Win a Pentax Limited Lens: Raffle Now Live!

mee · 07-07-2013, 07:26 PM

I'm having trouble with the built-in Interval shooting mode with the K-30

It gets somewhere over 150 shots (at 1 minute interval each) and then it starts hanging.. for 30-40 minutes! That is, there is a gap of 30-40 minutes in my photos -- I think the only thing getting it to start working again is me pressing the shutter button to show the UI on the lcd panel. I don't even hear the shutter clicking anymore until then. It is as if the K-30 simply gave up at that point and called it a day. Still had battery life at that point (as it ended up taking another 50+ shots).

But, also, the stock battery seems to be draining after about 200 shots.. from fresh, full charge.

Any ideas? Settings? Firmware upgrades in the future (I have 1.04 atm)

mee · 07-07-2013, 08:26 PM

I should probably re-explain.. I went to check the status of the camera and heard no shutter clicking after a couple of minutes of waiting to hear it (this is some 2 hours into the shoot)... so I pressed the shutter firing button, the menu on the lcd showing interval status displayed and it was as if it had given up 30 minutes prior but now, after pressing the shutter button, it started taking more photos.

It really seems like a bug in the firmware, but I'm hoping maybe it is just camera setup..

I had it set to 1/15th of a second, ISO 200 and let the camera pick aperture.. have photo review (After it takes a photo shows it on the LCD) disabled, shake reduction disabled, electronic level disabled..

IchabodCrane · 07-08-2013, 04:54 AM

What do you have each of these set to:

Interval time?
Number of shots?
Start interval (if not set to "now", then what time)?

mee · 07-08-2013, 05:17 AM

1 minute
604
now

IchabodCrane · 07-08-2013, 05:32 AM

Originally posted by mee

1 minute
604
now

Does the LCD stay on between shots to display the shooting info? If yes, maybe that's causing an unnecessary drain. It can be totally turned off.

mee · 07-08-2013, 02:12 PM

Nope. As I stated in my 2nd post.. I have that disabled as well as a host of other things.

How long is your K-30 shooting in interval mode?

IchabodCrane · 07-08-2013, 04:16 PM

Originally posted by mee

Nope. As I stated in my 2nd post.. I have that disabled as well as a host of other things.

How long is your K-30 shooting in interval mode?

I've never tried any interval shooting of more than just a few shots. In your second post, you mentioned you have the shot review turned off but turning off the LCD altogether is another function.

mee · 07-08-2013, 08:40 PM

I'd rather not turn the entire LCD function off.. then how will I get status periodically? And battery life isn't really the issue here I think... In any case, I appreciate the tips.

I'm wondering if anyone who has actually used the interval mode for long intervals (4+ hours) has had any troubles such as I am? I'm thinking it is a firmware bug but would like to see more feedback from K-30 owners who use interval mode.

scratchpaddy · 07-08-2013, 10:28 PM

I've used the interval function on a K-r, but never for more than an hour or so. I've noticed that if you're doing long exposures, the camera tends to stop taking pictures before it's actually taken the number of shots you've specified. I never figured out why, or how to fix it. The problem never happened if the exposures were shorter than 1 sec.

Battery life was never an issue for me. It can do literally thousands of shots on one charge, though I do turn the LCD off completely for this. If you want to check in to see how it's doing, just press any button and the UI comes up, telling you how many shots are left. That should be the same on the K-30.

**JimJohnson** · 07-09-2013, 05:34 AM

Turn off the NR (noise reduction) on longer exposures when doing interval shooting. (Menu - camera icon panel 3, 2nd item)

Doing long exposure NR will effectively double your exposure time because the camera does two images for each shot - one with the shutter open, then an equal one with the shutter closed and subtracts any non-black pixels from the second image from the first. My guess is your camera was in a losing race to empty the buffer before the next exposure, and when the buffer filled, interval shooting stopped.

mee · 07-09-2013, 10:43 AM

Thanks guys for the responses.

I've already tried all of these things though. And it shouldn't take a solid minute to empty the buffer... no?

I mean it goes for 4 hours like a champ before having issues.

Fogel70 · 07-09-2013, 10:53 AM

Have you tried turning off "auto power off"?

jantjooh · 07-09-2013, 11:02 AM

I wonder, what the subject was. From the manual: " If the subject is not in focus with the focus mode set to AF.S (...) , no picture may be taken. "

IchabodCrane · 07-09-2013, 02:20 PM

Originally posted by mee

Thanks guys for the responses.

I've already tried all of these things though. And it shouldn't take a solid minute to empty the buffer... no?

I mean it goes for 4 hours like a champ before having issues.

RAW, JPEG, or RAW+? Size of SD card? Tv mode?

mee · 07-09-2013, 03:55 PM

Originally posted by jantjooh

I wonder, what the subject was. From the manual: " If the subject is not in focus with the focus mode set to AF.S (...) , no picture may be taken. "

Thank you this is possible. Strange that it would have an issue focusing.. since it focused 200 times beforehand and the view hasn't changed much from the shot before.. but possible. Will look into it.

07-07-2013, 07:26 PM	#1
mee Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 7,403	Interval mode problem I'm having trouble with the built-in Interval shooting mode with the K-30 It gets somewhere over 150 shots (at 1 minute interval each) and then it starts hanging.. for 30-40 minutes! That is, there is a gap of 30-40 minutes in my photos -- I think the only thing getting it to start working again is me pressing the shutter button to show the UI on the lcd panel. I don't even hear the shutter clicking anymore until then. It is as if the K-30 simply gave up at that point and called it a day. Still had battery life at that point (as it ended up taking another 50+ shots). But, also, the stock battery seems to be draining after about 200 shots.. from fresh, full charge. Any ideas? Settings? Firmware upgrades in the future (I have 1.04 atm)

07-09-2013, 10:43 AM	#11
mee Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 7,403 Original Poster	Thanks guys for the responses. I've already tried all of these things though. And it shouldn't take a solid minute to empty the buffer... no? I mean it goes for 4 hours like a champ before having issues. Last edited by mee; 07-09-2013 at 10:48 AM.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Interval Shooting Problem	CDW	Pentax K-5 & K-5 II	6	04-26-2013 12:55 PM
K5 Exposure Accuracy in Interval Timer Mode.	Richard Spencer	Pentax K-5 & K-5 II	19	01-08-2013 10:19 AM
Interval shooting problem	TheBlindHog	Pentax K-30 & K-50	4	12-16-2012 10:27 PM
Locked out of interval mode in User mode	dchash	Pentax K-30 & K-50	5	10-27-2012 09:34 AM
K7 Interval Shooting Problems	Christopher M.W.T	Pentax DSLR Discussion	7	10-05-2009 03:47 AM

07-07-2013, 08:26 PM	#2
mee Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 7,403 Original Poster	I should probably re-explain.. I went to check the status of the camera and heard no shutter clicking after a couple of minutes of waiting to hear it (this is some 2 hours into the shoot)... so I pressed the shutter firing button, the menu on the lcd showing interval status displayed and it was as if it had given up 30 minutes prior but now, after pressing the shutter button, it started taking more photos. It really seems like a bug in the firmware, but I'm hoping maybe it is just camera setup.. I had it set to 1/15th of a second, ISO 200 and let the camera pick aperture.. have photo review (After it takes a photo shows it on the LCD) disabled, shake reduction disabled, electronic level disabled..

07-08-2013, 04:54 AM	#3
IchabodCrane Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,728	What do you have each of these set to: Interval time? Number of shots? Start interval (if not set to "now", then what time)?

07-08-2013, 05:17 AM	#4
mee Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 7,403 Original Poster	1 minute 604 now

07-08-2013, 05:32 AM	#5
IchabodCrane Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,728	Originally posted by mee 1 minute 604 now Does the LCD stay on between shots to display the shooting info? If yes, maybe that's causing an unnecessary drain. It can be totally turned off.

07-08-2013, 02:12 PM	#6
mee Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 7,403 Original Poster	Nope. As I stated in my 2nd post.. I have that disabled as well as a host of other things. How long is your K-30 shooting in interval mode?

07-08-2013, 04:16 PM	#7
IchabodCrane Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,728	Originally posted by mee Nope. As I stated in my 2nd post.. I have that disabled as well as a host of other things. How long is your K-30 shooting in interval mode? I've never tried any interval shooting of more than just a few shots. In your second post, you mentioned you have the shot review turned off but turning off the LCD altogether is another function.

07-08-2013, 08:40 PM	#8
mee Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 7,403 Original Poster	I'd rather not turn the entire LCD function off.. then how will I get status periodically? And battery life isn't really the issue here I think... In any case, I appreciate the tips. I'm wondering if anyone who has actually used the interval mode for long intervals (4+ hours) has had any troubles such as I am? I'm thinking it is a firmware bug but would like to see more feedback from K-30 owners who use interval mode.

07-08-2013, 10:28 PM	#9
scratchpaddy Pentaxian Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Phoenix Posts: 3,361	I've used the interval function on a K-r, but never for more than an hour or so. I've noticed that if you're doing long exposures, the camera tends to stop taking pictures before it's actually taken the number of shots you've specified. I never figured out why, or how to fix it. The problem never happened if the exposures were shorter than 1 sec. Battery life was never an issue for me. It can do literally thousands of shots on one charge, though I do turn the LCD off completely for this. If you want to check in to see how it's doing, just press any button and the UI comes up, telling you how many shots are left. That should be the same on the K-30.

07-09-2013, 05:34 AM	#10
JimJohnson Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Summer:Lake Superior - Michigan Winter:Texas Hill Country Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,774	Turn off the NR (noise reduction) on longer exposures when doing interval shooting. (Menu - camera icon panel 3, 2nd item) Doing long exposure NR will effectively double your exposure time because the camera does two images for each shot - one with the shutter open, then an equal one with the shutter closed and subtracts any non-black pixels from the second image from the first. My guess is your camera was in a losing race to empty the buffer before the next exposure, and when the buffer filled, interval shooting stopped.

07-09-2013, 10:53 AM	#12
Fogel70 Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Photos: Albums Posts: 3,062	Have you tried turning off "auto power off"?

07-09-2013, 11:02 AM	#13
jantjooh Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Netherlands Photos: Gallery Posts: 39	I wonder, what the subject was. From the manual: " If the subject is not in focus with the focus mode set to AF.S (...) , no picture may be taken. "

07-09-2013, 02:20 PM	#14
IchabodCrane Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,728	Originally posted by mee Thanks guys for the responses. I've already tried all of these things though. And it shouldn't take a solid minute to empty the buffer... no? I mean it goes for 4 hours like a champ before having issues. RAW, JPEG, or RAW+? Size of SD card? Tv mode?

07-09-2013, 03:55 PM	#15
mee Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 7,403 Original Poster	Originally posted by jantjooh I wonder, what the subject was. From the manual: " If the subject is not in focus with the focus mode set to AF.S (...) , no picture may be taken. " Thank you this is possible. Strange that it would have an issue focusing.. since it focused 200 times beforehand and the view hasn't changed much from the shot before.. but possible. Will look into it.

Interval mode problem

Win a Pentax Limited Lens: Raffle Now Live!