[Rondec]

Someone else mentioned it, but if you bought it with a credit card, they will often extend the manufacturer's warranty and it might be worth looking into. If the camera is over two years old then that probably isn't an option, but unfortunately, that is sometimes the life span of electronics.

I do hope you find satisfaction somewhere else. It seems as though most camera companies will do their best to fix things piecemeal, rather than issuing global recalls of products.

[Zoomer]

Just for my own "research", what the the current shutter count on your K-50?

Shutter count 3972

[monochrome]

While I'm sympathetic, I just want to point out that Pentax has been known as a value brand. One way to hold down the price is to offer a short warranty and stick to it - and to offer an Extended Warranty option for individual purchasers at their discretion. That way we don't all pay for the 4% of users that experience a failure.

Maybe you didn't know the deal, maybe you just didn't buy it - but that's what Pentax does.

I've always paid for the Extended Warranty on cameras and taken the risk on lenses. I figure I'll have a lens forever but cameras obsolete in 3 years. I'm willing to invest more money in a lens, but I want free repairs over the entire expected life of a camera.

The only failure I've had so far is the spring that opens the battery door on my K10D. So I suppose I overpaid for Pentax cameras by $260 or so since 2006. (2x $100 + 3x $20)

[niceshot]

While I'm sympathetic, I just want to point out that Pentax has been known as a value brand. One way to hold down the price is to offer a short warranty and stick to it - and to offer an Extended Warranty option for individual purchasers at their discretion. That way we don't all pay for the 4% of users that experience a failure.

Maybe you didn't know the deal, maybe you just didn't buy it - but that's what Pentax does.

I've always paid for the Extended Warranty on cameras and taken the risk on lenses. I figure I'll have a lens forever but cameras obsolete in 3 years. I'm willing to invest more money in a lens, but I want free repairs over the entire expected life of a camera.

The only failure I've had so far is the spring that opens the battery door on my K10D. So I suppose I overpaid for Pentax cameras by $260 or so since 2006. (2x $100 + 3x $20)

I f only it was only 4% , on the k-30 it is more like 10%

[reh321]

Shutter count 3972

Just so you're aware of what the rest of the world is like,
that is 420 shots more than what I got from my first Canon Rebel
{I got even less from the second}.
Maybe I was just unlucky with them {and you'll be more lucky somewhere}

Unfortunately, no one provides reliable usage statistics,
so we have no idea how long the average "consumer"
keeps his/her camera nor how the average failure rate
depends on number of shots.

Maybe I put less work than is typical on my cameras,
but my usage figures are as follows {calculated as of this moment}

Q-7 ... 56.7 shots/month over the past 19 months

K-30 ... 52.2 shots/month over the past 12 months

[monochrome]

I f only it was only 4% , on the k-30 it is more like 10%

Really? 30,000 Aperture Block failures alone? Wow!!! That doesn't even count the regular 4% total (not annual) failure rate over the expected life.

Cite your independent source. Otherwise stop spreading FUD.

[niceshot]

Really? 20,000 Aperture Block failures? Wow!!!

Please cite your independent source. Otherwise stop spreading FUD.

do you even own one????? well

[normhead]

That is a bummer, but you probably won't have much better luck with other brands. My dad got so frustrated with his nikon gear failing that he switched to pentax.
I guess to be safe you're going to have to dust off your old k1000 and some manual primes. I know mine still works.

Well that's the thing, people switch from one brand to another over the same types of issues. The last time I saw something knowledgeable, Pentax had one of the best frequency of repair ratios in the industry. That saves most of us, but not all of us.

I just really hope our OP doesn't switch brands and have the same thing happen with his new brand. Statistically, if it can happen, sooner or later it will. Just hopefully not to him.

[UncleVanya]

do you even own one????? well

What does owning the camera have to do with knowing the statistics of failure? I owned a K-50 and I HAD the failure during the warranty period. Mine was repaired and didn't fail again for the time that I owned it. (I traded it for a GX7 to complement my K-3). During the time I owned the K-50 I did not feel I had special insight into how many other cameras were sold that failed and how many others were sold that did not fail.

So the question remains - where did the 10% failure rate come from - is it cited somewhere - if so please share. If not then as asked please at least state clearly that this is an opinion. As opinions go it isn't that outrageous - some people here think SDM failures run into the 50% level which I think is nuts.

[niceshot]

What does owning the camera have to do with knowing the statistics of failure? I owned a K-50 and I HAD the failure during the warranty period. Mine was repaired and didn't fail again for the time that I owned it. (I traded it for a GX7 to complement my K-3). During the time I owned the K-50 I did not feel I had special insight into how many other cameras were sold that failed and how many others were sold that did not fail.

So the question remains - where did the 10% failure rate come from - is it cited somewhere - if so please share. If not then as asked please at least state clearly that this is an opinion. As opinions go it isn't that outrageous - some people here think SDM failures run into the 50% level which I think is nuts.

it seems to me i read it in square trade statistics , ok it was a flopping 8% but not far from
10%. .Also it seems as if a person a day is complains about this. Suffice to say it is really not right.

[bertwert]

Mine failed after about a year and a half at 7000 ish clicks.
Luckily in Canada that is still within the warranty period.

I expect it to keep going for a long time.

Anyway the price of two K-50's is similar to the price of an equivalent Canikon


If mine fails again after the warranty period, I'll use it with M42 lenses or sell ti for use with M42 lenses.

[UncleVanya]

it seems to me i read it in square trade statistics , ok it was a flopping 8% but not far from
10%. .Also it seems as if a person a day is complains about this. Suffice to say it is really not right.

That's helpful. If we can find the reference people out of warranty might press Pentax/Ricoh and suggest that since this repair is > industry norm they should feel obligated. They still may refuse but it will be more than just someone whining that this isn't fair.

[niceshot]

Mine failed after about a year and a half at 7000 ish clicks.
Luckily in Canada that is still within the warranty period.

I expect it to keep going for a long time.

Anyway the price of two K-50's is similar to the price of an equivalent Canikon


If mine fails again after the warranty period, I'll use it with M42 lenses or sell ti for use with M42 lenses.

that is true they are cheap enuff, that said I guess it is a crab shoot

[monochrome]

it seems to me i read it in square trade statistics , ok it was a flopping 8% but not far from
10%. .Also it seems as if a person a day is complains about this. Suffice to say it is really not right.

There was a SquareTrade article from 2010 - it was a general test of cameras, linked on PetaPixel.

The 8% failure rate for Pentax was for cameras under $300. Pentax wasn't the worst.

Pentax didn't even make the sample for expensive PnS cameras failing in the first two years (that's the way the cameras were tested). That article is the source of the general 4% failure rate statistic for dSLR's in the first two years (and 5.9% longer term).

Close. Try again.


Interestingly, almost all the K-30 / K-50 aperture block failure hits refer back to several PF threads, then Pentaxuser, then dpreview. Do we have a confirmation bias event caused by Google indexing?

[niceshot]

There was a SquareTrade article from 2010 - it was a general test of cameras, linked on PetaPixel.

The 8% failure rate for Pentax was for cameras under $300. Pentax wasn't the worst.

Pentax didn't even make the sample for expensive PnS cameras failing in the first two years (that's the way the cameras were tested). That article is the source of the general 4% failure rate statistic for dSLR's in the first two years (and 5.9% longer term).

Close. Try again.


Interestingly, almost all the K-30 / K-50 aperture block failure hits refer back to several PF threads, then Pentaxuser, then dpreview. Do we have a confirmation bias event caused by Google indexing?

I guess you wont admit it but the k-30 plus the k-50 do lead the Pentax failure lead.