There isn't a registration card with the Q. The warranty just specifies sending in a copy of proof of purchase.

No reply from Park Cameras, so I will wait to see if any news from Chris. Looks like I will have to warn people to watch out for this when buying from Pro Dealers.

It's very annoying to support a Pentax Pro Dealer and then find you would have got a better warranty from John Lewis.

Very nice. I'm thinking square.

I was over in London at the weekend getting trained for working at Glastonbury and with some spare time for a bit of photography. I was mainly trying my hand at architectural shots but I was most pleased with this. I was strolling over London Bridge when I spotted this blingy boat being hauled up the Thames. It's not something you see every day and was a good opportunity, a nice London view, not great light but with an unusual point of interest. I literally had only a few seconds to make all the right photo decisions. Luckily my instincts now with a wide angle are to hold the camera level come what may and to choose (guess at) a hyperfocal point, rather than to point the camera straight at the moving object. It's not a great photo but I am pleased with it as it was a very easy scene to get wrong, especially shooting into the light. Dialling in exposure compensation whilst dodging traffic to get to the other side of the bridge before the boat was fun. It is the royal barge, Gloriana.

Downstream view:




Upstream view:

I am pretty up to speed with the Sale of Goods Act in the UK and the procedures required. My first ever digital camera, a Canon G3, was purchased at Park Cameras, their original shop in Burgess Hill. I like them so it would be a shame to have to resort to litigation. I await to hear what Chris of SRS has to say about Pentax's take on it since the retailer passes on the manufacturer's warranty and the confusion is all about what exactly the manufacturer's warranty is.

I totally acknowledge that my experience is unrepresentative and that as a brand Pentax are well made and reliability seems good in comparison with other brands, all of which have their problems too.

Everyone has a different personal experience. Mine has been unfortunate.

The point of this is to know where one stands with a purchase. If I had been aware that the warranty were only 12 months then I would have considered an extended warranty, I would have purchased elsewhere or maybe a different make altogether. When there are differences of opinion between retailers and where lomg standing Pentax customers are similarly mistaken then there is something not at all right.

Well it is amazing. And I would guess that just about every customer thinks that the 2 year Pro Dealer warranty applies to Q cameras.

If Pentax are only offering 12 months then I'm sure it will come as a surprise to some retailers too, which is doubly amazing.

For a lightly used, well looked after, expensive camera (and remember the launch price) then I would expect more than a year's service so I would have to consider my options. I have owned 7 Pentax cameras of which 5 have been faulty/developed catastrophic faults quickly. I deserve a break.

It would be good to get to the bottom of what the erstwhile 2 year warranty actually once said. I'm sure there must be something in writing somewhere.

"Dear Mr Mills,

I've heard back from Pentax today and they have confirmed that the warrenty on the Q is only 12 months. We will still be able to send the camera off for you but it will be chargable.

If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to contact me

Kind regards


Park Cameras"


Clearly there is confusion over this. I never confirmed the warranty at the time (there appears to me no information anyway), my understanding was the the Pentax Pro Dealer warranty was two years so I felt no need to check. When the pre-eminent Pentax retailer in the country, SRS, thinks that too and every other Pentax user I know of then I can't really kick myself about it.

I am not happy though.

I can't find anything anywhere about the two year warranty, but there must have been something once.

I have asked Chris for clarification. Certainly their ebay store specifies 2 year warranty for not just dslrs.

Does anyone have any recollection of anything in writing regarding the 2 year Pro Dealer warranty?