Anyone have a glitch-free K3?

Wolfeye · 01-09-2015, 07:43 AM

I've owned a K-3 for a couple months and have experienced numerous glitches with it. Not necessarily show-stopping, send it back for repair issues, but last night something happened that made me wonder - are there any glitch-free K-3 cameras out there? The squeaky wheel, as they say, not only gets the grease, it makes the most noise.

I was shooting casual photos of my dog, K-3 plus grip, and the DA 35mm f2.4 lens. All was going well, then all of a sudden the AF froze. Half-pressing the shutter button did nothing. Even more curious, I pointed the camera at a far away point, and it took the picture, completely out of focus, as the "I'm in focus" light was lit in the viewfinder. This has happened before, but I always passed it off as something I'd done wrong. It happens so infrequently that I've lived with it, but now I'm pretty sure I will have to send the camera in. When this happens the AF functionality returns as soon as the meter times out, or you shut the camera off and on.

I am curious to know, has this EVER happened to you? I'd also love to know that this has NEVER happened to you. Every time I read about K-3 issues, it has something to do with autofocus, so if you've had any other AF issues I'd like to hear them too.

I am beginning to believe either the K-3 is a defective design or I got a ripe ol' lemon.

**southlander** · 01-09-2015, 07:52 AM

I suspect the first question you are going to be asked is what firmware version are you running on the camera. There have been a number of firmware updates issued, many of which address unspecified 'stability' issues.

pete-tarmigan · 01-09-2015, 08:02 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Wolfeye

I've owned a K-3 for a couple months and have experienced numerous glitches with it. Not necessarily show-stopping, send it back for repair issues, but last night something happened that made me wonder - are there any glitch-free K-3 cameras out there? The squeaky wheel, as they say, not only gets the grease, it makes the most noise.

No problems with mine yet. I bought it in late summer of 2014 and immediately installed the firmware updates.

**Michaelina2** · 01-09-2015, 08:08 AM

Second question (assuming your firmware is current): Have you performed a camera "Reset" to return it to its factory configuration, then re-configured it to your liking?

Third question: Does the freeze occur with lenses other than your DA 35 (like, say, your DA 50/1.8)?

My response to your 'Has this happened to you?' type question... For me, NEVER.

I've been using the K-3 almost everyday since Dec 2013 (current FW ver 1.11), but NOT with the lens pairing you mention.

Cheers... M

Last edited by Michaelina2; 01-09-2015 at 08:41 AM.

Wolfeye · 01-09-2015, 08:09 AM

I'll doublecheck the firmware when I get home, thanks. The camera was purchased new on November 1st 2014 so I assumed the firmware was current. I *think* I have checked, and it was, but will check again to be sure. It's good to hear at least one user has had no issues with their K-3

---------- Post added 01-09-15 at 09:12 AM ----------

Originally posted by Michaelina2

Second question (assuming your firmware is current): Have you performed a camera "Reset" to return it to its factory configuration, then re-configured it to your liking?

Third question: Does the freeze occur with lenses other than your DA 35 (like, say, your DA 50/1.8)?

My response to your 'Has this happened to you?' type question... For me, NEVER.

I've been using the K-3 almost everyday since Dec 2013, but NOT with the lens pairing you mention.

Cheers... M

Glad to hear it's never happened for you! Yes, it's happened multiple times with multiple lenses. Up til now I've only been 100% sure it occurred with my Tamron lenses, so I attributed it to that. This is the first time it's happened with a Pentax lens that I am aware of.

Unregistered User · 01-09-2015, 08:12 AM

Only "glitches" I have had is a freezing when using M42 lens and live view pressing Green button when on FW 1.00. This does not happen with FW1.11. Also mirror flutter in the early days but not for many 10th of thousands of images taken. Since FW1.11 I have had no issues. Shutter count approx. 48000.

EDIT:

Lenses used: A bunch of M42s, FA50 f/1.4, DA 10-17, Tamron 17-50, Tamron 70-200, Pentax DA*300, DA 18-135, FA 35-80 (or something), Tamron 90, Sigma 150-500, Pentax converter HD DA 1.4x, Kenko converter 1.4x...

EDIT2: I do not use a grip.

normhead · 01-09-2015, 08:12 AM

I had the mirror flap issue once in about 25,000 exposures. Apart from that smooth running.

StephenHampshire · 01-09-2015, 08:16 AM

Nothing at all so far, had several all-day shoots with my K3 and grip, no freezes, mirror flap, focus is fine once I had fine-tuned all my lenses....

stevebrot · 01-09-2015, 08:21 AM

Originally posted by Wolfeye

I am beginning to believe either the K-3 is a defective design or I got a ripe ol' lemon.

Defective design? Now that is a stretch.

There is a reported issue with the K-3 where the camera will freeze. Mine has done it four times since I bought the camera in April of last year, with no occurances since the v1.11 firmware upgrade in September. There are a number of theories regarding cause with the most frequent being battery power issues.

It is my impression that the vast majority of K-3 users have had few if any problems with their cameras.* If you believe your camera is defective, you should contact Ricoh for repair.

P.S. How are things with your D7100? Any glitches in Nikon land?

Steve

* This would be true for dSLR cameras from all makers across the board. The dSLR fault incidence (published by Consumer Reports) has hovered at about 4% since I started researching about eight years ago. This incidence is similar to that of other high-end electronic devices (e.g. TV, computers, sound).

Docrwm · 01-09-2015, 08:34 AM

Mine came with the latest firmware already installed, which was a very nice surprise. It has had no problems at all with anything.

Wolfeye · 01-09-2015, 08:35 AM

Originally posted by stevebrot

Defective design? Now that is a stretch.

My comment was meant to be taken with the caveat defined in my opening paragraph, that squeaky wheels, or camera defects, are far more loud (or reported loudly) than perfectly running cameras. We don't see posts of "My K-3 works GREAT" for a title. We do see "My K-3 has issues" and there are several of them on this forum.

vonBaloney · 01-09-2015, 08:41 AM

Most of these things are firmware (software) problems, or at least things that can be worked around in software. (And if you didn't update your firmware, it probably is not current.) And all software has bugs. I'm not sure I've ever used ANY electronic device that didn't work imperfectly once in a while. Major problems are usually found and eliminated quickly because they are easily repeatable and lots of people notice them. Remaining bugs will only appear with rare combinations of settings/situations and may only occur in a repeatable way for a few people or even a single individual, but if they can be isolated and repeated can also be fixed. And other bugs still will remain that will never get fixed because they appear so rarely and are fixed so easily ("hmm, that was weird...what happened there?" power cycle...bug never to be seen again). That's true in every piece of software of any complexity. And then when you consider that the software is connected to a complex physical electrical/mechanical system that is used in an infinite variety of environments in an infinite variety of ways...well, there will be glitches, and anybody that hasn't experienced even ONE yet just hasn't noticed them when they happened or hasn't put in enough hours yet...

Franc · 01-09-2015, 08:43 AM

Originally posted by Wolfeye

My comment was meant to be taken with the caveat defined in my opening paragraph, that squeaky wheels, or camera defects, are far more loud (or reported loudly) than perfectly running cameras. We don't see posts of "My K-3 works GREAT" for a title. We do see "My K-3 has issues" and there are several of them on this forum.

That's the nature of a pentaxian, they will always think pentax is doomed and buy the next new offering.

VoiceOfReason · 01-09-2015, 08:47 AM

I've never had a problem with mine. I've taken well over a thousand pics with it in the couple months I've had it. I did update the firmware right off though.

waterfall · 01-09-2015, 08:51 AM

Originally posted by Wolfeye

I've owned a K-3 for a couple months and have experienced numerous glitches with it. Not necessarily show-stopping, send it back for repair issues, but last night something happened that made me wonder - are there any glitch-free K-3 cameras out there? The squeaky wheel, as they say, not only gets the grease, it makes the most noise.

I was shooting casual photos of my dog, K-3 plus grip, and the DA 35mm f2.4 lens. All was going well, then all of a sudden the AF froze. Half-pressing the shutter button did nothing. Even more curious, I pointed the camera at a far away point, and it took the picture, completely out of focus, as the "I'm in focus" light was lit in the viewfinder. This has happened before, but I always passed it off as something I'd done wrong. It happens so infrequently that I've lived with it, but now I'm pretty sure I will have to send the camera in. When this happens the AF functionality returns as soon as the meter times out, or you shut the camera off and on.

I am curious to know, has this EVER happened to you? I'd also love to know that this has NEVER happened to you. Every time I read about K-3 issues, it has something to do with autofocus, so if you've had any other AF issues I'd like to hear them too.

I am beginning to believe either the K-3 is a defective design or I got a ripe ol' lemon.

Bought my K3 in March of 2014. So ten months of shooting. No glitches, problems or issues.

01-09-2015, 07:43 AM	#1
Wolfeye Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Photos: Albums Posts: 782	Anyone have a glitch-free K3? I've owned a K-3 for a couple months and have experienced numerous glitches with it. Not necessarily show-stopping, send it back for repair issues, but last night something happened that made me wonder - are there any glitch-free K-3 cameras out there? The squeaky wheel, as they say, not only gets the grease, it makes the most noise. I was shooting casual photos of my dog, K-3 plus grip, and the DA 35mm f2.4 lens. All was going well, then all of a sudden the AF froze. Half-pressing the shutter button did nothing. Even more curious, I pointed the camera at a far away point, and it took the picture, completely out of focus, as the "I'm in focus" light was lit in the viewfinder. This has happened before, but I always passed it off as something I'd done wrong. It happens so infrequently that I've lived with it, but now I'm pretty sure I will have to send the camera in. When this happens the AF functionality returns as soon as the meter times out, or you shut the camera off and on. I am curious to know, has this EVER happened to you? I'd also love to know that this has NEVER happened to you. Every time I read about K-3 issues, it has something to do with autofocus, so if you've had any other AF issues I'd like to hear them too. I am beginning to believe either the K-3 is a defective design or I got a ripe ol' lemon.

01-09-2015, 08:12 AM	#6
Unregistered User Guest	Only "glitches" I have had is a freezing when using M42 lens and live view pressing Green button when on FW 1.00. This does not happen with FW1.11. Also mirror flutter in the early days but not for many 10th of thousands of images taken. Since FW1.11 I have had no issues. Shutter count approx. 48000. EDIT: Lenses used: A bunch of M42s, FA50 f/1.4, DA 10-17, Tamron 17-50, Tamron 70-200, Pentax DA300, DA 18-135, FA 35-80 (or something), Tamron 90, Sigma 150-500, Pentax converter HD DA 1.4x, Kenko converter 1.4x... EDIT2: I do not use a grip. Last edited by Unregistered User; 01-09-2015 at 08:18 AM.*

01-09-2015, 08:21 AM	#9
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by Wolfeye I am beginning to believe either the K-3 is a defective design or I got a ripe ol' lemon. Defective design? Now that is a stretch. There is a reported issue with the K-3 where the camera will freeze. Mine has done it four times since I bought the camera in April of last year, with no occurances since the v1.11 firmware upgrade in September. There are a number of theories regarding cause with the most frequent being battery power issues. It is my impression that the vast majority of K-3 users have had few if any problems with their cameras.* If you believe your camera is defective, you should contact Ricoh for repair. P.S. How are things with your D7100? Any glitches in Nikon land? Steve * This would be true for dSLR cameras from all makers across the board. The dSLR fault incidence (published by Consumer Reports) has hovered at about 4% since I started researching about eight years ago. This incidence is similar to that of other high-end electronic devices (e.g. TV, computers, sound). Last edited by stevebrot; 01-09-2015 at 08:31 AM.

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01-09-2015, 07:52 AM	#2
southlander Site Supporter Join Date: May 2012 Location: Adelaide Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,364	I suspect the first question you are going to be asked is what firmware version are you running on the camera. There have been a number of firmware updates issued, many of which address unspecified 'stability' issues.

01-09-2015, 08:02 AM - 1 Like	#3
pete-tarmigan Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Conception Bay South, New-fun-land Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,272	Originally posted by Wolfeye I've owned a K-3 for a couple months and have experienced numerous glitches with it. Not necessarily show-stopping, send it back for repair issues, but last night something happened that made me wonder - are there any glitch-free K-3 cameras out there? The squeaky wheel, as they say, not only gets the grease, it makes the most noise. No problems with mine yet. I bought it in late summer of 2014 and immediately installed the firmware updates.

01-09-2015, 08:08 AM	#4
Michaelina2 Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: SE Michigan USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,300	Second question (assuming your firmware is current): Have you performed a camera "Reset" to return it to its factory configuration, then re-configured it to your liking? Third question: Does the freeze occur with lenses other than your DA 35 (like, say, your DA 50/1.8)? My response to your 'Has this happened to you?' type question... For me, NEVER. I've been using the K-3 almost everyday since Dec 2013 (current FW ver 1.11), but NOT with the lens pairing you mention. Cheers... M Last edited by Michaelina2; 01-09-2015 at 08:41 AM.

01-09-2015, 08:09 AM	#5
Wolfeye Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Photos: Albums Posts: 782 Original Poster	I'll doublecheck the firmware when I get home, thanks. The camera was purchased new on November 1st 2014 so I assumed the firmware was current. I think I have checked, and it was, but will check again to be sure. It's good to hear at least one user has had no issues with their K-3 ---------- Post added 01-09-15 at 09:12 AM ---------- Originally posted by Michaelina2 Second question (assuming your firmware is current): Have you performed a camera "Reset" to return it to its factory configuration, then re-configured it to your liking? Third question: Does the freeze occur with lenses other than your DA 35 (like, say, your DA 50/1.8)? My response to your 'Has this happened to you?' type question... For me, NEVER. I've been using the K-3 almost everyday since Dec 2013, but NOT with the lens pairing you mention. Cheers... M Glad to hear it's never happened for you! Yes, it's happened multiple times with multiple lenses. Up til now I've only been 100% sure it occurred with my Tamron lenses, so I attributed it to that. This is the first time it's happened with a Pentax lens that I am aware of.

01-09-2015, 08:12 AM	#7
normhead Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Near Algonquin Park Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 40,451	I had the mirror flap issue once in about 25,000 exposures. Apart from that smooth running.

01-09-2015, 08:16 AM	#8
StephenHampshire Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Winchester Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,523	Nothing at all so far, had several all-day shoots with my K3 and grip, no freezes, mirror flap, focus is fine once I had fine-tuned all my lenses....

01-09-2015, 08:34 AM	#10
Docrwm Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Somewhere in the Southern US Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,285	Mine came with the latest firmware already installed, which was a very nice surprise. It has had no problems at all with anything.

01-09-2015, 08:35 AM	#11
Wolfeye Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Photos: Albums Posts: 782 Original Poster	Originally posted by stevebrot Defective design? Now that is a stretch. My comment was meant to be taken with the caveat defined in my opening paragraph, that squeaky wheels, or camera defects, are far more loud (or reported loudly) than perfectly running cameras. We don't see posts of "My K-3 works GREAT" for a title. We do see "My K-3 has issues" and there are several of them on this forum.

01-09-2015, 08:41 AM	#12
vonBaloney Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Albuquerque, NM Posts: 6,029	Most of these things are firmware (software) problems, or at least things that can be worked around in software. (And if you didn't update your firmware, it probably is not current.) And all software has bugs. I'm not sure I've ever used ANY electronic device that didn't work imperfectly once in a while. Major problems are usually found and eliminated quickly because they are easily repeatable and lots of people notice them. Remaining bugs will only appear with rare combinations of settings/situations and may only occur in a repeatable way for a few people or even a single individual, but if they can be isolated and repeated can also be fixed. And other bugs still will remain that will never get fixed because they appear so rarely and are fixed so easily ("hmm, that was weird...what happened there?" power cycle...bug never to be seen again). That's true in every piece of software of any complexity. And then when you consider that the software is connected to a complex physical electrical/mechanical system that is used in an infinite variety of environments in an infinite variety of ways...well, there will be glitches, and anybody that hasn't experienced even ONE yet just hasn't noticed them when they happened or hasn't put in enough hours yet...

01-09-2015, 08:43 AM	#13
Franc Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Hoevelaken Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,212	Originally posted by Wolfeye My comment was meant to be taken with the caveat defined in my opening paragraph, that squeaky wheels, or camera defects, are far more loud (or reported loudly) than perfectly running cameras. We don't see posts of "My K-3 works GREAT" for a title. We do see "My K-3 has issues" and there are several of them on this forum. That's the nature of a pentaxian, they will always think pentax is doomed and buy the next new offering.

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01-09-2015, 08:47 AM	#14
VoiceOfReason Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Mishawaka IN area Photos: Albums Posts: 6,124	I've never had a problem with mine. I've taken well over a thousand pics with it in the couple months I've had it. I did update the firmware right off though.

01-09-2015, 08:51 AM	#15
waterfall Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Northern Minnesota Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,812	Originally posted by Wolfeye I've owned a K-3 for a couple months and have experienced numerous glitches with it. Not necessarily show-stopping, send it back for repair issues, but last night something happened that made me wonder - are there any glitch-free K-3 cameras out there? The squeaky wheel, as they say, not only gets the grease, it makes the most noise. I was shooting casual photos of my dog, K-3 plus grip, and the DA 35mm f2.4 lens. All was going well, then all of a sudden the AF froze. Half-pressing the shutter button did nothing. Even more curious, I pointed the camera at a far away point, and it took the picture, completely out of focus, as the "I'm in focus" light was lit in the viewfinder. This has happened before, but I always passed it off as something I'd done wrong. It happens so infrequently that I've lived with it, but now I'm pretty sure I will have to send the camera in. When this happens the AF functionality returns as soon as the meter times out, or you shut the camera off and on. I am curious to know, has this EVER happened to you? I'd also love to know that this has NEVER happened to you. Every time I read about K-3 issues, it has something to do with autofocus, so if you've had any other AF issues I'd like to hear them too. I am beginning to believe either the K-3 is a defective design or I got a ripe ol' lemon. Bought my K3 in March of 2014. So ten months of shooting. No glitches, problems or issues.