Camera Service

[woononabutch]

I need to have my Pentax K30 serviced, (it powers off a few seconds after turning on). I've tried emailing C.R. Kennedy, can't get past their 'CAPTCHA', rang asked for service - answering machine - asked for call back - no response.


Question; has anyone used 'Camera Service Centre', Bathurst Street, Sydney or can recommend service/repairer in Wollongong/Sydney area for Pentax Camera.

Thanks
Chris

[ricktas]

Odd re CR Kennedy. They used to offer great service, but have heard a few people being not so impressed of late with them.

Camera Service Centre do have a good reputation. Perhaps @Kym; can give more guidance specific to Pentax for you.

[Kym]

I've always gone in person to the C R Kennedy office and have always had great service, albeit the 3 repairs/replacements over 10 years have taken 14 days to turn around as they send off to Melbourne.

Give them a call first I think.

[woononabutch]

I've always gone in person to the C R Kennedy office and have always had great service, albeit the 3 repairs/replacements over 10 years have taken 14 days to turn around as they send off to Melbourne.

Give them a call first I think.

Thanks for reply, unfortunately I do not have an office nearby or easily accessible by public transport, I had my K100D serviced by them a couple of times, real annoying typing out an online contact note them CAPTCHA won't valid, I don't like sending camera off without first contacting them.
Chris

The spacebar isn't working again

[ameerat42]

Thanks for reply, unfortunately I do not have an office nearby or easily accessible by public transport, I had my K100D serviced by them a couple of times, real annoying typing out an online contact note them CAPTCHA won't valid, I don't like sending camera off without first contacting them.
Chris

The spacebar isn't working again

I don't think they can help with the space bar. However, hop on a train to Mascot Suburban
(NOT the Airports) and walk to...
Kennedy C R & Co PTY LTD
15 Bourke Rd, Mascot NSW 2020
Phone: (02) 9552 8300]

FWIW, it looks like they moved. They used to be due North in
Coward St

[arthurking83]

I need to have my Pentax K30 serviced, (it powers off a few seconds after turning on). ....

OK, stupid question coming up now ....

Have you confirmed that the battery(s) are not depleted?
K30 is a bit long in the tooth, as the saying goes, so the battery(s) could be at the end of their life.

Powering off soon after starting it up, points to the battery as the first place to direct your efforts.

Of course if the battery is confirmed to be in perfect health then my question is going to be stupid.

Note tho, just because your battery is charged, doesn't mean it's going to hold that charge, or have the capacity to power the device.
AND .. if you purchased a brand new aftermarket battery recently, don't assume that even tho it's new, that it will work without problems!

[woononabutch]

OK, stupid question coming up now ....

Have you confirmed that the battery(s) are not depleted?
K30 is a bit long in the tooth, as the saying goes, so the battery(s) could be at the end of their life.

Powering off soon after starting it up, points to the battery as the first place to direct your efforts.

Of course if the battery is confirmed to be in perfect health then my question is going to be stupid.

Note tho, just because your battery is charged, doesn't mean it's going to hold that charge, or have the capacity to power the device.
AND .. if you purchased a brand new aftermarket battery recently, don't assume that even tho it's new, that it will work without problems!

Not so stupid question! Stupid camera - now I think problem relates to weather!! The problem first appeared last year in Singapore - every time I changed batteries I had to reset date and time, took a couple of tries to turn on again but eventually came on and all well until next battery change, same procedure. I haven't done much photography since, but went to Japan end of March and as we needed to travel fairly light decided to only take "Pentax Lithium" battery. The first day there was wet and that's when problems started again, but with perseverance I was able to take some photos. The next couple of days were cold and problem got worse so I resorted to using video camera for still images.

So while I have being trying to find a company to service camera, I removed the battery and had left it out of the camera, 3 days ago i put the battery back in - and the camera hasn't malfunctioned since, turns on every time no problem!!!!!

But still going to send for service and clean, over 11,000 clicks, never been serviced or professionally cleaned.

[arthurking83]

..... over 11,000 clicks, never been serviced or professionally cleaned.

It's still a baby in terms of usage!

shutter is where a major service is required, and that's usually at about 50K exposures.
I'm quite sure that Pentax would quote about a 50K service life for a shutter in this model range(more for higher end cameras like K3/K1)

clean, yes. if you haven't cleaned the sensor for 11K exposures, you will have dust on it.
Generally seen at smaller apertures(large numbers) usually at about f/8 and smaller.

The time resetting annoyance sounds like battery problem.
That is, your camera has an internal battery to hold time for a short while, if the battery is removed.
Each camera has a variable amount of time it can hold the set time whilst the battery is removed. The size of the internal battery determines this.
If the (main) battery is in the camera and the camera loses it's time, then the main battery is depleting itself down to a voltage level too low to recharge the built in battery.
(I think the built in battery is actually a capacitor, so when you insert a (main) battery it gets recharged basically instantly.

Hopefully(for your sake) this is the problem, and the solution will be to just get a new battery.
The alternative, will be pretty expensive.
Other things that can cause this kind'a thing are dodgy solder points and/or wiring. When cold, the contact points can become unstable and not enough voltage is getting from the battery to the cameras power circuits.
The other option could be if the main power circuit board is damaged, internally .. replacing this is big bikkies.
If it's just solder joints/wires, it's a matter of labour costs to fix it .. probably a few hundred $s
If it's the circuit board(less likely, but not out of the question) .. I'd say closer to 1K for parts and labour.

So what type and how many batteries do you have/use?
Aftermarket types can be hit and miss, and I generally buy 2 or 3 to be sure I get one good one.

My D70s is now 11years old, and did about 40K exposures in the time I used it's as my main.
I got 3x aftermaket batteries for it when I got it, as they were only $40 for the 3. A massive difference to the $60 Nikon wanted for their 1 genuine.

After a long time of both use and subsequently non use .. the Nikon battery is unusable(doesn't hold charge well). And one of the aftermarket batteries, (as I remember) one died not long after I got it(maybe 6-12months). The other two outlasted the Nikon, and only the one still works as it originally did(and still does).

hope that info helps.

[woononabutch]

Hi ArthurKing, you sure are a “King”; what you referred to with the internal battery now makes sense. When I purchased the camera I also bought the ‘AA’ battery adaptor, first thing I tried was to use AA Lithium batteries – they didn’t work because the voltage was too high!!. I ended up using "eneloop's".
The first time I had problem with losing the Time/Date, I also had the problem with the camera switching off after inserting fully charged batteries, recently I took the AA’s out and put the Pentax Lithium in (had been sitting in draw for a while) and all worked, so that is when I decided to take the camera away with me with genuine Pentax Lithium. Now I realise it wasn’t until after I recharged the battery that my problem with the camera turning off resurfaced. when I left the battery out for a few days and put it back in all was well. Off now to charge up the battery again and see what happens, but 99% sure it’s caused by the differential voltage between the internal battery and the ‘external’ battery.

Cheers
Chris

[William W]

. . . in Singapore - every time I changed batteries I had to reset date and time, took a couple of tries to turn on again but eventually came on and all well until next battery change, same procedure. I haven't done much photography since, but went to Japan end of March and as we needed to travel fairly light decided to only take "Pentax Lithium" battery. The first day there was wet and that's when problems started again, but with perseverance I was able to take some photos. The next couple of days were cold and problem got worse so I resorted to using video camera for still images.

So while I have being trying to find a company to service camera, I removed the battery and had left it out of the camera, 3 days ago i put the battery back in - and the camera hasn't malfunctioned since, turns on every time no problem!!!!!

But still going to send for service and clean, over 11,000 clicks, never been serviced or professionally cleaned.

Haven’t read all the thread.

IME and camera sight unseen . . .

Diagnosis: dirty battery contacts and as are result they are holding a very small amount of water (moisture).

Fix: Battery contacts require checking for corrosion and or dirt deposits and then clean or replace if corroded.

Ongoing procedure: in humid climes air battery compartment for an hour, regularly. Warm (not hot) air form hairdryer at suitable distance is quick fix in an emergency.

WW