[nmceachren]

My great condition K-50 just let me down. I used the slider to adjust the diotper to just to make sure I was focused correctly and it now will not adjust and severly out of focus.

How do I fix this as I have been googling all night long and can't find any reference to fixing a broken diopter on a Pentax body.

I am about ready to start taking the top of the body off to see what I can find if I keep striking out on next steps to take to address.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[ramseybuckeye]

Push up the eyecup and it will come off exposing the diopter adjuster, chances are some dust or something may have got in between the eyecup and diopter slide and is keeping it from moving. Use a rocket blower and see if that helps.

[stevebrot]

I am about ready to start taking the top of the body off to see what I can find if I keep striking out on next steps to take to address.

Before you tear into the camera, you might want to confirm the mirror position. Does it appear to be properly aligned when in both the up and down positions?


Steve

[nmceachren]

Hello and thanks for the replies. I have taken the viewfinder eyecup off and the diopter slides easily in both directions with no effect on ability to focus within the viewfinder. When using my autofocus the resulting image is spot on, but the view I see from my viewfinder is not in focus.

My problems occured when I slid the diopter lever over to "adjust" my focus, it was then I lost control over my view/focus within the viewfinder. The diopter adjusting switch is still intact, just inable to make any adjustments. Is the dioopter a module that can be replaced when taking off the top of the camera or any other ideas? I contacted Roberts Camera who I purchased it from two months ago and they said they'd take a look at it and see what they can do. I'd rather fix body with less than 3k clicks on it than take back a credit as I only paid $210 for it. I will send it back if no one has encountered this diopter failure before and see what results.

Thanks again for my fellow Pentaxians for your input and ideas.

[photogem]

I will look if I have some spare diopter levers so I can take a photo.

In the old *ist-D Series it was possible to open the diopter, but one had to disassemble the body which is pretty easy.
Not so with any Pentax later on.

The diopter adjustment is made out of two parts:

- the lever you see from the outside, which clicks onto

- the inner part, made out of metal

Hopefully it just got unclicked/lossened. This would show that when you move the lever there is no sound!
The typical sound is a kind of clicking sound: For each diopter-step one click.

If this this sound is missing, then with some luck the lever just unclicked.

But it could be that the inner lever broke. Then you would have to send it in.


You can try carefully to pull the lever off. Then you can see inside the mechanism.
I once had a K10D with this lever missing, but with a toothpick one could adjust the diopter.
I finally got a damaged K10D (purchased for the solenoid) and I could use the lever from this one, it clicks in and thats it.

The photo shows such a lever from a K20D. Most are similar with slight variations (except K3 and K1).

[Not a Number]

Just download the K-7 service manual parts list from Pentax-Hack.info in the older SM section.

See fig. 4 B7 and 4C6 - parts M306, M316, O-M307 and O-M311

[photogem]

If unclicking doesn't work, you follow all steps of how to disassemble the K30 here:
Manual solenoid replacement Pentax K30 / Discharge flash-condenser / Solenoid choice - PentaxForums.com

(If you want to give your K50 a good service to make it save for the future, then when you have solved the diopter problem leave it open,
buy a white Japan-solenoid and exchange it with the green gremlin which still sits in your K50 and might trouble you later. Don't be lazy and file/sand it, not a good idea!)

You need to get the back with the LCD off as well which is straight forward when you followed all other steps, no extra screws,
just 1 cable to unclick the back from the mainboard.

Then you follow those steps:

The lever M311 (=M306) clicks onto the metal part 0-M307.
From the service manual of the K-30 (100% similar here) 3 photos.

Photo 1 shows the front of the diopter with the 2 screws to unscrew
Photo 2 shows the front removed, one can see 0-M307
Photo 3 shows = parts list

Attached Images

     

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Last edited by photogem; 08-11-2020 at 10:12 AM.