K5 Sensor Issues...

Bad news always travels faster than good news!

I wouldn't have mentioned it if they hadn't been getting concerned
on the other forum about false information being put out, including
stuff about sensors overheating, it doesn't help, but it is the
internet and that's full of false information

Just purely based on the number of people who have had 2 and 3
cameras with the fault indicates the figure is quite high. I just
wish Pentax would state the cause of the fault.

As a newbie here I hope you won't mind me adding a comment regarding '% faulty'.

Photographing a white sheet at f22 and then viewing it @ 100% is not something most owners of a new camera would naturally do. I certainly wouldn't have done, were it not for reading the two threads on this forum. It might have been a long time before I noticed the couple of very small blemishes, which only really show at the smallest apertures @ 50%+ crop. In anything other than a plain background they are lost and I don't have a macro lens that would tend to accentuate them. It is quite possible that many K5 owners (and owners of other cameras) have sensor marks but are blissfully unaware, particularly as none seem to show up in Dust Alert. The question is, will Pentax issue a general alert to K5 owners as Canon did some time ago when they had oil on sensor issues?

I got the impression it was contaminated Flourite coating on the cover glass?

Vic.

Sorry to disagree here. I usually use a high aperture because I want the DOF and if you have a look at my previous posting here you actually can see 'real life images' with this issue being visible. You may want to follow the link to the flickr page rather then look at the smaller pictures as I have put up two examples that clearly show the fault, wherever it is coming from, and as I usually print A3 or even bigger in some instances it becomes clearly visible on the pictures.
Also, if I pay £1000+ for a camera, the least I should get is a camera that is 100% and should not sit later and edit the pictures in PP (which is very difficult with the sunrise picture, plus I wanted to print this as an A1 poster for a specific background idea but it even shows up on an A4 print).
So, sorry to disagree here. Just because a lot of users do not go up to f22 or higher does not mean they have to put up with this issue. I am actually sure (also I can not prove this) that this issue will show up even at lower aperture stops if you give the right circumstances and depending how big some of the faults are in some cameras and how large you print the picture.
I do agree that I may be in the minority here and my fault is by far not one of the worst I have seen but it will be an issue for me.
Also I usually to the 'white board test' within the first ten pictures of any new camera and then about every 1000 pictures there after as I make a lot of pictures in bad weather or at the sea and check this way for any dust on the sensor as it is in my eyes more reliable than the dust check within the camera.
I hope you understand what I am saying and that I don't want to come down on you just because you are new here, this has nothing to do with it as I am relatively new here as well but you can not judge others by your habits or what you think may be right.
I hope you do not take my comment too hard.
I love my K-5 with or without the fault and if the market will be swamped with cheap enough reconditioned cameras I may get even a second body of them but other bits and a long range Zoom Lens will take priority.
PEACE!

Until there will be an official statement from Pentax HQ, everyone's guess or what or what not has been heard, written or said is just guess work (even there is some very convincing pictures on the other site that lean to the 'between the AA filter and Sensor' theory, that is what it is, a theory.
The internet is full of false or misleading stories and you need it from the 'horses mouth' before taking anything for a fact.

@SmutjeUK: I had certainly not intended to poo-poo the issue and hope it didn't come over that way. My point was simply that many K5 users may have sensor blemishes but be unaware. It depends how they use their camera and how large they print or view.

I agree with you Jim that most people won't notice the marks, most of the time. I am probably one of them.
But I have spent a lot of money on the K-5 (well my husband did) and I have the right to expect that camera to be perfect from the get go. I tested mine after reading the problems, and found the problem. I was in two minds about what to do, but opted to return it and have a new one.

is your new one OK? I assume it is, as you did not say it wasn't.

I also use small apertures and print large up to A2+ and I use a macro lens, so this issue was important to me to get it right.

I am 99.9% sure that mt new one, when it arrives, will be OK.

Entirely reasonable, and exactly what I would do.

I don't think any other approach will get the message across to a manufacturer that puts out poorly QCed stock.

You certainly DID NOT of coming over of poo-poo on anyone, but it sounded a bit like that the issue is not big enough to make an issue out of it. As Gwyn says, if you pay this kind of money you expect it to be 100% fit for purpose no matter if you use the camera as a 'pro', 'semi-pro' or 'amateur'.
You never know what is around the corner for you and you my suddenly need the camera in a year or two for large scale prints and then it suddenly haunts you and cost you to set it right.
And no worries I guess it came over good enough that I did not mean to 'put you in a corner' and if you feel I did I do apologise for that as this was certainly was not my intention.
I simply wanted to make sure that you can not brush everyone with the same brush. Photographers are artists and every artist is using different tools and does different art even when using the same tools. But the tools have to be fit for purpose.
If you paint watercolours on an easel that states it supports canvas up to A1 but you mainly paint in A3 and everything is fine but the easel breaks if you place an A2 canvas on it then it is not fit for purpose and I would think that everyone who is using that particular easel would want one that is fit for its purpose.
The same is with the camera. I do large format printing and the fault shows even in small format and not only with clean bright background (remember the Sunrise Picture I showed?). Imagine this on A3 or bigger.
However a lot of users may be unaware and may never have a problem because they think it is dust, dirt or a hair etc.
But users that buy cameras like the K-5 usually use it for more than the normal holiday or the family reunion etc, therefore it is an real issue as Pentax is really getting the 'Big two' a run for their money with this great piece of kit.
Like I say PEACE. It takes a lot more before I feel poo-pooed on

Oh crikey, I seem to have managed to get myself completely misunderstood (not a good start on the forum). I'm not suggesting for one moment that sensor issues are, under any circumstances, acceptable and something that can be lived with. I want something done as much as all other disappointed K5 purchasers. My comments were made in the context of previous posts regarding the percentage of affected cameras - my concern being that many owners who might not yet have discovered problems may make the percentage a lot higher than seems to have been officially accepted.

If you mean mine - it has yet to arrive in Watford, never mind cross the North Sea. I am sure it will be perfect though - I have every faith in SRS, who have been outstanding throughout this sorry affair.

Conversely, a lot of people made to worry could send back cameras that are perfectly fine but have a bit of dust on the sensor. Then there will be some who find no problem, but insist on returning it to be checked anyway.

If it isn't a large number of cameras, then causing a massive scare could be very counter-productive. If it is a large number then that's a different issue.

I suspect that the reality, though, is that the majority of those buying a K5 would look for dust first, before going through all the hassle of packing, sending, and being without the camera for weeks.

Counterproductive for whom?

I'm very much with Gwyn on this one - I think if there's a manufacturing fault, you're completely entitled to a replacement. Not only will there always be that niggle, but it will affect the resale value too, as others have said.