Just a “process” report for now; any testing will come later.
I followed the on-line process to request an upgrade, was provided instructions
and address, and sent a sacrificial K-1 off to Precision on May 25, the Friday
before our 3-day Memorial Day holiday. They received the camera first thing
Tuesday morning, 29 May. They completed their work on Friday 8 June and sent it
to me 2nd Day Air via UPS. Mike, our UPS guy, brought the package to me for
signature this morning, 11 June.
1. I dwell on the timing above because I have had prior unhappy experience with
Precision Camera taking far too long for what should have been a simple job. In
this case their FAQ said that the camera would be back in the customer’s hands
in 7-10 days from receipt at Precision. They were very close to meeting that
goal; I am impressed.
2. The packaging for their return shipment was exceedingly outstanding.
- Camera inside a tightly closed plastic bag.
- Then placed in a bubble-wrap pouch
- Which was then encased in bubble wrap in a medium size box
- Said medium size box then encased in bubble wrap inside another
larger box.
3. Along with the camera I received
- DCU-5 disc: S-SW171
- A personal (?) letter from Ricoh President Shinobu Takahashi
expressing gratitude for my continued support of and confidence in their
products.
- A repair ticket detailing the work done.
4. Basic work done:
- Main circuit board replaced
- SR logo replaced by II logo
- Autofocus test, recalibration and realignment
- General test, check, clean and repair all functions and systems
- Complete cleaning (Internal and External)
In an ideal world I would be interested in knowing something about the checks
and recalibration they did. Minimal or major issues? But I can’t really expect
that sort of personalized diagnostic feedback from a repair facility like this.
I will be interested to see if they cleaned the smudge off the mirror.
Lightroom and I have been coping with it for a year now, but it would be nice
for that to be gone.
I will also be interested to see if I need to recalibrate the AF compensation
on my lenses.
And of course I will be interested to see if I can se any difference in AF
speed and in low-light performance.
I have never tried pixel shifting; I plan to do a K-1 vs. K-1 Mk II evaluation
along with other tests.
I am getting ready for a 2-week trip, starting this weekend, and we have a
major renovation project ongoing (replacing flooring throughout) and we are
trying to get ready for houseguests, relatives from Denmark coming to stay
through the time we are gone and then on to mid-July. I am cautiously
optimistic that I will have time to re-install the camera strap, load battery
and SD cards, and take a few snappies. Anything more substantive will likely
wait for a few weeks.
stan
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