Batteries, Mirror Flops, Grip, AA's, etc.

lammie200 · 07-19-2011, 03:20 PM

I think that I tried to ask this before but I thought that I would give it another go.

First off I am a new K-5 user - bought the camera from BH a few weeks back. I have been very busy so I have only been able to shoot a couple hundred pics. At the rate that I am going it may be very many months before I get to the counts where people are beginning to see problems. I do like the thing though. I haven't produced any stellar shots yet, but I can see that after experimenting a bit more, I may get decent at using it creatively. I am leaning more towards vintage glass and manual focus / aperture / shutter speed, etc.

I also bought a Pentax grip. So far I have only been using the Pentax battery in the grip, but I want to eventually use rechargeable AA's. I have noticed in these threads about the mirror flopping that fully charged batteries and their votages may be the potential trigger (so to speak) for causing the flopping.

Has anyone with a flopping camera tried a grip with AA's? The voltage should be less than the Pentax because I think that those are 7.4 volts. A grip full of AA's should be only 7.2 volts if you are using the more common 1.2 volt variety. Also, I think that someone was mentioning that a grip full of AA's gave false charge readings on the camera. Has anyone had that experience?

Sure hope that Pentax gets this worked out. I like the camera and don't want to feel like I made a big purchase mistake.

walter · 07-19-2011, 10:41 PM

In the next to last post on this page, someone reported flopping on a grip with AA's. I don't have a grip myself.

lammie200 · 07-19-2011, 11:37 PM

...Thanks.

I guess the next most logical data to obtain would be shutter activation counts for users that have experienced the mirror flops. That may be worth a survey at some point. Some people cite serial numbers for quality control issues, but I read somewhere that Pentax has been inconsistent about serial number sequencing as related to manufacture dates. I have the tendency to think that is true because my camera has a serial number of 394xxx and a manufacture date of March 2011.

I can imagine that a Pentax repair strategy may center around shutter activation counts if the mirror-flopping problem can't be replicated at Pentax service. In other words, we have cameras that may (or may not) be ticking time bombs due to parts that may (or may not) be poorly designed or poorly manufactured. Very few companies would pre-emptively address a problem that may (or may not) occur on a regualr basis.

My only comfort in this is having 3 years to find out if my camera mirror will flop. I am not losing sleep over it, but if there is a magic number range of shutter activations to reach to find out if the camera will malfunction, I would at least like to know what it is.

Jim Radcliffe · 07-22-2011, 10:25 AM

Just an FYI, I checked the shutter count on my K5 from the series of shots when the mirror flopping first began ( a concert shoot on June 29, 2011) and the count was 6873.

lammie200 · 07-22-2011, 10:43 AM

Originally posted by Jim Radcliffe

Just an FYI, I checked the shutter count on my K5 from the series of shots when the mirror flopping first began ( a concert shoot on June 29, 2011) and the count was 6873.

Thanks. That is a helpful starting point.

Oh, btw I guess that I have a little less than 2 years of warranty left, not 3.

07-19-2011, 03:20 PM	#1
lammie200 Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: San Francisco Photos: Albums Posts: 1,033	Batteries, Mirror Flops, Grip, AA's, etc. I think that I tried to ask this before but I thought that I would give it another go. First off I am a new K-5 user - bought the camera from BH a few weeks back. I have been very busy so I have only been able to shoot a couple hundred pics. At the rate that I am going it may be very many months before I get to the counts where people are beginning to see problems. I do like the thing though. I haven't produced any stellar shots yet, but I can see that after experimenting a bit more, I may get decent at using it creatively. I am leaning more towards vintage glass and manual focus / aperture / shutter speed, etc. I also bought a Pentax grip. So far I have only been using the Pentax battery in the grip, but I want to eventually use rechargeable AA's. I have noticed in these threads about the mirror flopping that fully charged batteries and their votages may be the potential trigger (so to speak) for causing the flopping. Has anyone with a flopping camera tried a grip with AA's? The voltage should be less than the Pentax because I think that those are 7.4 volts. A grip full of AA's should be only 7.2 volts if you are using the more common 1.2 volt variety. Also, I think that someone was mentioning that a grip full of AA's gave false charge readings on the camera. Has anyone had that experience? Sure hope that Pentax gets this worked out. I like the camera and don't want to feel like I made a big purchase mistake.

07-19-2011, 11:37 PM	#3
lammie200 Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: San Francisco Photos: Albums Posts: 1,033 Original Poster	Thanks... ...Thanks. I guess the next most logical data to obtain would be shutter activation counts for users that have experienced the mirror flops. That may be worth a survey at some point. Some people cite serial numbers for quality control issues, but I read somewhere that Pentax has been inconsistent about serial number sequencing as related to manufacture dates. I have the tendency to think that is true because my camera has a serial number of 394xxx and a manufacture date of March 2011. I can imagine that a Pentax repair strategy may center around shutter activation counts if the mirror-flopping problem can't be replicated at Pentax service. In other words, we have cameras that may (or may not) be ticking time bombs due to parts that may (or may not) be poorly designed or poorly manufactured. Very few companies would pre-emptively address a problem that may (or may not) occur on a regualr basis. My only comfort in this is having 3 years to find out if my camera mirror will flop. I am not losing sleep over it, but if there is a magic number range of shutter activations to reach to find out if the camera will malfunction, I would at least like to know what it is.

07-22-2011, 10:43 AM	#5
lammie200 Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: San Francisco Photos: Albums Posts: 1,033 Original Poster	Thanks... Originally posted by Jim Radcliffe Just an FYI, I checked the shutter count on my K5 from the series of shots when the mirror flopping first began ( a concert shoot on June 29, 2011) and the count was 6873. Thanks. That is a helpful starting point. Oh, btw I guess that I have a little less than 2 years of warranty left, not 3.

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07-19-2011, 10:41 PM	#2
walter Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: California Photos: Gallery Posts: 239	In the next to last post on this page, someone reported flopping on a grip with AA's. I don't have a grip myself.

07-22-2011, 10:25 AM	#4
Jim Radcliffe Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Dallas, Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 171	Just an FYI, I checked the shutter count on my K5 from the series of shots when the mirror flopping first began ( a concert shoot on June 29, 2011) and the count was 6873.