Z anywhere, including Japan, I'd want to know if the service department is even open. Japan may not have people doing any repairs at the moment.

Hopefully you have some other APS-c or ff camera to use while the 645Z gets repaired.

Sorry you're having so much trouble,
barondla

[Mike L]

I think CRK head office in Melbourne is able to do most K-mount repairs, but I have no idea about 645Z. I've had only good experiences with them.

CRK Kennedy has an office in Mascot in Sydney, it is mainly a sales office but they do accept items for repair and send them to the service department in Melbourne. If the Mascot office is open it would be a reliable way to get the camera to their service department without having to play roulette with AusPost.

[Ed Hurst]

Thanks, Mike. However, I have found in the past that the Sydney - Melbourne step within CRK's processes can alone add a little delay. So I decided today to send it directly to Melbourne. The package is insured, so hopefully I will be covered.

I'll keep you all posted!

[BruceBanner]

Thanks, Mike. However, I have found in the past that the Sydney - Melbourne step within CRK's processes can alone add a little delay. So I decided today to send it directly to Melbourne. The package is insured, so hopefully I will be covered.

I'll keep you all posted!

Did you have a chat with them at all first? Did they sound confident in the repair themselves?

[Ed Hurst]

I spoke to them - they were absolutely definitive that, if I am right about what needs to be done, it will need to go to the Philippines. They don't do anything other than the most minor things to 645Zs within Australia. They also said that the Philippines facility hasn't been operating due to Covid-19 recently. So I could be in for a big wait. There seems to be no way of avoiding that...

[rawr]

Out of curiosity, do you have any images out of the camera (white or blank, anything) that were saved immediately before and after the camera went weird?

I ask because I wonder if a look at the full EXIF metadata (full, as in read via via EXIFTOOL, not munged by for example Lightroom) in any of those images might provide some useful diagnostic data - eg about camera settings, camera body temperature etc etc.