K5 Sensor Issues...

To be honest this looks more like dust bunnies, the problem is usually a few spots all in a group and they seem to have a different look to yours.

Thanks Mike P , i think one of them appeared when i blew it so i think you could be right would you leave it then, and no my cap lock aint bust

Although the K-5 sensor problem is currently widepread, it will be fixed. I've been with pentax fro over 20 years and I am not going anywhere and aim to get a K-5 before the end of January. Ebay sales permitting.

Blowing on the sensor certainly doesn't help (unless you are using a rocket blower). I would personally buy a wet cleaning kit first or get it professionally cleaned if it bothers you.

Just for reference this is what my sensor looked like before I sent the camera back.



Pentax K-5 Sensor by Mike.Pursey, on Flickr

I used a rocket blower but wouldnt shift em, ive invested in a wet cleaning stuff but a bit nervous about doing it and wont do it till it really needs doing as i say pretty new at this and on a pretty steep learning curve at moment lol

Don't be nervous. Wet cleaning is easy. Put a couple of drops of fluid on the pad and wipe it a couple of times across the sensor. Check for contamination. repeat if necessary.

I got my replacement K5 last night, so thank you very much SRS. I haven't checked the sensor yet but hope all is OK.
Regarding sensor cleaning, I'll let you in on a secret that I have kept to myself for a few years now. I once decided to clean my SLR (Pentax of course) and thought the sensor might need a bit of a clean as well. Guess what I did - simply raised the mirror and gave it a good rub with the cloth I was cleaning the camera with It was a long time before I realised what I had done but thankfully the sensor survived to tell the tale I suppose this goes to shows that these things are a little more robust than we think.
Season's greetings to you all, cheers.

Cheers for the advise will give it a go, happy xmas to everyone , and am loving this photography lark, but a bit more to it than i thought lol

Still waiting for my replacement K-5 to come from Amazon as they are currently out of stock..... This for me is good news as the way I read it, for a major retailer to state that they will not have the item in stock for 3 to 5 weeks, is a clear sign that the reports of each camera at the European warehouse being closely checked prior to final distribution as being accurate.

However, Amazon still have some of the two lens kits in stock and I would be careful of purchasing existing stock as their serial numbers were still quite low until only a few days ago when I bought their last K-5 DA18-55WR kit).

I must also disagree with the comments previously made likening this issue to the 'Toyota car' issue and the call for a recall! Come on... where does this small (sometimes visable to the naked eye!) flaw impede on our health? lol...

Pentax and all retailers (obviously apart form the extremely good SRS) will sell, sell, sell and look to fix problems in a two stage approach of correcting the problem on the factory floor and then by replacing items that are REPORTED as being faulty. For me that is the key... Pentax (like any company) will know that a lot of the flaws will never get noticed and never impede upon the real life quality of the product or the photo's it produces, so why go advertising for problems with formal press releases etc. I am happy that the company is still acting responsibly in taking a pragmatic approach to the problem which is best for their long term future (and all Pentaxians)

I think for those of us that are waiting for replacements, we will also need to realise that we will not be the priority ahead of new sales, although they will undoubtedly use a % of new products to satisfy the demand for replacement.

In any case... I'm using my time waiting planning for when I receive it

Dave

My replacement just arrived from SRS. Quite frankly amazing since the faulty one was only collected at around 5pm on Tuesday.

Can't say I expected to get one back before Christmas, so assuming this one is clean I'll be one happy customer

My K5 replacement from SRS arrived today, quick test looks OK. I'll be able to test better tomorrow.

suggest you test, and if ok, set it up to fire off a few rapid bursts then check it again...

@nipper: You don't say how you contacted Clifton Cameras or what you said. I contacted them by email politely explaining my sensor markings and asking their advice and they telephoned me less than an hour later. I found them to be just as willing to help as SRS have been with others in this thread. IF you find your problem is not dust I am sure you will find Clifton Cameras supportive.

@Adventura: A personal opinion is not to be confused with a statement of fact to be argued. A personal opinion is just a personal opinion - regardless of who's it is. None is more valid than any other.

Got sick of taking pics of white walls and peices of paper with the new Camera, so I went out and took a picture and guess what, it was pretty white...:arrow:

My first one looked pretty good compared to Mikes but none the less the Staining was still there, It was from SRS. I think as the knowledge of the problem gains momentum Retailers will have to be a bit more open and responsive. @Nipper, Clifton has always seemed like a good Company to me and I'm sure they will accomodate you if they can. The marks you have look more like dust to me than Staining which has a very different look Ala Mikes. That said your'e quite within your rights to demand the Camera gets checked out/wet cleaned as I don't think it's really good enough to have the Camera delivered with a stubbornly mucky sensor from the off! The new one I have recieved has apparantly been checked by both Pentax and SRS which is reassuring...