Hi, everyone - apologies if this is a common problem, but so far I haven't been able to find any information on it.

When I went to use my camera (a Pentax K-r) this morning I noticed that there was a strange black band across the top of all of the pictures I'd taken in the past day (I had been shooting without preview to save battery life).

Figuring that it probably had something to do with the shutter I took the lens off, switched the shutter speed to bulb and watched the shutter action. As I suspected, the shutter was sticking. In fact, it sticks at around the two-thirds open point, leaving the bottom of the sensor part-covered by the top of the shutter.

I have no idea why this would suddenly happen, as I've used my camera extensively over the past few months and it hasn't been subject by any untoward knocks and bumps that I'm aware of. I was just wondering if anyone could shed any light on why this problem might happen, or whether there's a known fix for the problem. Preferably I'd like to fix this without taking it to a professional repair shop as I really don't have the money to do that at the moment!

[Na Horuk]

Hey, welcome!

I don't know what could be causing this problem. Just to be sure I understand - the mirror moves out of the way normally, but the actual shutter courtains get stuck? But they close back down normally?
When you looked at it, was it clean, free of particles? If you have a rocket blower, you can try blowing on it, but actually for something to stop the shutter, it would have to be fairly big.
I would suggest you do the regular stuff:
1) Charge battery, leave it outside of camera overnight
2) Make sure the camera mount, battery contacts, and SD card slot are clean
3) Try a different battery and SD card
4) Try dust removal action
5) Try sensor cleaning action
6) Maybe try to update firmware?

Using B mode and forcing the shutter to go up all the way sounds risky to me, as you can easily scratch or dirty the sensor. And honestly, repairs might not be worth it - you can get a used K-50 for a really low price these days, and it has some more features and slightly better sensor than K-r. (and I say that with a heavy heart - the K-r was my first Pentax DSLR)

[mee]

Out of curiosity.. what is the shutter count for your K-r? If you do not know, you can take a photo with your K-r, then 'upload' it here: Check Shutter Count & Camera Manufacture Date Online - EXIF Reader