Camera repair nightmare

Well it had to happen sooner or later, I dropped a K20D camera and lens. No visible harm but when I put a memory card, in it would not read it; "no card in camera." And the lens would not auto focus on that camera body or the second K20D body I have. So I turned the camera and lens in to the Pentax Authorized Repair Center they said most likely 10 days. fourteen days passed and I called the repair center. They say that they sent the camera body back to the factory and the lens was working fine. A few weeks later the repair center and said that the got the camera body back but it still did not work properly so they sent it back. They got it back again; same story so back it went, this time with the lens. Bottom line; its almost May 17 and I still have neither the camera or the 16-50mm f2.8 wide angle lens.

I'm pretty hard on equipment, I hike a lot with a body, the 16-50mm or similar , a Vivitar Series I 100mm macro, BigMa and a flash. It all weighs in close to 22 lbs so I'm limited to short one or two day hikes, s littlr longer if I can share the load with a friend.

It's a lot to carry and the trail doesn't always go where I want to, so to compensate for the rough treatment I have almost 2 of everything but the BigMa. If something breaks on the trail, I just go without those shots, and I still have a backup at home to use on other projects while things are in the shop.

If it's not rugged it needs to be repairable. I'm beginning to have my doubts about this system.

Hiking near Devils Post Pile, CA

Sorry you're having troubles with the repair service. Most (but not all) reports I've read about repairs have been mainly positive, so hopefully they'll get it right for you.

Nice shot, but you've got a couple of dust bunnies.
--
Russ
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rfortson/
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/russfortson
Even bad photography can be fun

First rule of photography: If you're serious about photography, get a backup!
Okay that's probably not the real first rule, but you get the point right.

Having read your post, this is what I see. To which I'd ask... have you had enough yet?

Don't let this happen again. Get on eBay(or wherever) and grab a second body. You'll be glad you did! - simply because, when it comes to camera's there simply are no guarantee's. And this is why we need to take the initiative and do all we can to protect ourselves.

On the issue of repairs, you can rest easy knowing that all brands are subject to screw-ups. I've read nightmare stories with Canon, Nikon and Sony too. And so I think its safe to say that there just are no guarantee's when it comes to service problems. So I guess its important to realize that.

But more importantly... get a second body!
You'll thank you lucky stars if/when you do.

Good luck.

In addition to what JB wrote I would suggest adding Camera Armor to your K20D body. It might add some bulk but it also offers more protection than you might thing. Plus it's only about $10 on Amazon these days. Get the model listed as being for the K10D it fits fine.

http://www.amazon.com/Products-CA-1127-BLK-Camera-Pentax-Digital/dp/B000ZLYBO0

--
Real men shoot Pentax because we were born with our own Canons!!
{Ok...ok, some of use just shoot with a PnS but it always makes me happy! }

Personally I don't feel Pentax gears are particular rugged, but nothing is guarantee if dropped even with the most expensive gears. Perhaps m4/3 is what you need since you need to cover great distance with backups. Pentax lenses aren't that strong on corner to corner sharpness anyway.
--
http://www.pbase.com/wlachan

Bad luck about your camera. I had the misfortune of having my K7 drop onto hard concrete whilst having the Sigma 70-200 2.8 attached to it. Despite having the viewfinder cracked and the mount on the camera broken, I was still able to take picutres (without af or aperture control).

Dropped it into the Australian service agent for Pentax (CR Kennedy), and they were fantastic. I have a second body, so I wasn't in a rush, but the turnaround time and cost were more than acceptable to me ( from memory it was about 4 weeks). They replaced the viewfinder, and mount, cleaned and recalibrated the K7.

Externally you wouldn't even notice it fell onto concrete.

Anyway, I hope you get your camera back soon.

Great advice but:

As I said, because I am very rough on the equipment I have almost 2 of everything but BigMa. So I have the second body and a 12-24mm f4.0 to cover the wide angle shots while the 16-50 is in the shop. I used the second body to determine that the autofocus on the 16-50mm was not functioning.

Perhaps an M4/3 would be easier to carry, but then how would I mount BigMa to it?

PntxRay said:

Perhaps an M4/3 would be easier to carry, but then how would I mount BigMa to it?

Click to expand...

You can get a cheap adapter off of ebay. I've mounted my Bigma to my E-P1. No AF, but you get metering and just use the aperture ring. I don't have a shot of my Bigma on my E-P1, but here's a lens thats just a tad bigger, the SMC 1000mm f/8.



Pentax is as rugged (or more) than anything else in it's price range. My K20D is a tank, as is my K5. You could perhaps move up to a D3 or top level Canon, but that's not really a cost-effective solution.

For MFT (I have one), you'll lose dynamic range and high ISO capability, and the cameras aren't sealed or as rugged. Many of them are cheaper, though. Also, if you're not shooting high ISO, then you can get some great shots with them. I took mine to Yellowstone and got some great landscapes, but the shots with the K20 were usually a tad better if the lighting was tricky (high contrast, lower light, etc).

So far, I haven't heard anything that sounds out of the ordinary for how you use your gear. It stinks that the repair place screwed up the repair, but that can happen with any brand. I'd chalk that up to bad luck.
--
Russ
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rfortson/
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/russfortson
Even bad photography can be fun

I had similar problems with Pentax Russia. My K20 occasionally, but often enough makes shots with half of the frame out of focus . Tried to send for repair two times (both times covering shipping fees by myself), even with examples. Both times body was sent back with the verdict "everything is fine"