[link_1111]

Hey everyone,

I am currently overseas in Vietnam and just my luck, my K-5 has decided to (what it seems) die on me. When I take a picture, the camera locks up and there is a weird buzzing sound coming from inside the camera and the LCD goes blank but I am able to take another photo. If I take another photo, the camera totally locks up with the mirror up and nothing happens. If I switch off the camera the LCD on the top clears except the number of photos available to be taken, the mirror remains up and I am unable to do anything. Neither the first nor second photo are written to the SD card and the only way to reset the camera is to eject the battery and put it back in. This isn't intermittent but happens all the time now. This had never happened before my trip and only happens now.

Previously during my trip, my K-5's shutter didn't appear to be closing completely with part of the image written to the SD card being severely overexposed or the whole image appearing with a purple or red tinge. But now the camera isn't working at all. This is very frustrating as I have invested a decent amount in Pentax and I am in the middle of the trip and would like to keep a record or what I see and there is no service center at all in Vietnam nor any way to buy any alternate bodies here so I am literally carrying a decent amount of gear as dead weight. Hopefully someone might know of a way to fix this or if they have had similar issues and what they did?

I have tried resetting the settings back to default, I tried to use different lenses incase it is a lens issue, I turned off shake reduction and nothing at all seems to help at all....I have tried with three different batteries with and without my battery grip and also two different SD cards. I have no idea what the issue is and it is really annoying me...there are so many other brands here and the way it is looking, it appears like I might need to invest in another system the next time I arrive in a main city just to be able to document my trip but none of them appear to be Pentax

Hopefully someone can help me if they had similar issues or any ideas.

Cheers,
Josh

[mrNewt]

Sorry to hear about your misfortune ... I know how badly it sucks when stuff fails on you when you most need it.
What you are describing doesn't sound too good ... and considering you had previous problems with the camera, I think the only solution is to service the camera - hope is still under warranty as well.

I also hope you have a backup camera with you . If not, maybe you can grab a cheap SLR with lenses from a second shop or something like that (if they have stuff like that over there) and have some fun with film.

[link_1111]

That is the thing though, all the problems only started after I came on this trip while before I could only be proud to be a Pentax owner with no issues at all. And the irony is that my warranty ended the same month that I flew overseas! I wish I had a backup camera (other than my phone camera which has been clicking away), but being a student, another camera is a bit out of my budget. I don't really trust the postal system here to post my camera home for warranty but maybe I might pick up another fujifilm x100 here and have a bit of a play with that but hopefully it doesn't draw me away from Pentax!

[mrNewt]

... hopefully it won't.
As a side note ... an SLR (film) is cheaper than a Fuji x100 though ...

[Maromero]

That is the thing though, all the problems only started after I came on this trip while before I could only be proud to be a Pentax owner with no issues at all. And the irony is that my warranty ended the same month that I flew overseas! I wish I had a backup camera (other than my phone camera which has been clicking away), but being a student, another camera is a bit out of my budget. I don't really trust the postal system here to post my camera home for warranty but maybe I might pick up another fujifilm x100 here and have a bit of a play with that but hopefully it doesn't draw me away from Pentax!

Call Pentax. Follow instrctions.

[Na Horuk]

Hm, did you try cleaning lens and camera contacts? Can you try using a different battery? I assume that country has a different electricity system than your native land

[JohnX]

Have you tried removing the battery and leaving the camera for an hour or so, maybe overnight? If it's a software glitch the battery will keep it in memory; removing the battery completely should let the camera electronics 'drain'.

[Mallee Boy]

Hi Josh,
Yes, this would be dis-appointing and frustrating.

I have had similar issues with a K20D and K5 in the past, both were power / battery related, once it was also dodgy pair of SD cards as well as the battery.....which had me bluffed for awhile.

As someone else noted, check the power output that Vietnam uses. It may well be that a battery requires a lot longer on charge to reach capacity, maybe as much as 24 hours. Also check your charger connections and adpater plug, and clean all contacts. One of my issues was where I used AA's in a grip that died quickly... with exactly the symptons you describe.

Another time I used two (2) SD cards bought on Ebay (yeah yeah, I know....now!), and again had problems similar to what you describe, so perhaps try buying a new card, high quality, reputable store etc, and try that.

Another tip I was given by an electronics "expert" was once you have removed the battery, press all the buttons to remove any charge held within the system. Then replace battery and power on.

And then there is always the reset function button in the tools menu (not to be confused with reset custom menu).

Good luck.

[rawr]

with and without my battery grip

Is this a 3rd party battery grip?
It is very common for those to cause the sort of problems you are describing. If it is a 3rd party grip, never use it again. Throw it away.

Also recharge all of your batteries at your hotel, then leave them overnight before using them again to let the power stabilise within them.

Pentax btw should have a footprint in Vietnam. Most of their lenses are assembled there.

Switching to another brand in the field may not be a great solution because there is no guarantee that you won't face similar problems.

[link_1111]

Thanks for the replies everyone, I tried the above suggestions about leaving the battery out overnight and I gave the electrical contacts a thorough clean again and there is no luck. I also ensured that the Pentax charger was 110-240v compatible before I came here (which it is) and always left it for a full charge until the light went off on the charger. On the camera it reports it as fully charged as well but the issues begin with the main function of taking photos I have only invested in genuine SanDisk cards with three here with me and also the battery grip is a genuine Pentax grip as well. But I have been trying to work without the grip to see if that was the issue but the problem still persists...

Still no luck.. And I am so surprised I haven't seen any stores selling Pentax cameras here at all!! I think I might try Maromero's suggestion now and see if I can give Pentax a ring...thanks once again everyone!

Edit: Called Pentax Australia and ran through their diagnostics and the guy said it is most likely a repair job which may take a little while and the closest service center to Vietnam is Thailand or back at home. Oh well....thanks everyone!

[Na Horuk]

The thing is, the problem you are mentioning is similar to ones that have been reported here before. Usually changing the battery solved it. The problem is that electricity isn't just "how much juice it has" it also affects some ways in which the camera will work. It might be worth a try to use a completely different battery, but I guess that's not very handy. Hope you get everything resolved, one way or another

[Maromero]

Try AA batteries if you have an adapter.

[dbh]

Try with the grip right off the camera. It is possible there is a problem with the contacts, switches, wheels, or there may be an fault internal to the grip.
Best of luck.

[link_1111]

Thanks for the ideas everyone. I have tried with a different charging cable but I can't manage to find another charger or other batteries here in Vietnam. I was searching around and calling around for the majority of today and I don't believe there is absolutely nowhere that stocks Pentax batteries in Hanoi! What a deprived country to not have access to Pentax! :P I am planning to fly to Bangkok soon and I will check there for new batteries to be able to test this out. And I left my AA tray back at home...I feel so stupid now for doing that. It is the same result with or without the battery grip so I assume it is something to do with my batteries or the charger since I have three D-LI90 batteries meaning they all use the same charger. So I am crossing my fingers that it is a battery/charger problem like you guys have said! There is still hope!!!

[Ash]

You'd think Vietnam having a Pentax plant would be able to stock a few batteries. All the best for the new battery trial but if unsuccessful, do have it repaired - Aus would be your best option.