[Pufferchung]

Hello, I dropped my camera with AF360FGZII flash on...the AF360FGZII flash is fine but K3II camera's hotshoe came off. I love macro photography and an external flash is very important. I wanted to send it to Precision Camera in Austin, but they are very expensive and took them forever to fix my broken 300mm f4 lens, ($41 for shipping plus $480 for parts and labor)....That was 03/06 and I still haven't heard anything from them.
Any suggestion? or I should still send it to precision camera?
Thank you in advance!

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[Medex]

If the screw tread in the matal plate is broken, then there is one way - repair, it means dissassebly of camera and replacement of that metal plate (and possibly screws too) OR you should DIY if you are skilfull in mechanics. In both ways, dissassembly of camera should be done. There is possibility, that those screws are just loosen, as I have the case with my Pentax Flash, and they should be fastened. But again, you should disassemble the camera, top plate, to have access to those screws.

[pschlute]

if you don't think a repair is worth it get a flash bracket that attaches to the tripod thread.

[Pufferchung]

If the screw tread in the matal plate is broken, then there is one way - repair, it means dissassebly of camera and replacement of that metal plate (and possibly screws too) OR you should DIY if you are skilfull in mechanics. In both ways, dissassembly of camera should be done. There is possibility, that those screws are just loosen, as I have the case with my Pentax Flash, and they should be fastened. But again, you should disassemble the camera, top plate, to have access to those screws.

Thank you so much for the detailed explanation.
I don’t think I could repair the broken hot shoe myself, i have no other choice but sent it to precision camera.

[Pufferchung]

if you don't think a repair is worth it get a flash bracket that attaches to the tripod thread.

Flash bracket? How? Do you have any picture to show me how to do it?
Thank you.

[blumoon722]

I would try some Gorilla Weld (or some other kind of epoxy) that you can get at Home Depot for a few bucks before sending it to Precision for a few hundred$$.

[Not a Number]

A flash bracket is just an arm with a flash shoe or two on it that attaches the the tripod socket. The problem is you still need to trigger the flash with either a cable or a wireless trigger - from the hot shoe on the camera.

Those may be rivets, not screws. Even if they are screws odds are the threads are stripped and you have to extract the broken bits, drill out larger diameter holes, rethread and find larger screws.

Eposy might work but even epoxy bonds might fail, There are plenty of youtube videos that show this testing different brands and types (quick cure vs slow).

[pschlute]

Flash bracket? How? Do you have any picture to show me how to do it?
Thank you.

Something like this. You would need to connect a flash cable from the flash to the camera. But you could glue the broken piece back in place and use a hot shoe connector without worrying if the glue gave way that your flash would hit the deck.
Alternatively you could possibly connect the flash to the X-sync socket on the side of the camera and not use the hotshoe at all ? I am not sure what functionality you would lose using the latter method.

[stevebrot]

Any suggestion?

Welcome to the Pentax Forums!

Your options are to pay to have it fixed or attempt to fix it yourself or not use P-TTL flash again. I would expect that parts would be required, either new or from a donor body for a fix. A kludge might be to do something with gobs of epoxy.

Are you sure that the hot shoe is the only point of damage?

As for repair resources, Precision Camera Repair in Connecticut (no relation to Precision Camera in Austin) is the "official" Pentax repair facility for the U.S.. Another option might be Advance Camera Repair in Portland, Oregon. They are a Pentax-authorized repair shop and are should be able to order the parts needed for repair.


Steve

[Pufferchung]

Welcome to the Pentax Forums!

Your options are to pay to have it fixed or attempt to fix it yourself or not use P-TTL flash again. I would expect that parts would be required, either new or from a donor body for a fix. A kludge might be to do something with gobs of epoxy.

Are you sure that the hot shoe is the only point of damage?

As for repair resources, Precision Camera Repair in Connecticut (no relation to Precision Camera in Austin) is the "official" Pentax repair facility for the U.S.. Another option might be Advance Camera Repair in Portland, Oregon. They are a Pentax-authorized repair shop and are should be able to order the parts needed for repair.


Steve

Thank you so much for your help!
I am sure the hot shoe is the only part that's broken. The flash is still working when I put it back on the socket, it just won't stay because the hot shoe "slot" fell off. My camera did not take too much impact when it fell, I had a safety line on, but it was the flash that hit the tree. I just want the hotshoe stay in the position so I could put a permanent flash trigger so I could still use my flash with bracket.

[stevebrot]

I just want the hotshoe stay in the position so I could put a permanent flash trigger so I could still use my flash with bracket.

You might want to investigate your options for P-TTL triggers. It may be cheaper to fix the camera.

Steve

[Larrymc]

Hello, I dropped my camera with AF360FGZII flash on...the AF360FGZII flash is fine but K3II camera's hotshoe came off. I love macro photography and an external flash is very important. I wanted to send it to Precision Camera in Austin, but they are very expensive and took them forever to fix my broken 300mm f4 lens, ($41 for shipping plus $480 for parts and labor)....That was 03/06 and I still haven't heard anything from them.
Any suggestion? or I should still send it to precision camera?
Thank you in advance!

From looking at my K-3 it looks like the hot shoe is an integral part of the top deck cover which will need to be replaced. Gluing the piece back in place will only be a short term fix at best. If you decided to glue it back apply the glue sparingly as too much glue might affect the flash to hot shoe connection. You will need to use a small bar clamp to hold the part in place till the glue is thoroughly dry also make sure there is no residual glue as this will affect how the flash mounts and also how the contact pins make contact.

If you send it for repair, from what I can tell based on my K-3, the whole top deck cover probably will need to be replaced at a minimum since the part looks to be bradded in place an not screwed on.

Glue and a flash bracket and cable will be your quick and dirty repair and it may last if you do the repair carefully and you are careful attaching the cable to the hotshoe.

Another alternative is to buy a used good condition K-3II and use the one you have for non flash activities.

Good luck and try to be very careful with how you handle your camera in the future.

[pschlute]

. I just want the hotshoe stay in the position so I could put a permanent flash trigger so I could still use my flash with bracket.

In your shoes I would debate whether based on age of the camera/shutter activations it was worth spending the repair costs, versus using the bracket option. You could buy the bracket and cables cheaply enough.

Let us know how you get on. Good luck

[Pufferchung]

From looking at my K-3 it looks like the hot shoe is an integral part of the top deck cover which will need to be replaced. Gluing the piece back in place will only be a short term fix at best. If you decided to glue it back apply the glue sparingly as too much glue might affect the flash to hot shoe connection. You will need to use a small bar clamp to hold the part in place till the glue is thoroughly dry also make sure there is no residual glue as this will affect how the flash mounts and also how the contact pins make contact.

If you send it for repair, from what I can tell based on my K-3, the whole top deck cover probably will need to be replaced at a minimum since the part looks to be bradded in place an not screwed on.

Glue and a flash bracket and cable will be your quick and dirty repair and it may last if you do the repair carefully and you are careful attaching the cable to the hotshoe.

Another alternative is to buy a used good condition K-3II and use the one you have for non flash activities.

Good luck and try to be very careful with how you handle your camera in the future.

Thank you so much for your wonderful suggestions, they are very helpful.
That's what I was worry about the glue, it's messy and I could do more harms to the camera. I have two others Pentax cameras, K70 and Kx, K3ii was my first "real" upgrade and I love it. I use it everyday to document native plants and insects (especially moths) for Inaturalist, that's why the flash and GPS are so important to me. I already spent a lot of money to fix my 300mm lens, now I am saving money to buy a new Pentax k1 ii. Maybe I should just use tape and rubber bands to secure the hot shoe flash trigger until I save enough money to buy a new k1ii, then use my k3 ii for day time shots.
I don't mind the camera looks weird or ugly with tapes, I go out at night to hunt moths, no one sees me anyway, lol!
Michelle

---------- Post added 04-22-19 at 10:00 AM ----------

From looking at my K-3 it looks like the hot shoe is an integral part of the top deck cover which will need to be replaced. Gluing the piece back in place will only be a short term fix at best. If you decided to glue it back apply the glue sparingly as too much glue might affect the flash to hot shoe connection. You will need to use a small bar clamp to hold the part in place till the glue is thoroughly dry also make sure there is no residual glue as this will affect how the flash mounts and also how the contact pins make contact.

If you send it for repair, from what I can tell based on my K-3, the whole top deck cover probably will need to be replaced at a minimum since the part looks to be bradded in place an not screwed on.

Glue and a flash bracket and cable will be your quick and dirty repair and it may last if you do the repair carefully and you are careful attaching the cable to the hotshoe.

Another alternative is to buy a used good condition K-3II and use the one you have for non flash activities.

Good luck and try to be very careful with how you handle your camera in the future.

Thank you so much for your wonderful suggestions, they are very helpful.
That's what I was worry about the glue, it's messy and I could do more harms to the camera. I have two others Pentax cameras, K70 and Kx, K3ii was my first "real" upgrade and I love it. I use it everyday to document native plants and insects (especially moths) for Inaturalist, that's why the flash and GPS are so important to me. I already spent a lot of money to fix my 300mm lens, now I am saving money to buy a new Pentax k1 ii. Maybe I should just use tape and rubber bands to secure the hot shoe flash trigger until I save enough money to buy a new k1ii, then use my k3 ii for day time shots.
I don't mind the camera looks weird or ugly with tapes, I go out at night to hunt moths, no one sees me anyway, lol!
Michelle

[AggieDad]

Why not look at this as an opportunity rather than a problem?

When you show this irreparably damaged camera to your spouse (with tears in your eyes), I am sure you will be allowed to order a lovely new K-1ii or KP. If one of those is not in the cards, then perhaps a used K-3ii from the Marketplace. Once you have your new camera in hand, you can experiment with some epoxy on the K-3ii.

Hey, this worked for me.