[Old Timer 56]

Well, I just got off the phone with Pentax. They received my K10D body on May 7th and I was told the repair would take 3 or 4 weeks. They must have a lot of these things to fix. Or maybe it's because they put warranty repairs on the "back burner", so to speak, since the repair cost is borne by them. Or maybe both explanations are true. Glad I have a back-up body.

I wonder if anyone here has received faster warranty service for the K10D. I'm in the USA and the camera was sent to their service center in Westminster, Co. I'm not complaining, mind you, just curious.

I was also told that they would not contact me when it was ready to be shipped back to me. I'll just have to call them when I think the repair might be finished to get a tracking number. Oh well.

Richard

[davemdsn]

I used to work at a camera store that sold Pentax. They were always pretty quick on repairs sent through the store, warranty or otherwise. That's why I still buy bodies through the store, it's like having an inside track. They may be quoting you a "padded" estimate on turnaround so they can look good when it comes back early. Let us know how it goes.

[Old Timer 56]

You may be right about the turnaround estimate. I hope so anyway, though besides the second K10D body, I have several other cameras, including three Nikon 35mm SLR's.

PhotoTech here in New York handles Pentax warranty repairs but they told me to send it directly to Pentax since "they haven't been trained on the K10D yet". I wonder if any of the other authorized repair facilities in the USA handle this camera yet.

OT: I see you are in Boise, ID. One of my first newspaper jobs was on the Idaho Statesman, as one of three staff photographers. This was in the late 1950's. Fun job (but crappy paper). I'm sure Boise has changed a lot in the intervening half century!

Regards,

Richard

[roscot]

I was told the repair would take 3 or 4 weeks.

Richard

I wouldn't read to much into it. That is their standard reply. Every service I've heard about over the last 3 years they've said 3-4 weeks (including my own service). Shipping time is usually included in that estimate though.

[Reps]

I am very well aware of reverting of the FW version to gain access to "debug menu"... but as I turned my 5.5 month old K10D to our country local service for cleanup after trip to Egypt (some dust in prism housing) and was willing them to fix my rather consistent focus problems (and my tests and shots show FF rather than BF as common :-( )- I was surprised by the reply that FW version 1.20 does not allow such adjustment even for the official guys? How is that possible- so if I get my K10D back in cleaned state (which I know they do perfect)- so I can take courage to revert to FW 1.10- if only somebody can help me with finding with those "hacked" firmwares... was stupid enough not to save these when they appeared at another forum :-(
Please do not take this as a whine- just searching for a desperate solution and wish happy shooting to everybody, JR

[borno]

Hey Richard,
Mine took 4 weeks (january) for a flash failure, but they were real busy and had a big blizzard that month. When you get the tracking number at least you can see when it is done. I think mine took a while also because they were waiting for replacement bodies. Good luck!
tom

[SloPhoto]

Hey Richard,
Mine took 4 weeks (january) for a flash failure, but they were real busy and had a big blizzard that month. When you get the tracking number at least you can see when it is done. I think mine took a while also because they were waiting for replacement bodies. Good luck!
tom

did you get a new body when your flash fried? New box?

My flash just blew, and I just want to know what to expect (my camera has treated me well, no hot pixels and such, so I am afraid to give it up)

[Bramela]

As per my earlier post, I have major AF/MF problems with my K10d.
It is packed up to be shipped off to the Australian agents (C.R.Kennedy P/L).
I will report on delay/service etc, for interest to fellow Australian members.
Had a Flash pop-up problem with on my Dls and that took about 4-5 weeks to return.
Trouble is, I dont have another camera to back up K10d, now! Ah well, thems the breaks, I suppose

[borno]

Hey slophoto,
they sent me a new body in new box without the charger and manual and stuff. I had it for a month but only took about 12 flash shots before it popped (or is it pooped). It messed up the circuitry I think. The bad one sn was 221xxx, I think they had a bad batch of capacitor or something. good luck.

[SloPhoto]

Hey slophoto,
they sent me a new body in new box without the charger and manual and stuff. I had it for a month but only took about 12 flash shots before it popped (or is it pooped). It messed up the circuitry I think. The bad one sn was 221xxx, I think they had a bad batch of capacitor or something. good luck.

It was around my 20th onboard flash shot, out of 8k shots. Died while testing out my 31mm limited, talk about a joy kill.

(have 540fgz external flash)

[volosong]

Hey slophoto,
they sent me a new body in new box without the charger and manual and stuff. I had it for a month but only took about 12 flash shots before it popped (or is it pooped). It messed up the circuitry I think. The bad one sn was 221xxx, I think they had a bad batch of capacitor or something. good luck.

You guys are starting to scare me. Checked the serial number on mine. It is 221xxxx, and was one of the very first bodies delivered here in the states.

What happens when the flash fails? Locks up the whole camera so image acquisition is not possible?

How would I go about trying to make the flash fail? Sounds like I should run a little 'test' to see if my body has a problem or not. (I very, very rarely use flash of any type, but would still want it to function as designed.)

[volosong]

Another question for those who have sent their bodies in for repair. Did you get your original body back, or a replacement body? If I have to send mine in, should I remove the KatzEye screen first?

[borno]

hey Steven,
From what I gathered some of the early bodies like ours must have had a bad component and didn't take but a few flashes to fail. Mine made a POP and sizzle "ooooh what a feelin'" I think most are useable albeit no flash, but mine had the brain all wacky. If it did happen I would definitly put the stock screen in as you might get another body (I did). The bright spot (pun) is you get a 12 month warranty from the time of repair.

[Reps]

Mine is (or I hope it was) also 221xxxx from November... (hope to exchange it but do not feel lucky just now about the opportunity :-() About flash I can not tell anything as my DA16-45 which I mainly use indoors during social activities held in dim light REQUIRES use of external flash due to shading up to 26mm approx. when using onboard one But for lazy macros with DFA100 I have used onboard one I guess for 500+ times- so I really do not think that this is a great problem at all- problem lies in quality control with relocated production I guess (misaligned CCDs, focusing problems etc.)- these are all the assembly problems not discovered by QC
Lucky me with backup bodies and due to my minor K10D disappointment (I just guess my bad luck) have found several "extras " with my K100D and *istD
So, apart from whining sometimes: best and happy shooting to everyone, JR

[SloPhoto]

You guys are starting to scare me. Checked the serial number on mine. It is 221xxxx, and was one of the very first bodies delivered here in the states.

What happens when the flash fails? Locks up the whole camera so image acquisition is not possible?

How would I go about trying to make the flash fail? Sounds like I should run a little 'test' to see if my body has a problem or not. (I very, very rarely use flash of any type, but would still want it to function as designed.)

It locks up the camera when the built in flash is popped up, no AF, no shutter.

But when the flash is down, it works like a champ.

It will blow out just like a standard lightbulb, a bit extra noise, a bit brighter of a flash, then no AF. If I were you I would take a bunch of flash shots when you get near the end of your warranty (set remote assistance to fire off a bunch of flash assisted shots in a row). I have not heard of many failing after a large quantity of flashes. Most of the stragglers are like me, and do not use the built in flash much.