[pbo]

Yep. It's shattered. After my detroit - san francisco flight, I took the camera out to take some photos - and the LCD looked like this:



Ironically, it had a hard LCD protector on - but obviously that did not help... I guess good thing is, everything is still working fine - both viewfinder and upper LCD function fine, camera works and takes pics.

Anyways, I don't really know what to do now... I am looking for a repair shop in San Francisco/Berkeley - so if anyone's in the area, and knows a good specialist to recommend, please do. Also, a rough rough estimate, if anyone had a similar problem before, would be good - so that I am prepared when I call the technician.

Thanks,
Bo.

[GerryL]

That was the first thing I noticed that it looked like you had an LCD protector on.
So, with an LCD protector, it could still break.
This is actually good info (not for you), and would make us (with LCD protectors) not take the LCD for granted and be complacent that it's there to protect the LCD.
Obviously, we should still treat the camera with care even with protectors on.
This is an eye opener.
What I can observe is that your LCD protector is not resting on the camera body but still on the LCD glass itself, therefore if there was enough pressure to push the protector, it would put the weight on the glass itself.
Maybe that is what happened??

[pbo]

Yeah, it's glued on the glass itself - so it might be the problem. If it was resting on the body, and there was a bit of space between protector and glass, its "protecting" properties would have been better. So pretty much this kind of protectors is just against scratches.

[Dr_who]

also you never know how your bag is being treated once you hand it in to be be put into the cargo with other bags. Best to take your camera on your carry on if you have the room for it.

[Ash]

For something you obviously value, yes, best not to trust it with others who don't appreciate how much you value it.

My wife gets a little concerned when mine takes up a car seat when it could easily fit in the back (at risk of rolling around and banging into the sides).

[Steve Beswick]

Ouch! Is that a K10?

[khardur]

I've never flown (yeah pathetic isn't it?) so I don't know the answer to this: does the airline bear any responsibility for something destroyed by baggage handling?

[pbo]

I don't think so. And I don't think you understood it correctly. I had it with me all the time. I even took pictures between flights (I would never put it into luggage, unless I wrap 10 layers of bubble wrap around it). But later when I arrived in my apartment, LCD was broke... So I think I might have bumped it somehow (though I don't remember anything like that...)
The problem right now is not how it broke, but where and for how much Ican repair it in Berkeley/San Francisco... I found this repair shop called Apollo Camera Repair, but they're closed for weekend.
Anyways, I will wait till Monday to call them. I'm also thinking about using this K10D as a studio camera tethered to a PC to view results - at least, until it gets fixed.

[tomwil]

I think it is the air travel that did it.

I met someone on Craigslist who is selling me her broken K10D. Her LCD was fine when she started her trip from Utah, and cracked mid-flight to Maryland while in her procession.

She tried to get it repaired under warranty from Pentax, but Pentax would not believe that it broke from air travel and would not honor the warranty. They blamed it on user abuse.

Needless to say, the replacement camera she bought was not Pentax, but Nikon.

[9thumbs]

Yep. It's shattered. After my detroit - san francisco flight, I took the camera out to take some photos - and the LCD looked like this:



Ironically, it had a hard LCD protector on - but obviously that did not help... I guess good thing is, everything is still working fine - both viewfinder and upper LCD function fine, camera works and takes pics.

Anyways, I don't really know what to do now... I am looking for a repair shop in San Francisco/Berkeley - so if anyone's in the area, and knows a good specialist to recommend, please do. Also, a rough rough estimate, if anyone had a similar problem before, would be good - so that I am prepared when I call the technician.

Thanks,
Bo.

Cracked my lcd on my k200d a while back. I went to the Pentax website, and they have a list of authorized repair shops. I was fortunate, I found a shop in my local area so was able to drop it off and pic it up in person. Cost me $170 bucks
But, they completely checked it out and cleaned the sensor and adjusted it, so I'm
confident everything works as it should. No problems since.

[pbo]

I think it is the air travel that did it.

I met someone on Craigslist who is selling me her broken K10D. Her LCD was fine when she started her trip from Utah, and cracked mid-flight to Maryland while in her procession.

She tried to get it repaired under warranty from Pentax, but Pentax would not believe that it broke from air travel and would not honor the warranty. They blamed it on user abuse.

Needless to say, the replacement camera she bought was not Pentax, but Nikon.

Wow, that sounds interesting... Never thought about it that way - I mean, my laptop screen has always been fine, my cell phone screen has always been fine, my PSP (yeah, I have one ) screen never shattered no matter what... I don't think Pentax puts inferior LCD screens into their cameras. So I still think it's me who somehow bumped the camera

Cracked my lcd on my k200d a while back. I went to the Pentax website, and they have a list of authorized repair shops. I was fortunate, I found a shop in my local area so was able to drop it off and pic it up in person. Cost me $170 bucks
But, they completely checked it out and cleaned the sensor and adjusted it, so I'm
confident everything works as it should. No problems since.

Good idea - I just checked the website, there is one in CA, but it's about 80 miles from where I am I'll first wait for the reply of the local repair guy - maybe he can help.

[Dr_who]

even thou the cabin is pressurized it does change and who knows how that could affect it. I was at a fair on a ride that drops you and I had my cell in my pocket and it never hit anything but it never worked after that ride. Just something inside said I don't like this and died.

[Denis]

even thou the cabin is pressurized it does change and who knows how that could affect it. I was at a fair on a ride that drops you and I had my cell in my pocket and it never hit anything but it never worked after that ride. Just something inside said I don't like this and died.

LCD are normally fine up to 13,000 feet which should be fine in airlines as the cabin pressure is maintained below 10,000 feet for passengers comfort. My only concern would be the weather seal. Pressure inside versus outside could rise up to 3 psi if all parts are sealed. Removing the lens would prevent build up of pressure. Was it the cause here, maybe but can not be certain.

[Niki]

eek!
sorry to hear about that =/
Ive flown many, many times with my pentax in hand (never in the cargo area, I doubt its pressurized in there) and never had any problems.
of course, now I'll worry about it lol

hope you can get it fixed inexpensively

[GerryL]

LCD are normally fine up to 13,000 feet which should be fine in airlines as the cabin pressure is maintained below 10,000 feet for passengers comfort. My only concern would be the weather seal. Pressure inside versus outside could rise up to 3 psi if all parts are sealed. Removing the lens would prevent build up of pressure. Was it the cause here, maybe but can not be certain.

This could be too..'coz I remember toothpastes and shampoo or lotion being sqeezed out of the bottle or container after a flight.
If weather sealing worked too much and the pressure didn't equalize inside camera body and outside, I suppose this could happen.
This is something to consider in a flight..take off lens and put body cap on.
Cap would be easier to pop off by pressure than lens or anywhere the air wants to get out or in!