New K-r, K-01, K-30, K-5, and K-5 II/IIs Firmware

battery is charged and using a blank formatted 4kb card..... camera K30 monitor will not turn on with camera plugged into computer cord

already d/l firmware to desktop [what to do next w/ firmware logo] even more,,, EVERY time I plug camera into cord and turn camera K30 on [with or without pressing menu button] monitor is black, no imige at all!!!! turn camera off, unplug, turn camera on and camera and monitor is fine???? cant d/l update without monitor screen not showing anything... what am I doiung wrong???

I updated my K5 and now its very much faster with my 43LTD!
Impressive Pentax, more please!

has anyone noticed slow writing speeds after upgrading K-5 to V1.14? I think I am experiencing this. And just bougth a Sandisk class 10 SD card

For the upgrading of my K-5II I've used a 8G SDHC and I had no problems!

i think improved focus system. im using 17-50 and i started too sharpness photos.

I like. My K30 have problem with firmware 1.01 . Better try to new firmware 1.02. Thanks.

Copied the bin file as directed, turned on K-r while holding menu button, displays
ver 1.10, then camera returns to normal, no upgrade, tried several times, now what?

You don't need a paticular size SD card to install the new firmware. Even a 128 MB card is sufficient. I used a 8 GB card. More important is that your battery is in good condition (full or nearly full).

Adam,
The Pentax site has listed an SD card size of 32 GB. Is this really necessary as your instructions do not list a card size. I don't have a 32 gb card as I use 16 gb cards.
(actually I ordered one from Amazon)
gatorpops

Wow, Adam, That would be awesome (note to Wishlist!)

Heh, that's why PF needs to start offering pro phone support ;)

OKAY. I admit it.
I'm computer challenged, having grown up with an Underwood typewriter and black rotary dial phone.
But I can navigate around my PC fairly well.
I've also had the flu for the past three days, so in my cabin fever I decided this would be the perfect time to upgrade the firmware in my K5IIs.
Tried it about five times; no luck.
Got stuck at Step 3 (above).
Called PRIAC tech support in Denver and got a young man on the phone who seemed eager to assist.
He even said this was the tenth such call he's had today.
(That should have been my first clue).
Well, as we went though the process, I goofed somewhere along the way and he suddenly became abrupt and impatient: "I told you three times NOT to do that" (he told me no such thing, even once.)
He added: "But that's OK, because this is being recorded".

Really?

I responded: "OK - if you can't do this without being rude, transfer me to someone else."

He calmed down to get through the rest of the process, and I hung up thinking: perhaps a little less techie impatience and a little more customer service (read:patience) would go a long way - hopefully your boss will teach you that when they review the tape.

To paraphrase Consumer Affairs website: "People that have a positive experience with a company's customer service department will likely tell two or three others about their experience, Contrarily, a person who has a bad customer service experience will likely tell between nine and 20 people."

This will work even if you are upgrading from 1.01, Paul. It's just a typo in their documentation (if you scroll now another user noticed this too, but the upgrade went fine).

Downloaded new firmware ver. 1.14 on my Pentax K-5, I did some testing on my 16-50mm f2.8 DA* and 50-135mm f2.8 DA* before and atfter downloading new firmware. There is a big difference in speed of autofocus on this lens and also with other Prime Lens. On DA* lenses the SDM's really focus faster than usual, seems like twice the speed now and you can hear the motor move more audibly. I've did some tethering on my AF adjustment last time and now with a faster AF speed the sharpness is really bang on.

The testing I did is low light night time lampshade lit living room setup, I don't know really how the upgrade affects the kit lenses or other slow lenses but definitely it made a change for fast lenses especially those with SDMs. I hope others will test their fast lenses in this new upgrade and put input in this progress with Pentax. I probably not bother buying a K5-IIs anymore, Thanks Pentax

I noticed in the 'read me' file from the download: "Updatable models
K-5 digital SLR cameras running Firmware Ver. 1.00/1.02/1.03/1.10/1.11/
1.12/1.13" My camera has ver 1.01 I emailed Pentax service in Mississauga Canada for their recommendation, and am awaiting their reply. Has anyone tried the upgrade from ver 1.01?

Got it sorrted. Definite inprovement in live view focus

So far it is a waste of time. When I turn on the camera as instructed a message pops up "Pentax K-r Ver: 1.12" and after a few seconds reverts to the Info screen. Tried several times and it does not work.

Thanks for the info, Into The Lens.

I notice a somewhat faster AF even with the 18-55WR kit lens in low light.

At least i have get rid of a vird sperm type mark on the snaps captured at f8 or above with my pentax kr by updating its firmware to 1.13. Earlier i was using 1.12.

Seems a bit better low light focus in my KR

My Kr had version 1.0. Thank you for the posting!!!

any empirical evidence of improved autofocus on the K-5 using any lens other than the new 560mm?

Dr. Pentaxian, this firmware upgrade improves live view AF compatibility with the 560mm lens. That is the only major change (unless you weren't running the latest version of the firmware prior to this announcement).

Ok... just did the update.. user modes are still there.. But not sure if anything is different..

Will this kill my user mode settings I have on my K-5?

Thank you Adam. Worked fine. Is there an explanation for this change?

@Dr.Pentaxian - disable shadow/highlight correction and extended dynamic range.

I've just installed v1.02 on my K-30, and now I can't lower ISO past 200. Has anyone noticed this also?

Kr v 1.13 downloaded ok can't see too much difference yet!

I can feel that the new update makes AF of my K5 faster by 5-10%, especially DFA 100 and DA 18-135 are attached.
I seldom used 5/11 point AF since it was slow and not so reliable. Now it seems noticeably improved!

K-5
At first it wouldn't update, then I reformated the SD card and tried again. Worked perfectly (updating). Don't know if it makes a difference yet. Don't have a 560mm lens!

Would be nice if they could provide manual control in video for K5

To foto guy: My K-5 froze on me last Friday while I was shooting (It was in video mode). So I don't think the new upgrade is responsible. So much for the stability improvements...

After updating this morning, my K-5 IIs froze on me when I went out shooting a couple of hours later. I had to remove the battery to shut it down. It's all good now. First time it has frozen on me, so I don't know if it's the firmware update, or just a quirk of this particular camera.

Thanks a lot Adam

Click on the link above, then you'll find the K-30 listed in the table.

Sorry for k30 i meant

Nice and where exactly is it? I cannot find it....

Thanks, Adam, for the email. I did the firmware upgrade and now indoor available light shooting to flash shooting is much improved. The auto ISO adjusts properly from ISO3200 to whatever is appropriate when I go to flash. I was behind on some upgrades so don't know if it was the latest or one before that.

Thanks pentax forums for the notification, I will be interested to see how it improves my K-r. I recently updated my Pentax Q and both lenses, what a difference - I was ready to send the kit back - now, with improved AF and lowlight performance, I love my Q!

Trying on a K01(CDAF) w/ a 55-300 DAL and XS 40mm. The focus seems better(a little faster maybe) on 55 end and although sketchy in low light on 300 end it seems like it finds focus better in low light although not faster. The 40 DA XS is snappier and improved in low light.

PDAF

For all those reporting on focus speed with the firmware update, please indicate if you are testing PDAF or CDAF. Many thanks.

Very happy to see that Pentax takes care of all Pentax users. I was wondering the other day if they would still update the K-5?
Installed the update and all works well. Put on my slowest lens (Sigma 70mm/2.8) and it has sped things up a bit. The lens hunts much less, especially in low light.

Just been out to test the AF and the AS-C seems much more responsive and "continuous" than before.
Thank you Pentax.

I checked my K5´s (v1.13) autofocus speed in my bedroom with lights off and courtins closed so there is little light (11.00am) then I updated the firmware (v1.14) and repeated the test (11.10am) and I think it might be a little bit faster...

Thanks for still supporting the K-5, Pentax. That's good business.

Thanks! Did get an e-mail there was an update. Although I didn't had any troubles with 1.13 but as I'm off to the bafta's next week it's best to have the latest update.

For people still having trouble: It's easy if you follow those steps above. Might be a tip: Remove all photo's of your card, put them on your computer just to be sure you don't loose them and remove the DCIM map so you won't start wondering if everything goes well.

Yes, because each update includes all past updates automatically.

If I have firmware 1.00, can I upgrade straight to 1.02 without any in-between upgrades?

"Improved stability" just means that the the firmware includes the latest bug fixes. As with any software product, small changes that the end user won't necessarily notice are made on a regular basis.

You don't need a card reader to upgrade your firmware. Simply copy over the .BIN file to the top level of your card using the USB cable (the file should be outside of the DCIM folder), then proceed starting at step 5.

Now I know that it is time to upgrade. The K-x is left out.. :(

According to a unformal test from one of our members in Pentaxianere i Norge (Pentaxians in Norway), this firmware upgrade gives K5 better autofocus in low light.

Stone- I like you am eager to find out. It will be interesting to see if auto focus is improved measurably.

Any clues as to what "•Improved stability for general performance." actually means for the K-5?

i want magic lantern for pentax, now!

I have a K-30. I'm not sure, but at first glance AF seems faster, and more accurate. I need to run more tests.

I meant to say K5II.

For those asking I did find something different on my K30... It now says Firmware Version 1.02.... amazing

Uhhhh... does this mean that we need a separate SD card reader to copy the firmware file BEFORE inserting the card into the camera? Can it be done with the camera connected to the computer? Makes my head hurt.....

I have read a couple comments that I would like clarification to. One was that their K5 was now full frame, and another that their K5 is no a K5IIs.

Yes! I am going for it now. Looking forward to auto focus improvement, etc etc.

Uppdated my and my whifes K-5
Smooth update

Significant better autofokus in low light.
Absolutely a useful uppdate.

Wow after the upgrade now i can make hdr pinhole pictures with my future pink lens cap

Up loaded to K-R will try it out this weekend... let see how it goes..

Yehovaqim, download to SD card ,no problems

In regards to "Improved Stability for General Performance;" if you were able to operate your K-5 in a stable condition after drinking a 6-pack of your favorite beer, you'll now be able to maintain stability (i.e., no bobbing or weaving, etc.) after drinking in excess of one 6-pack. Results may vary depending upon your body weight (BAC).

Well I just tried it, but my pc says file may not be installed correctly, and the thing doesn't unzip... got annoyed lol...

And there I was hoping for a way to redefine the Fx button as a video recording button, and manual video controls. And perhaps focus peaking during video...

Oh well.

Updated my K5 (I like to live on the edge) can't tell you anything other than the update ran smooth. May try a few shots tomorrow.

My K-5 is now Full Frame...woot!

Updated the K-30 and took a few shots. I didn't notice any difference. At first I thought the AF was faster, but I'm pretty sure it's the same. Anyone have a DA560 for me to test? I'll let you know how that test goes.

"improved autofocus support for the HD Pentax 560mm F5.6 lens" - sound like the DA560mm is the kit lens on every Pentax cameras. :D

If you guys notice anything different on the K-30 after the update, please let me know...

+1

Write speed to SD Card on K-01 is a lot faster now. Just tested with bracketing in RAW mode. Before it would take a couple seconds to recover before the screen would come back on. Now it comes back on almost instantly after releasing the shutter button. This is with both Sandisk Extreme and Ultra 16GB cards. AF seems like it may be even faster than in version 1.01.

i don't know about K-5 but suddenly when it's a not so lit area it tends to overexpose at Program mode (it shoots the iso to the highest-auto iso mode) you must hit the green button constantly to get the proper exposure.

Very good except I really dont know what you are talking about when giving instructions. I am just not that good with computors. When you say put it in a file of your choice I glaze over.

Like someone else said, I'll wait and see if the update for the K5 is worth doing.
Much like previous updates "Improved stability for general performance" is a recurring statement, but without details about what's being improved.

Hopefully better (more accurate) AF performance on my K5! :-D

Nothing noticeable about the new firmware on K-r, but then again, I do not own a 560mm

For the K5 users let us know if there is any change worth upgrading

So I finally decide to update my K-30 to 1.01 firmware and now, just a few hours later, I see this! lol

OMG...my K5 may become a K5II !!!

Hi ISO NR new menu.

And all the sudden the versions have changed, weird.

What does "latest stability fixes" means?
Sounds so generic ... something like ... "well here is some more text so it sounds like we did more" ... !?

I did and downloading it as I type.

Changes to V1.02 for K30

Optimized contrast AF when using [HD PENTAX-DA 560mmF5.6ED AW] lens.
Improved stability for general performance.

"Improved stability for general performance" ?

If you guys notice anything different on the K-30 after the update, please let me know...

Maybe it is just me, but I am not seeing the update firmware on the Pentax link listed