Dissapointed with Pentax, Happy with Calumet

I'm not wanting to be too down on Pentax, however I am a bit disappointed with them.

I've had my K10d for 3 month's and I absolutely love it, but 1 month ago the front e-dial suddenly stopped working. I had purchased my camera from Calumet (Glasgow) instead of an online retailer incase of any problems, I could just take it back to the store and get help. So I took it back to the store who were unable to get it working, so they sent it back to Pentax uk to have it repaired.

8 days later Calumet called to say that My camera had been returned. I went in to pick up my camera however it was still not working, the repair advice note sent back read "Panoramic function repaired". The assistant at the store was as annoyed as I was and called Pentax while I was standing with him, Pentax Uk assured him that if he returned it that day it would be looked at immediately and returned fully operational.
That was 3 weeks ago and my camera has still to be repaired or returned !!!
(that means it has spent 1/3 of the time I've had being repaired)

Calumet has kept me constantly updated with all that's been happening and inform me that Pentax claim that the technician dealing with my k10 had it on the bench to be repaired but has went on holiday and it hasn't been finished !

Calumet has kindly provided me with a Nikon D200 with 2 lenses, compact flash card and camera bag free of charge until my camera is returned. Although it is no K10d.

To sum up I have nothing but praise for Calumet Glasgow especially Dennis but please ! Pentax Uk get your act together, the K10d is a great camera, don't drive your customers away with pathetic customer service.
Steamie

--
Alan Chan
http://www.pbase.com/wlachan

It is things like this that Pentax themselves should be made aware, it doesn't matter if it is UK, USA or any other country. Complain is the only way that things could be fixed within the company. I myself have done this and most of the time the problem I had was resolved. I admit I have not had a problem with my Pentax gear so to them I have not complained.
--
Joel

My Location:
New Jersey, USA
My On-Line Album: http://joelsphotos.waxman.org

Joel said:

It is things like this that Pentax themselves should be made aware,
it doesn't matter if it is UK, USA or any other country.

Click to expand...

I'm more than happy with Pentax Norway, they replaced my daughter's first two faulty K100D bodies within very short time. It still made me somewhat suspicious of the current quality level of Pentax, and I was wondering whether to buy Pentax at all. But now, about 6000 shots later, the camera is very reliable, and she is still happy as a clam, so I'm ready to finally by my K10D in a few weeks
--
Espen

I'm p*ssed at Pentax too - US this time. Lets all vent! Haha

Seriously though - my DA*16-50 is backfocusing on my K10D and underexposing when stopped down. I talked to the person who works at the company that is contracted to do Pentax service here in Turkey (very very nice guy - patient and explained everything very well) and I told him that Pentax US told me that 1/3EV, maybe even slighly more underexpose wide-open to stopped down is normal and within spec and he kind of laughed and implied something like "yeah right". I agree - no other lens I own (7 others) consistently underexposes like this at different apertures. He probably said the aperture mechanism was probably a little off - I think he is right.

Also I told him about the backfocus issue and that none of my other lenses have problems and only this DA* and that I sent it to Pentax US and that they sent it back saying it's OK and that my camera needs to be calibrated to the DA*. He found that interesting too and said that if the camera is fine with other lenses ranging in focal lenght from 10mm to 200mm that he has never heard of anything being done in-camera as opposes to fixing the lens AF mechanically. I have a feeling Pentax just didn't want to admit the lens is not up to spec and just went the cheap way out by trying calibrate the lens to the camera electronically when the lens itself should really be fixed. Now im asking Pentax US for my international warranty card and he is going to see if it is something he can fix, at least he can really diagnose what is wrong with it and if it is something he can't do then we're going to take action from there (ie. Pentax Europe).

I have to say I have no confidence or trust in Pentax service. This is my only experience with them but reading comments like yours just gets me p*ssed at them.

--
Sinan
http://sinantarlan.zenfolio.com/

Sinan,

I have no experience with Pentax service. I have a lens here that needs to be repaired but I'm holding off because of what I read.

There are two things that make me reluctant to buy any brand: (a) quality problems (not getting what you paid for) and (b) trouble to get problems fixed, especially when still under warranty.

I'm willing to spend money on things that I really want, but I expect these things to be of good quality and, if not, that it is taken care of. And I read far too often that Pentax service all over the world leaves much be desired. I hope that the Hoya take-over will change this.

Sinan Tarlan said:

I'm p*ssed at Pentax too - US this time. Lets all vent! Haha

Click to expand...

--
-- Andreas --

Sinan Tarlan said:

Seriously though - my DA*16-50 is backfocusing on my K10D and
underexposing when stopped down. I talked to the person who works at
the company that is contracted to do Pentax service here in Turkey
(very very nice guy - patient and explained everything very well) and
I told him that Pentax US told me that 1/3EV, maybe even slighly more
underexpose wide-open to stopped down is normal and within spec and
he kind of laughed and implied something like "yeah right". I agree -
no other lens I own (7 others) consistently underexposes like this
at different apertures. He probably said the aperture mechanism was
probably a little off - I think he is right.

Click to expand...

Experience tells me that 1/3 EV underexposure is not uncommon for the fact that the exposure accuracy depends on both the lens aperture mechanisms and the camera itself (metering issue aside). Since DA* hasn't aperture ring, you might see if the aperture blades are fully opened at f2.8. If so, the aperture coupling arm sticks out at the rear of the lens could be adjusted to fix this problem. Any competent technicans should be able to do it in less than 30mins.

SFT007 said:

Also I told him about the backfocus issue and that none of my other
lenses have problems and only this DA* and that I sent it to Pentax
US and that they sent it back saying it's OK and that my camera needs
to be calibrated to the DA*. He found that interesting too and said
that if the camera is fine with other lenses ranging in focal lenght
from 10mm to 200mm that he has never heard of anything being done
in-camera as opposes to fixing the lens AF mechanically. I have a
feeling Pentax just didn't want to admit the lens is not up to spec
and just went the cheap way out by trying calibrate the lens to the
camera electronically when the lens itself should really be fixed.
Now im asking Pentax US for my international warranty card and he is
going to see if it is something he can fix, at least he can really
diagnose what is wrong with it and if it is something he can't do
then we're going to take action from there (ie. Pentax Europe).

Click to expand...

Unlike Canon, I suspect if the lens, not the camera, BF/FF is something Pentax cannot repair, other then replacement because not everything can be reprogrammed. A friend of mine is using Nikon and is pretty much in the same boat.
--
Alan Chan
http://www.pbase.com/wlachan

wlachan said:

Sinan Tarlan said:

Seriously though - my DA*16-50 is backfocusing on my K10D and
underexposing when stopped down. I talked to the person who works at
the company that is contracted to do Pentax service here in Turkey
(very very nice guy - patient and explained everything very well) and
I told him that Pentax US told me that 1/3EV, maybe even slighly more
underexpose wide-open to stopped down is normal and within spec and
he kind of laughed and implied something like "yeah right". I agree -
no other lens I own (7 others) consistently underexposes like this
at different apertures. He probably said the aperture mechanism was
probably a little off - I think he is right.

Click to expand...

Experience tells me that 1/3 EV underexposure is not uncommon for the
fact that the exposure accuracy depends on both the lens aperture
mechanisms and the camera itself (metering issue aside). Since DA*
hasn't aperture ring, you might see if the aperture blades are fully
opened at f2.8. If so, the aperture coupling arm sticks out at the
rear of the lens could be adjusted to fix this problem. Any competent
technicans should be able to do it in less than 30mins.

Click to expand...

No - not the metering and the camera is fine with stopping down with all other lenses. In a scene with no changing light I am setting manual exposure - ie. say 1/1000 at f/2.8 and 1/500 at f/4 - the f/4 image is always what looks to be 1/3EV (if not more) darker than the wide-open image. It seems it is simply a an issue with the aperture mechanism of the lens.

It's interesting that you point out that if the apeture is fully open at f/2.8. In fact I mentioned this in my message to them - at the wide-end I can clearly discern the aperture - it is not a perfect/smooth circle but sticks out a little - at the long end at 50mm however it is a perfect circle - I was told by forum members here that all constant aperture zooms are like this??

Member said:

Member said:

Also I told him about the backfocus issue and that none of my other
lenses have problems and only this DA* and that I sent it to Pentax
US and that they sent it back saying it's OK and that my camera needs
to be calibrated to the DA*. He found that interesting too and said
that if the camera is fine with other lenses ranging in focal lenght
from 10mm to 200mm that he has never heard of anything being done
in-camera as opposes to fixing the lens AF mechanically. I have a
feeling Pentax just didn't want to admit the lens is not up to spec
and just went the cheap way out by trying calibrate the lens to the
camera electronically when the lens itself should really be fixed.
Now im asking Pentax US for my international warranty card and he is
going to see if it is something he can fix, at least he can really
diagnose what is wrong with it and if it is something he can't do
then we're going to take action from there (ie. Pentax Europe).

Click to expand...

Unlike Canon, I suspect if the lens, not the camera, BF/FF is
something Pentax cannot repair, other then replacement because not
everything can be reprogrammed. A friend of mine is using Nikon and
is pretty much in the same boat.

Click to expand...

Well IF there is a problem with the lens and they aren't admitting it because they are cheap and can't own up the their problems then that is even more dissapointing they don't replace it. I know of at least one other person in Europe that had the same AF problem as me with this lens and they sent him a new lens!! Pentax US too worried about keeping costs low??

--
Sinan
http://sinantarlan.zenfolio.com/

Sinan Tarlan said:

No - not the metering and the camera is fine with stopping down with
all other lenses. In a scene with no changing light I am setting
manual exposure - ie. say 1/1000 at f/2.8 and 1/500 at f/4 - the f/4
image is always what looks to be 1/3EV (if not more) darker than the
wide-open image. It seems it is simply a an issue with the aperture
mechanism of the lens.

It's interesting that you point out that if the apeture is fully open
at f/2.8. In fact I mentioned this in my message to them - at the
wide-end I can clearly discern the aperture - it is not a
perfect/smooth circle but sticks out a little - at the long end at
50mm however it is a perfect circle - I was told by forum members
here that all constant aperture zooms are like this??

Click to expand...

Nope, not all constant aperture zooms are designed this way, but many do, especially wide-standard/tele zooms. What you have seen at 16mm f2.8 is that the aperture blades aren't perfectly aligned which will have nil impact on exposure accuracy, and is rather common these days. This has to do with loose manufacturing parts and assembling (time consuming to get it perfect). But if the aperture is fully opened at 50mm when mounted on camera, the aperture should be within spec. If that really bugs you, the aperture arm at the rear could always be re-adjusted to suit your taste. It's a simple job.

SFT007 said:

SFT007 said:

Unlike Canon, I suspect if the lens, not the camera, BF/FF is
something Pentax cannot repair, other then replacement because not
everything can be reprogrammed. A friend of mine is using Nikon and
is pretty much in the same boat.

Click to expand...

Well IF there is a problem with the lens and they aren't admitting it
because they are cheap and can't own up the their problems then that
is even more dissapointing they don't replace it. I know of at least
one other person in Europe that had the same AF problem as me with
this lens and they sent him a new lens!! Pentax US too worried about
keeping costs low??

Click to expand...

I guess it's like buying cars, no dealership would ever give you a new one even if you got a lemon. But there were cases people got camera or lens replacement if you hit the right button, or person. Perhaps you might try to contact the higher management in Pentax USA and see if they are willing to issue a replacement.
--
Alan Chan
http://www.pbase.com/wlachan

Yup, I expect Pentax to do better, I have read too many horror stories with Pentax service and mine isn't too pleasing either. Now I don't care about the other people that maybe received good service from Pentax whenever they dealth with them - what matters to me is my experience and my experience is not what I would call satisfactory. Maybe Pentax is worried about keeping costs on the balance sheet low to impress Hoya? Well for now I am going to hold off passing too much judgement and see what the Pentax contracted technician can do here, it will be very interesting to see if he will "call out" Pentax on all the issues they said are fine? After that I'll see.

--
Sinan
http://sinantarlan.zenfolio.com/

The f-stop of a lens is the ration of the focal length of the lens to the "entrance pupil". The entrance pupil can be but is not always the diameter of the aperture blades.

So at f2.8 at 16mm the entrance pupil (aperture blade opening) should be about 5.75mm. At the 50mm focal length the entrance pupil (aperture opening) should be about 17.8mm. Notice one is LARGER than the other. That's why you see the aperture blades infringing on the lens opening at 16mm and not at 50mm.

This isn't rocket science...

wlachan said:

Sinan Tarlan said:

No - not the metering and the camera is fine with stopping down with
all other lenses. In a scene with no changing light I am setting
manual exposure - ie. say 1/1000 at f/2.8 and 1/500 at f/4 - the f/4
image is always what looks to be 1/3EV (if not more) darker than the
wide-open image. It seems it is simply a an issue with the aperture
mechanism of the lens.

It's interesting that you point out that if the apeture is fully open
at f/2.8. In fact I mentioned this in my message to them - at the
wide-end I can clearly discern the aperture - it is not a
perfect/smooth circle but sticks out a little - at the long end at
50mm however it is a perfect circle - I was told by forum members
here that all constant aperture zooms are like this??

Click to expand...

Nope, not all constant aperture zooms are designed this way, but many
do, especially wide-standard/tele zooms. What you have seen at 16mm
f2.8 is that the aperture blades aren't perfectly aligned which will
have nil impact on exposure accuracy, and is rather common these
days. This has to do with loose manufacturing parts and assembling
(time consuming to get it perfect). But if the aperture is fully
opened at 50mm when mounted on camera, the aperture should be within
spec. If that really bugs you, the aperture arm at the rear could
always be re-adjusted to suit your taste. It's a simple job.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info.

Member said:

Member said:

Member said:

Unlike Canon, I suspect if the lens, not the camera, BF/FF is
something Pentax cannot repair, other then replacement because not
everything can be reprogrammed. A friend of mine is using Nikon and
is pretty much in the same boat.

Click to expand...

Well IF there is a problem with the lens and they aren't admitting it
because they are cheap and can't own up the their problems then that
is even more dissapointing they don't replace it. I know of at least
one other person in Europe that had the same AF problem as me with
this lens and they sent him a new lens!! Pentax US too worried about
keeping costs low??

Click to expand...

I guess it's like buying cars, no dealership would ever give you a
new one even if you got a lemon. But there were cases people got
camera or lens replacement if you hit the right button, or person.
Perhaps you might try to contact the higher management in Pentax USA
and see if they are willing to issue a replacement.

Click to expand...

Maybe, but who do I deal with and I don't want to demand a new lens from them before showing the lens to the technician here first, Ned was initially in contact with me and offered help but then never got back to me and I don't have the contact for anyone else higher up and besides I am no longer in the US - my lens is with relatives who will be receiving my international warranty card and will be bringing the lens to me sometime within the next few weeks hopegfully, after which I will take it to technician here.

--
Sinan
http://sinantarlan.zenfolio.com/

Sinan Tarlan said:

Maybe, but who do I deal with and I don't want to demand a new lens
from them before showing the lens to the technician here first, Ned
was initially in contact with me and offered help but then never got
back to me and I don't have the contact for anyone else higher up and
besides I am no longer in the US - my lens is with relatives who will
be receiving my international warranty card and will be bringing the
lens to me sometime within the next few weeks hopegfully, after which
I will take it to technician here.

Click to expand...

I am afraid I have no idea who to deal with in the US, but I can tell you that the international warranty card should not be needed as all brand new Pentax cameras or lenses should automatically carry 1 year international warranty so long as you have the proper invoice. In the worse case, just ship everything to Pentax Japan along with the valid invoice and they will honour that warranty w/o question ask. Since it is still under warranty, they might even give you the FedEx acc # so they will pay for the shipping both ways. However, don't expect them to issue a replacement though they will try their best to "repair".
--
Alan Chan
http://www.pbase.com/wlachan

wlachan said:

Sinan Tarlan said:

Maybe, but who do I deal with and I don't want to demand a new lens
from them before showing the lens to the technician here first, Ned
was initially in contact with me and offered help but then never got
back to me and I don't have the contact for anyone else higher up and
besides I am no longer in the US - my lens is with relatives who will
be receiving my international warranty card and will be bringing the
lens to me sometime within the next few weeks hopegfully, after which
I will take it to technician here.

Click to expand...

I am afraid I have no idea who to deal with in the US, but I can tell
you that the international warranty card should not be needed as all
brand new Pentax cameras or lenses should automatically carry 1 year
international warranty so long as you have the proper invoice. In the
worse case, just ship everything to Pentax Japan along with the valid
invoice and they will honour that warranty w/o question ask. Since it
is still under warranty, they might even give you the FedEx acc # so
they will pay for the shipping both ways. However, don't expect them
to issue a replacement though they will try their best to "repair".

Click to expand...

I'm confused - on the Pentax US website it says this:

International Warranty Card

New PENTAX products do not automatically come with an international warranty that covers all PENTAX products around the world. However, it is possible to obtain an International Warranty Card through PENTAX Imaging Company. after you have purchased a PENTAX product. If you bought your PENTAX product in the United States and are traveling to a foreign country for an extended period of time, we can send you an International Warranty Card to cover your product while you are abroad. We will also send you a list of authorized service centers around the world.

I have already sent them my info and they should mail the card out soon to the recipients who will be bringing the lens to Turkey anyways. Dealing with Pentax Japan or Europe, etc. will be hassle so I want to see what happens with the contracted service center here first and if needed then I think it is better to take the matter with Pentax Europe or Japan as you say.

--
Sinan
http://sinantarlan.zenfolio.com/

Sinan Tarlan said:

I'm confused - on the Pentax US website it says this:

International Warranty Card

New PENTAX products do not automatically come with an international
warranty that covers all PENTAX products around the world. However,
it is possible to obtain an International Warranty Card through
PENTAX Imaging Company. after you have purchased a PENTAX product. If
you bought your PENTAX product in the United States and are traveling
to a foreign country for an extended period of time, we can send you
an International Warranty Card to cover your product while you are
abroad. We will also send you a list of authorized service centers
around the world.

I have already sent them my info and they should mail the card out
soon to the recipients who will be bringing the lens to Turkey
anyways. Dealing with Pentax Japan or Europe, etc. will be hassle so
I want to see what happens with the contracted service center here
first and if needed then I think it is better to take the matter with
Pentax Europe or Japan as you say.

Click to expand...

I am confused too as that warranty card is nothing but a piece of paper which is no more valid than the invoice. When the warranty service was needed, neither Pentax Canada nor Japan ever asked for that warranty card. A proper invoice was all that matter. But yes, it would be much better to have it fixed locally. Shipping it out will probably mean at least a month waiting period.
--
Alan Chan
http://www.pbase.com/wlachan

wlachan said:

Sinan Tarlan said:

I'm confused - on the Pentax US website it says this:

International Warranty Card

New PENTAX products do not automatically come with an international
warranty that covers all PENTAX products around the world. However,
it is possible to obtain an International Warranty Card through
PENTAX Imaging Company. after you have purchased a PENTAX product. If
you bought your PENTAX product in the United States and are traveling
to a foreign country for an extended period of time, we can send you
an International Warranty Card to cover your product while you are
abroad. We will also send you a list of authorized service centers
around the world.

I have already sent them my info and they should mail the card out
soon to the recipients who will be bringing the lens to Turkey
anyways. Dealing with Pentax Japan or Europe, etc. will be hassle so
I want to see what happens with the contracted service center here
first and if needed then I think it is better to take the matter with
Pentax Europe or Japan as you say.

Click to expand...

I am confused too as that warranty card is nothing but a piece of
paper which is no more valid than the invoice. When the warranty
service was needed, neither Pentax Canada nor Japan ever asked for
that warranty card. A proper invoice was all that matter. But yes, it
would be much better to have it fixed locally. Shipping it out will
probably mean at least a month waiting period.

Click to expand...

Yeah it is weird that they have to issue this card, I don't see why they don't just let an invoice be valid for a year where ever you may be and need service. Anyways - I already sent the fax with my info to them so the people bringing the lens back to Turkey should get the card before they leave in a few weeks. Anyways I am just hoping that it is something the technician here can fix but it's probably unlikely since Pentax US couldn't do anything. Maybe he can calibrate the body to the lens correctly (without needing to do anything to the lens) and without affecting the calibration for the other lenses. I believe that is possible based on what I read in another thread though the technician wasn't sure but he said he could check.

Cheers

--
Sinan
http://sinantarlan.zenfolio.com/

Dreticus said:

Sinan,

I have no experience with Pentax service. I have a lens here that
needs to be repaired but I'm holding off because of what I read.

Click to expand...

i have experience with pentax europe and nothing than praise for them. my DS had a dead pixel on the sensor (that was in 2005). i sent it in to hamburg (1000 km south, from austria by regular mail) and it came back fixed swiftly (i was without the camera for only 7 days). after one year the flash died. same thing: the camera returned repaired after very quickly. on my new K10D I detected a dead sensor-pixel (now my colleague detected one on his new nikon D80 - we'll see how long nikon will take). the same procedure again, I also called pentax hamburg (very nice person on the other end of the line with detailed info on the status of repair). all in all it took 7 days in total (this was in March).

your profile says you're in belgium - so your service center will most likely also be hamburg (pentax europe). i wouldn't hesitate to use their service!

Dreticus said:

There are two things that make me reluctant to buy any brand: (a)
quality problems (not getting what you paid for) and (b) trouble to
get problems fixed, especially when still under warranty.

I'm willing to spend money on things that I really want, but I expect
these things to be of good quality and, if not, that it is taken care
of. And I read far too often that Pentax service all over the world
leaves much be desired. I hope that the Hoya take-over will change
this.

Sinan Tarlan said:

I'm p*ssed at Pentax too - US this time. Lets all vent! Haha

Click to expand...

--
-- Andreas --

Click to expand...

--
http://sternbild.zenfolio.com (gallery)
http://schaffnerlos.blogspot.com (Vienna - image & text blog - in German)

Steamie said:

Calumet has kindly provided me with a Nikon D200 with 2 lenses,
compact flash card and camera bag free of charge until my camera is
returned. Although it is no K10d.

Click to expand...

Well no, it's definitely not Presumably, your worry now is that the Chimps at Pentax UK will, somehow, manage get your camera fixed in between banana breaks, and you'll have to give Calumet their D200 back?

My advice is to move, pdq, with no forwarding address

Just an update.
5 weeks now and My K10 still hasn't been repaired !

I returned the D200 back to Calumet today. Unfortunately though the "Chimps" at Pentax haven't managed to get there act together yet. I sent 2 emails to Pentax uk service dept complaining over the level of service I have received and guess what ......... they haven't replied to them.

Every time Pentax have been contacted they give a different story. If I ever get it back working I'll let you guys know.

p.s

having used the d200 for the last week or so I must say I don't really find it any better overall than the k10d (when its working). The focusing was faster but image quality itself I felt was a bit below the K10 especially the colours.

Steamie said:

The focusing was faster but image quality itself I felt was a bit
below the K10 especially the colours.

Click to expand...

Were you shooting RAW?
If so, did you use a RAW converter that can read the encrypted WB info?
If not: Did you try adjusting the in-camera settings for JPEGs?

I hope you can get this resolved quickly with PUK.

Cheers
Jens

--

'Well, 'Zooming with your feet' is usually a stupid thing as zoom rings are designed for hands.' (Me, 2006)
My Homepage: http://www.JensRoesner.de