Originally posted by DRabbit Don't want to argue with you - but it's not related to third-party batteries or charge level. It happened to me more often when the batteries were fully charged and I never used (don't even own) third-party batteries. I can also promise you that charge cycles have nothing to do with it either. I think because the problem is so sporadic, it has more to do with the fact that you might run into it in the first several hundred shots and then not again until after you've put another couple of thousand shutter actuations on the camera. If you don't do that in a short period of time, it's easy to believe that it was just a charge-cycle thing, or a one-off occurrence.
If you think I'm wrong, it's important you bring this up. This was my understanding of one of the believed causes, but it may not be right.
I will say this: these issues are not what prevented my from getting a K-3. The reason was simply that my priorities changed last fall when it was released. I was focusing more on video than stills, so I had to invest in different equipment. My K-5 IIs had given me a substantial enough improvement in AF performance (for shooting action) that I didn't feel I needed a K-3. If stills had remained my primary focus I would have purchased one right away, just as I had the previous fall with the K-5 IIs. I would have welcomed the improved AF performance, and I wouldn't let the potential of problems (none of which were known at the time) scare me away from getting the right tool for the job at the time of year it was most needed!
The decision is pretty easy - you simply weigh a mysterious XX% risk of unknown problems vs. a 100% certainty of getting lesser photos because you were afraid to try the better tool!
So while I'm interested in knowing about the problems, I'd never let them scare me away from getting one if I needed it, unless the camera literally exploded or something (which, interestingly, was exactly what a couple of members recently stated could happen, as they sarcastically rebuffed a statement of mine)!