K-01 = Faulty disaster?

Robski · 05-26-2012, 05:43 AM

Hey ya'll,

I purchased a K-01 2 weeks ago, the camera was such a dream to use & the image quality was something off another planet!
I was so excited I joined this forum & thought I would be a Pentaxian for life!
However...something very strange happened, 2 nights ago, I took the lens off the camera & when I put it back on, the auto focus failed to register or work. The screen was showing 'MF'. I took the lens off again off a number of times just to make sure, rebooted it back to factory settings, flicked the auto / MF switch back & forth, took the battery out, everything. AF still refused to work.
I took it back to the store this morning, they tested a different lens on it, and still the AF did not work or register. They gave me a new camera, I put the 40mm lens on, AF worked fine. I took the lens off & put it back on, the same thing happened again! No AF. We again tested a different Pentax lens and the AF was still defunct. 2 cameras now need to be written off.
The story gets worse.
They sent me to another store to swap it over & hopefully get the problem sorted. I was now given a 3rd camera. I put the 40mm on, AF worked fine. I took it off, put it back on and again the AF does not work. Grrrr... Again we tested another Pentax lens, and that refused to show AF as well. Another camera destined for landfill.
My original body & lens combo now has to be sent off for 'analysis' which will take up to 6 weeks.
Has anybody else had this AF problem????
I had just sold my Canon gear to become a fully fledged Pentaxian. Very annoyed & dissapointed!

Anvh · 05-26-2012, 05:51 AM

You sure it isn't the lens that is causing the problem XD

Giklab · 05-26-2012, 05:58 AM

Did you check the AF control switch on the K-01 body, and the menu choice?

Robski · 05-26-2012, 06:17 AM

Yes, on the other 2 cameras it was a new lens & body. Very strange!

Robski · 05-26-2012, 06:17 AM

Each time AF / MF switch was checked.

D0n · 05-26-2012, 06:48 AM

I have seen this before... I used to work in a camera store. saw this happen to a customer with an mz5n....
I have to ask...
have you been trying to focus the lens manually, while the lens is set to af?
this results in failure of the af motor on most Pentax cameras... with screw drive mechanism in the body... and a non quick shift lens.. you will break the af motor...

Robski · 05-26-2012, 07:03 AM

Hell no! The switch hasnt been been set to MF in any cases. Even with the other 2 new cameras. All were on the 'AF' mode. You turn the camera on, and the mode on the LCD is 'MF'. Must be a southern hemisphere manufacturing jinx

Na Horuk · 05-26-2012, 07:21 AM

No offense, but this sounds suspiciously like user error. Are you sure you are dismounting and mounting the lenses correctly? That you are focusing correctly? I dunno, it just dosnt make sense that so many bodies would have such an odd and yet specific problem. Why would the AF work and then stop working after the user does something? Sounds to me like the user action is the problem. You should be glad they are refunding you at all.
Also, why did you take the lens off? You never mentioned that you switched it and then noticed a problem, just that you took it off and then put it back on.

EDIT: Of course, it could be possible that a batch or a shipment has an odd problem and you just happened to get a bunch of these.

Giklab · 05-26-2012, 07:23 AM

Originally posted by Robski

Hell no! The switch hasnt been been set to MF in any cases. Even with the other 2 new cameras. All were on the 'AF' mode. You turn the camera on, and the mode on the LCD is 'MF'. Must be a southern hemisphere manufacturing jinx

This is exactly what D0n has said. Body set to AF and lens forcedly manual focused. You sure you wrote it right?

Na Horuk · 05-26-2012, 07:37 AM

Oh, and also, welcome to the forums!

Hope you enjoy your stay, we have a lot of resources and speculation all over the place here!

D0n · 05-26-2012, 07:49 AM

Originally posted by monochrome

Everything about this story sounds quite suspicious, including the behaviors of the retailer. Most retailers wouldn't have sent an unhappy customer to another store for a third camera - they would have brought the camera in.

Most people wouldn't have sold all their Canon gear and decided to become a dedicated Pentaxian to own a K-01. Most people wouldn't have joined a Forum just to post this comment. Most people would have simply asked for a refund.

The above doesn't even begin to address the statistical improbability that 3 cameras from two stores would have had the identical, unlikely failure and the first anyone in the world hears about it is from a new member of an internet Forum.

well rather than jump to conclusions, I'm gonna stick with my initial assessment... the only time I EVER saw three cameras go like that I was observing an hostile interaction between the customer and the store owner... and the customer was screaming Pentax was crap, he never had that problem with canon... and and when the store owner went to hand the guy a new body the first thing the guy did was try to focus the camera manually, while everything was set to AF and he broke the third one right there in front of the store owner, who apparently was also surprised you weren't supposed to do that... we wound up in small claims court over the incident and the customer was ordered to pay for the repairs to the first two cameras ($85.00 each). and keep the third camera.. it was spelled out clearly in the camera manual.
you'd like to see things like that worked out amicably..but the customer was very adamant the cameras were junk, denied he broke anything (was on video), and hostile... not the situation where reason can prevail.

**monochrome** · 05-26-2012, 08:00 AM

Originally posted by D0n

well rather than jump to conclusions, I'm gonna stick with my initial assessment... the only time I EVER saw three cameras go like that I was observing an hostile interaction between the customer and the store owner... and the customer was screaming Pentax was crap, he never had that problem with canon... and and when the store owner went to hand the guy a new body the first thing the guy did was try to focus the camera manually, while everything was set to AF and he broke the third one right there in front of the store owner, who apparently was also surprised you weren't supposed to do that... we wound up in small claims court over the incident and the customer was ordered to pay for the repairs to the first two cameras ($85.00 each). and keep the third camera.. it was spelled out clearly in the camera manual.

Well, feeling a bit more forgiving I deleted my post - but apparently not quickly enough. If he is using the DA 40 Ltd, that is a QS lens so harming the AF motor by manually focusing is not possible unless the QS mechanism is faulty (and you have the same statistical improbability issues). The XS variant is apparently not QS.
I'm pretty annoyed though that someone can just come on and post what appears to be a totally erroneous accusation with a Google-indexed thread title that seems so highly improbable.

D0n · 05-26-2012, 08:06 AM

Originally posted by monochrome

Well, feeling a bit more forgiving I deleted my post - but apparently not quickly enough. If he is using the DA 40 Ltd, that is a QS lens so harming the AF motor by manually focusing is not possible unless the QS mechanism is faulty (and you have the same statistical improbability issues). The XS variant is apparently not QS.
I'm pretty annoyed though that someone can just come on and post what appears to be a totally erroneous accusation with a Google-indexed thread title that seems so highly improbable.

yeah I'm guessing the 40 he's refferring to is the xs kit lens..

there has to be an explanation... will certianly be watching to see if this is in fact a quality control issue.. but that does seem to be statistically improbable...

Parallax · 05-26-2012, 08:38 AM

Originally posted by D0n

but that does seem to be statistically improbable..

That was my thought. There are only three (as of yet) samples to do this that have been reported here; and all three of them were encountered by the same user. Seems like about the same probability of one person buying three winning lottery tickets in a row, and two of them from the same store.

Robski, I have to think that either there is some sort of user component to the issue; something you've overlooked, or you are absolutely the unluckiest person to ever buy a camera.

ironlionzion · 05-26-2012, 09:26 AM

Originally posted by monochrome

I'm pretty annoyed though that someone can just come on and post what appears to be a totally erroneous accusation with a Google-indexed thread title that seems so highly improbable.

^this

05-26-2012, 05:43 AM	#1
Robski New Member Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 18	K-01 = Faulty disaster? Hey ya'll, I purchased a K-01 2 weeks ago, the camera was such a dream to use & the image quality was something off another planet! I was so excited I joined this forum & thought I would be a Pentaxian for life! However...something very strange happened, 2 nights ago, I took the lens off the camera & when I put it back on, the auto focus failed to register or work. The screen was showing 'MF'. I took the lens off again off a number of times just to make sure, rebooted it back to factory settings, flicked the auto / MF switch back & forth, took the battery out, everything. AF still refused to work. I took it back to the store this morning, they tested a different lens on it, and still the AF did not work or register. They gave me a new camera, I put the 40mm lens on, AF worked fine. I took the lens off & put it back on, the same thing happened again! No AF. We again tested a different Pentax lens and the AF was still defunct. 2 cameras now need to be written off. The story gets worse. They sent me to another store to swap it over & hopefully get the problem sorted. I was now given a 3rd camera. I put the 40mm on, AF worked fine. I took it off, put it back on and again the AF does not work. Grrrr... Again we tested another Pentax lens, and that refused to show AF as well. Another camera destined for landfill. My original body & lens combo now has to be sent off for 'analysis' which will take up to 6 weeks. Has anybody else had this AF problem???? I had just sold my Canon gear to become a fully fledged Pentaxian. Very annoyed & dissapointed!

05-26-2012, 08:38 AM	#14
Parallax Senior Moderator Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: South Dakota Photos: Gallery Posts: 19,333	Originally posted by D0n but that does seem to be statistically improbable.. That was my thought. There are only three (as of yet) samples to do this that have been reported here; and all three of them were encountered by the same user. Seems like about the same probability of one person buying three winning lottery tickets in a row, and two of them from the same store. Robski, I have to think that either there is some sort of user component to the issue; something you've overlooked, or you are absolutely the unluckiest person to ever buy a camera. Last edited by Parallax; 05-26-2012 at 08:44 AM.

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05-26-2012, 05:51 AM	#2
Anvh Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 4,616	You sure it isn't the lens that is causing the problem XD

05-26-2012, 05:58 AM	#3
Giklab Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Slovenia Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,182	Did you check the AF control switch on the K-01 body, and the menu choice?

05-26-2012, 06:17 AM	#4
Robski New Member Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 18 Original Poster	Yes, on the other 2 cameras it was a new lens & body. Very strange!

05-26-2012, 06:48 AM	#6
D0n Banned Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 530	I have seen this before... I used to work in a camera store. saw this happen to a customer with an mz5n.... I have to ask... have you been trying to focus the lens manually, while the lens is set to af? this results in failure of the af motor on most Pentax cameras... with screw drive mechanism in the body... and a non quick shift lens.. you will break the af motor...

05-26-2012, 07:03 AM	#7
Robski New Member Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 18 Original Poster	Hell no! The switch hasnt been been set to MF in any cases. Even with the other 2 new cameras. All were on the 'AF' mode. You turn the camera on, and the mode on the LCD is 'MF'. Must be a southern hemisphere manufacturing jinx

05-26-2012, 07:21 AM	#8
Na Horuk Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Slovenia, probably Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 11,186	No offense, but this sounds suspiciously like user error. Are you sure you are dismounting and mounting the lenses correctly? That you are focusing correctly? I dunno, it just dosnt make sense that so many bodies would have such an odd and yet specific problem. Why would the AF work and then stop working after the user does something? Sounds to me like the user action is the problem. You should be glad they are refunding you at all. Also, why did you take the lens off? You never mentioned that you switched it and then noticed a problem, just that you took it off and then put it back on. EDIT: Of course, it could be possible that a batch or a shipment has an odd problem and you just happened to get a bunch of these.

05-26-2012, 07:23 AM	#9
Giklab Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Slovenia Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,182	Originally posted by Robski Hell no! The switch hasnt been been set to MF in any cases. Even with the other 2 new cameras. All were on the 'AF' mode. You turn the camera on, and the mode on the LCD is 'MF'. Must be a southern hemisphere manufacturing jinx This is exactly what D0n has said. Body set to AF and lens forcedly manual focused. You sure you wrote it right?

05-26-2012, 07:37 AM	#10
Na Horuk Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Slovenia, probably Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 11,186	Oh, and also, welcome to the forums! Hope you enjoy your stay, we have a lot of resources and speculation all over the place here!

05-26-2012, 07:49 AM	#11
D0n Banned Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 530	Originally posted by monochrome Everything about this story sounds quite suspicious, including the behaviors of the retailer. Most retailers wouldn't have sent an unhappy customer to another store for a third camera - they would have brought the camera in. Most people wouldn't have sold all their Canon gear and decided to become a dedicated Pentaxian to own a K-01. Most people wouldn't have joined a Forum just to post this comment. Most people would have simply asked for a refund. The above doesn't even begin to address the statistical improbability that 3 cameras from two stores would have had the identical, unlikely failure and the first anyone in the world hears about it is from a new member of an internet Forum. well rather than jump to conclusions, I'm gonna stick with my initial assessment... the only time I EVER saw three cameras go like that I was observing an hostile interaction between the customer and the store owner... and the customer was screaming Pentax was crap, he never had that problem with canon... and and when the store owner went to hand the guy a new body the first thing the guy did was try to focus the camera manually, while everything was set to AF and he broke the third one right there in front of the store owner, who apparently was also surprised you weren't supposed to do that... we wound up in small claims court over the incident and the customer was ordered to pay for the repairs to the first two cameras ($85.00 each). and keep the third camera.. it was spelled out clearly in the camera manual. you'd like to see things like that worked out amicably..but the customer was very adamant the cameras were junk, denied he broke anything (was on video), and hostile... not the situation where reason can prevail.

05-26-2012, 08:00 AM	#12
monochrome Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Working From Home Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 26,276	Originally posted by D0n well rather than jump to conclusions, I'm gonna stick with my initial assessment... the only time I EVER saw three cameras go like that I was observing an hostile interaction between the customer and the store owner... and the customer was screaming Pentax was crap, he never had that problem with canon... and and when the store owner went to hand the guy a new body the first thing the guy did was try to focus the camera manually, while everything was set to AF and he broke the third one right there in front of the store owner, who apparently was also surprised you weren't supposed to do that... we wound up in small claims court over the incident and the customer was ordered to pay for the repairs to the first two cameras ($85.00 each). and keep the third camera.. it was spelled out clearly in the camera manual. Well, feeling a bit more forgiving I deleted my post - but apparently not quickly enough. If he is using the DA 40 Ltd, that is a QS lens so harming the AF motor by manually focusing is not possible unless the QS mechanism is faulty (and you have the same statistical improbability issues). The XS variant is apparently not QS. I'm pretty annoyed though that someone can just come on and post what appears to be a totally erroneous accusation with a Google-indexed thread title that seems so highly improbable.

05-26-2012, 08:06 AM	#13
D0n Banned Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 530	Originally posted by monochrome Well, feeling a bit more forgiving I deleted my post - but apparently not quickly enough. If he is using the DA 40 Ltd, that is a QS lens so harming the AF motor by manually focusing is not possible unless the QS mechanism is faulty (and you have the same statistical improbability issues). The XS variant is apparently not QS. I'm pretty annoyed though that someone can just come on and post what appears to be a totally erroneous accusation with a Google-indexed thread title that seems so highly improbable. yeah I'm guessing the 40 he's refferring to is the xs kit lens.. there has to be an explanation... will certianly be watching to see if this is in fact a quality control issue.. but that does seem to be statistically improbable...

05-26-2012, 09:26 AM	#15
ironlionzion Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 409	Originally posted by monochrome I'm pretty annoyed though that someone can just come on and post what appears to be a totally erroneous accusation with a Google-indexed thread title that seems so highly improbable. ^this