mggm59 Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 A couple of days ago, while just walking around, my bag's shoulder strap has decided to part ways with the ring it was attached to and fell to the ground. The bag is padded, I didn't see anything wrong with my K5, 12-24, 8mm samyang and 24-90. No problem, I thought.But when I picked up the camera for shooting, I started finding funny things. No aperture indication, no focussing, and when I zoomed, the 12-24 hardened at around 20mm. Moreover, the lens did not stop with a nice click. After close inspection, I realised the truth: the bayonet of my K5 has been torn from the body in its lower part. pushing it it clearly moves away from the body by about 1mm. And it's already far enough not to allow the contacts to reach the back of the lens, same for the locking pin and the focussing drive. With a metal body I couldn't believe it. Anybody's heard anything similar? And how much it costs to fix it (if at all possible?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_shriver Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 <p>Sadly, almost certainly not economically feasible to fix the body. Buy another used one, price is getting decent on K-5.<br> Eric Hendrickson can probably fix any problems with the lenses, but you would need to ship to the US and avoid paying duty when it comes back. Hopefully they aren't damaged.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattB.Net Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 <p>Ooh, sorry to hear that! I'm surprised I haven't damaged mine having fallen on it a few times skiing. Instead I bruised my ribs!<br> Good luck on getting it resolved. </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_elenko Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 <p>Blame your bag's poor construction. Cameras and lenses aren't expected to survive drops from 2-3 feet cleanly, especially older units that have already been through the stress of ordinary use.<br> Does your insurance cover this? If not, time for new equipment--including a bag.</p> <p>ME</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laur1 Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 <p>Strange, I wouldn't expect this kind of result from a simple fall. Even if the bag didn't had much padding, I would expect the lens to suffer most of the shock, protecting the camera. Especially since the 12-24 is not a metal lens. Bad luck.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mggm59 Posted February 19, 2014 Author Share Posted February 19, 2014 It aas a surprise for me too, I had other falls, but this one probably was at suc an angle that the lens "levered" the bayonet flange. I'll try to upload a pic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mggm59 Posted February 20, 2014 Author Share Posted February 20, 2014 <p>Here is a pic showing the deformation of the mount and how the contacts no longer reach the surface</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pj_vesterback Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 <p>Two similar incidents for me. First one almost identical to yours. Strap let go, bag fell from my shoulder onto concrete floor. Didn't notice anything for a while but basically the I had the same issue with my 16-50. It wouldn't zoom any tighter than roughly 28mm. AE-L button on the K10D broken. Didn't notice that for months because it never gets used. Insurance claim for the lens... if I remember correctly it cost around $200 CDN to repair... didn't bother with the camera. <br />Second time... K-5 with the same repaired lens rolled off the car seat in a panic stop. Camera fine. Same damage to the lens. It's been more than a year. Haven't had it repaired yet... don't know if I will. <br />Insurance is cheap & well worth it for me.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattB.Net Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 <p>What insurance are you using PJ?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laur1 Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 <blockquote> <p>Here is a pic showing the deformation of the mount and how the contacts no longer reach the surface</p> </blockquote> <p>Interesting. I thought the mount piece is directly attached to the magnesium alloy frame, but it doesn't look like that is the case.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mggm59 Posted February 24, 2014 Author Share Posted February 24, 2014 <p>It might be, actually, but magnesium is not really a tough material, and even an insert might let go if pulled strong enough. What IS surprising is that at least two screws detached, not just one, and they seem tight, which means they are still firmly screwed either onto a steel insert or to a piece of magnesium.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mggm59 Posted March 1, 2014 Author Share Posted March 1, 2014 <p>After talking to the repair shop I opened the bayonet and this is what I found: the screw pulled out the attachment point, which however only has one millimeter of material on three sides, and probably two tenths of a millimeter on another side, no surprise that it broke. Doesn't seem really a robust design, particularly when magnesium is considered. Cast magnesium is not particularly strong and can have flaws (bubbles of air). These (and the cutting due to the screw thread) can initiate a crack even with no shocks and in the long term lead to breaking the screw support even under repeated strain from long lenses. Caveat emptor!</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mggm59 Posted March 1, 2014 Author Share Posted March 1, 2014 <p>Another pic of the screw</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mggm59 Posted March 1, 2014 Author Share Posted March 1, 2014 <p>And what remains of the attachment</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mggm59 Posted March 8, 2014 Author Share Posted March 8, 2014 <p>Just for info, a first estimate by Pentax assistance, based on the photos above, is around 450 euros, and 350 for the 12-24 if the helicoids need to be changed. I also learned that the 12-24 needs special tools for centering and it needs to be sent to the EU Pentax labs in Paris.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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