Some great shots there, I especially like the last one.

Thanks, Steven, there is a possibility I can get a work colleague to bring it back, which would be easier and cheaper. Otherwise I will see what Mathers can organise.

Surprised no one's snapped this up, I have one and they are excellent lenses.

Thanks Algi, I just heard back from Mathers, they will get it fixed for free, unfortunately it will take 2-3 weeks. Nice to know some people are interested in their customers.

Thanks very much for that, Steven. I assume that is a Doha number? My wife is probably going to the UK soon, so I may get her to take it over, but as she is only there a few days I may need to get it sent back.

I will also email Pentax to make sure that what I was told was their official line and not just some jobsworth's opinion. I am still a bit flabbergasted by their attitude to this, especially here in Japan.

Hopefully my wife will let me borrow her Kx for a bit....

I purchased the K5 in the UK, from Mathers. I have emailed them and will wait to see what they say. I have always had excellent service from them so hopefully they will do something about it. I mistakenly thought that being able to go to the manufacturers own repair facility in Japan would enable me to get the camera fixed quickly and without fuss. More fool me....I was actually asked how often I changed lenses, a line of questioning they quickly realised was not worth pursuing......

The logistics of sending the camera to the UK and back will mean I an without a camera for a while, which is annoying, and the main reason I waited until this trip to try and resolve the issue. If I had thought that Pentax Japan would take so long to fix it, and also charge me. I would have sent it to the UK before the warranty expired. It actually never occurred to me that this would not be seen as a defect with the camera and therefore fixed irrespective of the validity of the warranty.

It does appear as if there is some truth in that article indeed.

On the same subject, anyone know of a repair shop in the UK that could fix this probem with a quick turnround time? The warranty expired last week, so I guess as it seems I will have to pay to get it fixed it doesn't matter where....

A month or so ago the lens release button on my K5 fell off. I have just been to see Pentax/Ricoh in Osaka, and they tell me that as the warranty has expired they will charge me 5000 Yen (which is about thirty eight pounds) and take a week to fix it. I am only here two days, so I can't leave the camera with them, but most disappointing is that they want to charge what is for them a trivial amount to fix a manufacturing defect. It's not a lot of money, I would happily pay that to a normal camera repair shop if I could get the camera fixed quickly, but I did not expect Pentax to refuse to take responsibility for a manufacturing defect.

Not very good PR, and I think now the K5 will be my last Pentax camera.

Good idea to try that first...also put the mode dial in Av, select various apertures at the 135mm end and make sure it's showing the aperture setting on the screen. If it just shows a line then the camera is not setting the aperture, which if your other lenses work means the lens is faulty.

The lighting and detail you get on these shots is amazing. And how on earth do you get them so sharp handheld? Your macro shots are among the best I have ever seen.