[Smeggypants]

They are not.

Are you sure about this?

[Michaelina2]

how can i enter in the debug mode / menu of the K-5

Looks like a great way to "poof" your camera warranty!

If you are really sure you have an AF problem (you've executed a complete camera reset, carefully followed the AF Fine Adjustment steps in the K-5 Manual pp126-127, etc) and you are using Pentax lenses, contact Pentax. If your lenses are NOT Pentax branded, you'll need to contact the maker of the lens giving you trouble. Also, "apply all' and 'apply one' are NOT cumulative (see note following point 7, K-5 Manual pp127 (English). It's 'all', OR 'one;' NOT 'all' plus 'one.'

Good luck...

[simico]

Are you sure about this?

Why wouldn't he? Read the manual, it's there.

[Clinton]

Is there any news on accessing the debug menu on the k-5?

[conradj]

me too, i'd like to know if there's a way of getting into debug mode with the K-5. Wanna mess around.

Finding that in tungsten light i don't need AF fine adjustment on any lens, but in sunlight they all go to +10 and nothing's quite sharp yet.

My camera's running firmware v1.11

[conradj]

i took a quick and stupid look at the K-5 firmware, just decrypted it with the util from pentax-hack.info and then looked just at the strings in it. It looks like the reason nobody has figured out what the name of the file is that the camera reads its script commands from (to put it into debug mode), is that it's no longer obvious.

In the K-7 firmware you can see a string that says, C:\MODSET.%03d where %03d apparently means 474 in base 10, and that's the file name to put the commands in, MODSET.474 .

Corresponding spot in the K-5 firmware says, C:\%08d.%03d . Presumably with the K-5 firmware %03d means 505 in base 10. i guess noone's figured out what %08d is, or whether if it's concatenated with some alpha characters or what.

[conradj]

i guess pentax-hack.info is pretty much abandoned? Too bad.

[kdre]

i took a quick and stupid look at the K-5 firmware, just decrypted it with the util from pentax-hack.info and then looked just at the strings in it. It looks like the reason nobody has figured out what the name of the file is that the camera reads its script commands from (to put it into debug mode), is that it's no longer obvious.

In the K-7 firmware you can see a string that says, C:\MODSET.%03d where %03d apparently means 474 in base 10, and that's the file name to put the commands in, MODSET.474 .

Corresponding spot in the K-5 firmware says, C:\%08d.%03d . Presumably with the K-5 firmware %03d means 505 in base 10. i guess noone's figured out what %08d is, or whether if it's concatenated with some alpha characters or what.

IMO there are the following options:

Disassemble firmware and find the place where "C:\%08d.%03d" is filled with values.
Maybe one can follow everything just by looking at the assembler code. However, maybe the value for "%08d" is read from an eeprom and cannot be found in the firmware. So, maybe this is wasted time.

Another way would be to find the routine that prints something on the screen ("printf") and insert a call to this routine at a good position, so that the string is printed on the screen. I dont think that you can brick your camera like this, because the bootloader with the firmware flashing routine is not affected by these modifications. But I guess that then you have to fight with checksums ...

Another way would be to ask someone who knows someone who has a friend whos wife knows someone working as dev for pentax :-)

Or if you disassemble your camera and find a JTAG interface, then maybe you can get much more information...

However, to get a working debug mode is all but easy.

At least they did not change their primitive encryption algorithm :-)

[Class A]

... where %03d apparently means 474 in base 10, ...

It seems much more likely that "%03d" is a format string for a "printf"-like routine.

Accordingly, "%08d" then implies that "MODSET" has been replaced with an 8 digit number (with leading zeros). Only 10^(8+3) = 100 billion combinations to try.

[JeffJS]

Don't forget to factor into that the possible number of button presses, open or closed card door, etc. It's entirely possible that Pentax doesn't want people screwing around with the Debug mode.

[conradj]

It seems much more likely that "%03d" is a format string for a "printf"-like routine.

Accordingly, "%08d" then implies that "MODSET" has been replaced with an 8 digit number (with leading zeros). Only 10^(8+3) = 100 billion combinations to try.

yeps, that's my take on it as well; was just in too much of a rush earlier to express myself coherently. It's also possible that %08d means variable number 8 in decimal, in which case it might be concatenated with something else. Should scan more carefully thru the firmware file.

[conradj]

At least they did not change their primitive encryption algorithm :-)

It's like dangling the carrot just out of reach.

Hm, that'd make me the donkey's back end.

Don't forget to factor into that the possible number of button presses, open or closed card door, etc. It's entirely possible that Pentax doesn't want people screwing around with the Debug mode.

It's too bad. i really do want to readjust the overall front focus of this thing. Don't wanna send it off for 2 months.

[Class A]

i really do want to readjust the overall front focus of this thing.

Why don't you do it with the AF fine adjustment setting(s)?

If the correction values required exceed the range provided (-10 - +10?) then any software adjustment you may reach with the debug mode won't help either. BTW, a correction value of +10 would be used to compensate for back-focus. If you use +10 for a lens that does not need adjustment, it will front-focus.

If the camera really has an overall FF bias then you'll be better off to have the calibration done optically, i.e., by mechanically moving the AF module plate. On earlier Pentax models this could be done by adjusting three screws under the bottom plate of the camera. I don't know whether the K-5 is the same in this regard. However, in any case I wouldn't attempt that myself without the optical test bench and corresponding software required. It will be very easy to optimise for one AF point but mess up others.

[conradj]

Why don't you do it with the AF fine adjustment setting(s)?

If the correction values required exceed the range provided (-10 - +10?) then any software adjustment you may reach with the debug mode won't help either. BTW, a correction value of +10 would be used to compensate for back-focus. If you use +10 for a lens that does not need adjustment, it will front-focus.

If the camera really has an overall FF bias then you'll be better off to have the calibration done optically, i.e., by mechanically moving the AF module plate. On earlier Pentax models this could be done by adjusting three screws under the bottom plate of the camera. I don't know whether the K-5 is the same in this regard. However, in any case I wouldn't attempt that myself without the optical test bench and corresponding software required. It will be very easy to optimise for one AF point but mess up others.

Yeps, i'm at +10 for most of my lenses with the K-5.

Playing with the debug mode on the K-7 shows that the FF adjustments in it goes well beyond what the user settings will do. i ended up dialing in an overall +something into the debug mode and it put me into the right zone in the user settings where i could set fine AF correctly with all my lenses.

It's odd that most of my lenses are +10 and beyond for the K-5 whereas they're all over the place with the K-7.

--Still, there'll be some more wearing in of the SR parts on the K-5. That was so with the K-7 too; adjustments moved around some for like 7-8 months before settling down.

Definitely i shouldn't be disassembling the camera. i'm one of those guys who used to take everything apart and always wind up with a spring or 2 left over when i put it back together.

At least, not while the thing's under warranty.

i can see it now: i get the camera back together in one piece, and look, there's a lever still in the parts tray, and that looks like a piece of the shuttter curtain!

It's OK; i don't need it!!

[conradj]

Anyway, i get tired of threads without photos in them; will add one even if it's boring.

Here's the kind of thing a K-5 does really well, in terms of noise free dark tones especially in long exposures.


Pointe-Claire Village, K-5, SMC-FA 28-105 IF, f11, 25s, ISO80, +0.3EV