F****** K20d

**jbinpg** · 04-27-2009, 11:35 PM

Not all K20Ds have problems in the cold. I have had mine chilled down to -25C with no ill effects. Mind you, I had it plugged into the AC adapter and made sure that I wrapped it up when I took it inside.

RiceHigh · 04-27-2009, 11:56 PM

Anything on Earth would stop working some days. Relax..

Wheatfield · 04-28-2009, 12:17 AM

Originally posted by steve500

I have a small crack in the housing from I have no idea what near the battery housing

I hate to sound like I'm picking on you, but you are cursing out a camera that broke after it has been impact damaged?
Hmmmmmmm.....

Anyway, good luck with the repair.

WheresWaldo · 04-28-2009, 06:08 AM

Originally posted by steve500

Thanks for the input guys.

I'll ship it off to pentax tomorrow in Colorado and let you all know what happens.

I have a small crack in the housing from I have no idea what near the battery housing and I hope it does not interfere with the warranty. If warranty doesn't cover me, I can't imagine how much the repair is going to be if the solder points have broken on the main board, the main board has lots of soldered and non-unplug-able cables on it that would take a lot of service to replace.

So that's that. I'll send it in tomorrow.

Now, for the K200D... Does anyone know if it will be possible for me to order a new info (top b/w) info display for it?

-steve

Steve, I was quoted $270 non-chargeable (under warranty) for the repair of the SD socket. I am assuming they just replace the board the socket is on and not the socket itself. I am still waiting for the camera to be repaired and sent back. Pentax says 15 -20 business days on their site.

lesmore49 · 04-28-2009, 09:41 AM

Originally posted by Damn Brit

Strange that the K10 doesn't seem to have these problems in the cold. Not that I've heard anyway, in fact I've heard it outperforms other cameras in sub zero weather.

I routinely take my K10d and my buddy takes his K200D out in temps of 25 below and we wander around taking pictures. So far all the lenses (Pentax) and the two cameras function perfectly...no shutter freezing, no AF of lenses freezing up. We're usually out for about an hour or so, before we can't take it any more, although the cameras appear to be more cold resistant than we are.

The cameras just hang around our neck, outside in the cold.

I used to do the same with my '74 Pentax ES II , my wife's '81 K1000. I do have to say though that my '68 Pentax S1a would freeze it's shutter after about an hour out in extremely cold temps.

Just so you know, I do take good care of all my camera equipment, never do anything that I would consider abusive and all of my equipment...even my 41 year old S1a and almost 60 year old Leica Rangefinder still work well.

I live in a part of Canada where 25 to 30 below is not unusual during the winter and we get winters that last about 5 1/2 months. So we kind of have to live life...freezing cold or not. In the summers it get's pretty hot...high 80's to 90's...the K10D takes that in it's stride too.

I've been doing this kind of thing for years...didn't know there might be problems.

I also use top flight memory cards..either San Disk Extreme or Lexar Professional...they're pricey, but so far haven't let me down.

Old Timer 56 · 04-28-2009, 10:01 AM

Originally posted by steve500

.....I have a small crack in the housing from I have no idea what near the battery housing and I hope it does not interfere with the warranty........

One of my K10D bodies had a small crack on the corner of the baseplate near the battery housing that later developed into a chip when a piece fell out. This is a known issue with some of the older bodies. I sent it in to Pentax along with my 21mm lens that was exhibiting serious back-focus issues. I mentioned in my note accompanying the camera and lens that the chip was NOT caused by any impact to the camera. They replaced the baseplate and fixed the BF issue.

Recently I noticed that the chip has reappeared, as I and others suspected it would. It has no effect on the camera's operation so I am ignoring it. I wonder if this is similar to the crack on your camera. See my post on 1/21/08, "Tiny Crack on K10D Progression". I haven't heard of this being an issue on the K20D but who knows.

Richard

SteveB · 04-28-2009, 11:37 AM

I imagine the K20D uses lead-free solder due to EEC regs. Terrible stuff, highly unreliable compared to the old tin/lead solder. It's also why XBoxes nearly always die after a year or so.

reeftool · 04-29-2009, 08:10 AM

Originally posted by SteveB

I imagine the K20D uses lead-free solder due to EEC regs. Terrible stuff, highly unreliable compared to the old tin/lead solder. It's also why XBoxes nearly always die after a year or so.

I have had serious problems with the circuit boards on the Transport refrigeration units I repair and service. The solder connections were were coming "un-soldered" under normal operating conditions. After doing my own repairs on the boards for the past two years they have finally admitted there is a problem and we are getting new, better built boards under warranty. I'm not sure if the problem is due to lead free solder but the use of a cheap, low temp lead free solder and poor quality manufacturing. My repairs using a lead free 95/5 (much higher melting point) didn't fail. I doubt that our camera batterys are producing enough current and heat to melt the solder if the boards are being built to proper specs. More than likely it is a sub contractor cutting corners using the wrong (cheaper) solder.

Wheatfield · 04-29-2009, 09:28 AM

Originally posted by reeftool

I have had serious problems with the circuit boards on the Transport refrigeration units I repair and service. The solder connections were were coming "un-soldered" under normal operating conditions. After doing my own repairs on the boards for the past two years they have finally admitted there is a problem and we are getting new, better built boards under warranty. I'm not sure if the problem is due to lead free solder but the use of a cheap, low temp lead free solder and poor quality manufacturing. My repairs using a lead free 95/5 (much higher melting point) didn't fail. I doubt that our camera batterys are producing enough current and heat to melt the solder if the boards are being built to proper specs. More than likely it is a sub contractor cutting corners using the wrong (cheaper) solder.

On that note, I just had to replace an ASUS 8600 series graphics card because, from what I've been able to glean, the solder in the bumps was letting go and causing all sorts of havoc.
From the looks of it, pretty much all ASUS 8*** series cards that get used heavily are affected by this problem.

04-28-2009, 09:41 AM	#20
lesmore49 Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Western Canada Posts: 12,342	Originally posted by Damn Brit Strange that the K10 doesn't seem to have these problems in the cold. Not that I've heard anyway, in fact I've heard it outperforms other cameras in sub zero weather. I routinely take my K10d and my buddy takes his K200D out in temps of 25 below and we wander around taking pictures. So far all the lenses (Pentax) and the two cameras function perfectly...no shutter freezing, no AF of lenses freezing up. We're usually out for about an hour or so, before we can't take it any more, although the cameras appear to be more cold resistant than we are. The cameras just hang around our neck, outside in the cold. I used to do the same with my '74 Pentax ES II , my wife's '81 K1000. I do have to say though that my '68 Pentax S1a would freeze it's shutter after about an hour out in extremely cold temps. Just so you know, I do take good care of all my camera equipment, never do anything that I would consider abusive and all of my equipment...even my 41 year old S1a and almost 60 year old Leica Rangefinder still work well. I live in a part of Canada where 25 to 30 below is not unusual during the winter and we get winters that last about 5 1/2 months. So we kind of have to live life...freezing cold or not. In the summers it get's pretty hot...high 80's to 90's...the K10D takes that in it's stride too. I've been doing this kind of thing for years...didn't know there might be problems. I also use top flight memory cards..either San Disk Extreme or Lexar Professional...they're pricey, but so far haven't let me down. Last edited by lesmore49; 04-28-2009 at 09:48 AM.

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04-27-2009, 11:35 PM	#16
jbinpg Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Prince George, BC Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,546	Not all K20Ds have problems in the cold. I have had mine chilled down to -25C with no ill effects. Mind you, I had it plugged into the AC adapter and made sure that I wrapped it up when I took it inside.

04-27-2009, 11:56 PM	#17
RiceHigh Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Hong Kong Posts: 1,934	Anything on Earth would stop working some days. Relax..

04-28-2009, 12:17 AM	#18
Wheatfield Moderator Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: The wheatfields of Canada Posts: 15,981	Originally posted by steve500 I have a small crack in the housing from I have no idea what near the battery housing I hate to sound like I'm picking on you, but you are cursing out a camera that broke after it has been impact damaged? Hmmmmmmm..... Anyway, good luck with the repair.

04-28-2009, 06:08 AM	#19
WheresWaldo Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: North Carolina Photos: Gallery Posts: 498	Originally posted by steve500 Thanks for the input guys. I'll ship it off to pentax tomorrow in Colorado and let you all know what happens. I have a small crack in the housing from I have no idea what near the battery housing and I hope it does not interfere with the warranty. If warranty doesn't cover me, I can't imagine how much the repair is going to be if the solder points have broken on the main board, the main board has lots of soldered and non-unplug-able cables on it that would take a lot of service to replace. So that's that. I'll send it in tomorrow. Now, for the K200D... Does anyone know if it will be possible for me to order a new info (top b/w) info display for it? -steve Steve, I was quoted $270 non-chargeable (under warranty) for the repair of the SD socket. I am assuming they just replace the board the socket is on and not the socket itself. I am still waiting for the camera to be repaired and sent back. Pentax says 15 -20 business days on their site.

04-28-2009, 10:01 AM	#21
Old Timer 56 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: New York Posts: 168	Originally posted by steve500 .....I have a small crack in the housing from I have no idea what near the battery housing and I hope it does not interfere with the warranty........ One of my K10D bodies had a small crack on the corner of the baseplate near the battery housing that later developed into a chip when a piece fell out. This is a known issue with some of the older bodies. I sent it in to Pentax along with my 21mm lens that was exhibiting serious back-focus issues. I mentioned in my note accompanying the camera and lens that the chip was NOT caused by any impact to the camera. They replaced the baseplate and fixed the BF issue. Recently I noticed that the chip has reappeared, as I and others suspected it would. It has no effect on the camera's operation so I am ignoring it. I wonder if this is similar to the crack on your camera. See my post on 1/21/08, "Tiny Crack on K10D Progression". I haven't heard of this being an issue on the K20D but who knows. Richard

04-28-2009, 11:37 AM	#22
SteveB Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: U.K. Posts: 685	I imagine the K20D uses lead-free solder due to EEC regs. Terrible stuff, highly unreliable compared to the old tin/lead solder. It's also why XBoxes nearly always die after a year or so.

04-29-2009, 08:10 AM	#23
reeftool Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Upstate New York Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,554	Originally posted by SteveB I imagine the K20D uses lead-free solder due to EEC regs. Terrible stuff, highly unreliable compared to the old tin/lead solder. It's also why XBoxes nearly always die after a year or so. I have had serious problems with the circuit boards on the Transport refrigeration units I repair and service. The solder connections were were coming "un-soldered" under normal operating conditions. After doing my own repairs on the boards for the past two years they have finally admitted there is a problem and we are getting new, better built boards under warranty. I'm not sure if the problem is due to lead free solder but the use of a cheap, low temp lead free solder and poor quality manufacturing. My repairs using a lead free 95/5 (much higher melting point) didn't fail. I doubt that our camera batterys are producing enough current and heat to melt the solder if the boards are being built to proper specs. More than likely it is a sub contractor cutting corners using the wrong (cheaper) solder.

04-29-2009, 09:28 AM	#24
Wheatfield Moderator Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: The wheatfields of Canada Posts: 15,981	Originally posted by reeftool I have had serious problems with the circuit boards on the Transport refrigeration units I repair and service. The solder connections were were coming "un-soldered" under normal operating conditions. After doing my own repairs on the boards for the past two years they have finally admitted there is a problem and we are getting new, better built boards under warranty. I'm not sure if the problem is due to lead free solder but the use of a cheap, low temp lead free solder and poor quality manufacturing. My repairs using a lead free 95/5 (much higher melting point) didn't fail. I doubt that our camera batterys are producing enough current and heat to melt the solder if the boards are being built to proper specs. More than likely it is a sub contractor cutting corners using the wrong (cheaper) solder. On that note, I just had to replace an ASUS 8600 series graphics card because, from what I've been able to glean, the solder in the bumps was letting go and causing all sorts of havoc. From the looks of it, pretty much all ASUS 8*** series cards that get used heavily are affected by this problem.