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Forum: Pentax KP
05-06-2022, 01:57 PM
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Doh, of course the one I was looking at is now gone. And no Japanese sellers I've come across include return shipping.
I may try to be a bit more patient, as mikesbike advised, and wait for one on the continent. (If you're selling, DM me!)
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Forum: Pentax KP
05-06-2022, 11:44 AM
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That's the battery grip, right? I should have specified the one I'm looking at includes just the extra "large" grip, not the battery grip. Thanks for your input!
---------- Post added 05-06-22 at 12:45 PM ----------
Good point, thank you. I will look closer at that fine print.
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Forum: Pentax KP
05-06-2022, 09:48 AM
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Greetings!
I'm upgrading from my KS2, and I've come around to the KP. However, as we know they are becoming rare and expensive on the used market. ATM, there are a few available from Japanese eBay sellers, but I have my reservations. Before I take the plunge, a few questions I'm hoping someone can ease my fears or dissuade me from a bad decision:
- Does approx $850 USD (1100ish CAD) seem reasonable for a kit that includes a grip? (about 9,000 shutter count)
- Does anyone have experience importing from Japan to Canada? Are import fees excessive?
- Has anyone bought a KP and regretted it?
- Is KS2>KP a meaningful upgrade?
I'm also wondering if there will be a KP replacement, but I see a recent thread to that effect saying basically no.
Thanks all for your time.
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Forum: Repairs and Warranty Service
01-08-2022, 05:11 PM
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Going to attempt uploading a few photos
0140 (overexposing when focused on child, with blown out background) vs 0142 (a true depiction of the lighting)
0149 (overexposing all but dog, who was much more shaded in real life) vs 0148 (what the flooring really looked like - crumbs and all!)
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Forum: Repairs and Warranty Service
01-08-2022, 05:01 PM
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Hi!
Following up about my KS2 cause I'm sure you're all waiting with bated breath. :) Well, it came back earlier this week (6 weeks after sending it off the second time, 11 weeks since I've been without my working camera).
It's... better? But not back to where it was. Most of the time it exposes fine, but when I focus on a particular subject, it has a tendency to overexpose a bit. It will set parameters for a bright, clear subject at the expense of the rest of the composition's shadows being lost and at the expense of an accurately exposed subject. It does not seem to like dimmish conditions at all, and thinks that I want my subject brightened up rather than real-life. And this is on multi-segmented metering, where I would expect it to expose for the full scene. It's like it's extremely spot-metering even when I've told it not to. Other times - especially wider angle shots with less of a clear subject - it is perfectly fine. But maybe 1/5 times I'm not happy with a shot. This is especially frustrating for portraits, where I want natural skin tones and not a blown-out background.
Sun repair said they "adjusted auto-exposure sensor and confirmed all functions meet specifications." That's it, one line about the work done.
Guy at my local shop also thought it was performing okay (despite showing him lots of sample shots) and was not encouraging, and I got mansplained about luminosity and told I should fix "subjective" preferences in post-processing. I never used to need to! The way we left it is that I'm asking for some compensation back from Sun because I don't trust them to fix this to my standards at this point. I was told I shouldn't expect anything back from them but they'll ask on my behalf.
Frustrating to say the least. I sent in a previously reliable camera for what I thought was a really common fix (aperture block failure), and got a somewhat unreliable camera back. All I want is my camera before it failed. Am I setting my standards too high here? McBain (local shop) and Sun repair seem to think so. Very disappointed if Sun/Pentax thinks what they've sent back to me (twice) is acceptable. If what if I have is within operationally acceptable specifications for Pentax... maybe Pentax is not for me?
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Forum: Repairs and Warranty Service
12-04-2021, 12:39 PM
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Thanks for that. It went differently the first round – my local shop was the go-between; called me to confirm I wanted to proceed. But yeah, I feel less unsure about contacting them directly now that I know their service centre is not a closed box.[COLOR="Silver"]
---------- Post added 12-04-21 at 12:45 PM ----------
Thanks all for your help, especially photgem for all the detailed repair info (a lot to process there, but a great reference tool if I need to state a case to Sun!)
It's off to Sun and my concerns have been passed on to them. Waiting game at this point. I'll try to remember to update with an outcome (probably a few weeks). Of course, part of me has already moved on and I'm on the hunt for a KP as a replacement... heheh
Everyone's been really nice, non-judgemental, and generous with their knowledge in this, my first post! Much appreciated.
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Forum: Repairs and Warranty Service
12-02-2021, 08:04 AM
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photogem, thanks for your honesty and sharing your experience through this thread. It's disappointing (though helpful) to hear, and I wish I had done more research to ensure they fixed it properly (or attempt myself). But, busy working mom life and all that.
Do I have any recourse here? I've contacted my local shop (McBain Camera) to confirm it's gone to Sun, and to request that they confirm exactly the work done, conveying my doubts about the accuracy of proper approach. I suppose whether or not the work they did was unnecessary beyond scope, it sounds from others like it might be standard practice here in NA.
But I'm most concerned about your theory that they didn't actually do the work they claimed. Am I correct in understanding that all signs point to them but lying about the control unit replacement? Unfortunately I can't prove this with conjecture or "that's what someone on the internet thinks." It's kind of their word against mine. I think I can only wait and see at this point, hoping it comes back fixed.
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Forum: Repairs and Warranty Service
12-01-2021, 01:58 PM
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I was quite pleased with the KS2 before all of this happened. Exposure and rendering was reliable, and autofocus miles ahead of my old K20. Nice and compact, too. I trialled a K3ii before and wasn't pleased with the output.
Hope you have better luck with yours!
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Forum: Repairs and Warranty Service
12-01-2021, 01:34 PM
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Wow, thank you for all this detailed info and sharing your knowledge! It saved me some time in parsing it from elsewhere.
I'll pass along the query about whether the solenoid was filed or replaced with the wrong one. If I was billed for work that wasn't necessary or not actually done (replacing the control unit), I'm going to be pretty peeved.
Does $300 seem way out of ballbark for a solenoid replacement?
Thanks again.
---------- Post added 12-01-21 at 01:39 PM ----------
Thanks for clarifying. This is my first time having to send out a repair.
Do you happen to know from experience if they would communicate directly with customers, or do they only deal with the shop that sends them items?
Cheers
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Forum: Repairs and Warranty Service
12-01-2021, 10:31 AM
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Thanks for the reply.
Yes, I was surprised it came back the way it did. I assumed this was such a common problem they'd know easily what to do. My mistake.
I don't know if it's Sun, but I could find out. The store employee mentioned Mississauga but it looks like Sun is in Vaughn. Could have been a mistake on her part. I can't imagine they'd send repairs off to an unauthorized tech... I hope.
I will try to sneak in a request to clarify whether the solenoid was replace.
~e
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Forum: Repairs and Warranty Service
12-01-2021, 10:06 AM
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Hi all!
Longtime Pentaxian but new to the forum; nice to meet you!
A few months ago, I sent my out-of-warranty, 3ish years old KS2 in to the service centre here in Canada for issues that all pointed to the common aperture block failure: Sudden extreme underexposure (black photos), sometimes working through liveview but then that stopped working, too.
Back from repair this week, and the camera is not fixed satisfactorily. It's now overexposing (not dramatically but clearly and consistently), even more so in live view. Notes indicated they'd "replaced the resistor and diaphram control unit". I'm not knowledgeable enough to know if replacing these parts actually would address aperture block failure. Can anyone confirm or clarify?
It's now on its way back to the service centre as the repair – which I paid $300 CAD for, ugh – is under warranty. My local camera shop (a trusted, well-established store) is my go-between and I gave them detailed written notes of the issue this time, rather than relying on my verbal communication. I'm hoping they specifically check for aperture block failure this time as I specified it in the notes. But the store says they don't know what work the service centre decides to do until it's actually returned. Seems this process failed me.
Anyone deal with a similar issue at the Canada service depot (Missassauga, I think)? Is there anything I can do if this comes back unfixed again?
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