[jerryreed]

Buyer beware. Let me share my experience with the K200D. I bought this camera new in December 08 and spent the next few months getting familiar with it and all the controls and reading the manual. In the Spring, I felt I was ready to start shooting with it. First time out, the camera malfunctioned. The lens (kit lens 18-55) and the camera stopped communicating. No readings in the LCD screen or in the viewfinder after about 30 seconds. Shutter refuses to release. I sent it back to the Westminster, CO repair facility for warranty repair. The camera was returned to me a couple of weeks later, supposedly fixed. It wasn't. I called customer service and they arranged for pick-up and the camera went back to Colorado for a second visit to the work bench. This time the repair took over 30 days, supposedly waiting for parts from China. I asked if the company would replace the camera with a new one. The answer was no, the camera had to have been on the bench three times before they would consider replacing. When the camera was returned from the second visit, the same thing happened. I turn the power on to the camera, the reading in the LCD screen from the lens appears for no more than ten seconds then disappears. While the readings are visible, the shutter will release, but after they disappear, the camera is dead. My long standing affinity for the Pentax Brand has been permanently scarred. Sure they keep extending the warranty for a year each time it's on the bench. But, I still don't have a camera to use. Not much good that does if they camera's permanent home is the repair facility work bench.

[Ash]

This is an unfortunate case. The vast majority of buyers don't have such major dramas (and so they shouldn't). Your camera does indeed sound like a dud that needs replacing, but the rules get in the way...

Many of us here have gone through numerous Pentax dSLRs, some having had all of the models made by Pentax, and don't encounter such issues. Pentax cams do have a solid and robust build, though as with any electrical item, is still prone to electronic failures at any stage of the circuit.

Hopefully this can all be sorted out for you with a replacement and you never have to go through such a process again.

[bessa66]

Perhaps a letter to the distributor may help with a quick replacement?

[tomwil]

Perhaps a battery problem? Some Pentax cameras have a high threshold for voltage. New fully-charged batteries might have been one solution.

Also, was another lens tried? Perhaps the lens itself was faulty, or maybe the contacts on the lens and camera needed cleaning?

[Wheatfield]

Perhaps a battery problem? Some Pentax cameras have a high threshold for voltage. New fully-charged batteries might have been one solution.

Also, was another lens tried? Perhaps the lens itself was faulty, or maybe the contacts on the lens and camera needed cleaning?

+1 on the battery being suspicious. It only takes one dud cell to kill a camera. The *istD that I had was prone to all sorts of wonks when using NIMh batteries, enough so that I went to CR-V3 batteries.

[jerryreed]

I did try all the above suggestions before sending the camera to Westminster Colorado repair facility. They also requested the lens be sent with it, which I have done each time. This camera may operate for a few shots. But, the indicator that it is going to fail is a severely underexposed shot. From that point on, the camera at "power on" will get readings from the lens for about 10 seconds, then the readings disappear. Once the readings in the top of the LCD screen disappear, the shutter will not release. Pentax Imaging USA makes it very hard to call someone at the Corporate HQ in Golden Colorado without going through the "customer service" phone center in Raleigh, NC.

[Wheatfield]

At this point, jump their hoops to get it replaced, and next time do some due diligence in terms of making sure the camera works fine prior to running out of OTC replacement options.

As an aside, my pusher will do an OTC replacement for a few months if a camera goes bad. There is something to be said for eschewing the lowest price and going for the service that a local dealer can provide, even if the cost is slightly higher.
Not saying this is your situation, I'm just saying is all.

[jerryreed]

Thanks to the intervention of Mark Davis at Pentax in Golden Colorado, the camera body was finally replaced. I was without a camera for three months while it was shuffled back and forth to the repair facility in Westminster. After contacting corporate and sending the K200D camera direct to Davis, I finally have a new camera body.
It appears the camera would go into the power saving mode (Yes, with new batteries.); But the depression of the shutter release button would not wake up the sensors, therefore preventing the shutter from opening. The problem was random and intermittent but wasn't easy for the technicians to replicate.

[LeDave]

So they returned it to you supposedly "fixed" when it wasn't fixed? Shouldn't they like actually try it before actually sending it back to you as "fixed"? I mean come on man, 3 times in a row... Not only are they wasting your time, but they're wasting their time and their money...

[Wheatfield]

So they returned it to you supposedly "fixed" when it wasn't fixed? Shouldn't they like actually try it before actually sending it back to you as "fixed"? I mean come on man, 3 times in a row... Not only are they wasting your time, but they're wasting their time and their money...

Intermittent problems are extremely difficult to track down, especially if the problem doesn't manifest itself for the repair tech. If the camera powered up and worked at the repair facility, then it works and gets shipped back.