[reidoug]

i, I live in South Wales (not the one in Australia) and havea problem.

Recently imported from Japan a very fetching green and yellow K50 which worked flawlessly for about a fortnight and has this very morning developed the Aperture Block Problem.

Classic symptoms - anything shot with a lens which lacks an aperture ring comes out virtually black - but old manual aperture glass works (and meterson the green button) if only on Manual.

So I am now the slightly less proud owner of a magnificent Green and Yellow all manual camera.....

Where do we go from here? - P.S. as an Ex-Pat Scot I have a reputation for thrift to maintain.

1 - Spring for a nice reliable (are they?) secondhand K5 or similar - and put the green beast on a prominent shelf

2 - Send it to a camera doctor - who where and how much???

3 - Buy a couple of chinese solenoids and use YouTube as guidance for the repair - I already own watchmaker screwdrivers and a temperature controlled soldering iron

[MarkJerling]

4. Find a donor camera and use the correct type of solenoid to repair. The entire process and the correct solenoid to use is detailed here: Manual solenoid replacement Pentax K30 / Discharge flash-condenser / Solenoid choice - PentaxForums.com

[reh321]

i, I live in South Wales (not the one in Australia) and havea problem.

Recently imported from Japan a very fetching green and yellow K50 which worked flawlessly for about a fortnight and has this very morning developed the Aperture Block Problem.

Classic symptoms - anything shot with a lens which lacks an aperture ring comes out virtually black - but old manual aperture glass works (and meterson the green button) if only on Manual.

So I am now the slightly less proud owner of a magnificent Green and Yellow all manual camera.....

Where do we go from here? - P.S. as an Ex-Pat Scot I have a reputation for thrift to maintain.

1 - Spring for a nice reliable (are they?) secondhand K5 or similar - and put the green beast on a prominent shelf

2 - Send it to a camera doctor - who where and how much???

3 - Buy a couple of chinese solenoids and use YouTube as guidance for the repair - I already own watchmaker screwdrivers and a temperature controlled soldering iron

With my K-30, I’ve used

5. Use some former film lenses, and set aperture at the lens.

[slartibartfast01]

i, I live in South Wales (not the one in Australia) and havea problem.



Recently imported from Japan a very fetching green and yellow K50 which worked flawlessly for about a fortnight and has this very morning developed the Aperture Block Problem.



Classic symptoms - anything shot with a lens which lacks an aperture ring comes out virtually black - but old manual aperture glass works (and meterson the green button) if only on Manual.



So I am now the slightly less proud owner of a magnificent Green and Yellow all manual camera.....



Where do we go from here? - P.S. as an Ex-Pat Scot I have a reputation for thrift to maintain.



1 - Spring for a nice reliable (are they?) secondhand K5 or similar - and put the green beast on a prominent shelf



2 - Send it to a camera doctor - who where and how much???



3 - Buy a couple of chinese solenoids and use YouTube as guidance for the repair - I already own watchmaker screwdrivers and a temperature controlled soldering iron

You can buy the new improved solenoid that Pentax now use in the latest K-70 and KF from John Pye Technical.

[Kevin B123]

If you can repair it yourself, I would do so. You need to observe basic static sensitive precautions and watch out for the flash capacitor.
There is a tutorial on this site.
Manual: Solenoid Replacment Pentax K-30/50/500 + Discharge of flash-condenser - PentaxForums.com

Good luck.

I do have a spare solenoid some where, if you decide to do it PM me.

[yucatanPentax]

Here's a pleasant report from a John Pye Technical repair not too terribly long ago. Of course, with the inflation thing, prices may have gone up. but this is one point of data:

New K-70 and Aperture Block - Page 5 - PentaxForums.com

As a separate comment, you could use the camera with KAF4 lenses (aperture setting by wire rather than the solenoid mechanism) and no need for the repair. KAF4 lenses:

HD Pentax-DA* 16-50mm F2.8 ED PLM AW
HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm F4.5-6.3 ED PLM WR RE
HD Pentax-D FA* 85mm F1.4 SDM AW
HD Pentax-D FA* 50mm F1.4 SDM AW
HD Pentax-D FA 70-210mm F4 ED SDM WR
HD Pentax-D FA 21mm F2.4 ED Limited DC WR


Already mentioned has been the use of older manual aperture lenses, again no need to repair. Choices, choices!

[MrB1]

Depends how competent you are as a technician. I wouldn't trust myself to repair the tiny bits in the electronics, so I would opt for reh321's suggestion 5. There are so many Pentax lenses with aperture rings out there in the used market places - see the choices available here in the lens review databases.

Philip

[reh321]

Here's a pleasant report from a John Pye Technical repair not too terribly long ago. Of course, with the inflation thing, prices may have gone up. but this is one point of data:

New K-70 and Aperture Block - Page 5 - PentaxForums.com

As a separate comment, you could use the camera with KAF4 lenses (aperture setting by wire rather than the solenoid mechanism) and no need for the repair. KAF4 lenses:

HD Pentax-DA* 16-50mm F2.8 ED PLM AW
HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm F4.5-6.3 ED PLM WR RE
HD Pentax-D FA* 85mm F1.4 SDM AW
HD Pentax-D FA* 50mm F1.4 SDM AW
HD Pentax-D FA 70-210mm F4 ED SDM WR
HD Pentax-D FA 21mm F2.4 ED Limited DC WR


Also mentioned has been the use of older manual aperture lenses, again no need to repair. Choices, choices!

Unfortunately, there no relatively inexpensive ‘standard’ range KAF4 lens

[UncleVanya]

I’d follow the tutorial and repair it personally - given your skills and tools.

[reidoug]

Many thanks to all who replied - and especially the mention of John Pye who I emailed (not easy to find an address) and I got a remarkably prompt reply - and by Monday I had a price for the solenoid and an estimate of £125 for a repair - which seems reasonable

Well,it seems to be an intermittent problem - so I'm going to hang fire at least until the posties are back to full time and see how it goes.

If anyone needs the email address - give me a shout.

[Kevin B123]

Many thanks to all who replied - and especially the mention of John Pye who I emailed (not easy to find an address) and I got a remarkably prompt reply - and by Monday I had a price for the solenoid and an estimate of £125 for a repair - which seems reasonable

Well,it seems to be an intermittent problem - so I'm going to hang fire at least until the posties are back to full time and see how it goes.

If anyone needs the email address - give me a shout.

That's a very decent price and shows that Pentax are not gouging on spare part prices, assuming they get the parts direct.

I would not be surprised if they replace the whole assembly.

Years ago I managed to crack a casing on my K-50 & they replaced it for a very reasonable sum and it came back like new, they had done more than I expected. I would get it done as soon as it's practical to do so.

[photogem]

That's a very decent price and shows that Pentax are not gouging on spare part prices, assuming they get the parts direct.

I would not be surprised if they replace the whole assembly.

I daubt that very much and it would be kind of mad to do!

More work than to replace the sensor!


The diaphragm-control-block was never ever itself affected but only the solenoid.
To get the diaphragm-control-block out you have to strip the Pentax down and spend hours of work.
Nobody (except crazy people) would do that for £125!

It's a little bit as if when the spark-plugs of your car are worn and you'd replace the whole cylinderhead.
(but charge the repair costs of installing new spark-plugs!)