Well I spoke to Pentax about the scratched viewfinder and they did not argue, and just said that they would replace it if I sent it back. It was duly dispatched and a week later it was returned with a new viewfinder. The only problem now is that the parcel has obviously been thrown around in transit suffeciently for the left hand strap eyelet to have piered the polystyrene packing and the outer box. This impact hes bent the eyelet down at about 45 degrees, marked the paint on it and closed the strap slot up towards the camera body.
The camnera does work fine (or appears to) which is testament to the solid build but there is always that doubt in my mind now that there is some hidden damage which may promote premature failure of the camera. Plus I cant fit the strap so there is now a greater risk of me dropping it.
So now it has to go back to Pentax for a repair estimate which i'm then gonna have to try and claim off the Post office - luckily it was sent special delivery with addequate compensation for damage or loss.
Iv'e now had the camera for 4 months and have been without it for 6 weeks. Soon Pentax will have had it more than me!
I've never had faith in the post office but now i really hate them.
Lucky it didn't have FRAGILE written on it.......
Rob

Well my camera has now been returned to me and is working just great. I posted it on the 5 Jan and it arrived back yesterday (10 feb), which is longer than I would have liked but according to Pentax it has been away to the European repair centre as they could not facilitate the repairs in the UK.
The paperwork states:
Repaired printed circuit board.
Repaired zoom mechanism (what ever that is...???? didn't think istd had one).
Repaired light meter error.

Any way the most important thing is that it is fixed and significantly it was done under warranty following purchase from America - so the world wide warranty is good!

Only quibble - which I will take up with them today, is that the view finder appears to be scratched quite heavily. This was certainly not done by me before it went away so I will be interested to see what thay have to say.
Will keep you informed

Rob

Hi Jayson
please check out the following link it should hopefully give you all the info and you will see samples of the pictures the camera is currently taking

http://www.stanwax.plus.com/pentax1.htm

and yes the compensation is zero.

One slightly worrying thing is that i spoke to pentax this morning and was told 'the guy that repairs that model is not at his desk'
I didnt expect the staffing at pentax to be on a level to compete with canon or nikon but its a worry that there is only one person and he takes phone calls! - though he hasn't tried ringing back yet. Hmmmmmm.

I was wondering when someone would ask how i measured the speeds
Basically its very simple - if you have the right gear....
I shine a beam of light into the camera which reflects off the sensor to a photo diode wired in series with a resistor to a power supply. I then use a digital storage oscilloscope to 'capture' the pulse and measure the duration.
If you have looked on the link i posted, the second page shows picures with a fixed shutter setting and varying the apeture. The results are clear!
I have spoken to Pentax today and im sending it back
As it still works OK for indoor shots im gonna wait til after xmas as I doubt anything will happen this year anyway.
Rob

The exposures of my *istD have gone somewhat completely hatstand. I have been getting odd pictures that were really burned out overexposed every now and then but thought it was just me getting used to the metering modes of the camera. Anyway over the weekend it seems to have gone nutty altogether and only in lowish light indoors do you seem to get anything like the right exposure. I thought it was metering at first but today have concluded its actually the cameras control of the shuttering that is wrong.
I have measured all the shutter speeds and from 1/4000 to 1/250 there is NO change in shutter speed - and the exposure that is made at all these settings is equivalent to about 1/12 sec. The only shutter speed with a zero error is 1.5 seconds, and due to the nature of the timing control i would expect any errors to be very small indeed. I have concluded this is an electronic problem as there isnt any consistency with the errors (ie they are all over the show), that there would be if it was a mechanical problem such as if the shutter were dragging on open or closure.
So after my ramble the question is - does anyone know if there is any way to do a master reset on the electronics system (ive already removed the backup and main batteries for 5 mins).
Im not expecting much here - rather clutching at straws before i send it to pentax, but any bright ideas are welcome.
Rob

Hi Guys just a note to tell you of the woes I've had this week with my *iSTD and how I solved the problem.
One of the first things I bought following the purchase of my new camera was a new blower which i bought from Jessops - a model called the 'Hurricane' - it looked suitably big and powerful. I used it once with no probs, but earlier in the week I noticed some tell tale grey spots so I gave the sensor a good sharp blast and then peered in to see to my horror that the the sensor was covered in gunge. I did a little test fire on a skylight filter which confirmed my initial conclusion - the blower was dumping a horrible greasy residue that left a nasty greasy streak when wiped with a lens cloth. I wouldnt have been surprised if the blower was 10 years old but 4 weeks!
I frequent a newsgroup called alt.lasers where there has recently been some talk of a wonder optical cleaning product called 'Opticlean' someone had posted a link to a photo shop in Taunton who sell it on the net so I went on there and ordered 2 bottles (£15 for a bottle smaller than a bottle of nail varnish - it better be good!) Its a liquid you paint onto the surface of whatever needs cleaning and it sets to a gel which you then peel off with the supplied sticky tabs and it takes the grime - including fingerprints etc - with it.
Well the magic stuff arrived this morning and I have just given my sensor its fourth treatment and I am confident it will be the last. I expected to take a few gos to clear the muck due to the amount deposited and with each application it has improved to the point where now there is very little contamination on the surface.
Its a tricky job and you need a steady hand - plus i closed the shutter back over during curing to preserve batteries and to avoid ingress of more crap but its well worth a look if you ever get more than the usual dirt on the sensor.
Needless to say that blower will not be going near my camera again!!

The manufacturers (or distributors) site is here
http://www.caliope.co.uk
and the shop in Taunton's link is here
http://www.firstcall-photographic.co.uk/pp/Photography%20Supplies/Cleaning/Opticlean%20Polymer%20Lens%20Cleaner.html
Hope it helps
Rob (feeling mighty reliveved!)

This image shows what it was like before I started


and this what it was like following the first application - quite a difference!

I Have just returned from Florida where I bought a * istD. I had gone out there with a view to buying if I saw one and it was cheep enough, but it wasn't a forgone conclusion. I didnt save mega bucks (it cost me about £900 for the body), but I saved enough to buy a big CF Card.
I bought it from a reputable American camera chain which I guess is equivalent to Jessops here, and I found them helpful, knowledgeable and not too pushy about getting me to buy - this is in addition to their tolerance of my standing in the shop umming and arring at length on a couple of occasions.
In the nearby area are lots of 'camera' shops which are tourist camera shops and can be easily identified by their neon signs in the window and their predominance of asian staff (im not being predjudiced here its a fact). These shops were quoting me $900 - $1100 (which was, as it seemed, too good to be true) for the body but could not deliver. They want to sell you a camera that appears to be cheap and then make the money up by selling you lenses or other accessories that you don't need for silly ammounts - I wasnt paying that much attention but I think I was quoted nearly $800 for a 70-210 AF sigma. The problem with these guys is that they will waste your time and hound you to try and get you to crack and buy shit that you dont want or need. If like me you just want a body they with take you all round the houses before telling you they wont sell to you or they have not got one in the back of the shop afterall! One shop I visited tried to sell me an olympus compact when I had just asked about and spent 10 min looking at a pentax *istD! 'why do you want one of them - buy something like this instead' he said. Plus they have no idea of what you get in the box or how to use the camera they are only skilled in rip off.
Just be warned thay are parasites that will rip you off if given a sniff.
The reason for all this is that there are similar shops to these in New York, and I suspect anywhere that the 'Tourists' go. If you want to invest in a new camera while in the states then there are bargains to be had but dont waste your holiday away with these loosers.

Also I have a collection of 'old' Pentax K lenses which i have used for years with my faithfull Mx. They all work prfectly well on the *istD - aside from the focal length limitation and overall I am very happy with my purchase. Up to now I have not found anything that I have thought ' I wish it did this.....' Its easy to use the controls are simple and I love the fact that you have all manner of modes from point and shoot to fully manual.

As for warranty - I have registered the camera on the Pentax UK website where I was only asked for may details my camera serial no. and the date of purchase. I looked at the US registration and that wanted purchase price and dealer details.

Rob