Buy a Pentax. - (but buy it in Australia, from Camera House)

I made a concerning post recently regarding water that got into my Pentax K3 when exposed to light rain. This happened on Sunday - 5 days ago.

On Monday I contacted the camera dealer "Camera House" in Noosaville, Queensland, Australia. (The salesman was Ian Hodgkinson. He has an excellent knowledge of photographic equipment and an encyclopaedic knowledge of Mac computers). I emailed Ian and sent photos of the water ingress on the Sunday. I spoke to him on Monday and he said he'd get right onto it. I expected it would take weeks to get this problem sorted out. - Worse, (and irrationally) I entertained paranoid thoughts of warranty issues.

I needn't have worried. On Wednesday morning, there was a new camera waiting for me. The faulty one had been picked up by C.R. Kennedy (The importers of Pentax) and a new one dropped off. How good is that?

Any camera Leica, Nikon, Canon etc can develop a fault. A professional needs to know that their down time is at a minimum. An amateur isn't going to lose income but there is a frustration factor with a camera being away repaired. - But 48 hours. That's got to be some sort of record.

So there you have it. I had a problem. Camera House and C.R. Kennedy sorted it out immediately. One can ask for no more. I doubt if there would have been as excellent a response from any other manufacturer's dealer.

Before you buy your grey import or try and save a few dollars by buying on eBay, think about this. Sometimes the more expensive option is, by far, the less expensive option.

Can a professional now buy Pentax and earn a living from this equipment? If my experiences are anything to go by, the answer is an unequivocal yes.

Can a professional save money, without compromising quality, by purchasing Pentax? - Again, the answer is unequivocally yes.

Kudos to C.R. Kennedy.

Kudos to Camera House. To purchase anywhere else would appear to be illogical.

Ian Rivlin

PS. I have no professional association whatsoever with Camera House. I am a family physician and am purely an amateur. I have always believed credit where it is due.

Buying from the importer/dealer isn't always possible every where, though.

Thanks! I've received heart-warmingly positive posts from nearly everyone.

... CR Kennedy have really got their act together. Their online shop and pricing is now taking on the el cheapo grey imports. Shipping times are excellent. I've a had a couple of repairs done in recent months and they went smoothly. So full marks to them and keep up the good work.

And so pleased to hear your water ingress problem was resolved to your satisfaction so quickly Ian.

Thanks for the kind words. Everyone has been so friendly and supportive.

Well, that's great news, - - - and now put the new camera under the shower and give it a good soaking. Just kidding.

Have to agree about C.R Kennedy's, as an importer for Pentax, from my experience and understanding, pretty darn good. Camera House can be as good or otherwise as its individual store owners in term of customer service, but your story is good news.

But dare I take it out in the rain again?

............be rude not too ;-)

Yes, I guess I have to.

Kool Beanz

Interesting. I was on the lookout to buy one when i was there at Christmas, but I did not think Camera House were stocking them and I cooled to the idea. At the moment the body prices for the K3 are about 25% less than they are here in the UK :-(

Difficult to say with something as personal as photographic gear but I suspect you'd like the K3. It's one of those cameras that you like to take out with you. I have friends with big stuff like D800/EOS etc, which never leaves the house because it's so big and heavy.

Good news Ian CRK is an excellent distributor, and I have found them to be prompt and right on top of their game. I haven't dealt a lot with camera house but they seem to have done a great job by you. - terrific.

--
Regards Dean - Capturing Creation
N.B. All my Images are Protected by Copyright

Great for you and good on them.

THAT is the sort of great service that will make take a brand to the top.

Kudos to you also for the recognition.

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