Shutter problem

Simen1 · 11-01-2017, 05:33 AM

I'm having a shutter problem with my K-5:

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The shutter count is only 9581. The problem came suddenly when I was on a boat trip and is like this on all images since then. I don't know of any events that can have damaged the camera between the last good photo and the first with the shutter shadow. When I put the camera in sensor cleaning mode, the shutter looks stuck covering the top part of the sensor. Is it cost effective to get a repair? If not, how much skill does it take to do it my self?

Last edited by Simen1; 11-01-2017 at 10:14 AM.

**Alex645** · 11-01-2017, 11:03 AM

Does this happen at all shutter speeds? Does this happen shooting with both OVF and Live View? When using Live View, is the top part of the image darkened?

Simen1 · 11-01-2017, 01:14 PM

Yes, at all shutter speeds and both with OVF and Live view. The images are dark at the top even when shooting live view. It looks like one of the shutter curtains wont retract as far as it should.

**Digitalis** · 11-02-2017, 03:00 AM

yes, something is clearly going pear shaped with the shutter unit. I'd send it in for repairs.

**Alex645** · 11-02-2017, 11:30 AM

Originally posted by Simen1

I'm having a shutter problem with my K-5:

Attachment 375522

The shutter count is only 9581. Is it cost effective to get a repair? If not, how much skill does it take to do it my self?

Unless you have all the tools and another K-5 to use for parts and great soldering skills, itʻs not a DIY repair.

Not sure what the cost of repair would be. KEH.com charges a flat rate of $300, but if the entire shutter curtain needs to be replaced, it would be higher. Precision Camera also does repairs on Pentax DSLRs. Youʻd have to contact them for an estimate.
Broken Camera | Video

A used "very good" to "like new" K-5 on Amazon runs between $250-$400, but most of them wonʻt have a warranty and you could encounter the same problem, whereas you have some peace of mind with the repair.

A new K-70, which may not be as robust as the K-5 should have been, is going to outperform it in terms of IQ. But it will cost you nearly double the price to purchase (about $600) vs. repairing the K-5 (about $300). But if youʻre like me, once I got the flagship (top of the line) model of a certain category, itʻs hard to accept entry to mid-level models even though they may be objectively better due to advances in technology.

So IMO, it comes down to budget. In the short term, a repair is probably better than buying a used K-5 for the same price. In the long term, the K-5 was released in 2010....maybe itʻs wiser to invest in a new camera that will last you at least another 7 years. Yes, 9500 actuations on your old camera is low and disappointing, but itʻs sometimes age and external factors and not so much number of shots. Tech often has better longevity when used constantly rather than periods of dormancy.

Simen1 · 11-02-2017, 03:17 PM

I have a working K-x backup camera and now a defective K-5 primary camera.

My plan was to give the K-x to my daughter, use the K-5 as a backup camera and buy a K-1 as my new primary camera.

If the repair is as expensive as 300$, I will skip that and see what I can do myself. Probably more damage then repair, but the defective camera is obviously not much of a loss.

Maybe I find a good used camera for a good price that can serve as a primary camera until I upgrade.

**Alex645** · 11-02-2017, 04:07 PM

Originally posted by Simen1

My plan was to give the K-x to my daughter, use the K-5 as a backup camera and buy a K-1 as my new primary camera.

Maybe I find a good used camera for a good price that can serve as a primary camera until I upgrade.

Do you have FA lenses that will work with the FF K-1?

Simen1 · 11-03-2017, 12:42 PM

Yes, some FA and D-FA and 3. party FF lenses. But I also have some nice APS-C lenses that I plan to use on K-1 in crop mode (Sigma 18-35mm and Samyang 8mm)

Simen1 · 11-05-2017, 04:56 AM

I discovered that the shade varied from shot to shot because of the shake reduction system. Now I disabled SR and swithced on composition adjustment, moved the sensor max down, so the shadow is minimized. Its barely visible now, but annoying that it requires SR to be off.

Simen1 · 11-05-2017, 06:22 AM - **1 Like**

I just bought a used K-1 for 12500 NOK (66% of new price).

Dabola · 11-13-2017, 01:47 AM

12.500 Nkr (or 1535 USD) is a lot of money for a 2nd hand camera. At the same time we have to take into consideration that Norway has probably the highest pricelevel for camera equipments globally. Due to that; congratulations. I cross my fingers and hope you will be satisfied.

Regarded the K5, perhaps the dark stripe has something to do with your location - and the season? Not many other members of this forum knows that Tromsø, your city, is quite far north; 69°39′N. Same as the North Slope region of Alaska. Sunrise 09:14 and sunset 13:41 today,. And then at noon the black night descends. By the Exif I can see that your picture was taken at 17:25, eight weeks ago. Perhaps you just snapped the the winter curtain coming down from above.....

The norwegian singer Åge Aleksandersen most well known song is about this; "Når mørket nå har senka seg"... (As the winter curtain has lowered...) Two weeks forward you'll have to say goodbye to the sun for the rest of this year.. Completely Northern Darkness.

In such case, keep you K5 until the springtime and see what happen when the stage curtain are lifted and the sun climb above the horizon.....

In the meantime try out K1's high iso capabilities. Why not use the occasion and grab the opposite of the Northern Darkness? According to Tromsø Geographical Observartory you had a lot of Northern Lights (Aurora) last night at 9 PM. Indicated by the blue line on this useful graph (I'm at Dønna these days and acc. to the similar magnometer down here it's no sign of aurora).

Simen1 · 11-13-2017, 03:58 PM

Nice theory. I will keep the K-5 and see what I can do about it myself. Probably nothing but who knows, I might risk that I manage to fix it.

I'm taking northern lights photos when theres is an occation and I have a good plan for the landscape scenery too. As a Tromsø inhabitant would not call it completely darkness. Just the magic colors of polar winter. Deep blue with redish after sunset-like horizons and of course the green and purple northern lights. A feast of colors.

11-13-2017, 01:47 AM	#11
Dabola Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Bergen, Norway Posts: 60	12.500 Nkr (or 1535 USD) is a lot of money for a 2nd hand camera. At the same time we have to take into consideration that Norway has probably the highest pricelevel for camera equipments globally. Due to that; congratulations. I cross my fingers and hope you will be satisfied. Regarded the K5, perhaps the dark stripe has something to do with your location - and the season? Not many other members of this forum knows that Tromsø, your city, is quite far north; 69°39′N. Same as the North Slope region of Alaska. Sunrise 09:14 and sunset 13:41 today,. And then at noon the black night descends. By the Exif I can see that your picture was taken at 17:25, eight weeks ago. Perhaps you just snapped the the winter curtain coming down from above..... The norwegian singer Åge Aleksandersen most well known song is about this; "Når mørket nå har senka seg"... (As the winter curtain has lowered...) Two weeks forward you'll have to say goodbye to the sun for the rest of this year.. Completely Northern Darkness. In such case, keep you K5 until the springtime and see what happen when the stage curtain are lifted and the sun climb above the horizon..... In the meantime try out K1's high iso capabilities. Why not use the occasion and grab the opposite of the Northern Darkness? According to Tromsø Geographical Observartory you had a lot of Northern Lights (Aurora) last night at 9 PM. Indicated by the blue line on this useful graph (I'm at Dønna these days and acc. to the similar magnometer down here it's no sign of aurora). Attached Images Last edited by Dabola; 11-13-2017 at 04:15 AM.

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11-01-2017, 11:03 AM	#2
Alex645 Site Supporter Join Date: May 2015 Location: Kaneohe, HI Photos: Albums Posts: 3,526	Does this happen at all shutter speeds? Does this happen shooting with both OVF and Live View? When using Live View, is the top part of the image darkened?

11-01-2017, 01:14 PM	#3
Simen1 Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Tromsø, Norway Photos: Albums Posts: 1,031 Original Poster	Yes, at all shutter speeds and both with OVF and Live view. The images are dark at the top even when shooting live view. It looks like one of the shutter curtains wont retract as far as it should.

11-02-2017, 03:00 AM	#4
Digitalis Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Melbourne, Victoria Photos: Gallery Posts: 11,694	yes, something is clearly going pear shaped with the shutter unit. I'd send it in for repairs.

11-02-2017, 11:30 AM	#5
Alex645 Site Supporter Join Date: May 2015 Location: Kaneohe, HI Photos: Albums Posts: 3,526	Originally posted by Simen1 I'm having a shutter problem with my K-5: Attachment 375522 The shutter count is only 9581. Is it cost effective to get a repair? If not, how much skill does it take to do it my self? Unless you have all the tools and another K-5 to use for parts and great soldering skills, itʻs not a DIY repair. Not sure what the cost of repair would be. KEH.com charges a flat rate of $300, but if the entire shutter curtain needs to be replaced, it would be higher. Precision Camera also does repairs on Pentax DSLRs. Youʻd have to contact them for an estimate. Broken Camera \| Video A used "very good" to "like new" K-5 on Amazon runs between $250-$400, but most of them wonʻt have a warranty and you could encounter the same problem, whereas you have some peace of mind with the repair. A new K-70, which may not be as robust as the K-5 should have been, is going to outperform it in terms of IQ. But it will cost you nearly double the price to purchase (about $600) vs. repairing the K-5 (about $300). But if youʻre like me, once I got the flagship (top of the line) model of a certain category, itʻs hard to accept entry to mid-level models even though they may be objectively better due to advances in technology. So IMO, it comes down to budget. In the short term, a repair is probably better than buying a used K-5 for the same price. In the long term, the K-5 was released in 2010....maybe itʻs wiser to invest in a new camera that will last you at least another 7 years. Yes, 9500 actuations on your old camera is low and disappointing, but itʻs sometimes age and external factors and not so much number of shots. Tech often has better longevity when used constantly rather than periods of dormancy.

11-02-2017, 03:17 PM	#6
Simen1 Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Tromsø, Norway Photos: Albums Posts: 1,031 Original Poster	I have a working K-x backup camera and now a defective K-5 primary camera. My plan was to give the K-x to my daughter, use the K-5 as a backup camera and buy a K-1 as my new primary camera. If the repair is as expensive as 300$, I will skip that and see what I can do myself. Probably more damage then repair, but the defective camera is obviously not much of a loss. Maybe I find a good used camera for a good price that can serve as a primary camera until I upgrade.

11-02-2017, 04:07 PM	#7
Alex645 Site Supporter Join Date: May 2015 Location: Kaneohe, HI Photos: Albums Posts: 3,526	Originally posted by Simen1 My plan was to give the K-x to my daughter, use the K-5 as a backup camera and buy a K-1 as my new primary camera. Maybe I find a good used camera for a good price that can serve as a primary camera until I upgrade. Do you have FA lenses that will work with the FF K-1?

11-03-2017, 12:42 PM	#8
Simen1 Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Tromsø, Norway Photos: Albums Posts: 1,031 Original Poster	Yes, some FA and D-FA and 3. party FF lenses. But I also have some nice APS-C lenses that I plan to use on K-1 in crop mode (Sigma 18-35mm and Samyang 8mm)

11-05-2017, 04:56 AM	#9
Simen1 Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Tromsø, Norway Photos: Albums Posts: 1,031 Original Poster	I discovered that the shade varied from shot to shot because of the shake reduction system. Now I disabled SR and swithced on composition adjustment, moved the sensor max down, so the shadow is minimized. Its barely visible now, but annoying that it requires SR to be off.

11-05-2017, 06:22 AM - 1 Like	#10
Simen1 Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Tromsø, Norway Photos: Albums Posts: 1,031 Original Poster	I just bought a used K-1 for 12500 NOK (66% of new price).

11-13-2017, 03:58 PM	#12
Simen1 Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Tromsø, Norway Photos: Albums Posts: 1,031 Original Poster	Nice theory. I will keep the K-5 and see what I can do about it myself. Probably nothing but who knows, I might risk that I manage to fix it. I'm taking northern lights photos when theres is an occation and I have a good plan for the landscape scenery too. As a Tromsø inhabitant would not call it completely darkness. Just the magic colors of polar winter. Deep blue with redish after sunset-like horizons and of course the green and purple northern lights. A feast of colors.