|
Forum: Repairs and Warranty Service
12-10-2017, 02:52 PM
|
| |
Despite all of this, good Companies, that care about customer satisfaction, always give the consumer the benefit of the doubt in warranty claims. Pentax does make a big deal about their weather sealing as a benefit of purchasing their cameras. In this case, they come back and claim that moisture got in the camera, only after having the camera for months and sending it to another country? (and back again) Give me a break!
And...the K3's have had lots of complaints about shutter issues just like the OP has reported. It's not like this is an issue they have never seen before.
What Companies like Ricoh don't realize is they may be saving a few bucks by refusing to resolve the OP's warranty issue, but the marketing damage this causes by publicly displaying their idiotic, pathetic and totally irresponsible customer service will cost them thousands, if not millions in the long run. For all their time, shipping costs and dealing with this camera, it has already cost them more than the cost of replacing the camera. What a bunch of idiots.
Come on Ricoh! Do the right thing here and resolve this warranty problem.
Like I stated before, if they refuse, then take them to court. That's what it is there for. You have acted as a reasonable consumer, have been more than patient and have a very strong case. IMO there is no way Ricoh can prove that you caused a moisture issue in this camera. If there was a moisture issue with the camera, it could have easily been caused by their irresponsible care and the length of time they have had the camera.
I believe any reasonable judge would side with you on this one.
If you win, take your money and buy another vendor's platform.
|
|
Forum: Repairs and Warranty Service
12-09-2017, 08:54 PM
|
| |
Your warranty issue was more than a nightmare and no consumer should ever have to go through what you went through. I would copy what you wrote in this thread and send it to Ricoh in Japan. Demand that they make this right or take legal action against them. Send it to them where they have to sign for it and send you the proof that it was received.
I'm not sure what the laws are in Europe, but in the USA you would have every right to take this case to Small Claims Court. This should be a giant embarrassment to Ricoh as a Company and someone should be held accountable for this.
You have been more than patient and you have done everything by the book. You are the victim here and you should not give up on this. I would call Ricoh in Japan and keep escalating this until you get to someone high enough in management that will make this right for you.
I'm sorry to hear you have had such a bad experience. Based on this, I may think twice about ever buying their products again.
Good luck and don't give up. If you give up, the incompetents win.
|
|
Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
06-09-2016, 05:16 PM
|
| |
I second the Tamron 17-50mm if you are looking for a zoom that's about as good as primes. You can buy them without warranty directly from Japan form Amazon for a song. I just purchased one and am very impressed.
Oh - and I want a K3II as well! :lol:
|
|
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
05-21-2016, 04:44 PM
|
| |
If you want to get into digital for very little risk or money, I second the Pentax K100D. It was the first digital SLR camera I bought and I still get amazing pictures from it. It is compatible with all your lenses and you can buy one used under $100 US dollars. It may only be 6 mega pixels, but the pictures it takes are stunning. I also own a Pentax K5II and it is also an excellent camera. It also costs more. So - if you want to try out digital and see if you like it, you could pick up the K100D at virtually no risk.
|
|
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
05-20-2016, 06:18 PM
|
| |
I too have a K100D since it was launched and it has been a great camera. It was my first DSLR and I have incredible pictures taken with it. I have printed 11x14's with it that you would never know came from a 6MP camera. The K100D proves that megapixels aren't everything when it comes to IQ. I now have a Pentax K5II, which is a much better camera, but I'm still astonished as to how good photos look form the K100D. I've been thinking about selling it, but for the little I would get for it, I decided to keep it. Eventually I will upgrade to a K3II and my K5II will become my backup camera. I will most likely give the K100D to my wife or my grandson which would make a good first DSLR to learn from.
|
|
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
05-18-2016, 05:38 PM
|
| |
Yes, I agree with you. I think you are better off packaging the lens with an older DSLR and trying to see it that way instead.
---------- Post added 05-18-16 at 08:42 PM ----------
Thanks everyone for your advice. I really appreciate it as it has helped me sort out what I want to do.
This is a great forum and resource for information.
|
|
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
05-18-2016, 01:04 PM
|
| |
Great advice - I failed to mention that I also own the DA 40mm pancake lens. I was thinking along the same lines as you here. Thank you very much.
---------- Post added 05-18-16 at 04:08 PM ----------
Actually I just purchased the Tamron 17-50 based on the good reviews. I.E. it is supposed to be a sharper lens than the 18-135wr.
I really haven't had a chance to use it much, but the little shooting I have done with it, I'm quite impressed with it's sharpness. I think it has better IQ than the Pentax 18-135mm WR but isn't as versatile.
---------- Post added 05-18-16 at 04:10 PM ----------
That's a good point. I have taken some amazing photos with the K100D, which proves that megapixels isn't everything for image quality. The 6mp sensor in that camera was very good. It's just hard to justify selling something when you will only get pennies on the dollar for it.
---------- Post added 05-18-16 at 04:18 PM ----------
Either that or Option B would be to see how much money I could get for the K100D with the 18-55 and the 55-200 lenses and then sell the Tamron 18-200 separately. Put the money towards a K3 II and use the K5 II as a second body.
|
|
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
05-18-2016, 08:54 AM
|
| |
Hello:
I'd really appreciate your opinions on what to do here. I have two cameras, and older Pentax K100D, (which still takes very good pictures) and a newer Pentax K5 II. Over the years I have accumulated quite a bit of glass. I feel like I should sell some of it, but I really don't know what I should sell. I know a lot of it overlaps with other lenses that I have and I would love to get some cash for some of the overlapping lenses.
First of all I mainly shoot landscapes and portraits. I like the versatility of zooms, but crave the IQ of primes. I guess you could say I have expensive tastes but don't have the money to support it. I want to eventually upgrade to the K3 II and am hoping the price will drop further in the future so I can have two main bodies, the K5 II and K3II. I'm not unhappy with the K5 II at all - it has been a great camera. For that matter, I have been very happy with the K100D and am still astonished as to how good the photos are from it. I know I can't get much money for it, so I just keep it around and may hand it down to one of my grandchildren some day as a starter DSLR.
Here is an inventory of the glass I own:
Pentax DA 18-55 (Bought with My K100D)
Pentax DA 50-200 (Bought with my K100D)
Tamron 18-200 (Bought with my K100D to eliminate the switching of the top two lenses - have not used it much)
Tamron 17-50 F2.8 (Bought for my K5II because of the excellent reviews and IQ- I got a very good price on it from Japan)
Sigma 10-20 EX (Purchased for K5 II - haven't used it much but it has come in handy for indoor room shots, hoping to use it more for landscapes.)
Ricoh 50mm 2.0 (Was purchased with my old film camera - hardly ever use it)
Also have an older film Sigma 18-200 and a Tokina A zoom lens packed in storage somewhere.
Pentax 18-135mm WR (My most used lens due to it's versatility)
Pentax 50-300 WR (Haven't used it a whole lot, but love the IQ from this lens and know I will be using it more in the future)
Pentax DA 35 2.4 (Purchased due to it's prime IQ - very inexpensive)
Pentax DA 40 2.8 (Got a great deal on it and couldn't resist the small size)
Pentax DA 50 1.8 (Same as above)
Pentax DFA 100mm Macro WR (Just ordered it as I want to get into more macro work - I am also interested in portraits with this lens)
Had I had it to do all over again, I would have probably concentrated my funds on fewer lenses and the limiteds.
I really don't use the K100D much and thought about selling it with the two zooms for it, but I doubt I would get much for it and it is probably worth more to me to just keep it as it is in mint condition with very low shutter count.
I have also thought about selling the Tamron 18-200, but again, the lens is so cheap, it's probably just not worth selling.
I know what I am asking here is very subjective, but would like your opinion on what you would do if you shoot like me and had the gear I have.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
|
|
Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
04-17-2015, 05:55 AM
|
| |
Good suggestion. I've been having the most problems when using the Pentax 18-135mm lens. I was outdoors taking pictures of some water falls, shooting at a long distance with plenty of light and the focus would not allow the camera to fire again. This hapened to me numerous times throughout the day. I didn't have another lens with me to see if it was related to that specifc lens.
What's the best way to clean the contacts on the camera and lens - using isopropol alcohol?
If this continues, I may send the camera in under warranty.
|
|
Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
04-14-2015, 07:00 PM
|
| |
Thanks for the replies. Yes, I think it is the focus lock indicator that is blinking. The last time it happened, yesterday, I was taking a long shot with the focus on infinity and plenty of light, so I'm not sure why it was locking up. I shut the camera off and turned it back on again and it took the exact same shot. This has happened to me multiple times in the past.
I guess I should take some notes on exactly what I'm doing the next time it happens. I hope it isn't a problem with the camera as 99% of the time it works flawlessly. I'm pretty sure the camera is set for focus priority mode. The focus setting is on single, not continuous mode.
|
|
Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
04-14-2015, 12:10 PM
|
| |
I have a Pentax K5 II and ocassionally have issues with the camera not releasing the shutter when it is showing the "Green Hands" icon in the viewfinder which is blinking. I assume this is the shake reduction. When it has done this I have had plenty of light. No matter how many times I try to get it to release the shutter it won't. The only thing that resolves this is to shut the camera off and restart it. It then gladly takes the picture of the exact same scene.
I have the camera set in AV mode (Aperature Priority)
I'm not sure if I'm doing something worng or have something set wrong with the camera. I am thinking of resetting the camera to the factory settings to see if this resolves it. Will the camera not fire if the Aperature is set too high leaving too slow of a shutter speed?
This doesn't happen often, but when it does, it is very frustrating. I would say I have had it happen at least a dozen times since I have owned the camera.
If you have any thoughts on this, please let me know. I'm still learning this Camera and most of the time I have excellent results.
|
|
Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
01-18-2015, 08:18 AM
|
| |
No - was not using auto ISO - but thanks for the post and thoughts.
|
|
Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
12-26-2014, 04:46 PM
|
| |
Good advice - thanks for the tips. I have been playing with the flash a bit this afternoon. If I set the camera for shutter priority mode it selects 1/180th of a second. If I select Aperature Mode I can set any aperature I llike and the camera selects a shutter speed based on the aperature setting, but never more than 1/180th. I think I will keep it on Aperature Priority mode and then adjust the flash strength with the flash settings to compensate for any over/under exposure.
I'm sure once I spend more time with the Flash, I will get better with it. The problem is, I don't use it all the time, so I forget how to set it.
I've used the "Green" mode - but I don't like how it selects the ASA settings.
|
|
Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
12-26-2014, 02:39 PM
|
| |
Don't think the boss would approve an upgrade to the K3 right now. I've only had the K5 II for a few months.:(
|
|
Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
12-26-2014, 10:06 AM
|
| |
I have read quite a few forums saying PTTL mode does not work well with the K5 series and most people use the flash in "M" mode. I might have to learn how to use that. You would have thought that by the time the K5II came out they would have fixed the PTTL flash issues? I understand that the K3 is much better with Flash.
I'm hoping someone here who has some experience with the same flash and the K5 could give me some pointers on the best way to use the flash. The Metz flash is quite capable - but in PTTL it seems useless except for close up pictures - (Less than 3 feet away) and .....most of the time it over exposes those.
---------- Post added 12-26-14 at 12:07 PM ----------
I actually thought the K50 is supposed to work better, like the K3 with flashes. It uses a different exposure engine than the K5, which is older. I'm surprised to hear you are having the same issue with the K50.
---------- Post added 12-26-14 at 12:57 PM ----------
According to the Metz manual 105mm is the highest effective focal length I should use. That might have been part of the problem. Also - I'm not sure what mode I should really be using the camera in to get the right shutter/flash synch. I think the default is supposed to be a max of 1/180th - but can I use a higher shutter speed if I want?
I usually shoot in Aperature Priority mode. I would think that the Metz flash should set the shutter speed properly depending on what I have set the aperature at.
Sometimes I get a perfect exposure, other times it is terrible. It just doesn't seem to be consistent. I might try spot exposure metering and see if that helps.
Thanks again in advance for any help here. I'd like to get better at flash photography.
|
|
Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
12-26-2014, 09:32 AM
|
| |
I have a K5 II and a Metz 50-AF1 Flash. Both the camera and the Flash have the latest firmware.
I have found that the picture quality with the flash is very hit or miss, mostly miss. I just can't seem to get consistent pictures from the flash with this camera.
I know the K5 has issues with flash - but I would think I could get better pictures with it than I have been getting. I figure I would ask the experts here and get some advice.
I mainly shoot with the 18-135 Pentax lense. I have the Flash set on PTTL and I usually shoot the Camera on "P" mode. But I have also tried it on Full automatic mode. I get bad results with both. The main complaint I have is if I'm shooting at more than about 10-15 feet - the pictures are completely underexposed almost all the time. With close pictures - sometimes I get perfect results, then when I try and shoot the same shot again, (after the flash has charged), I get a very bad shot.
Bounce Flash is even more frustrating - almost always way underexposed. It's like the Flash won't compensate for the bounce effect.
I realize that when I zoom the lense the aperature get's smaller. I have tried to shoot with higher ASA settings - but still don't get the results I expect.
Other times I try and adjust the aperature to get more consistent results. I have tried shooting with the camera's flash and don't get much better results. It has much less flash range than the Metz.
The bottom line is shooting the flash is never consistent. Even my old K100D takes better flash pictures than the K5 II.
Is this something I have to live with on this camera - or am I doing something wrong?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I love this camera but hate shooting with flash.
Oh - and happy holidays to everyone!
|
|
Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
12-02-2014, 05:33 AM
|
| |
BrianR - Thanks very much for the menu options. This explains the behavior I was getting when not pushing the shutter button down all the way while in auto-bracketing mode. I didn't realize that custom option existed. You don't realize how many options there are until you start running into issues like I had.
I really appreciate everyone's help here and am very relieved I don't have a broken camera. Now, all I need to do, is get better at taking pictures. :lol:
This is a great forum and fantastic resource for Pentax users. Thanks once again to everyone!!! Happy holidays.
|
|
Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
12-01-2014, 12:21 PM
|
| |
Steve: Thanks - I went to the manual and it was set for multi-bracketing. I must have set it before and forgot to turn it off. I didn't realize it stays in this mode until you turn it off.
It's interesting that even though you have it in this mode, if you press the shutter quickly it only takes one shot, but when pressed it hard it takes three shots, (as I had it set for)
Sometimes it would only take two depending on how hard I pressed the shutter. Now that it is off, it is only shooting one shot with a press of the shutter button. Let me know if you have any thoughts on why it would only take one shot while in auto-bracketing mode with a quick press. I thought it should take three no matter how hard I pressed the shutter button. I'm still a little concerned that it is not operating the way it should with a quick press of the shuttter button while in auto-bracketing mode. I need to play some more with it to determine if there is something wrong or not. Let me know your thoughts.
|
|
Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
12-01-2014, 06:34 AM
|
| |
Thanks for all the replies - I will try the button press method when the camera is off. Otherwise, I guess I will have to send it in for repair - UGH!!!! At least it is still in the warranty period.
|
|
Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
11-30-2014, 05:48 PM
|
| |
Hello:
I have a fairly new K5 II that I purchased this summer. As of late I have been pushing the shutter button and it has been firing two times each time even though I don't have it in continuous firing mode.
Do you think I have a defective shutter button? Or, could this be some setting I have changed somewhere on the camera? I'm tempted to do a factory reset on the camera and see if the problem goes away.
It almost seems like it is working in bracketing mode, but I thought I had to set that function each time for that to take place?
Let me know what you think. I hope I don't have to send it in but it is still well within the warranty period.
I apreciate in advance any thoughts.
Cheers,
|
|
Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
09-02-2014, 07:10 PM
|
| |
I was faced wtih the same decsion. I decided to go with the K5 II. First, I looked at the reviews between the two cameras and saw picture comparisons from both. To me the differences were subtle. I'm not sure I could really see much of a difference. I also know that you will see the biggest difference between the K5 II and K5 IIS if you are using really expensive lenses. I have a lot of money invested in lenses but won't be shelling out $1,000 + for lenses that would be able to detect the small difference. To me, keeping morie patterns and false colors out of my photos was more important to me.
So far I have been very happy with the K5 II image quality and find the results of my photography have less to do with my equipment and more with my picture taking skills. Some of my best photographs were taken with my K100D with kit lenses.
|
|
Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
05-28-2014, 08:28 AM
|
| |
OK - so I did a little research on the purchase of the 18-135mm WR lens through Amazon. I first ordered from Web Offers at a price of $406. Later that weekend I saw that Sunset electronics was offering the same lens, with some accessories for $369. I received the lens from Web Offer and the lens came in a white box with no warranty card. The lens appears to be fine. I decided I would send the lens back from Web Offers and keep the lower priced one from Sunset Electronics when it arrives.
Because of the confusion on the warranty, Amazon agreed to send back the original lens at no charge to me. I then called Sunset Electronics to ask them about the warranty. They told me the lens would be covered by Pentax for a year, but I could also send it to them and they would send it to Pentax. I'm not sure why I would do this vs. just sending it back to Pentax myself. There was no way to contact Web Offers. At least Sunset Electronics has a telephone number and you can talk to someone.
I then did a chat with Ricoh support. I've attacned the transcipt to this post. If you read the post, it's like Ricoh really doesn't seem confident in their answers regarding what gets a warranty and what doesn't. I took away from the conversation that if you buy it from Amazon, regardless of the seller and if you have an Amazon invoice, you are covered. I think this is consistent with what others have said on previous threads.
It also sounds like Ricoh may be changing, or trying to make their policies on warranty coverage more clear in the future.
At least they have set a precedent with me on this lens.
|
|
Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
05-26-2014, 06:32 AM
|
| |
Even if I don't get a warranty card or serial number? Or is the serial number on the lens itself? Thanks for the info. Supposedly, I'm not going to get the hood either, which I would like. We will see I guess.
|
|
Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
05-25-2014, 06:48 AM
|
| |
I bought the lens from an Amazon vendor. After I purchased it I saw reviews saying the vendor sells Grey market lenses. If I get it and it is Grey Market, it is going back. I will purchase from a reputable vendor. I'm most concerned about the warranty. I looked at the pictures posted on the lens thread and was "blown away" at what I saw. I know these are the "best" photos and most are PP, but they were quite impressive. I hope I can take pictures anywhere near as good as those.
|
|
Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
05-24-2014, 11:54 AM
|
| |
Just pulled the plug on the 18-135. Got a pretty decent price new from Amazon. Now I have to decide if it is worth selling my Tamron 18-200 or if I should just keep it for my K100D body. I'm sure it won't go for much used. I'm all tapped out now after buying the K5 II, DA 35 2.4 and DA 50mm 1.9 primes and now the DA 19-135mm. I'm going to stop spending money for a while and go take pictures!!!
|
