The grass isn't always greener....?

Sony seem to have problems with their lens USM motors, and as for the Nikon D800s and Canon 5D Mk 111, well...

And who'd want a camera that uses CF cards?

http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2012/09/lensrentals-repair-data-january-july-201...

It's a pity that there are no Pentax results, although I seem to remember a survey that indicated that customer satisfaction was actually quite high with Pentax.

It just confirms that nothing manufactured is perfect and free from all possible defects. And that things manufactured can and do fail.

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Best regards, John

OUCH! get a load of that Canon 50mm f1.0
Was that hired by an irate Pentax user

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My Names Alan, and I'm a lensaholic.
My PPG link
My Flckr link

A good read, the figures should be used by Pentax advertising dept. Some of those repair times and prices are steep.

Best regards

Any one who owns an istD or anyone who owns a high res, high frame rate DSLR as CF has a faster write speed that SD.

Best regards

...but a little concerning at the number of bent pin repairs needed to such cameras...

Are SD cards really that much slower (now)?

Because the users don't take care when inserting the card. (not likely to either as they are renting).

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. My Flickr

There are thousands out there in use without issue. I suspect that without the link, you would never have heard about it.

Best regards

To be fair, looking at the design of the CF card we could surmise that pins will get bent.

With the SD card, the weak point is the lock switch. These can and do get bent so they fracture.

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Best regards, John

Not so John. The design criteria is solid. As long as the assembly is manufactured to the specifications it ensures correct alignment of the card with the pins. The card face has lead in tapers that accommodate any minor pin off centres. This is a method that is also used in the measurement and control industry.

Poor selection of pin array or guide tolerance deviations by a manufacturer is more likely the reason. Basically down to cost savings.

Best regards

So, if the fundamental design of CF cards,etc, is not the issue, I presume it must be badly designed or manufactured cameras?

The design of the camera as a camera is not the issue, it is down to the card slot and pins not being as per spec. No different than the green line sensor issue on the K7 or the stains on the K5 sensors. Corrections will be made under due process. It's not an issue as Joe public covers the costs in the long run.

If you look at the recent issues that Alien Grove has had and take that as standard, you'd never dare change a lens on a K5. My broken 16-50 SDM could not be repaired according to Pentax Japan so I had to buy another.
What's the point of service and support?

Manufacturers are not in the repair business, any defect early on will be rectified through due process. It's only the faithful early buyers that get stung if there is an issue.

I use three systems of DSLR's and three systems of non DSLR's and to date have had no actual failures of kit. My faults are down to me dropping or crashing lenses/bodies into much harder objects. They are tools and therefore replaceable.

Best regards