[NaClH2O]

Well I just managed to break my beloved K20D. Unfortunately, I have no idea on how to get it fixed. I've never paid attention to any of the broken/repair threads so I'm not sure where to turn to now.
First: what happened. I was at the New York Botanical Gardens planning on shooting the orchid show. Installed my flash on the camera and put it on a bench while I took off jacket etc. The bench seat was slatted and the camera strap fell between the slats when I went to pick up the camera the strap caught on the slats and yanked the camera out of my hands. It only fell maybe 10 inches if that. However it landed awkwardly and the the hot shoe got snapped off. Shots below are of the damage. I'm assuming the camera is repairable. It turns on and meters, unfortunately there is now a light leak, in camera meter gives a shutter of 4000+ with an aperture of f5.6. If I cover the hole with my thumb it reverts down to a shutter speed of 100 which I'm assuming is close to correct. I'm thinking I could light seal the hole with duct tape and black foam, but obviously I won't have the use of the hot shoe, and I'm afraid I'll screw up the electronics if I do shoot with it.
My questions, are:
Is it worth repairing?

I noticed a second hand K20D for sale in the market place at $550, does anybody have an idea of what the repair would cost?

Assuming it is worth repairing, who do I send it to? Obviously this is a non-warranty repair, I bought the camera thu Beach Camera, but I doubt they do repairs.

Assuming all of the above, approximately how long can I expect the camera to be in the repair shop?





NaCl(any help greatly appreciated)H2O

[R.Miller]

Hi,

My first thought was to suggest epoxy the plastic piece back on but I see the ribbon cable is damaged also. If you could reconnect the ribbon cable then you may be able to epoxy it back but that looks tricky due to the tight spaces.

I would assume the repair would be expensive due to the housing needing to be replaced and the hotshoe electrical needing replacement but you would have to get an estimate to get an exact cost.

If it was me I would probably look for a used one in good condition in the marketplace. That's how I got mine

Good luck.

[16N64]

Cut the ribbon cable and superglue the plastic back on, and remember not to use the hot shoe connector anymore.

[NaClH2O]

Actually there are two ribbon connectors, and two wires. Unfortunately the repair is beyond my poor electronic skills. I have no idea which wire goes where, and to re-attach the ribbon cables I'd need to remove the top housing. But thanks for the input.

NaCl(hoping for an under $300 repair)H2O

[GoremanX]

I second the epoxying of the piece back on (without the ribbon in the way, cut that off). You can still technically use the hot shoe, but it won't be a "hot" shoe, it'll just be a shoe. It won't trigger a flash.

If your flash has a socket, you can still use the camera's external flash socket to trigger the flash. You'll likely be missing out on some features, but it'll still work. Total cost: $0

Meanwhile, save up for a new camera so it won't put such a big hole on your pocket.

[imtheguy]

Ouch!

Can't hurt to send your pics and a friendly request for estimate to the well known Eric at pentaxrepairs@aol.com and let him know how much he is loved at PF.

He is listed in the Forum links section for repairs and everyone that has used him (that I know of) was happy. Even if you buy another one its worth $300 to repair as a backup or to sell.

[blackcloudbrew]

Please read my thread on this:

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/75418-popup-flash-...ay-closed.html

I sent this to the Pentax repair facility that you can locate on the Pentax USA website.

[NaClH2O]

Thanks for all the replies so far. After further investigation I found that there was only one wire broken, (the grey one in the shot above) it looks like it might be a ground. My main problem with glueing the shoe back is that I can't get it to sit flush, even after removing the ribbon connectors. It seems that the copper back plate is interfering, You can see two of the four screws that hold it in place. Unfortunately the contact points for the hot shoe are glued thru the back plate. And it seems impossible to removed. I have written Eric as imtheguy suggested asking him for repair costs, time and also about the possibility of just gluing back the deactivated hot shoe. I'll let everybody know what he says.

NaCl(thanks again for all the input)H2O

[karmazyn]

PENTAX@PL :: Zobacz temat - Jak K20, a potem naprawic.

[darrenleow]

Ouch, a week ago my camera almost fell 3ft off a table with a flash attached. I was so lucky to have caught it, otherwise i might be the one writing this thread instead.

Hope things work out without too much expense.

[NaClH2O]

darren: the worst part of it was that the camera fell 10 inches if that, it just landed wrong. Unfortunately the flash after breaking free from the camera, fell all the way to to the ground another 16 inches or so. I don't know if it's OK, as I haven't checked it out yet. Right now all I'm concerned about is the camera. When I have some time I'll mount it on my venerable DS and see if all functions are working.

NaCl(sigh)H2O

[little laker]

Sorry that it happened to you Salty

I honestly can't imagine costing all that much to repair properly. It isn't usually too hard taking the top off a camera, and swapping a couple of parts.
I would also think that Pentax would let you know whom could repair it, close to you.
The toughest part will most likely be waiting for the parts to come in.

Lots of luck.

So sorry to hear of your accident. Straps are the death of cameras! When I first got my Sony I had a new TC on it and went to walk outside, we have a bench on our front porch and the strap caught on the arm of the bench and yanked the camera right out of my hands and slammed it on the ground.

Straps and benches do not mix!

good luck on the repair. I had to send my K20 to CRIS in az for repair, but it was under warranty.


Should also say the since I picked up the Kx my newly repaired K20 has sit on the shelf.

[creampuff]

Best to send it back to Pentax for repair but I'd advise you not to glue or epoxy anything. The repair tech will probably face a harder time to open up and replace the exterior casing and to replace the ribbon cable. Also you don't know the extent of shock damage on the other internals, so sending it in for repair is your best option if you want to keep the camera.

[chromo]

A good superglue type like 'Loctite' will bond the plastic as strong as new and there's prob nothing better, but you must glue it with the top off. The vapour from the drying glue will permanently fog anything near it. Once it's dry it's safe.

www.loctite.com