Originally posted by Glen I don't want to over simplify it but if the camera was in a standard camera bag, check the focus switch on the front. I've noticed with mine that it takes very little bumping around in the camera bag to move the switch from S, to C, or M or worse, someplace in between. It could cause the problem you've experienced. This never happened on my K20 but it happens frequently on the K-5
Yes, I've had this problem too. I have also had several episodes of operator failure... forgetting to change the switch back to where it belongs... No matter the cause, it always leads to panic and/or frustration and/or open-mouthed catatonia... the last normally only happens during a paid, one time only shoot... No matter what the cause though, a little fiddling around has always resolved the problem.
I love my K-5 and I am busy investing in the Pentax line (lenses, etc), but my copy does have some pretty dodgy quality issues... buttons falling off, dust under the back screen, freezing, the rubber cladding falling off in slow motion...
Doesn't matter though, I LOVE this camera. I just think of it as a quirky bit of technology and forgive it every time I look at the images it produces.