[hollywoodhr]

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Is the mirror in its usual place?

I don't really know what it's supposed to look like on the inside, but I googled some photos of the mirror and well it seemed fine... Sorry, I really don't know the build.

Right now I'm charging the battery, and see if the fully charged battery will change anything. I don't have that battery adapter and I can't buy it right now.

When I was taking pictures, it always showed that the battery was full, even though I had been using it quite a lot in earlier days and today I was using flash and live view..

Thanks for the replies!

[fakuryu]

I don't really know what it's supposed to look like on the inside, but I googled some photos of the mirror and well it seemed fine... Sorry, I really don't know the build.

Right now I'm charging the battery, and see if the fully charged battery will change anything. I don't have that battery adapter and I can't buy it right now.

When I was taking pictures, it always showed that the battery was full, even though I had been using it quite a lot in earlier days and today I was using flash and live view..

Thanks for the replies!

If I got it correctly, you are using the stock batteries and when you press something, the mirror inside slaps? Definitely the battery, happened to me a lots of times and stopped when I started using the battery adapter and some Eneloops.

[hollywoodhr]

If I got it correctly, you are using the stock batteries and when you press something, the mirror inside slaps? Definitely the battery, happened to me a lots of times and stopped when I started using the battery adapter and some Eneloops.

Yeah, but the viewfinder is black. not completely but like 98% even when the camera is shut off and the battery out. I now tend to think there is something wrong with the mirror or I don't know...

edit: And when I press the shutter button, while the mirror slaps I see perfectly through it. And right now, the LiON battery is fully charged, I put it in the camera, I set it on live view to see if there is a change in the battery indicator and my camera won't turn on at all. It's just black, the screen. But when I turn it off, the mirror slaps and it's off.

[wildweasel]

Hmmn. Sounds like the mirror's sticking to me - as in; the viewfinder only showing a narrow band of image, and live view not working. The kind of motor (really an actuator, and they can stick at either end of their movement, which would explain the black viewfinder) that's used for mirrors needs a lot of power and will stick at a point of resistance such as when they change direction, so if your battery is failing it won't be able to give the power needed. I'm pretty certain that changing the battery - for either AAs through an adaptor or another lithium - will fix it.

My hobby before photography was electric powered radio-controlled planes - aerial videography is great fun - so I had to learn a fair bit about lithium batteries and there's about a 1-in-10 chance that an untested lithium battery will quickly lose the ability to hold a useful charge. The batteries I was using were lithium polymer which sometimes explode if they go wrong; cameras use lithium ion batteries which are much safer, so they're not tested nearly as much, which includes how well they can hold a charge under load. As I said, actuators (basically electro-magnets) like the ones that are used for mirrors in DSLRs need a lot of power, so if the battery can't give it, the mirror won't work properly. The battery meter in your camera needs almost no power so it will still show as full even if there's only a little power in it.

I've found that ebay batteries are as good as any, so maybe think about getting one of these to see if the battery's the problem http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/D-Li109-Battery-for-Pentax-K-R-KR-K2-K-2-Digital-C...item3cbe47d16f. If you're not happy with putting a cheap battery inside your expensive camera you could try one of these. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pro-AA-Battery-Holder-Box-For-Pentax-KR-K-R-DSLR-S...item3cbe47d16f.

Oh, another thought, sometimes battery chargers go wrong... Whatever, I'm sure the camera shop will have another battery to try in your camera and that will hopefully solve your problems.

Shame to not have your camera for your birthday though, I hope you had a good time anyway.

P.s. - I dropped and broke nearly 4,000 euros worth of camera on my birthday, so I know how it feels

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Last edited by wildweasel; 02-17-2013 at 07:13 PM. Reason: Messed up link.

[hollywoodhr]

Thanks! I already ordered this battery holder, well obviously it will take quite some time to get here, so today I'm going to the store to try it, so I can see if that helps. If not, I will take it to the repair.
I browsed the forum too, but didn't get as much help, I suppose..
Thanks for all the help!

[TrueFocus]

hollywoodhr, from what I gathered you are from the EU, that means the camera is under a 2 year warranty.
Obviously I would try to remove and re-insert the battery, but if that does not work out just bring it to the store and tell them it broke.
If asked, tell them you never dropped it and didnt even change lenses (which, most likely, is true).

A camera is a tool that is meant to be used, if by simply pushing the shutter button it breaks then they must fix it, free of charge.
In case they start bitching, demand it be covered under warranty as you did nothing wrong.



Speaking of the pictures, I am glad to see that you have improved a lot already. You still take pictures in very bad light and many are underexposed.
The last picture you posted has very heavy JPG compression that destroys any type of fine detail.

If you have the last picture (IMGP5796) as a DNG or PEF then I would try to re-export it with jpg quality set to max.
If you would like to, you can also send the DNG/PEF to me, and I can take a look at it and post back my findings.

It is hard to say because of the compression, but it could be that there has been some heavy noise reduction applied to some of the photos.

[hollywoodhr]

Thanks, TrueFocus!

I don't think I have those files anymore, but when I get home I will look for them. Also, I use the Pentax program that came with thee camera, to convert to jpeg.

I went to the store today and tried the battery holder in the camera and it worked. Then the guy there put the lion battery back and I guess it didn't work anymore. But he also strongly suggested me to give it to them for repair.. I asked what's wrong and he said the mirror works quite fine but the camera has a little tweak or something like that. So I guess I will be taking it there... I don't really trust anyone with it haha.

[hollywoodhr]

A question again. I purchased a battery holder from eBay, that's some Chinese stuff, not an orginial. Could these copies harm the camera?

[bigted]

A question again. I purchased a battery holder from eBay, that's some Chinese stuff, not an orginial. Could these copies harm the camera?

Hasn't caused me any problems. I bought my knockoff for my K-r from the same place.

[JimJohnson]

A question again. I purchased a battery holder from eBay, that's some Chinese stuff, not an orginial. Could these copies harm the camera?

I have three of them. Two are regularly used with Sanyo eneloop batteries, I am about 3/4 done with turning the third unit into a AC adapter. Stay tuned to the K-r sub-forum!

[rfg]

Starbursts and fuzzy lights in night scenes are a form of flare. You can deliberately create starbursts using a filter with fine etching, or stretching a nylon stocking over the lens. The type of starburst will vary depending on the etching design or weave of the nylon. The fuzziness in lights might be caused by the reflectors placed immediately behind many surface mounted lights - or internal reflections within the lens ... the purpose of multi-coating is to reduce such internal reflections. To reduce flare, if at all possible, avoid using any extra glass surfaces (filters) when shooting night lighting - unless of course you want that specific effect.

Sorry to reply to such an old post (I hadn't looked at this thread for some time), but I thought this question should be cleared up.

Starbursts from bright lights are not flare, at lease these ones are not. (yes there are starburst filters etc). These are diffraction effects which happen at high f numbers, so small apertures. You get one point from each aperture blade. The 18-55 kit lens has a 6 blade aperture so the image from hollywoodhr has 6 pointed stars. My sigma 17-70 has a 7 bladed aperture so I get 7 point stars etc. To avoid these shoot at a larger aperture, maybe f6 or below; to get the stars choose a high f number.

[Sagitta]

Sorry to reply to such an old post (I hadn't looked at this thread for some time), but I thought this question should be cleared up.

Starbursts from bright lights are not flare, at lease these ones are not. (yes there are starburst filters etc). These are diffraction effects which happen at high f numbers, so small apertures. You get one point from each aperture blade. The 18-55 kit lens has a 6 blade aperture so the image from hollywoodhr has 6 pointed stars. My sigma 17-70 has a 7 bladed aperture so I get 7 point stars etc. To avoid these shoot at a larger aperture, maybe f6 or below; to get the stars choose a high f number.

Not to nitpick, but an odd number of blades renders a bladesX2 number of bursts, you should be getting 14 points from a 7 bladed lens. Even numbers should render the same number of points as the blades in the lens.

This is what I get from the 7 blades in my 10-20...



And this is what I get from a 6 bladed 28mm with a greasy smear across the rear element. It gives an idea of what to expect though.

[hollywoodhr]

Thanks!

Sagitta, cool photos!

[Sagitta]

Thanks!

Sagitta, cool photos!

One of the reasons I went for the f3.5 version of that lens over the cheaper model was the 14-pointed stars.

FWIW, my K-30 did the shutter cock thing just tonight when I was cleaning the sensor. I fired a couple shots off at f/40 using the kit lens looking for dust demons when BAM. Had a half dozen shots in a row where the mirror only lifted halfway.

I swapped out the stock battery for the rechargeable AA's I have and the problem cleared right up.

This thread probably saved me from having a heart attack!

[hollywoodhr]

One of the reasons I went for the f3.5 version of that lens over the cheaper model was the 14-pointed stars.

FWIW, my K-30 did the shutter cock thing just tonight when I was cleaning the sensor. I fired a couple shots off at f/40 using the kit lens looking for dust demons when BAM. Had a half dozen shots in a row where the mirror only lifted halfway.

I swapped out the stock battery for the rechargeable AA's I have and the problem cleared right up.

This thread probably saved me from having a heart attack!

It's great that this thread saves lives haha.

On the paper that I got from the repair, it says they replaced some diaphragm block or I don't know what... I don't know what that is, but I do know that I can take photos again, yay for that!