Originally posted by runswithsizzers For me, the "problem" is not so much the total number of failures, but that Pentax never acknowledged that there was a problem.
What constitutes "acknowledgement"? My memory is that they became aware of the problem about the same time as the rest of us, that Pentax customer service and repair facilities were helpful, that repairs were made under warranty and that Ricoh extended warranty by several months for several users on this forum based in part on the frequency of the issue. Unfortunately, the problem typically began to manifest post warranty and in the case of some users whose cameras were used sporadically, several years passed before they noticed there was a problem.
As noted above, the actual percentage of affected buyers is unknown, though a survey of users on this site has some useful information:
Pentax Aperture Block Failure Survey Results - Articles and Tips | PentaxForums.com
The accusation is often made that Ricoh continued to produce cameras with known-bad components for years after the issue became apparent. The assumptions being:
- That they were aware of the extent of the problem with the K-30 before the bulk of K-50 bodies were made
- That the problem had been fully characterized soon enough to avoid using the culprit solenoids
- That the culprit solenoids could be demonstrated defective at some point in the QA process
- That Ricoh put full production runs to market knowing there was a fatal flaw that would only manifest after warranty expiration
Whether any of the above are true is difficult to establish.
Steve
(...had failure of a K-50 purchased for a close friend that happened two months out of warranty in Winter 2015...fixed at no charge by Pentax...)