[apogueski]

Hi,

Just wanted to give people a heads up about an issue that occurred with my K-3, where the digital preview dial shorted out the on/off switch. I don't really use digital preview, as I usually just take the shot and look at the histogram and re-take if necessary (but feel free to explain to me why this is a valuable feature--I'm definitely unfamiliar and open minded about it!). Anyways, I was showing the features of the camera to my spouse, who will be using it occasionally, and I come to showing him the digital preview option associated with the On/Off switch. At the time, the camera was set to a fairly slow shutter speed in manual mode, and I tripped the digital preview switch without giving this much thought (honestly it was the first time I had ever turned the dial to that function). The camera then starts trying to process the digital preview for this long exposure, and then finishes after awhile and displays the preview. All seems well and good. Well then 2 minutes later when I try to turn off the camera, it won't shut down. The LCD remained lit, the shutter would release and take photos, I could change settings, etc; all while the on/off switch was positioned to OFF. Needless to say this was alarming!

After doing some research, it sounds like the On/Off switches in the K-3ii are prone to shorting out, but I've yet to see a post about this happening in the K-3. Has anyone else had this issue? Could the fact that the camera was set to such a slow shutter speed (ie 10") be relevant?

In the end, I was forced to send the camera in, because the only way to shut it off was to pull the battery, and this wasn't a workable long term solution for me. Once I got the camera back, I immediately customized the buttons so that the preview dial is set to optical preview, and I also have the RAW button programmed to do optical preview, so I can check DoF without even touching the on/off dial (I'm too paranoid now!), if I want to do a preview of some kind before taking the shot.

Well, hopefully no one else has this issue, but figured it was worth warning others.

Happy new year,
Cheers,
Alex

[Oldbayrunner]

I don't use the digital preview using the switch, I use optical and have my raw/fx button for digital. Used that on 3 cameras so far without a glitch.

[biz-engineer]

Has anyone else had this issue?

Yes, I had the same issue, the camera freezes and the only way to get it out of that mode is to remove the battery and put it back in. I believe it is a firmware bug that happens when the camera is doing an action (access to SD card) and a digital preview operation takes place at the wrong point in time. I can reproduce it. I mentioned this bug on the forum but it was denied.

[Kath]

I have had a similar thing happen twice, with shorter exposures. Must admit, it scared the daylights out of me when it happened and, one of those times, I hit the switch by mistake. Since, I've just avoided going near it, but I like the idea of reprogramming the switch and will do that today. Thanks for the reminder.

Can any of you see a reason why the digital preview via the raw/fx button might end up the same way? Like the OP, I'm not sure it's been all that useful for me anyway, but would like to have access to it, should the need arise. @Oldbayrunner, sounds like you've had no issues with using the Raw/Fx button for it. I wonder if your camera isn't a problem in this regard to begin with.

[pathdoc]

I don't use the digital preview using the switch, I use optical and have my raw/fx button for digital. Used that on 3 cameras so far without a glitch.

Yes, this. The slide position on my on-off switch is permanently dedicated to DOF preview. I have no other use for the Raw/Fx switch on my K5; might as well do digital preview.

(I had at one point keyed raw/fx to three-shot bracket, but discovered to my dismay that pushing it a second time did not appear to revert the camera to single-shot mode.)

[Oldbayrunner]

I have had a similar thing happen twice, with shorter exposures. Must admit, it scared the daylights out of me when it happened and, one of those times, I hit the switch by mistake. Since, I've just avoided going near it, but I like the idea of reprogramming the switch and will do that today. Thanks for the reminder.

Can any of you see a reason why the digital preview via the raw/fx button might end up the same way? Like the OP, I'm not sure it's been all that useful for me anyway, but would like to have access to it, should the need arise. @Oldbayrunner, sounds like you've had no issues with using the Raw/Fx button for it. I wonder if your camera isn't a problem in this regard to begin with.

I've used that setup on three cameras, no glitches.

[Theov39]

Maybe a stupid question but what does the digital preview function actually do?

[Bophoto]

Maybe a stupid question but what does the digital preview function actually do?

You take the pic, but don´t save it to the card ( so you don´t have to delete pics) . You can look at the picture without pressing playback and you can save it if you like in Jpeg or Raw.
It would bee great if it have a option for exampel 4 pics with f2, f5,6, f11 and f22. Then you can go forward and back and look at different aperture or shutter-times, instead of looking in the dark viewfinder at optical preview.

[Oldbayrunner]

Optical preview was designed to check your depth of field and exposure. The darkness seen through the viewfinder indicates too low of an exposure with adjustments needed. The viewfinder will brighten to normal when the exposure adjustments are correct.

[BrianR]

Optical preview was designed to check your depth of field and exposure. The darkness seen through the viewfinder indicates too low of an exposure with adjustments needed. The viewfinder will brighten to normal when the exposure adjustments are correct.

Which camera has an optical preview that adjusts brightness based on exposure settings (besides the aperture of course)? I've never seen one where the optical preview was supposed to reflect overall exposure, it's just DoF (though it's tough to accurately judge from the tiny and now possibly dark viewfinder).

[Oldbayrunner]

I don't know what cameras you use but every camera I have used with optical preview going back to my slr days when used the view finder will be darker if the exposure is incorrect and lighten to a brightened state when it is, coupled with checking the depth of field.

[BrianR]

I don't know what cameras you use but every camera I have used with optical preview going back to my slr days when used the view finder will be darker if the exposure is incorrect and lighten to a brightened state when it is, coupled with checking the depth of field.

Say the k5iis since we both have one. To clarify, with these settings:

1) f/16, iso 80, 1/8000s

2) f/16, iso 51200, 30s

are you saying that when the optical preview is engaged, the brightness through the viewfinder is different between 1) and 2)? For me, they're both just as dark. Which makes sense since the only way the camera can control the brightness of the optical viewfinders is through the aperture, and it's stopping it down to f/16 in both cases.

[Oldbayrunner]

No, I stand corrected, I brain farted on this it will only brighten if the aperture is changed. I was in the process of editing my last post as your response posted

[BrianR]

Brain farts tend to cloud up the viewfinder, so that makes sense