[Zoomer]

Hello all,

I have been a very loyal pentax fan for over 35 years - my 1st camera was a K-100, my second camera was a ME-Super, then an SFX - 1.

I always thought that they were the best camera in the world.

2 weeks ago my K-50 developed the Aperture Control Block problem and for 2 weeks I have been trying to get Ricoh to stand by there product and repair the camera. They won't and I'll be damned if I am gonna buy another product from them when they know this flaw exists in there camera's and won't take any actions to at least stand by there product.

I wanted to thank you all for all the great info, help, tips, techniques and photos I have seen since I joined here, I don't post a lot but I sure read a lot and I will never forget how awesome you all are !!!

Thanks so much,

Zoomer

[reh321]

Hello all,

I have been a very loyal pentax fan for over 35 years - my 1st camera was a K-100, my second camera was a ME-Super, then an SFX - 1.

I always thought that they were the best camera in the world.

2 weeks ago my K-50 developed the Aperture Control Block problem and for 2 weeks I have been trying to get Ricoh to stand by there product and repair the camera. They won't and I'll be damned if I am gonna buy another product from them when they know this flaw exists in there camera's and won't take any actions to at least stand by there product.

I wanted to thank you all for all the great info, help, tips, techniques and photos I have seen since I joined here, I don't post a lot but I sure read a lot and I will never forget how awesome you all are !!!

Thanks so much,

Zoomer

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

[Adam]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience with the repair! Ricoh never issued a recall/service advisory, so if the camera is out of warranty they probably won't do much. It's too bad, as the frequency of this issue certainly suggests some sort of flaw in the camera's design.

Perhaps our paths will cross again in the future- we'll always be here You're always welcome to post photos, too, regardless of what you're shooting with.

[boriscleto]

Buh bye.

[UncleVanya]

Hello all,

I have been a very loyal pentax fan for over 35 years - my 1st camera was a K-100, my second camera was a ME-Super, then an SFX - 1.

I always thought that they were the best camera in the world.

2 weeks ago my K-50 developed the Aperture Control Block problem and for 2 weeks I have been trying to get Ricoh to stand by there product and repair the camera. They won't and I'll be damned if I am gonna buy another product from them when they know this flaw exists in there camera's and won't take any actions to at least stand by there product.

I wanted to thank you all for all the great info, help, tips, techniques and photos I have seen since I joined here, I don't post a lot but I sure read a lot and I will never forget how awesome you all are !!!

Thanks so much,

Zoomer

I assume it was past the warranty period? If so good luck with the other brands. I literally had a friend with the Canon 15-85 tell me he had it repaired OUTSIDE of warranty 3 times. Each time the zoom ring got stuck. He felt this was OK since the lens was so expensive - the repair was worth it. I thought he had lost his mind.

I've seen reliability data on brands and I'm afraid the entire industry is heading into the toilet and you better buy extended warranty services from someone like square trade and depreciate the camera on your own and treat it as disposable. Sad but true and no worse for Pentax than anyone else. The prevalence of knowledge of a "common" failure doesn't actually mean that the failure is "common" in laymen's terms. If 1% of the bodies have it - you'll hear a lot about it possibly. What bugs me is the number of repeat failures we occasionally hear about (SDM, Aperture Control Block, etc.) I wonder if the owner's other equipment is contributing - for example a sticky aperture lever on a particular lens or a screwy body supplying current incorrectly to SDM. The problem is we hear about the failures and no one talks about the non-failures. It is news when something breaks - not news when it works as it should.

In any case, I don't blame you for being angry - the perception of the hive mind is that this problem is prevalent and with no data from any independent source we can't evaluate it rationally. Consumers just are not empowered with enough data to understand the reliability across brands - I wish we were. Whatever brand you buy into - I would strongly suggest an extended warranty of some type.

[pathdoc]

OP, I think you're throwing the baby out with the bathwater. If it's outside of warranty, expect nothing but what you're prepared to pay for.

Alternatively, buy an M42 adapter ring and some Takumar lenses, slap them on your otherwise excellent DSLR and learn a new style of shooting. Otherwise put the camera up for sale on the Marketplace here with the flaw openly disclosed, and someone else might buy it to do just that.

[Kunzite]

Sorry to hear that.
The K-50 is a good camera, and worth repairing - which might be done with an updated aperture control block - but I understand if you lost faith with Pentax/Ricoh Imaging.

Though I think your camera is about a year out of warranty?

[disconnekt]

Like everyone else said, if it's out of warranty any repairs to the camera is going to be on your dime.
As far as repair service from other brands, some are on top of it & some are just a pain in the ass to deal with.

[reh321]

I assume it was past the warranty period? If so good luck with the other brands. I literally had a friend with the Canon 15-85 tell me he had it repaired OUTSIDE of warranty 3 times. Each time the zoom ring got stuck. He felt this was OK since the lens was so expensive - the repair was worth it. I thought he had lost his mind

I understand this completely. As I've commented here multiple times, I came back to Pentax after I had two Canon Rebels die on me with a total shutter count of under 5K {and the second one had issues earlier, as I had to do a hard reboot - remove battery and wait an hour - three times}.

[Kerrowdown]

Go in peace... but please do remember that your always welcome here on the Pentax forum.

[reh321]

... Alternatively, buy an M42 adapter ring and some Takumar lenses, slap them on your otherwise excellent DSLR and learn a new style of shooting. Otherwise put the camera up for sale on the Marketplace here with the flaw openly disclosed, and someone else might buy it to do just that.

That is my short-term backup plan - but I also hear stories about motors failing {including the one that controls the mirror}. I'm hoping these are a result of other kluges to keep using the camera ... but I just don't know.

And has been mentioned here several times, we don't have any real knowledge about mean images to failure.

[ChatMechant]

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.

[Dlanor Sekao]

I had two K-30's do the same thing....one at 50K and the other at 7K and both just out of the 1 year warranty.
Yeah it sucks and I thought maybe I would ditch Pentax too. But then again ? Where would I Go ?
We will see You back here......Bye Bye for Now .


P.S.......Next time buy the extended Warranty for $20-$50 Bucks...... It helps to keep the Blues Away !

[Not a Number]

I polite letter to Ricoh explaining your decision would help. Otherwise it's just tears in the rain and nobody will notice.

Best of wishes with your new camera system.

[SpecialK]

Good luck on the merry-go-round.

A not-Ricoh customer service manager.