mggm59 Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 <p>My faithful flash has a broken foot. One of the thin plastic slabs that enter the shoe just broke away, leaving me with a barely usable flash (it still stays in place, but one cannot move the whole camera-flash group around too fast). There are four screws above it, as can be seen in the picture, so I guess it is easily removable, but I did not try yet. Did anybody have similar issues? Or know where to find spares? Or have any idea for a DIY intervention? <br> Thanks in advance<br> Maurizio</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mggm59 Posted December 12, 2011 Author Share Posted December 12, 2011 <p>Picture (error when loading previous post)</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_chan4 Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 <p>Just buy a replacement shoe from Pentax and replace it yourself. 4 screws off and that's all.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy_corbin Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 <p>That's a bummer. I broke the foot off of my LumoPro LP120 once. It was still under warranty so I sent it back. They replaced the entire flash unit. I suppose that's easier for a fast turn-around. I'd check the warranty on the flash if I were you. The whole thing my cost you only the shipping to the nearest <em>equipped</em> Pentax service center.</p> <p>My next flash will probably be a Vivitar 285 with the metal foot on it. Its much harder to break metal. </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mggm59 Posted December 12, 2011 Author Share Posted December 12, 2011 <p>Thanks Alan, but does Pentax sell spares or would I have to ship it back and wait weeks (not to mention the cost?).<br> Jeremiah, the warranty is gone unfortunately, and I would guess they would blame it on me anyway(which might be for turning the lever too hard, but then they should design it better...)</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy_corbin Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 <p>Maybe others would know better, but would Pentax care about how it was broken or would they just replace it anyway? LumoPro never asked/cared about how the weakest part of their flash was broken. It seemed normal enough of a request that they just took care of it.</p> <p>This seems to put you in a tough position. If you've been taking advantage of the 540's advanced features you might be stuck. I don't use anything but manual flash, so my requirements from a flash are much different than many others here. :-/</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_chan4 Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 <p>Depends on where you are. Many Pentax distributors sell spare parts at reasonable prices. If you wish to have your flash working in no time, just contact the Pentax parts department and ask for the flash shoe. However, you will need to sent the flash in for warranty claim. Also, Pentax flash shoe is thinner than other brands so they are more fragile but might not be a bad thing because it is far cheaper to replace the flash shoe than the camera top.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_sunley Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 <p>Pentax in Canada sells parts to end users, I bought some bits for a 645 film insert.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mggm59 Posted December 14, 2011 Author Share Posted December 14, 2011 <p>Thanks a lot to all, I'll contact Pentax Italy and Belgium tomorrow. I removed the screws and the job inside seems also easy, although the thin wires make me nervous anyway...</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mggm59 Posted December 15, 2011 Author Share Posted December 15, 2011 <p>Well, a piece of plastic 41 euros (53$)... crazy. I'd rather see if I can fix it (and possibly make it stronger) before shelling out the dough.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jemal.yarbrough Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 <p>It's an easy repair. I broke the bottom on my flash completely off, but before the 4 screws. You literally unscrew them, unplug the connector, plug the new connector in, and screw it down. It will take you less than 5 minutes. Got the parts from Pentax. I paid under $50 I think. Good luck.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mggm59 Posted December 31, 2011 Author Share Posted December 31, 2011 <p>Ended up buying and replacing, piece of cake.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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