As it turns out the fault was not with the camera but with the lens. But the point I have been trying to make is that an efficient and "costly" dealer network should not be there to cover shoddy workmanship on a product. I do feel sorry for the dealers, with parallel imports, internet buying etc, but that transition has affected all sorts of retailers and people from music outlets to Rock Bands. It unfortunately is the price of progress, good or bad.

I am so sure the dealer network is as unhappy about the whole "K5 sensor issue" as the consumer, and perhaps even more so. They dont like to be connected with returns and recalls, which waste time and effort.

Back to Pentax. Generally a good camera. I have had lots of pentax cameras over the years. I am sure the K5 is an excellent camera, and would love one. But when they design these things, and dont take time for adequate testing, and quality control, they should front up, and ensure that their error, is mitigated as far as possible.

The K5 problem was well and truly known when ambient housewife purchased her new K5. No matter where she purchased her K5, (unless it was a chinese copy) Pentax, through any dealer, any agent, or any country should have fronted up and given her a full replacement no questions asked, if the sensor stain came up. Thats what I would call service. That would keep me buying Pentax forever and a day, with no questions asked.

What they do with the repaired models I wouldnt have a clue, but sell them as fully refurbished models at a cheaper price, OR get it right in the first place.

I wonder what committment Ricoh will make to the consumer.

Sorry to lay another post on you, but I cant edit the one above any more.

I did not expect a local dealer to give me local dealer service. I approached Pentax (through their agent in New Zealand)

Grey market or not, Still a camera made by Pentax. It wasnt the dealer, ie retailer I approached, but Pentax's agent in New Zealand. Remembering my contract law, an agent is still responsible for the principal. No matter where I purchased the camera, if the camera was out of the warranty period I would expect pentax or their agent to repair the camera and charge me, if still under warranty they should either repair or replace and charge Pentax Japan. I am sure the agent doesnt do all this for free.

Ok the agent has missed out on his markup, but Pentax still made their profit. The agent should honour all pentax repairs and charge Pentax Japan. If he had tried to be more helpful, I may have reconsidered purchasing in the future through his dealer network. It wasnt me who allowed parrallel imports to come into New Zealand, it was the government of the day. It is a legal purchase.

The same Pentax K5, as quoted above by "transit" can be bought on Trademe, new (NZ - Ebay style) for NZ $1,861-00.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Electronics-photography/Digital-cameras/Digital-SLR/auc...

Still a camera made by Pentax, whether bought on grey market or not. Where does it state that you only get a good camera if you buy from the dealer network, or you only get it fixed if you buy through the dealer network. Thats 77% more, from the retailer. Why should you have to pay that because Pentax have got it wrong. Not once, but inherently.

However I do not wish to denigrate the retailers. From the comments on this forum, SRS in the UK, seems like a good honest and reliable dealer as I'm sure there will be others.

If you pay the full retail, I am sure most often you will get the best service. Understandable. But why should you have to pay extra because the brand has bad quality control. If the brand is not of sufficient quality to pass the test of time you certainly cannot purchase on the grey market, duty free, whilst overseas, or dare I suggest second hand, unless you want long delays and problems.

As someone stated above this is not a dealer problem, but a Pentax problem. When I say Pentax, I mean Pentax Japan and all of its subsidiaries and primary agents, not retailers.

I should have known better than make adverse comments about pentax on a pentax forum, but....

I dont like to pay full retail on anything I have bought all of my cameras from (NZ E-Bay) called Trademe. The trader imports cameras direct from Japan.

I have bought the Km, K20D and my current Kr from him. I was not happy with the Km at all. I rang the NZ agent for pentax and said I had a problem with the autofocus. He just about told me to get stuffed, as you didnt buy it through our dealer chain. As it turns out the problem was with the sigma lens I was using wasnt compatible fully with the camera. But that showed me that even pentax will not take responsibility for pentax cameras unless bought through their dealer chain. The guy I bought it from did tell me if there was manufacturing fault send it back to him and he will sort it out.

Nevertheless, I like to purchase a good brand, and get a working product without having to worry about relying upon warranty, manufacturers defects etc. OK sometimes a fault does occur with a new product, but this should not be an inherent problem with a large number of items without it passing quality control. Although I expect to buy a good brand and get good quality, I dont expect to pay exorbitant prices.

While a little different, 20 years ago I bought a new Honda, the day I picked it up I saw that inside the boot the paint job was peeling, I should have told them to stuff it. But they said they will fix it - very nicely. It also started to rust after a few short months. The touched up the paint job, I was without the car for a few days, after a few months it started to rust again. It was only after I threatened to go to a consumer watchdog that they repainted and fully rustproofed the vehicle. I was without it for a week. What stress and what a hassle. Last year I bought a new subaru, no difficulties, no stress, no problems. Was the Honda a one off. Some years later I found that the paint problem was with a couple of brands, who used the same painting and assembling plant. Kept that hush hush, should have had a recall. I will never buy a honda again.

Would you buy a K5, if there was a note attached, stating that " there may be sensor problems, but we will fix it for free, and you will only be without your camera for four weeks" All things go through your mind, will that camera be the same again after its taken apart. Will a new sensor be put in, or will they just clean the old one. Will they scratch the sensor, or will they fix the cause of the problem. Will the problem occur again just after the warranty period expires.

I was quite annoyed after I heard of the E-Dial and low light focus problems with the Kr as well, but so far so good, no problems with the Kr, but what is done is done, I cant go back. But if my daughter was buying a camera I wouldnt recommend a pentax. Incidentally years ago I bought and Olympus point and shoot, from a reputable dealer, it took about three mintes from the time I pressed the shutter, till the picture was taken. Any picture of even a slow moving target was always lost. I wrote to the importer and explained how the camera was s**t, hoping that he would give me a credit and let me get a better model. Same agent as for pentax incidentally. He told me that they have nver had any complaints about the camera, and it was a good camera. Like hell. So I dont trust any agent, dealer, or manufacturer to stand by a product, without a hassle and banging the table. I also dont like to pay for extended warranty. If the product is that bad, that you need extended warranty, dont buy it.

So Pentax, better get your game right before I am due to buy my next camera.

What a disgrace. I certainly wont be buying a K5 until I can be assured that it is in perfect condition. (if at all)

Pentax was really pushing out new models, and features over the last few years, like a dying effort to regain market share. Unfortunately, their quality control was lost. Not recalling known defective products was probably the death knell of the Pentax brand as a sought after camera. No wonder they had to sell out. The only people buying pentax now will be those that just dont know, and those afficionados that know better, and know what to look for. Without forums such as these, many would be oblivious to these defects.

May make me think twice about buying another Pentax camera, after my Kr wears out. What a shame, I am really happy with the Kr so far. But I regret I must demand total committment from the manufacturer.

I dont think the grip comes with it. It is a replacement ad for a previous one, so I dont think it is a typo. Opportunism at its best. I was impressed with the specifications though. (Apart from the 6mp, lots of Yes, Yes etc.

I moved from the K20D to the Kr, and am very happy with the change. Ditto on everything above. I would get the Pentax 55-300 straight away. The lens and camera are a very good match.

My sharpness is set on 3. Brightness on 1 all others as 0. I find really great colours, and easy images of good quality from my KR.

Excellent camera so far.

Everything has been said above, but I always had difficulties focusing with non pentax lenses on my K20D. Have you tested it on a tripod with landscape to ensure that it is not ff or bf, or AF issues.

I know the disaapointment when you have got your kit all worked out, cost a lot of money, and just cant get the quality of picture you expect.

Really depressing.

Cheers,

Andrew

OOps, always in a rush, should have read more carefully, I thought the thread was about the mirror lens. All I saw was 500mm Samyang, and my old lens just jumped into my mind. I have not used the preset, so I regret if I have changed anybody's views.