This is a tough one.........

Well hello,

I'm new here, I just bought a Petax *ist DL today and already I have a question. It seems that the built in flash doesn't work. When I put it on manual and pop the flash up the camera freezes, the only solution is to change the setting so the shutter will still go off while the flash is charging up. I waited several minutes and the flash doesn't do anything. I'm really puzzled, is the flash toast or what?

Welcome to PR!

The camera freezes as in stops working or what? Or does the shutter open and stay open as in a long exposure time?

I'm not very familiar with the*ist series, but I'd imagine there's a Point & Shoot Mode that is pretty much automatic on all settings. You might want to try that in a fairly dark room and see if the flash goes off..

Make sure you've got good batteries. Batteries in new cameras are always a huge potential source of problems. Whether they are disposable or rechargeable's doesn't matter. Have a second set of something just in case the ones you have are dead or dying.

Check the manual for a "Getting Started" section and step through the basics it suggests. This might at least verify some operation of the camera before wondering if it's broken.

Does the camera produce a good photo outside in daylight?

Check the manual for one more thing, the RESET sequence. Many cameras now have a default you can restore the camera to so that strange combos of setting don't affect your use.

Again, re-read the manual. Its amazing what might be affecting how the flash performs or not, such as second/slow curtain, multi flash mode, fill mode with red-eye reduction, night mode, etc.

Best wishes and please tell us what you discover. And when the camera is working post, post, post!
I'm not sure there are many using the *ist series here, but I know I'm always interested to see photos from different cameras.