K5 owners

Just checked mine and it looks fine.
Or my lack of talent has not shown up the problem.

I will update the poll to reflect this.

f22 on a white wall with flash should be pretty simple - I use this regularly for checking dust....

Bret

Not everyone does that on a regular base, so it is understandable if someone is not sure of what exactly to do.
Also the flash sets the speed of the camera too quick as ideally you want a bit of shake in the image to make sure that it is not a 'blob on the wall' that shows up and is mistaken for this particular fault.
I will make a couple of macro pictures tomorrow with DOF set to max so I can see how bad it is on my one as I now know where it is sitting on my sensor.

Just make sure the wall is out of focus so you can disregard marks on the wall itself.

True, sorry never thought of mention that one too.

I used DA* 16-50, f22, 1/4" ISO 6400 but no flash.
I will try again with flash or use stronger ambient lighting just to be sure.
Failing that I will take a trip to Watford and ask SRS to confirm it is ok.

you should be fine as it would have showed up in any case. you do not need an perfect picture of a while background to see if you got the problem or not. just make sure it's set to infinity, high aperture and free hand with 1/4" is fine. now open the picture in your editor and look at it 1:1. If you got it you will see it.

Just rechecked and apart from some dust which the dust removal system has removed it still looks clear.

I don't know whether I should be happy or sad. I'll stick to confused for the time being

You seem to be one of the lucky ones. Be happy.

If Pentax has been previously unaware of this issue then any new K5 you buy (or have replaced) could be affected.

If Pentax was aware of this issue then they didn't inform the distributors, in which case any new K5 you buy (or have replaced)could be affected.

That looks like regular dust to me

Well still no sign of my K5 today due to the postal backlog caused by the weather so must check this on arrival, however I do have concerns regarding the current situation.
This is my first DSLR I can safely say that whatever the case may be with my sensor on arrival I shall be sticking with the K5 until the issue is resolved or camera replaced as I firmly believe in the build quality and innovation of Pentax products. It would be so easy to jump ship and go with an alternative brand which I can fully understand for those that use Pentax cameras to make a living.

For those like myself that use a camera mostly as a hobby I would quote this..."Houston, we have a problem" & "Let's work the problem people".

Up until last year I worked for a small company working in carbon fibre products though I don't want to be specific on products or company names but needless to say we were small compared to the other big two though we were well aware of each other. Although small we produced high quality & innovative products beating the two larger companies in most respects we simply did not have the capital for expensive advertising campaigns and offer sponsorship deals to end users. A while back we went through a bad period of product returns due to manufacturing defects caused by a combination of faulty raw materials and method of assembly but due to our faithful customers and very fair returns policy we were able to pull through and invest in new machinery and improve product quality and be competitive worlwide.

I can see this situation from both sides of the fence and if this turns out to be as big a problem as first appears I'm confident Pentax will find a solution and expect they will be as fair as financially viable for them. From this side of the fence if we jump ship now when Pentax has a resolvable issue with one of it's most exciting cameras yet we run the risk of Pentax again being the underdogs ...and perhaps delaying the release of a K4, K3 or ....

Mike

Spent the last 6 weeks or so convincing my brother to go for the K5. He has been thinking CxxxN. Hope he doesn't see this thread

Wouldnt it be better that he knew the full facts I would hate anyone I recommended something to,to have things go pear shaped on purchasing the item. I would suggest he waits till there is more known regarding this problem and things a sorted out by Pentax. He may find as suggested here there are quite a few referbs available at a fraction of the price new and he could get himself quite a bargin if he hangs on a little longer .
Ian

I feel I should point out that most of us are still using our K5s without noticing any differences in our photos! I'm using mine on a daily basis, so it's hardly gone all 'pear shaped'

I am only really following up on a repair/replacement as I do occasionally (very rarely, to be honest) shoot macro so I wouldn't want a blotchy area, no matter how small, on some smooth bokeh. Blemishes in the sky worry me less as they are easier to clone.