Pentax X-5 problem

A pal of mine bought an X-5 bridge camera on my recommendation about a year ago. He's now on the "holiday of a lifetime" travelling around America with his wife. Got this email from him today: "Camera seized up day before visit to Grand Canyon! The zoom feature has stopped and camera won't focus ..." I've told him to replace the batteries in the first instance but fear there's something more serious wrong. Any suggestions? He's less than impressed with our beloved marque (as the French say) and I'd love to find a solution before he returns to the UK and hits me over the head with it.

Al

If he's on the holiday of a lifetime I'm surprised he only took the one camera!!!! Spend thousands on a holiday and take a £150 camera??

On the bright side, he has a £1,000 pair of binoculars.

There's no hope for the world haha

Seriously, after taking the batteries out, giving it a gentle knock, a less gentle knock and handing it to the ship's photographer/camera shop, there's nothing left.

I took a compact camera apart once to try and fix it, I just kept getting shocks from the flash circuit. Couldnt='t get near the zoom mechanism.

There's a lot to go wrong and they are not usually repairable, sometimes the problem might be on the internet and good search might pick it up but I doubt it.

I'm guessing unless they go through a major eastern city with a BIG pentax shop, or a good repair shop who might look at it and a few emails to Pentax who might look kindly on it, they are up a tropical creek.

If they won't buy a MX-1 then ....

Go and buy a pocket compact from the other brands
or two with the same batteries, buy spare batteries and extra memory, and good cases.

Think you're right, Doug. I'll suggest an MX-1 (probably a good deal in the US)...but snowballs in hell come to mind.

Al