Originally posted by WPRESTO Observation from reading these incidents:
1) lens is not the cause
2) type of battery and battery charge state is not the cause
3) ambient temperature is not the cause
4) camera setting - mode, single/multiple frame, viewfinder/live view, etc. etc. - none of these are the cause
5) the mirror but not the shutter is fluttering (no extra images recorded by anyone)
There is far too great a variety of lenses, settings, conditions, battery state etc. etc. for any of these to be the cause.
THEREFORE, the fault is in the camera body, either electrical sensors/switches or firmware, and is related to the mirror mechanism. If the problem is firmware related, Ricoh/Pentax should be able to fix it ASAP. If the the problem is in some contact or switch, all K3 bodies should be recalled for either replacement (if the fault can be and is fixed in production) or refund. Exasperating. This has the potential to kill Ricoh/Pentax reputation.
We've grown to 70 reports of this issue now. And you're right WPresto, there is too much variety in conditions, lenses, settings, etc. for any of it to be the cause. I've been saying that from the beginning. With all the shooting I do -- and I venture a guess I'm putting more shutter actuations on my cameras than most will in their camera's lifetime -- that has been my experience as well. No matter what I did, what I changed, what condition I was in, what batteries I was using, etc..., and even through getting a new K3 body, the issue would still happen.
Update
I've had the two K5-IIs bodies now through several time-lapse shoots. At least one of the bodies has almost 20,000 shutter actuations already, the other probably about 8k-10k. Neither body has had one issue so far.
As for whether there's been any word from Pentax/Ricoh on the issue recently... No. I was told by the tech I've dealt with the last few months that he'd keep me in the loop and Japan is working on the issue (according to him). I've heard nothing recently as to any progress. I've also written a big article on the whole issue, but I've held off publishing it to give them a chance to resolve it all... I'm not sure how much longer I'll wait.