[juaneyes]

Hi everybody,
I just received my new K-3 last night, I was very curious about the new toy, changing to my own settings, etc, but since then I've had like 20 lockups in different actions, I mean taking pictures, adjusting the settings, only letting it in standby, etc. I removed the battery, Updated to 1.0.3., nothing seems to help.
I'd like you to advice me what to do, thank you!

[Adam]

Hi everybody,
I just received my new K-3 last night, I was very curious about the new toy, changing to my own settings, etc, but since then I've had like 20 lockups in different actions, I mean taking pictures, adjusting the settings, only letting it in standby, etc. I removed the battery, Updated to 1.0.3., nothing seems to help.
I'd like you to advice me what to do, thank you!

20 lockups is a bit excessive. Is the battery properly charged, and is it a Pentax battery?

[pgamble]

Several threads on lock ups. I've had a few .. but 20 in a night is extreme unless you've found a fairly unique pattern of usage that is hitting something repeatedly that most of us do less regularly. If it happens again and pattern isn't clear, I'd get another.

Paul.

[awaldram]

Faulty SD card ?

[stevebrot]

Have you talked to your dealer or Pentax? Your dealer will likely offer to replace.


Steve

[juaneyes]

20 lockups is a bit excessive. Is the battery properly charged, and is it a Pentax battery?

Yes, Pentax new brand battery, fully and properly charged. The lockups are coming more frequently as changing to video mode or changing settings, but even doing nothing. I called already for return, I hope the second one comes without problems, but for sure Pentax- Ricoh has to do something, I'm reading more and more issues with the camera.

[Adam]

One last thing to check- are you using a third-party lens?

Adam
PentaxForums.com Webmaster (Site Usage Guide | Site Help | My Photography)



PentaxForums.com server and development costs are user-supported. You can help cover these costs by donating or purchasing one of our Pentax eBooks. Or, buy your photo gear from our affiliates, Adorama, B&H Photo, KEH, or Topaz Labs, and get FREE Marketplace access - click here to see how! Trusted Pentax retailers:

[rawr]

One last thing to check- are you using a third-party lens?

Indeed. A full description of your setup may provide some clues to what is causing the problem:

- lens(es) the problem happens with;
- flash attached/brand?
- SD card brand/size/formatted in-camera?
- other accessories attached? (battery grip etc)
- charger used

Also you may as well try resetting the camera to all defaults [Menu > Setup ('spanner') > menu 3 > 'Reset'], then re-starting. Might clear some weird setting.

[Cynog Ap Brychan]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to raise a problem I had today with my K-3, but it was a lock-up of sorts. During a session taking close-up and macro shots of flowers the rear LCD suddenly went dead. Although the camera would still focus and release the shutter, I could get no image or information on the LCD, which meant also that I could not change any of the functions on the four-way switch. As I had been extensively using live view (though not that I would consider excessively), I figured that something may have overheated and left the camera alone for a while. After that, it functioned as normal, but I wondered if this was a commonly occurring problem and if other forum members had experienced it.


My apologies if this subject has previously been explored on another thread.

[gosman]

What no one has answered you yet? You probably have found out by now, if you hit the info button twice, it will take you to your rear lcd settings. One of the settings is no lcd screen! Be sure that that selection isn't on!!

[stevebrot]

Ricoh has to do something, I'm reading more and more issues with the camera.

What I have observed is that the same couple of issues are reported (and repeated) multiple times by affected users. These issues are legitimate and known to Ricoh. The two main problems I am aware of are:

• Crazy/flappy/runaway/rapid-fire mirror problem
• Unexpected control lockout requiring battery removal to remedy

Ricoh is aware of and supposed to be responding to both. What you are describing sounds like the second issue. With any luck Ricoh will be able to do a post mortem on your camera and find the root cause and hopefully a fix. There are other reported problems, but none that are as widely reported as the two above. The majority (that is to say, most) of Pentax camera buyers experience no issues.

All that being said, the average incidence of failure or serious defect for dSLR cameras (all brands, all models, including the flagship models) is between 3% and 5%. Yes, 1 of every 30 people walking out of Best Buy, B&H, Adorama, or Samy's with a new dSLR has a box a dud in it. Is this a good situation? No.


Steve

---------- Post added 05-31-14 at 09:43 PM ----------

What no one has answered you yet? You probably have found out by now, if you hit the info button twice, it will take you to your rear lcd settings. One of the settings is no lcd screen! Be sure that that selection isn't on!!

I will be curious to see if this was the cause of the problem. I am finding that it is VERY easy to inadvertently make significant configuration changes.


Steve

[Cynog Ap Brychan]

One of the settings is no lcd screen! Be sure that that selection isn't on!!

Good suggestion, but that wasn't the issue. I had been taking macro photographs and using live view for several minutes at a time. I suspected that the sensor had become overheated, but I was still able to take photographs using the OVF. I tried the usual tricks of switching on and off, and removing the battery, to no avail. So I left the camera off for around ten minutes, and it started working normally again when I switched it on. It has, however, made me cagey about using live view for extended periods. I'll try it out again soon to see if the same thing happens.

Edit: I should have commented that I normally have the LCD screen switched off, but this does not prevent the use of live view.

[juaneyes]

I just got my second K-3 replaced by Pentax. Until now, almost two weeks, no problems at all.
Thanks for the replies, It was definitely a defective unit issue.