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My Baby is leaving home


michaelc

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Well, I guuess it had to happen. I was hoping it wouldn't but it appears I

have no choice. If you remember I posted about a brass washer/spacer that fell

out of my K10D while I was cleaning the focusing screen. I could not tell

where it came from and solicited help on a number of forums including this

one. No one seemed to know. I turned it into my local camera speciality shop

and he had no idea. I phoned Pentax USA and got no help other than to refer me

to Pentax Canada. I phoned Pentax Canada and all they would say was sent it

in........I don't want to sent my baby all the way to Toronto. She has never

been away from home without me. She doesn't like to be alone with strangers

and I think her shutter shakes when I'm not there........:) I guess I have no

choice in this matter since I don't want to have it sit with a piece out on the

table. Doesn't seem to affect performance as I know it. Maybe it has

something to do with the SR or cleaning the mirror. Anyway, any suggestions on

how to pack it etc. I guess I will send it by courier with a signature

required. Should I insure it? They say they will get back with an estimate

within four days of receipt. I am hoping it is a small repair and I will have

it back within a month. Is that wishful thinking? I just got two new lens and

I have been dying to try them out. RATS. Oh well, I have no one to blame but

mayself. Should have followed Rose's advice........ Anyone have any

experience in sending their camera to Pentax Canada. Are they expensive and do

they do good work.

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Michael, could you post a photograph of the washer before you send it off? It will help other users for posterity if the same thing happens to them and they search on the internet.

 

Also, remember that we have cameras for the World, not for Ourselves.

 

Or was that "kids"... I'm not sure now...

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I once sent a Pentax Super Program from the US to Nova Scotia for repairs. Big mistake. I sent it UPS and on its return I got charged a large import fee, for my own camera! I tried to argue the point but hit enough dead ends that I finally gave in. I suppose if your repair person in Toronto has done this before and knows what documentation to use you should be fine. But the import duty was twice the repair price!
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When crossing the border, you can fill out a form that registers your higher priced items such as cameras, guns, and electronics. It serves as proof that you are not importing equipment. It never occurred to me that it might be necessary when mailing. Thanks for the heads-up Douglas.
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Quite frankly, if the camera is operating properly it would be better to forget the washer,...just keep it in a safe place until you can find out more info or the camera stops working.....

 

K10 is an obsolete camera and in a couple of years time will be more or less worthless junk. You need to get the full use out while it's in your hand because these are disposable items now.

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I'm with Lauren. I really don't think that came out of your camera. If you look insided your camera body, that 7/16" ring would be HUGE. Where would it go?

 

Do what you must but I'm 90% sure that ring has nothing to do with the operation of your K10D

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Michael, I might not be a camera technician, but I have recently stripped a Pentax P30T down to the very last screw, and for a non-digital camera made back in the 80's, it has very precise parts.

 

I would say there is very little chance that the ring shown was "intended" to be in your K10D. That is definitely not a precision piece, and for the life of me, I cannot think of what function that would serve!

 

Could it not have come from somewhere in the immediate environment while you were cleaning the focusing screen?

 

As you were "cleaning" and not "changing" your focusing screen, I would say there is very little chance that it just fell out if it was meant to be there! There is a scary corollary to that, what was it doing in there? And how long had it been in there? I could only imagine the damage that would do to sensors and mirrors, just falling around!

 

Can you not go and ask one or two more pro camera shops in your area before sending it off?

 

Wish you the best!

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Well now I am in a quandry. I have the K10D packed and ready to go to Pentax Canada but a number of posts have cuased me to reconsider my actions. I remember that when I was cleaning the focusing screen, I had the K10D up in the face down as you are supposed to ensuring that dust does not enter the camera and I shook the body to get the focusing screen bracket to realign. That is when I noticed the brass wahser on the table surface. I seem to remember seeing it fall out but I can't swear on that. All the functions on the camera appear to work but I have no idea if for instance the SR system is functioning as it should, or the dust remvoal system. I did notice that for the first day or two after cleaning the focusing screen, I appeared to have a black space on top and below the picture when I looked through the LCD panel of tne back of the camera. This could have been a misallignment of the focusing screen but it appeared to be sitting properly in the metal holder. My pictures (after I downloaded them to my computer)also appeared to be off to the right a bit but that seems to have corrected itself. I agree that the piece seems rather large but I have no idea what they use for say SR or to keep the mirror in balance. At this point, I am not sure what to do. Use the camera until I notice something not working? How will I know if say the SR, dust removal or mirror stability is working properly? I have no idea if I send it in to Pentax Canada and it is not a part what they would charge. I am sure that courier costs are going to be at least $50.00. Phoning Pentax Canada and getting info from them it would appear they were not familar with a piece like that in the camera, but they were very non commital.
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>>> I did notice that for the first day or two after cleaning the focusing screen, I appeared to have a black space on top and below the picture when I looked through the LCD panel of tne back of the camera. <<<

 

This is normal, as the LCD is a different aspect ratio than the sensor. Until you zoom into the picture on the LCD there is nothing to display in these "black areas". A bit like watching a wide-screen movie on a 4:3 television. (You can change the default zoom in the menus, if you don't like the bars.)

 

Justin

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