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A camera owner has filed a class action lawsuit against Ricoh USA Inc. over claims that the company’s line of Pentax camera products are defective in a way that causes them to produce useless, almost completely dark photographs.
The Pentax camera class action lawsuit was filed by New York resident Janet Kyszenia who says she purchased a Pentax camera for her own personal use.
Allegedly, after she purchased the camera, she discovered that it possessed a defect that made it unusable, because it took extremely dark, almost black photographs.
However, the Pentax repair class action lawsuit asserts that the problem with her camera did not occur until after her camera was out of warranty.
She states that this is a problem that plagues not only her camera, but a large portion of Pentax cameras produced. Allegedly, the problem is the result of a manufacturing flaw or design defect, affecting Pentax K-30, K-50, and K-70 models.
The Pentax camera class action lawsuit argues that the defect which causes the cameras to produce black pictures is a problem with the aperture, the opening in a camera lens through which light passes to enter the camera.
Allegedly, many other customers experienced similar problems. To support this point, Kyszenia cites numerous customer complaints about the cameras that she says are similar to her own. She stresses that thousands of customers complained to Ricoh about the aperture problem “to no avail.”
She seeks to represent a Class of all United States customers who purchased a Pentax K-30, K-50, or K-70 model camera for personal use since Dec. 7, 2014. Additionally, she also seeks to establish subclasses of customers who purchased cameras in New York and Virginia in the same time period.
On behalf of herself and these similarly affected customers, Kyszenia seeks damages to compensate for financial injury. She says that she and other customers would not have purchased the camera or would have paid as much as they did for it if they had known that the cameras were defective.
Allegedly, the cameras themselves cost around $450 each and the additional attachments and accessories cost around $450.
This means that the average Pentax customer spends around $900 on a new Pentax camera, says Kyszenia.
Around 12,000 Pentax cameras were sold, says the Pentax camera aperture problem class action lawsuit, which brought Ricoh Inc. more than $5,000,000 in sales.
The plaintiff says that, despite collecting millions in profits, the company failed its customers in a range of ways. First by putting a defective camera on the market that allegedly the company knew was defective.
The company reportedly had the means and methods necessary to test the camera before it was released into the market, to ensure that the cameras were in good working order.
The camera functionality problem class action lawsuit argues that Ricoh USA, the makers of Pentax cameras, had significant experience from its prominent role in the camera industry. Allegedly, this experience should have been enough to ensure the proper design and manufacturing of the Pentax camera products.
The Pentax camera class action lawsuit then goes on to argue that the company further financially injured its customers, challenging the company’s approach to Pentax repair in light of the defect. Though the cameras do come with a warranty, the warranties are allegedly not sufficient to cover Pentax repair for the aperture defect, because the defect often materializes after the warranty ends.
The company further injured customers by not offering Pentax repair after customers complained about their cameras’ defects. Additionally, the company has refused to provide an adequate Pentax repair plan to compensate consumers.
Instead, customers allegedly had to cover the cost of Pentax repair out-of-pocket. The Pentax class action lawsuit asserts that the company should have covered the cost of repairing the cameras, but instead pushed this cost on to its consumers.
In addition to monetary compensation, Kyszenia seeks injunctive relief for herself and the other customers, saying that if she could be assured that Pentax cameras did not possess any more defects, she would purchase a Pentax camera again.
Have you ever used a Pentax camera? Did you have any problems with it? Share your experience in the comments below.
Kyszenia is represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC and by Christopher Colt North of The Consumer & Employee Rights Law Firm PC.
The Pentax Aperture Black Picture Problem Class Action Lawsuit is Janet Kyszenia v. Ricoh USA Inc., Case No. 1:20-cv-02215, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
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199 thoughts onPentax Camera Class Action Alleges Aperture Defect
I have a K-70 that has not encountered this problem. I did not know much about it so purchased another K70. Now concerned that was not a good decision
I purchased a used K-30 in January 2017 from an Amazon vendor (5-Star Camera). The black picture/aperture block failure problem started in September 2017. The vendor refused to repair the camera or refund the purchase price. Based on an internet search, I learned of a repair specialist, PC35 PhotoLab (Pine Grove, CA). I mailed my camera in late 2017 to the specialist and it was repaired and returned with a 1 year warranty. The problem returned 1 month later and I returned the camera for a second repair. Since the second repair, the camera has worked fine and I am very pleased with the work of PC35 PhotoLab. Cost of the 2017 repair work was $117 and total postage for both repairs was $72. Total cost of fixing the problem in 2017 was $189.
Ive had my K50 for abput three years. I bought it because I had been using my old K1000 and the lenses would work on the digital camera. I went to use it today and all I get are black pictures. Now Ive been reading I’m not alone. How do I join the lawsuit? I’m in Florida.
Unfortunately my K30 developed the Black image defect right when the warranty expired.I tossed it in the trash can and bought a Pentax Ks2. It was slightly used and it too developed the Black image syndrome within a couple months of me getting it. Spent 1000 bucks between these two and will never buy another PENTAX again. This is very sad.
Choosing a brand of SLR camera is long term plan, lot of things goes into deciding a brand as the accessories can’t be used with other manufactures, this issue has really destroyed the trust with Pentax, I have spent quite a lot on the accessories and added new lenses, but everything is now useless as K-50 body is crap, now I dont have trust to upgrade to a higher version of the SLR range now. All that my current K-50 takes is black pictures, I recommended this camera to many others and few actually went on to buy it. I regret it now. One of them got the issue much before mine, and had to get it serviced it locally spending lot of money. Surprised that they didn’t call for recall! The issue came up exactly after the expiry of warranty too!
i purchased a Pentax K500 to replace a similar film version that uses the same lenses in 2013. It worked fine until December of 2020 and began to intermittently display the problem in described in this case. The film camera is basically the same design and still operates fine after 20 years. I have used Pentax cameras for over 50 years and never had this kind of problem before.
I have the same problem with mine. Dark Pics and the camera shop said sorry you have to take that up with Pentax. I’ve used Pentax for many years and when I purchased this one i was going to give it to my daughter to take pics of grand kids. I was then going to purchase a new Pentax with bells and whistles but now I know better, Sorry Pentax you lost me after spending 1,500 on camera and accessories.
Both my friend and I purchased Pentax K-50 cameras and they are both giving the (aperture failure) dark pictures. Purchased multiple lenses and accessories. Not happy with an obvious defect and the manufacture not stepping up to take care of their customers. I’ve owned four previous Pentax cameras and have been very happy – this may be my last, unless that do what it right.
Yep, I have a Pentax ist*-DL that experiences a similar defect, as well as a K-30, that worked well for a couple years, then failed, I spent $100 on a failed repair attempt, and now my K-30, which I REALLY liked, is simply a brick of useless metal and plastic that I cannot use.
I then went out and bought a Pentax K-3 which has been a wonderful camera, rugged and reliable for two years. Wonder how long that will last.
Sign me up for the class lawsuit, I am NOT happy with Ricoh for this problem.
How does one become a part of this class action lawsuit?