Pentax K-50 Firmware v1.10 Released

Adds KAF4 mount support and enables use of the 55-300mm PLM lens

By PF Staff in Firmware Updates on Nov 24, 2016

After a long period of uncertainty, Ricoh Imaging has released a firmware update for the Pentax K-50 to add support for the new KAF4 lens mount. KAF4 lenses lack a mechanical aperture stop-down lever; they instead require electronic actuation of the aperture.  Before this firmware update, the K-50 was not able to issue the necessary commands to operate this system.

Thanks to this update, the new silent-focusing DA 55-300mm PLM lens can be used with the K-50.  We strongly recommend this lens over its screwdrive AF predecessor, as it focuses more quickly and allows for more precise manual adjustments without making any compromises.

Download the K-50 firmware from the official Pentax firmware site.

Full Pentax K-50 v1.10 firmware notes:

A similar update was released for the K-3 II, K-S2, K-S1, and K-1 months ago, and also the K-3 today.  The K-70 (and newer) will natively support KAF4 lenses.  Older bodies are not compatible with KAF4 lenses.

Pentax K-50 firmware update instructions:

1. Download the firmware ZIP file corresponding to your camera
2. Unzip the zip file to a folder of your choosing
3. Locate the extracted .BIN file and copy it to the root (top level i.e. outside of any folder) of a formatted SD card
4. Insert the card into your camera and ensure it is fully charged
5. Turn the camera on and go to the setup tab in the menu; select the "firmware" option
6. Select "Yes" at the firmware upgrade prompt
7. Once the screen displays "Complete", turn off your camera
8. Power your camera back on and resume normal use
9. In order to verify that the firmware update was successful, go back to the firmware option in the setup menu. The screen should indicate the latest version. You can now resume normal camera use.

Note that all updates are cumulative, so the latest firmware version includes the contents of all previous versions.

Troubleshooting Tips

If you've having trouble updating your camera, check the points below.  In nearly all cases, your issue is covered by one of these:

• Ensure you downloaded the correct firmware file for your camera (a K-3 II update will not work in a Pentax K-3, for example)
• Ensure that you extracted the .BIN file out of the ZIP (the .BIN file is the only thing that the camera wants)
• Check that the .BIN file is in the top level (root directory) of the SD card, outside of the DCIM folder
• Delete old update files prior to copying a new update over to your card
• Ensure that the .BIN file has not been renamed and that extension is unchanged (operating systems can do one or both if there are naming conflicts)
• Check that your battery is fully charged
• If your camera has two SD slots, the card with the update must be placed in SD1

Firmware Update Tutorial Video

See our in-depth review for more information about the Pentax K-50.