K200D Image Stabliser Problem

Hi everyone,

I have only justed joined this forum and think its great! Love uploading my photos and receiving your feedback.

I have been using Pentax since 2007 when I bought my first ever SLR (K100D). Upgraded to the K200D at Christmas for my holiday in March. Postponed holiday to April and the week I was due to fly realised my camera which had been happy sitting on the dinning room table had developed a clunk when switched on. It turned out the Image Stabliser had broken and on the day I flew had to buy a new K200D body! It survived 2 weeks of bumping around the Serengeti with no problems. Has anyone else had any problems with the K200D? I can't remember where I bought it! Might have been Ebay!

Welcome to the forum.

It's quite possible that you didn't need to buy another camera.

All of the Pentax bodies that have the dust reduction system will clunk when switched on if the 'dust removal at power on' option is set to enabled in the custom menu.

It's normal.

Who diagnosed that the image stabiliser was broken? Where is the 'faulty' camera now?

Hello and welcome

Hi Jeanette,

Welcome to the forum
Peter is right, I don't have a K200D but I have my K20D set to activate the dust removal on start up and it clunks every time I power on, perhaps it was accidentally turned on in the menu? Just a thought.

Welcome to the forum.

Hello Jeanette and welcome to the forum.

Welcome Jeanette, My K200d 'rattles' when turned on. It's the dust removal system shaking loose particles off the sensor, normal on these bodies.

Hi,
Thanks to you all for your welcome and comments. I took the camera to Jessops and they diagnosed the problem. I then took it to the London Camera Exchange to send back to Pentax for a quote. The problem is, it didn't clunk when I first had it. The clunk came on almost overnight, I had been practising quite happily with it with no clunk, didn't use it for a couple of weeks and then it started. The picture I took called Chesterfield Sunrise on the gallery was taken pre-clunk. My replacement doesn't have a clunk at the moment either. You could also feel the cluck through the base of the camera as well. It will be interesting to see what Pentax say. Will keep you all informed.

Thanks

Jeanette

Did you take any photo's after you first noticed the clunk? How did they look?

Hi Peter,

I did try some test shots in the house, which looked OK on the camera but I don't think that is always a realiable check, however, as I was going on Safari, I didn't want to risk taking the camera only to find that all the shots were out of focus, which was what Jessops said might happen. The man at London Camera Exchange also switched it on before agreeing to send it back to Pentax.

Thanks Jeanette

Hello and welcome to the forum

I can understand your reluctance to rely on a camera you can't trust for such a holiday.

My guess is that Pentax will return the camera NFF (No fault found). Keep us informed.

Hi All,

I promised to keep you informed as to the result. I have started a poll under the DSLR forum. Basically Pentax say that it needs a new PCB and will cost £288.42. However, I have now found out where and when I bought it. It was from an Ebay seller on November 16th last year. It came with a warranty. How long does the warranty last? I am writing to the seller to ask if they are willing to replace it.

If I get it repaired or replaced for free I am thinking of selling it with my 100D and upgrading to either the 20D or the new K7 somebody says will be out soon.

Thanks

Jeanette

The new Pentax K? camera is being announced on 20th May but that doesn't mean that they will be available to purchase straight away.

If the broken K200D was a grey import Pentax may not agree to it's repair under warranty anyway.

Hi,

Pentax have agreed to do the repair under Warranty! If I can prove receipt and purchase details. I ca show the payment receipt rom my PayPal account and Bank Statement, but it only gives a partial description. I have contacted the seller for a duplicate receipt but no response yet.

If I do manage a free repair, I will sell it and my 100D and get either the 20D or maybe the new K-7. I am a littleconcerned that the K-7 maybetoo advanced for me though. The video is attractive though.