[mee]

Because you are willing to pay to have the lens repaired, even if it's more than the cost of a new one?

What about the concept of investigating the cost of repairing the lens, up to the point where it's more than the cost of a new one, and not going beyond that point? WHo's going to pay for the technicians time as he adds up the parts for a repair that because of the extent of the damage, shouldn't be attempted?

I agree, that if you're willing to just hand them your credit card and pay for their time, they should tell you whatever you want to know... if it's a service they are paying for on their dime, they have right to limit service to reasonable limits. Going over the cost of a new lens is un-necessary. Challenging a technician on whether a lens is repairable is probably pointless.

But if you want the full estimate, phone them and offer to pay for it. I'm sure they'll take you money.

You don't pay for estimates.. that is the point of an estimate (to determine if it is worth it to you to pay for the repairs needed as a result of the estimate). In this situation he did NOT get an estimate. This is the issue.

---------- Post added 11-12-15 at 06:02 PM ----------

For non warranty work is there anything preventing users from shipping to an alternate repair facility outside their country?

I checked last week and Pentax/Ricoh Canada's repair site states they refuse items sent out of country. Though I wonder if it is that way with all countries? I'd be willing to ship across the planet if it means I get better service...

---------- Post added 11-12-15 at 06:04 PM ----------

I have a rider policy with my insurance for replacement value for my camera equipment. This covers stolen, fire, simply lost, damaged, including dropping; for $33 a year. This gives me peace of mind.

Does your insurance rates go up if you make a claim? And, if so, is the rate hike warranted vs the cost of replacing an item?

[virusn3t]

For non warranty work is there anything preventing users from shipping to an alternate repair facility outside their country?

As far i understand, the answer is no, only precision have the software to recalibrate lenses at factory specs, while others shops maybe can still adquire parts for some minor repairs on camera or lenses still the best option (in theory) is to send bad equipment to prescision

[mee]

Lens finally made it there today.. at least confirmed by USPS tracking. Now to see what Precision does with it..

[jeffryscott]

Lens finally made it there today.. at least confirmed by USPS tracking. Now to see what Precision does with it..

Good luck!

[mee]

So far.. two full days.. no response. They did, 2 days ago, update the status to 'Received.' So I'm assuming it is still in the shipping box waiting for someone to get to it..

[Quartermaster James]

My K-3 has been with them since October 20th. I was told earlier this week that it should be on it's way back to me tomorrow. Will update.

[biz-engineer]

So is this a Pentax thing, or is this just the state of the industry?

To be honest , I think people don't realize that the Pentax APSC product line is essentially consumer grade and repair is not what businesses rave about because a few hours and postage costs spent on that already is comparable to the manufacturing cost of the product. I can understand to spend hours of repair on a medium format system. But on spending 2 or 3 hours on a product that actually cost $300 to manufacture... You have to put things in perspective. I am sorry, if many APSC Pentaxians think of their gear as pro-level, but it's NOT (even if it brush you ego in the wrong direction, it's the truth...). I sent 2 lenses for repair, the cost was almost as much as the price of a new lens, and if I bought the new lens, it had the new coatings and a new warranty. If your K20D fails, don't repair it, buy a K-3 new. If your old SMC gear fails, don't repair it, buy a new HD lens.

[Quartermaster James]

To be honest , I think people don't realize that the Pentax APSC product line is essentially consumer grade and repair is not what businesses rave about because a few hours and postage costs spent on that already is comparable to the manufacturing cost of the product. I can understand to spend hours of repair on a medium format system. But on spending 2 or 3 hours on a product that actually cost $300 to manufacture... You have to put things in perspective. I am sorry, if many APSC Pentaxians think of their gear as pro-level, but it's NOT (even if it brush you ego in the wrong direction, it's the truth...). I sent 2 lenses for repair, the cost was almost as much as the price of a new lens, and if I bought the new lens, it had the new coatings and a new warranty. If your K20D fails, don't repair it, buy a K-3 new. If your old SMC gear fails, don't repair it, buy a new HD lens.

In that case, warranty service should just send out new equipment!

[biz-engineer]

In that case, warranty service should just send out new equipment!

That's what amazon did for me. They sent me a new product and I sent back the faulty one.

[mysterick]

Advance Camera Repair
They are very good in Oregon.

I just sent an estimate request for my ZX-5.

[mee]

That's what amazon did for me. They sent me a new product and I sent back the faulty one.

Amazon is a retailer though so that is different.

And my 16-50mm is not a cheapo lens.. neither is my 50-135mm that I plan on sending them after this (should they actually repair my 16-50mm properly). If it was a 50mm f/1.8 I'd put in the parts bin and just get a new one. But this is also different. If its 500 dollars to repair the pair that is A LOT less than rebuying them both again.

That said, if they do not repair it well, I'm siding on staying with the Pentax side of the fence currently.. and would just buy Sigma lenses in the future.. long warranty and multiple repair facilities in the US.. as well as generally costing a bit less.. or just going Nikon and dealing with their flaws.

I never realized how important a repair network was beforehand. It is the backbone of a brand.


btw 3 days now just sitting.. I'm unsure if I should forget about it and let the process happen (thinking its going well) or prod them because its going to just sit forgotten for months (unless they get a prodding). Btw this is before any repairs.. I'm still just waiting for an estimate.

[MadMathMind]

I have a rider policy with my insurance for replacement value for my camera equipment. This covers stolen, fire, simply lost, damaged, including dropping; for $33 a year. This gives me peace of mind.

Does your insurance rates go up if you make a claim? And, if so, is the rate hike warranted vs the cost of replacing an item?

I used to have one of these as well but let it lapse when I moved. I don't have one now, but I suppose I should get one.

I was told that, for the most part, most claims will end up in your rates going up so that the insurance can recover its money--that makes the insurance more of a "payment plan." Now, that can be worthwhile if you can't shell out $2-3k at once to replace all your lost gear and would prefer to do that over a few years. If it's a theft and you can prove that, then your rates probably won't go up, but any negligence on your part will. At least, this is what my agent told me and why I haven't been in a rush to get a rider again.

[mee]

So far I'm sitting at a full week in 'received' status with no response from Precision. So much for their touted 5-7 day turn around time. They haven't even looked at it to give me an estimate to see if I want them to make repairs, much less actually ordered parts and started work on the repair. /facepalm. I was hoping to have this lens back before BF to see if I needed to buy a new lens or what. haha.


I wouldn't deal with filing insurance on camera gear unless it was a big loss like that (usually in a theft situation) because of exactly that concern -- ins rate goes up (and stays up) so you'll end up paying more in insurance over the long haul than if you had just cut your losses and bought out of pocket. At least that is my concern, I'd have to run the numbers to be sure.

[Quartermaster James]

My K-3 has been with them since October 20th. I was told earlier this week that it should be on it's way back to me tomorrow. Will update.

I sent my K-3 in for service for flash synch issues. For non-repair related reasons, I had several email exchanges and a telephone conversation with a CS rep at Precision. Each of these included the boilerplate statement "Barring any unforeseen issues you will have your unit back within 5 to 7 business days." Fair enough.

On November 16th I specifically asked for a a repair status update and was told "According to the repair department your camera will be finished by Nov 20th and shipped back to you." Good enough.

So far, as of the close of business Monday, November 23, 2015, I have no indication that my camera is out of repair and indeed on its way back to me.

Will update with any further progress.

[UncleVanya]

Mine arrived in fully repaired status while their system still listed it as as received. YMMV