I have a K-30 with 18-55 and 55-300 kit lenses. Lately I have had a problem with gross underexposure. When I photograph something, the view screen shows a black image. This happens with every first exposure I take. The only way to cure the problem is to go to live view, take another exposure, then go back to using the viewfinder. I have had the camera for almost 3 years and up to this point it hasn't given any trouble. Now, I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but I recently downloaded Windows 10 on my laptop then connected the camera to the computer with a data cable to download images from it. Ever since then, I have had the exposure problem. Is the problem related to Windows 10 or is it an in camera setting. I hope the processor isn't damaged.

[Tom S.]

Welcome to the forum! Have you tried restoring the camera's factory default settings?

[C_Jones]

If restoring the camera factory default settings has no effect, maybe doing a firmware update might help. Just a suggestion.

So far I have reset to all factory settings; I updated the firmware to 1.06 about six months ago. The problem persists, but I can work around it by setting the camera to burst mode and firing two or three bursts. This is something I got from another site and it seems to work. The only other thing I can do is set exposure and focus to manual and use a film lens. Apparently getting the thing repaired would cost as much as another body ($250.00+) and I don't know if it's worth it. I would appreciate any opinions in this regard. I have always regarded Pentax as the best value for the dollar and I am disappointed that the camera has this kind of problem after only three years of moderate usage. I also have a K1000 which in comparison, is fifty years old, built like a tank and is much simpler and more intuitive to use. The downside to using the K1000 is the cost of film, processing, and scanning ($48.00 a roll for Fujichrome).

[calsan]

Have you tried cleaning the contacts on the body and lens?

[Audi 5 cyl]

Sorry to hear about your problems. Don't give up on Pentax, this is a problem known for other brands as well.

Can you answer a couple of questions that can maybe help us find the problem.

Is your metering set to spot?

Can you take a picture of a bright colored wall without a lens on the body and post the exif info here?

Can you effectively change the aperture on the body? If you can not, it is likely that he aperture control lever has gone awry.

Did you try using the K or M lenses on the camera after the problem has appeared? What about m42? If you did, does the green button metering work well?

Is the problem present both in Av and TAv mode?

[deadwolfbones]

A friend of mine had the same issue with his K-30. Turned out the aperture lever was faulty.

He sort of fixed it by putting it in burst mode and shooting until it behaved semi-normally, but it's not a real fix.