[Eagle94VT]

I have had my K-5 now for over 18 mos and it has been outstanding. I typically shoot in aperture priority and cannot remember the last time I used shutter priority. But recently decided to play with some long exposure shots and cannot figure out how to properly set the shutter speed in shutter priority! I am assuming it is operator error and there is a setting somewhere causing my issue. My rear dial adjusts the aperture appropriately. The front dial is all over the place. With each turn of the wheel the speed may go from 8000 - 6000 - 4000 - 2500 - 1250 - 4000 - 2000 - 8000 - 2500. etc. Going very slowly can get me 3 -4 adjustments in the right order, then they skip randomly both up and down. Is the front dial in need of repair? Or is there a setting I am unaware of?

Appreciate the help!

Chad

[mtansley]

Try going into the settings and changing the function of the front dial from shutter speed to aperture, see if it still skips while adjusting the aperture.

If it does then it does sound like the dial may need some work.

Hope this helps, (if not, then at least it might help narrow down the problem)

[Eagle94VT]

Excellent suggestion - I hadn't tried changing any settings. It appears the front dial has a problem. I set it up for aperture and the same phenomenon occurred - able to adjust 2-4 settings then it would randomly choose an aperture. Using the real dial I was able to set the shutter speed appropriately. Thanks for the ideas.

Chad

[mtansley]

Glad the idea helped Chad, maybe someone else can chime in here with a possible solution short of having to send the camera in for service.

[Don From The Radio]

I seem to remember there being a thread where this problem (which is common with the K-5) was attributed to lack of use. Spinning the dial non-stop for a couple of minutes fixed the problem, if my memory serves be right. Using the dial from time to time prevented the problem from coming back.

[Eagle94VT]

Wow. Everything is working just right! Thanks for the tips. Spinning the front e-dial seemed to work. All systems go! I'll keep them both going regularly from now on.

I have been very happy with all my Pentax gear, to include the 16-50 and 50-135 lenses I use.

Chad

[mtansley]

Glad it's all working OK Chad.

Start shooting in M mode and you'll always be spinning both those dials.

[rawr]

It's interesting to speculate on what might have happening with your front edial.

My guess is that after a prolonged period of inactivity a light layer of oxidation (or simply gunk) had formed on the electrical contacts within the edial, perhaps due to features of the atmosphere in your environment (humidity/dust/smoke/salt spray etc etc). With a bit of use, the gunk or oxidation is worn away and good electrical contact is re-established

I've had the same thing happen on stuff like the volume knobs and switches of hifi systems that I haven't used for some time. I presume the same thing may be happening here.

[Eagle94VT]

I will definitely keep all the buttons spinning from now on! Like my original post, I cannot recall when I last used the from e-dial - at least a years. I use the DA* 16-50 and 50-135 and both have been great - I interchange them often. I remember reading a thread somewhere that mentioned one of the thoughts behind "failure" was not using them often. I recently picked up a nice Super Takumar 50/1.4 and have been using that in manual mode as well!

Thanks again everyone.

[aleonx3]

I think it is likely that you forgot that you left the shooting mode to exposure bracketing.... just a thought..