DEAD k5/time to leave Pentax??

psychdoc · 07-02-2011, 04:11 PM

Ugh!
After enduring stain, then camera freezing at AF-C hi speed shooting, now my K5 wont take pictures. It tries to focus and then states 'battery depleted'. Changed to a newly charged battery. Says the same thing. But when I turn the camera on and off, it shows a full battery and will playback the pictures on the card. When I try to take a picture the shutter wont fire...

This is getting to be a bit much...

psychdoc · 07-02-2011, 04:44 PM

After doing searches for this, it seems that there are a few threads where it says that you have to 'smack' the camera hard. And then it will come to life. I tried this. Did not work. Changed a few lenses. Did not work. Tried to see what would happen if I tried Live View. Crazy. Changing aperture to f2.8 and iso to 3200 the whole screen is dark and it seems it says that the exposure will take 2 seconds! This is in bright sunlight...

I was shooting with my friend who use regular camera brands. I have already had to tell them that I have to pull out the battery when I shoot AF-C HI mode. This is on my second copy of K5. Now while with them my K5 just died. I had my old K2000 with me. That has never frozen. Ever. At least I got to shoot some pics with it...

Sad. I wonder whether this is one of the reasons for Hoya leaving the ship....Ouch.

raphtze · 07-02-2011, 04:55 PM

ouch that sucks....send that sucker back and get a new one....

good luck!!

mysticcowboy · 07-02-2011, 05:04 PM

With two lemons I totally understand your desire to jump the Pentax ship, especially with the uncertainty surrounding the new ownership. I've had no problems with my K-5, but. . .

psychdoc · 07-02-2011, 05:36 PM

What the &****heck!!!

As a last resort and reading again the threads here about smacking the K5 to revive it, I gave it some really hard smacks. Now its working again.

But for how long...Now I will have to wait till this problem reappears b4 I can send it in!! Sheesh!

I like my pentax lenses. Maybe I should do 2 brands. Nikon or Canon for low-light/sports/anywhere where a reliable camera is needed and Pentax for when I need to pack light. Maybe I should give up my beloved 50-135 lens and keep only the limiteds for the Pentax.

My problem is that I am not truly convinced that these are lemons. When I send my first K5 in and got this new replacement it did nothing to stop the freezing. The new one also froze. But it would be fine if I pulled the battery out and put it back in. I just decided to look at the postives [after initially being upset]. With this problem pulling the battery did not help. Feels like a clown car, first the doors come off, then the trunk, now the wheels...

I have some decisions to make. I am on vacation in Chicago. I will be taking a lot of pics and then going to Niagara Falls and then back home. A weeks time of hard shooting and let me see how long this revival will last

dreamfoto · 07-02-2011, 06:07 PM

wow! psychdoc....nice nickname!

MaK5 · 07-02-2011, 06:49 PM

Originally posted by psychdoc

I like my pentax lenses. Maybe I should do 2 brands.

I have issues with my K5 as well, but I plan to wait and see how the next model performs. If I go 2 brands, I'd pick Canon because K -> EOS mount adapter doesn't have additional optical element.

AOShep · 07-02-2011, 07:05 PM

This is a shot in the dark, but sense you had the same problem with 2 different K5 bodies try cleaning the contacts on all your lenses and the K5 as well. I'm not an expert in this area but maybe something is being transferred from a dirty contact. However, I can't see any way this would cause the K5 to think the battery is depleted.

psychdoc · 07-02-2011, 08:00 PM

Originally posted by AOShep

This is a shot in the dark, but sense you had the same problem with 2 different K5 bodies try cleaning the contacts on all your lenses and the K5 as well. I'm not an expert in this area but maybe something is being transferred from a dirty contact. However, I can't see any way this would cause the K5 to think the battery is depleted.

But those same lenses work fine on my old K2000...I changed my k5 to my old k2000 and got this shot:

JohnBee · 07-02-2011, 08:22 PM

Originally posted by psychdoc

Ugh!
After enduring stain, then camera freezing at AF-C hi speed shooting, now my K5 wont take pictures. It tries to focus and then states 'battery depleted'. Changed to a newly charged battery. Says the same thing. But when I turn the camera on and off, it shows a full battery and will playback the pictures on the card. When I try to take a picture the shutter wont fire...

This is getting to be a bit much...

I remember when we owned an Olympus and it was a dog of a camera.
Problems up the Ying-Yang!

Then a salesperson at a nearby shop convinced me to go with a Canon.
And so we returned out Oly and made the swap.
However ... as it turned-out the Canon was fairly new and riddled with quirks and OS problems - AARG! I was fit to be tied!

So we took the camera back and exchanged it for a 20D which was older but stable and we shot with that camera for about 2 years.

Then I jumped to Nikon for about a year then Pentax.

The moral of the story is that there is no safe spot when it comes to overcoming system quirks and defects. In fact... I found most all of the manufacturers that we had to deal with were pretty much the same in terms of customer care(that's shitty btw).

Anyways, I can say this.
By the time I got to Pentax, the K100 was quite mature and a godsent in terms of dependability. And so went our journey with Pentax. But while we were in transition(looking, experimenting etc) it was very rough going.
I found switching systems to be very hard on a person.

My two cents.

PS. we have two K-5's and both have been problem free so far(knock on wood).

rawr · 07-02-2011, 09:36 PM

I presume you are using genuine Pentax batteries and genuine Sandisk SD cards purchased from a reputable dealer in your K-5. Not counterfeit eBay versions of the above.

WerTicus · 07-02-2011, 10:20 PM

Originally posted by psychdoc

After doing searches for this, it seems that there are a few threads where it says that you have to 'smack' the camera hard. And then it will come to life.

No you have to send the camera in to be replaced. Then it will work fine. How can you judge a product on a broken copy?

garyk · 07-02-2011, 10:22 PM

Yep, I have two that are back in Japan for a fix. Same problem.
But do not wait for it to act up again. There are errors messages that are loged when a camera starts acting up. When the tech. connects the camera to a computer they can see the loges. At least that is the way it was when I was programming digital to analog devices. And I am sure Pentax will be able to see the error logs. Mine have been in Japan for a while now. The K-5 is pretty much junk for me. Hoping the next K-3 or whatever will be a little better. Mine started the same way your did then got to where it was a total cluster f**k.

I just bought a 7D and a good lens. So far the 7D seems like a pretty good camera. And. But I can tell you I still LOVE the colors of the Pentax. So I have switched to Canon until Pentax can get back on track again. I am hoping the next top of the line cameras will have the bugs worked out of them. Personally I am sick of Pentax and the problem with the cameras. I am pretty impressed with the 7D so far. But I have only had it for two days now. Who knows.

Just to change the subject, I have never shot with another brand before. This is the first Canon for me. And the L lenses are UNreal. Iam in awww . But it is HEAVY glass. If it performs optically and I don't have trouble with it. I don't know if I will switch back... I'll give Pentax a year or two thow.

psychdoc · 07-03-2011, 03:36 AM

Originally posted by garyk

Just to change the subject, I have never shot with another brand before. This is the first Canon for me. And the L lenses are UNreal. Iam in awww . But it is HEAVY glass. If it performs optically and I don't have trouble with it. I don't know if I will switch back... I'll give Pentax a year or two thow.

I may have to decide between N and C. Ouch! Unfortunately I dont like large cameras/lenses...I dont like the mirrorless cameras either though. They are way too uncomfortable to hold. Plus I dont like framing with the lcd. And I just like the Pentax lenses. The only other camera which I have used is a friends Nikon D40 and some comparable Canon's. No higher end models.

I guess I will send it to Pentax in any case after I get back from my vacation. Hope it lasts throught the vacation. Now I am too paranoid to even take the darn K5 anywhere without a back-up body. And I am not a professional...I WONDER WHAT KIND OF QUALITY CONTROL RICOH HAS?

psychdoc · 07-03-2011, 03:38 AM

Originally posted by rawr

I presume you are using genuine Pentax batteries and genuine Sandisk SD cards purchased from a reputable dealer in your K-5. Not counterfeit eBay versions of the above.

Yes. My backup battery is an original Pentax too. SD cards are from Costco and genuine Sandisk. They work fine on my old K2000

07-02-2011, 04:11 PM	#1
psychdoc Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Bham Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 949	DEAD k5/time to leave Pentax?? Ugh! After enduring stain, then camera freezing at AF-C hi speed shooting, now my K5 wont take pictures. It tries to focus and then states 'battery depleted'. Changed to a newly charged battery. Says the same thing. But when I turn the camera on and off, it shows a full battery and will playback the pictures on the card. When I try to take a picture the shutter wont fire... This is getting to be a bit much...

07-02-2011, 10:22 PM	#13
garyk Inactive Account Join Date: Feb 2010 Photos: Gallery Posts: 488	Yep, I have two that are back in Japan for a fix. Same problem. But do not wait for it to act up again. There are errors messages that are loged when a camera starts acting up. When the tech. connects the camera to a computer they can see the loges. At least that is the way it was when I was programming digital to analog devices. And I am sure Pentax will be able to see the error logs. Mine have been in Japan for a while now. The K-5 is pretty much junk for me. Hoping the next K-3 or whatever will be a little better. Mine started the same way your did then got to where it was a total cluster f*k. I just bought a 7D and a good lens. So far the 7D seems like a pretty good camera. And. But I can tell you I still LOVE the colors of the Pentax. So I have switched to Canon until Pentax can get back on track again. I am hoping the next top of the line cameras will have the bugs worked out of them. Personally I am sick of Pentax and the problem with the cameras. I am pretty impressed with the 7D so far. But I have only had it for two days now. Who knows. Just to change the subject, I have never shot with another brand before. This is the first Canon for me. And the L lenses are UNreal. Iam in awww . But it is HEAVY glass. If it performs optically and I don't have trouble with it. I don't know if I will switch back... I'll give Pentax a year or two thow. Last edited by garyk; 07-02-2011 at 10:30 PM.*

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
help! pentax K-M requires adjust date time all time	carl zeiss	Pentax DSLR Discussion	9	10-05-2012 07:27 PM
Pentax ME-F dead - no power	minxiu	Troubleshooting and Beginner Help	10	10-14-2011 11:00 AM
Architecture where those who dare to leave pentax are sent.........	dcmsox2004	Post Your Photos!	11	04-01-2011 07:55 AM
Why do people leave the Pentax fold ?	lesmore49	Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands	50	03-04-2011 05:41 AM
Perhaps Pentax isn't dead?	Docrwm	Pentax News and Rumors	32	11-11-2010 10:14 PM

07-02-2011, 04:44 PM	#2
psychdoc Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Bham Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 949 Original Poster	After doing searches for this, it seems that there are a few threads where it says that you have to 'smack' the camera hard. And then it will come to life. I tried this. Did not work. Changed a few lenses. Did not work. Tried to see what would happen if I tried Live View. Crazy. Changing aperture to f2.8 and iso to 3200 the whole screen is dark and it seems it says that the exposure will take 2 seconds! This is in bright sunlight... I was shooting with my friend who use regular camera brands. I have already had to tell them that I have to pull out the battery when I shoot AF-C HI mode. This is on my second copy of K5. Now while with them my K5 just died. I had my old K2000 with me. That has never frozen. Ever. At least I got to shoot some pics with it... Sad. I wonder whether this is one of the reasons for Hoya leaving the ship....Ouch.

07-02-2011, 04:55 PM	#3
raphtze Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Oakland, CA Posts: 136	ouch that sucks....send that sucker back and get a new one.... good luck!!

07-02-2011, 05:04 PM	#4
mysticcowboy Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: port townsend, wa Photos: Albums Posts: 968	With two lemons I totally understand your desire to jump the Pentax ship, especially with the uncertainty surrounding the new ownership. I've had no problems with my K-5, but. . .

07-02-2011, 05:36 PM	#5
psychdoc Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Bham Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 949 Original Poster	What the &****heck!!! As a last resort and reading again the threads here about smacking the K5 to revive it, I gave it some really hard smacks. Now its working again. But for how long...Now I will have to wait till this problem reappears b4 I can send it in!! Sheesh! I like my pentax lenses. Maybe I should do 2 brands. Nikon or Canon for low-light/sports/anywhere where a reliable camera is needed and Pentax for when I need to pack light. Maybe I should give up my beloved 50-135 lens and keep only the limiteds for the Pentax. My problem is that I am not truly convinced that these are lemons. When I send my first K5 in and got this new replacement it did nothing to stop the freezing. The new one also froze. But it would be fine if I pulled the battery out and put it back in. I just decided to look at the postives [after initially being upset]. With this problem pulling the battery did not help. Feels like a clown car, first the doors come off, then the trunk, now the wheels... I have some decisions to make. I am on vacation in Chicago. I will be taking a lot of pics and then going to Niagara Falls and then back home. A weeks time of hard shooting and let me see how long this revival will last

07-02-2011, 06:07 PM	#6
dreamfoto Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: france Photos: Albums Posts: 163	wow! psychdoc....nice nickname!

07-02-2011, 06:49 PM	#7
MaK5 Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Maryland Photos: Gallery Posts: 81	Originally posted by psychdoc I like my pentax lenses. Maybe I should do 2 brands. I have issues with my K5 as well, but I plan to wait and see how the next model performs. If I go 2 brands, I'd pick Canon because K -> EOS mount adapter doesn't have additional optical element.

07-02-2011, 07:05 PM	#8
AOShep Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Eastern PA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 293	This is a shot in the dark, but sense you had the same problem with 2 different K5 bodies try cleaning the contacts on all your lenses and the K5 as well. I'm not an expert in this area but maybe something is being transferred from a dirty contact. However, I can't see any way this would cause the K5 to think the battery is depleted.

07-02-2011, 08:00 PM	#9
psychdoc Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Bham Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 949 Original Poster	Originally posted by AOShep This is a shot in the dark, but sense you had the same problem with 2 different K5 bodies try cleaning the contacts on all your lenses and the K5 as well. I'm not an expert in this area but maybe something is being transferred from a dirty contact. However, I can't see any way this would cause the K5 to think the battery is depleted. But those same lenses work fine on my old K2000...I changed my k5 to my old k2000 and got this shot:

07-02-2011, 08:22 PM	#10
JohnBee Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Newrfoundland Photos: Albums Posts: 4,667	Originally posted by psychdoc Ugh! After enduring stain, then camera freezing at AF-C hi speed shooting, now my K5 wont take pictures. It tries to focus and then states 'battery depleted'. Changed to a newly charged battery. Says the same thing. But when I turn the camera on and off, it shows a full battery and will playback the pictures on the card. When I try to take a picture the shutter wont fire... This is getting to be a bit much... I remember when we owned an Olympus and it was a dog of a camera. Problems up the Ying-Yang! Then a salesperson at a nearby shop convinced me to go with a Canon. And so we returned out Oly and made the swap. However ... as it turned-out the Canon was fairly new and riddled with quirks and OS problems - AARG! I was fit to be tied! So we took the camera back and exchanged it for a 20D which was older but stable and we shot with that camera for about 2 years. Then I jumped to Nikon for about a year then Pentax. The moral of the story is that there is no safe spot when it comes to overcoming system quirks and defects. In fact... I found most all of the manufacturers that we had to deal with were pretty much the same in terms of customer care(that's shitty btw). Anyways, I can say this. By the time I got to Pentax, the K100 was quite mature and a godsent in terms of dependability. And so went our journey with Pentax. But while we were in transition(looking, experimenting etc) it was very rough going. I found switching systems to be very hard on a person. My two cents. PS. we have two K-5's and both have been problem free so far(knock on wood).

07-02-2011, 09:36 PM	#11
rawr Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 11,913	I presume you are using genuine Pentax batteries and genuine Sandisk SD cards purchased from a reputable dealer in your K-5. Not counterfeit eBay versions of the above.

07-02-2011, 10:20 PM	#12
WerTicus Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Perth Australia Photos: Albums Posts: 1,514	Originally posted by psychdoc After doing searches for this, it seems that there are a few threads where it says that you have to 'smack' the camera hard. And then it will come to life. No you have to send the camera in to be replaced. Then it will work fine. How can you judge a product on a broken copy?

07-03-2011, 03:36 AM	#14
psychdoc Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Bham Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 949 Original Poster	Originally posted by garyk Just to change the subject, I have never shot with another brand before. This is the first Canon for me. And the L lenses are UNreal. Iam in awww . But it is HEAVY glass. If it performs optically and I don't have trouble with it. I don't know if I will switch back... I'll give Pentax a year or two thow. I may have to decide between N and C. Ouch! Unfortunately I dont like large cameras/lenses...I dont like the mirrorless cameras either though. They are way too uncomfortable to hold. Plus I dont like framing with the lcd. And I just like the Pentax lenses. The only other camera which I have used is a friends Nikon D40 and some comparable Canon's. No higher end models. I guess I will send it to Pentax in any case after I get back from my vacation. Hope it lasts throught the vacation. Now I am too paranoid to even take the darn K5 anywhere without a back-up body. And I am not a professional...I WONDER WHAT KIND OF QUALITY CONTROL RICOH HAS?

07-03-2011, 03:38 AM	#15
psychdoc Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Bham Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 949 Original Poster	Originally posted by rawr I presume you are using genuine Pentax batteries and genuine Sandisk SD cards purchased from a reputable dealer in your K-5. Not counterfeit eBay versions of the above. Yes. My backup battery is an original Pentax too. SD cards are from Costco and genuine Sandisk. They work fine on my old K2000