[SteveB]

My thoughts as well. Sorry that both the OP and kOog's daughter are having this problem. As noted above, this problem is dissimilar to both the mirror issues on the K-3 and previous mirror-flop issues on K-5 series and K-30. Hopefully this is something that is both rare and addressable by a firmware patch.

Steve

I've never heard of any K-30s with this problem.

[stevebrot]

I've never heard of any K-30s with this problem.

Me neither.


Steve

[matt_not_andrew]

Sorry to hijack this thread but can you tell me what battery you were using? Is this like the old problems people had with the K-r? Mine would lock up mid photo if I used the stock or after market lithium ion batteries but would be fine with Sanyo Eneloops in the AA battery holder. Something about the high power drain that the AA batteries could cope with but the Lithium Ion batteries couldn't.

[k0og]

Matt,

In my daughter's case, she uses the stock Li-Ion battery, not AA batteries. Also, the lock-up you describe is similar to the problem my daughter's K-50 experienced. However, in her recent usages, she tells me it has behaved well.

You raise a good point. I will suggest that she buy the AA battery adapter, which I think she ought to have anyway in case her primary battery runs out during a job.

-Joe-

Sorry to hijack this thread but can you tell me what battery you were using? Is this like the old problems people had with the K-r? Mine would lock up mid photo if I used the stock or after market lithium ion batteries but would be fine with Sanyo Eneloops in the AA battery holder. Something about the high power drain that the AA batteries could cope with but the Lithium Ion batteries couldn't.

[ScooterMaxi Jim]

Personally, I'm not a fan of the adapter - even with new Eneloops or the like. You still have a voltage gap, and under high strain (continuous shooting), the AAs tend to drop down - then recover after a minute or two. My advice is to go with at least two spares of high quality or OEM, and reserve the adapter for lithium batteries as emergency back up. The battery situation is the biggest downside with this camera if you are shooting a major project.

[matt_not_andrew]

I bought the cheaper eBay battery holders for less than $10 each from China. I have 2 of them for less than half the price of the official Pentax one which work exactly the same. I find that my K-50 works fine on either power source but my K-r was very temperamental. Just make sure you use decent batteries like Energizer Lithium's (pricey but worth having a set or 2 as a backup). I can get over 800 shots to a set and they hold their charge for years so keep a set in your bag and you'll never run out of power.
I also use Sanyo Eneloops normally and get about 350 shots to a set. Since I switched to rechargeable batteries I also bought a decent intelligent battery charger which helps keep batteries in a better condition.
Good luck and keep us posted.

---------- Post added 16-06-14 at 09:26 ----------

Personally, I'm not a fan of the adapter - even with new Eneloops or the like. You still have a voltage gap, and under high strain (continuous shooting), the AAs tend to drop down - then recover after a minute or two. My advice is to go with at least two spares of high quality or OEM, and reserve the adapter for lithium batteries as emergency back up. The battery situation is the biggest downside with this camera if you are shooting a major project.

ScooterMaxi Jim, I haven't experienced the drop under continuous shooting but I don't run to the buffer often when I use my camera. Most of my photography consists of short bursts. Good point though. I think I was so put off the stock battery after my problems with the K-r that I stopped trusting the performance I used to get.

[Fila]

Sorry to hijack this thread but can you tell me what battery you were using? Is this like the old problems people had with the K-r? Mine would lock up mid photo if I used the stock or after market lithium ion batteries but would be fine with Sanyo Eneloops in the AA battery holder. Something about the high power drain that the AA batteries could cope with but the Lithium Ion batteries couldn't.

I used AA battery holder, and then swapped to stock one, as it kept flopping.
It did not make any difference.
I mainly use AA battery holder as I have several sets.

---

Last edited by Fila; 06-16-2014 at 11:46 PM.

[ScooterMaxi Jim]

Yeah, I think in most shooting conditions the (generic or OEM) adapter will perform well, and will outlast the OEM battery for shots and chimping. The only downside is they don't seem to handle stressed shooting well - i.e. heavy use and high FPS for an hour or more. In general, when shooting a demanding assignment I just arm up to the max with both dedicated and AAs. So far, four dedicated have been enough to get me through a day (1000+ shots and some chimping); I never get to the fourth battery. Switching batteries in the adapter is just too slow, and carrying more than one adapter would take up too much space.

[Fila]

Finally after 16 days the camera is back from service.
It is just within end of the month deadline that was agreed and
with all friendly follow up from Belgian service,
I am very happy with it.

Now the actual reparation,
it says that part replaced is:
Diaphragm control block [NM D13-301]

I hope that's fixing the problem.

Still now my "ultra all-camera-sounds hearing" detects
previously unheard quite muffled sound some short time after photo is taken.
I could try to measure it,
but it so exactly coincides with preview image appearing on the display,
that I had to switch the preview off to exclude unlikely relationship between the image and the sound.
My guess would be mirror "parked" in some resting position;
any similarity to HD heads being parked is purely my imagination - sorry about it.

I am happy to have camera back and shooting can continue,
I missed some nice opportunities.

I'll report status in a month time, at the of July.

Thank everybody
Rgds
Fila

[totsmuyco]

I'm glad everything was sorted out for you. Enjoy.

[Fila]

I'm glad everything was sorted out for you. Enjoy.

Thanks, I hope today I will have some time for camera

[GerryL]

HEELLLLPPPP! My K50 is doing exactly the same thing as in the video!
This just happened today after I took my K50 out of the bag to take a photo after one week!

---------- Post added 07-01-2014 at 06:18 PM ----------

First thing I noticed when I turned it on was the mirror flop, then when I looked into the viewfinder, it was dark (not totally dark) and it had a had time focusing.
I tried turning it on, then off..same thing.
After a while, it won't turn off anymore and I had to take out the battery to turn it off.
I thought this thing never affected K50's!??

[k0og]

HEELLLLPPPP! My K50 is doing exactly the same thing as in the video!
This just happened today after I took my K50 out of the bag to take a photo after one week!

---------- Post added 07-01-2014 at 06:18 PM ----------

First thing I noticed when I turned it on was the mirror flop, then when I looked into the viewfinder, it was dark (not totally dark) and it had a had time focusing.
I tried turning it on, then off..same thing.
After a while, it won't turn off anymore and I had to take out the battery to turn it off.
I thought this thing never affected K50's!??

Gerry,

If its the same problem my daughter had, try removing the lens then re-attach it, and that may fix it at least temporarily.

-Joe-

[GerryL]

Hi Joe. I tried taking out the lens (DA 18-135mm) then reattaching again. It still does the same thing.
I also tried to attach another lens (F 35-70mm), all it did was zoom in and out of focus.
I took that off and cleaned the contacts and reattached it again. It worked for a couple of seconds then went back to the same flopping and not being able to focus.
This is frustrating since this is my first upgrade since my K100D Super, which worked without any problems from the time I bought it up till now (I .mean the K100D Super was flawless).

[k0og]

Hi Joe. I tried taking out the lens (DA 18-135mm) then reattaching again. It still does the same thing.
I also tried to attach another lens (F 35-70mm), all it did was zoom in and out of focus.
I took that off and cleaned the contacts and reattached it again. It worked for a couple of seconds then went back to the same flopping and not being able to focus.
This is frustrating since this is my first upgrade since my K100D Super, which worked without any problems from the time I bought it up till now.

Gerry,

I found that cleaning the contacts on both the lens and body helped.

-Joe-