Cheapest place to buy a *ist D in the UK

That program revealed no dud pixels on my camera which the dealer accepted had 32.

hmm, thanks for the link, i will give it a go.

Does anyone (malcomk?) know of another method of testing for them. I would really like to test the camera before i leave the shop and can easily take my laptop and microdrive & adaptor to run any tests i can there and then

Once I realised my 32 little beauties were always there I could expose them (pardon the pun!) every time by photographing a dark piece of furniture (Ercol cabinet) and underexposing by a stop or two. They showed up like beacons.

If you do decide to buy from Park Cameras they have a PC running Photoshop in their showroom and their well worn carpet might make a suitable backdrop.

Have you tried the firmware update available from the Pentax USA site? I have just upgraded my *ist D from v1.00 to v1.10. Among other features, it enables hyper manual function when using a non-A lens.


I had my cable release delivered with the camera, back in the middle of September (from Camera World).

I had 1.10 firmware working within a couple of hours of release and was soon out using M lenses with very satisfactory results. I went around with a big grin on my face all day long.

As for the cable release, it's ordered at Park Cameras since mid-October along with a couple of flash accessories. I think it's possible that the cable release is available but they've been held up for the flash things. Maybe it's time I leaned on them a little.

what about Jessops?
how do they compare
preices seem cheap to me.
service?

Jessops are ok.....but they dont stock the *istD around here!

Also they will have to price match a fair bit i should imagine and as i am looking at possibly 2 bodies and a grands worth of lenses and some accessories i am hoping to get a very good deal...its gonna be over £3K spend

I wonder what shops do with the cameras returned to them as "faulty" e.g. because of dead pixels.

If someone from Park sees this, perhaps they would like to take the opportunity to confirm they are returned to the manufacturer.

Andy Auty

Do you mean on the LCD display or on the digital photos themselves? I do not think I would accept one dead pixel for >£1300!

Had *ist D since Oct 03. Can't say I have noticed any on either? I have a high quality Sony 18" PC lcd and a Nec Ht1000 projector so would see 'em if they were there.

In fact there are no obvious malfunctions with the camera.

I'm not sure about the precision of the exposure in auto modes however. Can't be certain but I feel my Z10 is better and it has only 6 zones.

The latest firmware has been installed and this may have helped. Not sure yet.

Otherwaise this camera is fantastic.

This is going to help no-one, but I did manage to get a *istD from a shop that was closing down for about a third off usual price!
The downside is that the shop has gone and will be sadly missed. I too like to support local retailers where possible.
Just found this site/forum, and really find it helpful.

Park cameras do seem to be a great price for the UK, but with the dollar so weak vs the pound at the moment, I still think its worth the risk getting my friend to bring one back from New York for me in a few months.

Would work out at £750 incl. tax then. Hmmm, do you think they'd price match that at Jessops?!

Risk assessment time...! If its a "dud", it goes back to Pentax UK under warranty and I'm without the camera for x weeks, if not, I'm happy. Otherwise, no DSLR me me... and I'm unhappy!

Or I could go buy a Canon 300D or something equally naff for my £750. No....

Go on, what would you do? Never was good at decisions.

Hi,
Just out of interest, has anyone had to have an import repaired by Pentax UK and how did it go. I may be an old cynic but I feel there may be "conditions".

A friend of my son decided he wanted a Nikon Coolpix just before Xmas and ordered it from the States having been told Nikon would honour their "worldwide guarantee". Within a fortnight it went wrong. He contacted Nikon who said he would have to return it to the place he purchased it from ie the States. Apparently, they would only honour the guarantee if could provide proof that he had purchased the item personally in the States and not by mail order. They said the guarantee was only for the original purchaser and only valid if bought through an official importer of the country he was in at the time of purchase. To make matters worse, the US mail service lost his camera! It was well insured and he eventually got a replacement that worked. By this time this had happened, the UK price had fallen and in the end, he hadn't saved any money and had been through a lot of hassle.

If Pentax play things the same way it would mean that any mail order or a third party buying the camera and bringing it back would count as a grey import and mean that in the event of a fault, it would have to be returned to the States. This certainly used to be the case about 15 years ago when there were quite a few companies offering grey imports. If I were going to buy from the States, I would write to Pentax UK detailing exactly how the item was going to be obtained and get their written confirmation that the warranty will be honored in this country before I bought.

Kim

Well thats reasonable.
Here is the detail of the International Warranty requirements [extract] as sent to me by Pentax...
>>>>>>
To obtain an International Warranty Card please post or fax the following
information to us at the address below.

* Name
* Address
* Camera model
* Camera serial no.
* Country of purchase
* Copy of your proof of purchase / sales receipt.

Ensure that you enclose a covering letter stating that you require an
International Warranty Card. If you need this sent to a different address
to the permanent address on your card then please state this clearly. We
can fax this information as well as post it, if this is required.
<<<<<<<

So yes, a copy of proof of purchase / sales receipt is required, but it would be anyway, as they'd then know when you bought the camera (and therefore when the warranty started).

Hi Jules,
I may be doing Pentax a disservice, but your comments tend to reinforce my fears rather than allay them. A copy of proof of purchase is reasonable to prove that the item is still in warranty but surely this should be enough. The fact that you have to obtain an international warranty card by supplying the country of purchase would indicate that they would follow the same policy as Nikon. What they haven't told you is the specific conditions of the eligibility for getting the card. I am sure if I purchased a Pentax in the States and brought it back, they would issue a card and I would be quite happy to do so. However, if I were going to get a friend to get one for me, I would find out from Pentax if they would issue an international warranty to me or would it only be to my friend? True if it went wrong I could get my friend to get the warranty and get it fixed but that would be asking rather a lot. Similarly, I would make sure that I get get a warranty card if I mail ordered a Pentax from overseas before I did so.

I accept that this is a lot of supposition but that is why I asked the question "if anybody had had to make use of the warranty under these conditions". What I would like to know is has anybody managed to obtain one of these cards for a mail order purchase or by having someone else import the camera from them? If they have I will apologise to Pentax and accept that their service as well as their products are better than Nikon
Kim