I sent off my Pentax K-r to Jessops to be repaired 5 weeks ago as the 18-55mm lens mount had broken and, a few days later, the shutter started firing whenever I pressed anything and the viewfinder went fuzzy. Only now do I get an estimate for the repair. Of £236.59. Are they absolutely out of their minds! The repair description states that they will fix the mirror mechanism, check and test. This doesn't seem to relate to both issues at all. The combination of time taken and incredible cost has left me speechless and I'm considering trying another repairer. But will anyone be able to repair it more cheaply and much faster (i.e within 2 and a half weeks) or should I maybe try and claim the repair on home insurance?
Thanks a lot for any advice!

Thanks for the advice everyone. I also found a suntec ir filter:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Brand-New-Suntec-52mm-Infrared-Filter-750nm-IR750-/130...
Would this also be an option or is the Hoya much better?

Thing us, I haven't really got the money at the moment to convert my camera. Would this filter be a decent compromise?

Hi,
I have been looking for an IR filter for my k-r to take some cool infrared photos and saw this Hoya R72 IR filter on ebay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hoya-52mm-52-mm-R72-Infra-Red-Infrared-Filter-In-UK-/2...
The seller has good feedback and the price is good but the filter looks quite old-fashioned strangely. What would your advice be?
Thanks a lot!

I recently bought a JJC RM-E7 remote from ebay to use with my pentax k-r for bulb mode, for star trails. However the k-r takes no notice of the remote and nothing happens. Could you please talk me through how to get it working. I have already set the camera to have the remote open and close the shutter by pressing once at the start and once at the end (Camera settings 3, 15.)Thanks!

Im looking for a cheap deal on the Sigma 17-70mm lens and saw this deal at wells cameras: http://www.wells-cameras.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=18616¤cy... Its a lot cheaper than everywhere else, even on eBay. Is this too good to be true and has anyone else dealt with them before?

Thanks everyone!
I just need to try out a few cameras to see what feels right, like you said. By the way, you can get the sigma 17-70mm lens for around 150 quid second hand so it would be within budget.

Hi,
I'm completely new to the forums and am buying a new camera soon. I've narrowed it down to the aforementioned three, but am still not sure which to pick. I am considering purchasing a second hand Nikon d5000 or Pentax k-x body and then adding a sigma 17-70mm lens but I need a second opinion on whether this is a good choice or whether I should look at another camera entirely. The K-R is currently too expensive for me to add a lens to as is already costs around £370 while the other two cost around £250-280. My budget is around £450 for both camera and lens. I don't film much at all and my main usage will be for stills. Image quality is the most important factor for me.
Thanks a lot!
SoWhat