K20D vertical banding

I dropped my camera off at Jessops to be sent back to Pentax today. I also gave them a CD of images that show the banding. Hopefully with people actually sending the camera in Pentax will realise that it's a genuine problem with some cameras and expedite a fix (ideally in firmware if possible so that others don't need to be without their cameras).

Dont hold your breath.

I decided to give Pentax service a call today to see how they are getting on with my K20D. They said in their email to allow 8 working days for a repair, not including delivery and today was the seventh, but i'm a bit impatient and wanted to know how much longer it will be.

The woman who answered the phone said, after checking her computer, that they have had to order a new PCB, and it will probably be another week.

Now they haven't confirmed that this is definately the cause of the vertical banding but it looks unlikely a firmware fix is going to do it.
The good news though is at least they have found something wrong and are dealing with it rather than fob us off.

I'll let you know when I know more.

Thanks for the update Pothers. Sounds as if they have found what the problem is, and have a fix. If it's a hardware fault then I'll send mine back as well. Keep us posted.

Dave

Got my camera back today.
Very impressed with the service. My only complaint is they haven't said what they did. I might give them a call tomorrow.
When I turned it on it was the same as getting a new camera, ie it asked to set language, time & date etc.
Hopefully if the whether is ok I'll get out at the weekend and test it out to see if the banding issue has been fixed.

How long was that, less than two weeks? That was pretty quick! Good luck with it. I hope they've cured it.

1 day shy of 2 weeks, including postage. Very quick in my opinion.

I just went out into my back garden and took a quick 14 shots so I can have a look and see if there is any sign of the bandings and I'm happy to say it was 100% clear. Not a very stringent testing I know but looking good so far. Further testing to continue over the weekend.

Now there is one thing that is not quite right. I called Pentax today to thank them and enquire what they did to fix the problem as I was interested.And was told it was an "Exposure Adjustment".
Me being a bit on the synical side thinks they aren't telling the whole truth.

So I check some of the manufacture info using photoMe amd some of the info has changed. Manufacture date was 20080318, now 20090128. Model revision was 2.4, now 8.1 and Internal serial number was 100429, now 141992. The firmware is still the same though.

I think that the PCB has been replaced as I was told when I called on Tuesday but not being that techically minded what do I know. The important thing is it looks like they have fixed the best camera I have ever owned.

Internal serial number will change every time the camera is serviced or repaired.


As for there answer of "Exposure Adjustment" then that could be mistaken by some as a firmware update on the horizon?

At the moment touch wood both mine are ok.

Serial number won't change on a repair as the product is the same product. It's a different serial number because it is a different product, in this case, as mentioned I would guess the motherboard (so near enough a new camera!).

Try doing that (changing the serial number) on a mobile phone repair, and you could be looking at 5 years at Her Majesty's pleasure!

If you hover over the Internal Serial Number in PhotoMe software it tells you, This number will change if Camera has had a sevice or repair..

The serial number on the outside of the body is totally different.


Anyway how's married live then

Sent mine back to Park Cameras for return to Pentax today. Like others I've included a CD of banded photos. Park were very pleasant and helpful.
Let's hope Pentax can fix it. I'll put an update here when I know more.

Dave

Why would someone go to the effort of changing a serial number for a service? It just doesn't happen, unless a part which has a serial number is replaced. You wouldn't expect the serial number on your car engine to change on a service.

So if the serial number has changed on a service or repair, it is because they have changed a major component, which in this case would be the motherboard.

Using PhotoMe is a simple idea to see if you have been lied to though, so definately a good idea to use it!

PS. Not married yet, 16 days to go, and we hope the snow stays for a 'bit of magic' as we are planning on getting married outside!!

That'll give "marriage in white" a whole new meaning

Prieni

Lets hope the photographer gets his W/Bal right, otherwise photoshop will have a whole new meaning.

Hi, I thought I would paste a few more thoughts and images from my testing of the vertical banding issue I mentioned a few weeks ago. Most of these comments are based on the cold long exposure tests I did with my Samsung GX-20.

I noticed three different types of fault, although I suspect they all have the same underlying cause:

- fine vertical bands every few pixels across;
- posterisation;
- regional horizontal/vertical banding.

Below are some examples. Unfortunately my test picture lacks a good textured target so the posterisation can be hard to see, so I have included again an example from an earlier picture:








As many have discussed, the occurrence of the problems can be random and come in batches. However I believe the following contribute to the probability of a fault appearing in an image:

- Cold. As the camera drops below 10C the chances of a an issue occurring increases.
- Long exposure times. Above 1 minute exposures the regional banding occurrence increases greatly with my camera.

However all of these effects have been observed in my camera with normal exposures (e.g. 1/90s @ ISO 100).

I had a look at the individual RGB channels in Photoshop and saw the lines present in all three colour channels.

For the vertical regional banding, the position of the right hand band can change in position. Note also that the image colour in such images with regional banding can change. I have sometimes seen images where no obvious vertical bands are visible, but the colour of the image has shifted. Below are three images shot 8 minutes apart with fixed exposure and lighting conditions. The colour of the image is shifting.






Hopefully the above images help show what to look out for if you suspect your camera. I hope the people who have recently sent their K20D to Pentax will report back whether Pentax fixed the fault. With all this cold weather in the UK I have had to mothball my GX-20 for the moment. I do miss its SR though.

I've had my camera back just over a week now and taken about 200 shots, some in the snow, and so far no sign of any bandings.

I've not been happy with some of them but thats down to the user and not being fully used to the camera yet. I've only it about 10 weeks.