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10-19-2014, 10:16 PM   #631
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It happened to me for the very first time ever yesterday while shooting bursts of RAW images. I knew what it was immediately, and pulled the battery. I think I have V1.11.

11-07-2014, 07:37 AM - 1 Like   #632
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Hi All,

Sorry to hear people are still having issues, even the latest firmware. It appears there has been progress, and that's positive, but it doesn't appear to be a full-out solution.

I'm not longer going to be updating this thread. We are likely at the point now where Pentax will service your problem in 6-8 weeks (in the U.S.) if you report it and are willing to send the camera in.
I have no faith it will ever be completely solved with the K3, and I maintain the opinion that the K5-IIs is still the much more reliable camera.

Because of their dismal service turn-around times, and because I personally need something with an electronic shutter option, Pentax just didn't make sense for me to stay with anymore. Everyone's mileage will vary. Pentax still has some amazing image quality.

For my time-lapse stuff I am using Panasonic, and so far have had zero problems -- no lockups or glitches or "mirror flapping" -- which would be impossible without a mirror. LOL!
The only issue I ran into was some banding because of fluorescent light bulbs (because I was using electronic shutter).

While the ultimate image quality on the K5-IIs was better, the Panasonic GH3 is no slouch, and overall it's just operating more smoothly, and better than I expected for my purposes. It's proven a lot more reliable than the K3, and longterm, will not suffer the shutter death of the K5-II or K5-IIs. Panasonic also did a great job figuring out features a time-lapse photographer would find useful, and that was a pleasant surprise (as it wasn't even a requirement).

And, I am also in the process of going full-frame for my still, non-timelapse photography.

Good luck to all of you. I still believe Pentax makes a camera with top-notch image quality. I'd love to afford their medium format system someday, and if they get serious about mirrorless and/or full-frame, I'll be watching closely.
11-07-2014, 08:16 AM   #633
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QuoteOriginally posted by DRabbit Quote
Hi All,

Sorry to hear people are still having issues, even the latest firmware. It appears there has been progress, and that's positive, but it doesn't appear to be a full-out solution.

I'm not longer going to be updating this thread. We are likely at the point now where Pentax will service your problem in 6-8 weeks (in the U.S.) if you report it and are willing to send the camera in.
I have no faith it will ever be completely solved with the K3, and I maintain the opinion that the K5-IIs is still the much more reliable camera.

Because of their dismal service turn-around times, and because I personally need something with an electronic shutter option, Pentax just didn't make sense for me to stay with anymore. Everyone's mileage will vary. Pentax still has some amazing image quality.

For my time-lapse stuff I am using Panasonic, and so far have had zero problems -- no lockups or glitches or "mirror flapping" -- which would be impossible without a mirror. LOL!
The only issue I ran into was some banding because of fluorescent light bulbs (because I was using electronic shutter).

While the ultimate image quality on the K5-IIs was better, the Panasonic GH3 is no slouch, and overall it's just operating more smoothly, and better than I expected for my purposes. It's proven a lot more reliable than the K3, and longterm, will not suffer the shutter death of the K5-II or K5-IIs. Panasonic also did a great job figuring out features a time-lapse photographer would find useful, and that was a pleasant surprise (as it wasn't even a requirement).

And, I am also in the process of going full-frame for my still, non-timelapse photography.

Good luck to all of you. I still believe Pentax makes a camera with top-notch image quality. I'd love to afford their medium format system someday, and if they get serious about mirrorless and/or full-frame, I'll be watching closely.
Congratulation - did the same step a while ago, all the best for you and your work! WD - Cebu City - Philippines
11-07-2014, 08:23 AM   #634
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It appears to me that the actual number of failures has reduced to a trickle, or maybe to near zero with V1.11. I've had thousands of accuations since V1.11 with no problems. The K-3 for me, NOW, is as reliable as any other camera I've ever owned, in fact it is working faultlessly. Yes it took them time to fix this random problem and they could have done better, but fix it they appear to have now done.

There will be visitors to this thread who perhaps are interested to know the true picture before purchasing a K-3. So apart from a few who have had a bad time with Pentax/Ricoh, most of the appends to this forum want Ricoh to succeed in their mission to improve the Pentax brand.Therefore a statement at the top of this thread giving an accurate reflection of this now 'fixed' problem (= statistically fixed) should be made.

11-07-2014, 08:38 AM - 2 Likes   #635
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I made an accurate statement. People have reported the problem with v. 1.11. That means it isn't fixed. I said there was progress, and that's more than fair considering how long this has dragged on for.

I'm not interested in arguing about it either, quite honestly. I hung in there with the K3 longer than anyone, dealing with this problem A LOT and other silent lock-ups for like 4 months, and even then I didn't leave the brand until geez, six months after that... so please, just back off. I've been more than fair in communicating with them, communicating with all of you, and trying beyond belief to get Pentax to take the issue seriously. They've barely even publicly acknowledged it was an actual problem, which itself doesn't inspire a whole lot of confidence, in MY opinion.

Version 1.11 was released end of August. Now here we are, a year after the K3's release, and there are STLIL people reporting the problem… "trickle" or not. Quite honestly, it's sad enough it took them ten months to even get to a point where the problem is reduced, whether it's reduced significantly or not. The life cycle of this camera will be over by the time it's fixed for good, if ever.
11-07-2014, 08:59 AM   #636
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QuoteOriginally posted by BarryE Quote
It appears to me that the actual number of failures has reduced to a trickle, or maybe to near zero with V1.11.
Reported issues has dribbled down to almost nothing, but some are still having problems even with the new firmware.

QuoteOriginally posted by DRabbit Quote
I made an accurate statement. People have reported the problem with v. 1.11. That means it isn't fixed.
Good luck with your new gear. You did make an accurate statement. The v1.11 firmware detects an error state, but it fixes nothing. I attribute the reduced number of reports to the glitch being removed from the production line and believe this happened about the time when Ricoh/Pentax characterized the issue this last summer and began to offer a fix.

If you are no longer going to be maintaining the tally, you might want to ask the mods to close the thread to further comment.


Steve
11-07-2014, 09:14 AM   #637
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So we can probably say it is now 'effectively' fixed, in part because of DRabbit's persistence, for which I and others say thank you.

11-07-2014, 10:06 AM   #638
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QuoteOriginally posted by BarryE Quote
So we can probably say it is now 'effectively' fixed, in part because of DRabbit's persistence, for which I and others say thank you.
It is always good to report problems and discuss problems, particularly if effort is put into attempting to characterize an issue. Doing so assists the camera makers in their attempts to find a fix. Credit should also be given to Ricoh/Pentax for being responsive. This is in direct contrast to Nikon's behavior in relation to the D600 sensor issues where it basically took an import ban by China before Nikon acknowledged a pervasive problem with that model camera.


Steve
11-07-2014, 12:40 PM   #639
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QuoteOriginally posted by DRabbit Quote
I made an accurate statement. People have reported the problem with v. 1.11. That means it isn't fixed. I said there was progress, and that's more than fair considering how long this has dragged on for.

I'm not interested in arguing about it either, quite honestly. I hung in there with the K3 longer than anyone, dealing with this problem A LOT and other silent lock-ups for like 4 months, and even then I didn't leave the brand until geez, six months after that... so please, just back off. I've been more than fair in communicating with them, communicating with all of you, and trying beyond belief to get Pentax to take the issue seriously. They've barely even publicly acknowledged it was an actual problem, which itself doesn't inspire a whole lot of confidence, in MY opinion.

Version 1.11 was released end of August. Now here we are, a year after the K3's release, and there are STLIL people reporting the problem… "trickle" or not. Quite honestly, it's sad enough it took them ten months to even get to a point where the problem is reduced, whether it's reduced significantly or not. The life cycle of this camera will be over by the time it's fixed for good, if ever.
Thanks for all your work in identifying this problem, and actually pushing it through to a fix. Even if a fix is having to send the camera in. Luckily, i kept my K5, so i have a backup to use while the k3 gets fixed. Had a presentation at our photo club by a shooter who normally does birds with is FF 5D Mk II and lots of expensive lenses. He had an opportunity to go on a 2 week trip to Cuba, and took along a new Olympus OMD model m43 which he loved - didn't pull out his Canon FF even one time. Did people/culture/sidewalk shooting - excellent presentation BTW.

I crave a silent shutter too. Thats one of the things that has kept me in Pentax, the pretty quiet shutter. Might be a m43 in my future too :-)

Best wishes
11-07-2014, 02:41 PM   #640
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I sent my K3 in for the fix, and after what seemed like an eternity I got it back the other day. I really didn't have much of an issue with mirror flap (I'm at nearly 20,000 on the shutter count), but I also didn't want to fail to get the fix while it was under warranty. And by the time is got back, it wasn't anymore.
11-07-2014, 07:15 PM   #641
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QuoteOriginally posted by DRabbit Quote
Hi All,

Sorry to hear people are still having issues, even the latest firmware. It appears there has been progress, and that's positive, but it doesn't appear to be a full-out solution.

I'm not longer going to be updating this thread. We are likely at the point now where Pentax will service your problem in 6-8 weeks (in the U.S.) if you report it and are willing to send the camera in.
I have no faith it will ever be completely solved with the K3, and I maintain the opinion that the K5-IIs is still the much more reliable camera.

Because of their dismal service turn-around times, and because I personally need something with an electronic shutter option, Pentax just didn't make sense for me to stay with anymore. Everyone's mileage will vary. Pentax still has some amazing image quality.

For my time-lapse stuff I am using Panasonic, and so far have had zero problems -- no lockups or glitches or "mirror flapping" -- which would be impossible without a mirror. LOL!
The only issue I ran into was some banding because of fluorescent light bulbs (because I was using electronic shutter).

While the ultimate image quality on the K5-IIs was better, the Panasonic GH3 is no slouch, and overall it's just operating more smoothly, and better than I expected for my purposes. It's proven a lot more reliable than the K3, and longterm, will not suffer the shutter death of the K5-II or K5-IIs. Panasonic also did a great job figuring out features a time-lapse photographer would find useful, and that was a pleasant surprise (as it wasn't even a requirement).

And, I am also in the process of going full-frame for my still, non-timelapse photography.

Good luck to all of you. I still believe Pentax makes a camera with top-notch image quality. I'd love to afford their medium format system someday, and if they get serious about mirrorless and/or full-frame, I'll be watching closely.
Thanks for all your efforts DRabbit. I hope future Pentax cameras will have no problems like this one. Service of Pentax dealers here in my country is really awful. A customer had to threaten the dealer to that she will report them to the Department of Trade and Industry before she got her k-500 back. And it was after 9 months. Can you imagine that! INine (9) months to have your unit back! And Pentax cameras are being made here! It's really awful. Now I'm thinking of purchasing Pentax items abroad. Pentax should look into the quality of services being provided by their service centers.

Last edited by totsmuyco; 11-07-2014 at 09:11 PM.
12-03-2014, 01:23 PM   #642
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Been running the latest firmware since it first came out and had no issues. Shooting a benefit a couple weeks back and camera started the classic rapid fire, but the new firmware (I presume) shut that down almost immediately and the camera came back. Lost the photo I was taking though.
12-03-2014, 07:52 PM   #643
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QuoteOriginally posted by gryhnd Quote
Been running the latest firmware since it first came out and had no issues. Shooting a benefit a couple weeks back and camera started the classic rapid fire, but the new firmware (I presume) shut that down almost immediately and the camera came back. Lost the photo I was taking though.
Contact Ricoh/Pentax for warranty service. The firmware feature is not a fix. What it does is spare the camera from mechanical damage due to the mirror controller fault. The real fix requires the service center.


Steve
12-04-2014, 07:50 AM   #644
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New K3 arrived today.

Serial number is 49XXXXX and the firmware version is 1.0. Hopeful that it will be okay regarding mirror overrun. Not what I ahve been seeing on the site lately as some have reported firmware 1.11. I will up grad the firmware, charge the batteries and give it a go.
12-04-2014, 01:12 PM   #645
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QuoteOriginally posted by stevebrot Quote
Contact Ricoh/Pentax for warranty service. The firmware feature is not a fix. What it does is spare the camera from mechanical damage due to the mirror controller fault. The real fix requires the service center.


Steve
Yes I am aware of that I was just confirming it does seem to work as intended.

i was one of the first to get the OK to send back to Ricoh some time ago. However it's tough to be without the camera for who-knows-who-long, especially during the busy fall/winter season. I have a K5-IIs too, but it's exhibiting some mirror slap on occasion.
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