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There are several reasons for this, it's common to all cameras, not just Pentax.
Mechanically DSLR cameras are like dominoes. pressing the shutter button releases the mirror which pops up, the mirror releases the shutters first curtain, when that has got to the bottom of the frame it releases the shutter timer which counts down, the timer releases the second curtain, and the second curtain, releases the mirror back to it's rest position, finally the mirror trips the shutter rewind mechanism and were back to where we started.
Any break in this sequence and everything comes to a standstill, a common one with old cameras is the mirror shutter cushion getting sticky over time so the mirror is not released back to the rest position it will stay in this configuration for ever or until the mirror is manually re-set. Probably the most common problem of all in DSLR cameras is an old or run down battery not able any longer to supply the power required to rewind the shutter and/or mirror mechanism, again the sequence is broken waiting for the shutter to re-set.
The same happens in the firmware, different codes in the firmware are in operation at different times in the cycle, it's the metering firmware that generates the shutter time for instance, it's possible for the firmware to generate spurious data either due to outside electromagnetic interference or, and were back to batteries again, a glitch in the power supply for a fraction of a second. This is why taking the battery out, allowing for the capacitors to discharge then re-inserting the battery works, it forces a 'cold' boot and also forces a POST (Power On Self Test) through the whole camera system that re-sets all the data in the cameras Ram. Diving by zero is a well known culprit which causes the cameras firmware to go into an endless loop trying to generate an infinite number, it is heavily protected against, but can happen during a glitch, most of which comes back to battery.
As the batteries in a grip switch to the internal battery, is a known problem area, if the camera is just idling, there's no problem, but if the camera is involved either in the mechanical sequence as above when relatively heavy currents are required, or a firmware sequence is running, often both occur at the same time, it's common for the 'power glitch' to wreak havoc.
If you start to experience these faults increasingly frequently, the main culprit is probably the battery, replacing them with fully charged known to be good ones usually clears the problem. The most stressed component in any camera is the battery, it's always the first component to fail, you will get through several batteries in the life of your camera body. It's the only component that all other parts of the camera rely on and the only common factor in all the cameras various operations. Cameras 'freezing' is the most common example of a battery beginning to fail. You can't rely on the battery indicator, it's just a voltmeter and doesn't show the state of the battery, capacity diminishes with age and use, they can develop 'glitches' temporary power loss especially as they age and when they are close to discharged. Batteries rarely just fail they suffer from a slow decline, just like me, camera 'freeze' is most usually an indicator of this inevitable aging.
Other than mechanical problems replacing the battery with a new one and having multiple batteries to share the load and give them time to re-form over a few days is the surest way to cure and avoid 'camera freeze' 99% of the time that's all it is. Batteries are not a 'fit and forget' component, far from it.
Chris
Last edited by ChrisJ; 09-15-2013 at 07:30 AM.
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Originally posted by Ex Finn. 
Post #9 by ChrisJ
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