K-1 white dot issue. ?

MJKoski · 09-04-2017, 08:45 AM

That is another story. Yes, the dots were mostly gone and comparable to fixed Nikon D810 (which had the same issue), however I also had that black stripe present which required 2nd calibration to get it right. My 2nd K-1 was super clean all the way up to 4-5mins @ ISO100 without any additional noise reduction when doing long exposure landscape photography. I sold all digital stuff in May and swapped to using Intrepid 4x5 camera which has remained my primary system since then. It has no noise issues

3 hours long exposure? No problem!

awscreo · 09-04-2017, 10:03 AM

Originally posted by MJKoski

That is another story. Yes, the dots were mostly gone and comparable to fixed Nikon D810 (which had the same issue), however I also had that black stripe present which required 2nd calibration to get it right. My 2nd K-1 was super clean all the way up to 4-5mins @ ISO100 without any additional noise reduction when doing long exposure landscape photography. I sold all digital stuff in May and swapped to using Intrepid 4x5 camera which has remained my primary system since then. It has no noise issues

3 hours long exposure? No problem!

I guess I'm going to chat with Pentax tomorrow. Actually, I need to check if I have any white dots at ISO 100

MJKoski · 09-06-2017, 02:51 AM

How did your chat go? Did they admit there is an issue or still strictly unofficial business?

JBox · 09-06-2017, 07:34 AM

I got around to doing some test images last night. I did a sequence of 3 at ISO800, then 2 at ISO100, and finally another at ISO800. I did a map pixels between the two ISO100 images. That removed some of the obvious hot pixels, but not any of the noise that we are concerned with. See the sequence here. A number of the images are mostly light because clouds kept moving through. My K-1 was reporting a few degrees higher temp, but they all still look pretty bad by comparison. I have not done any LE stuff since I had it calibrated around a year ago. I guess ignorance is bliss after all.

@MJKoski
Would it be possible for you to post 4 minute ISO100 and ISO800 examples from your second K-1? It would be really good to get some kind of baseline in this thread.

awscreo · 09-06-2017, 08:36 AM

They immediately told me to call Precision Camera that repairs Pentax products in USA, and Precision just told me to send it in, no questions asked. It seemed like they know about the issue, but I can't be certain as they haven't admitted it outright. I also mentioned the shutter shock issue, they asked to send the lens in as well. I'm doing some final tests now, I tried the pixel mapping, will see if it does anything.

MJKoski · 09-07-2017, 01:10 AM

@Jbox

I do not have any (Pentax) digital gear anymore. I can search my archives for whatever test shots there may be from January when I received the 2nd unit. Most likely high ISO stuff related to dark frames. Maybe some lucky local shooter now has the unit as I sold it to a brick & mortar store which buys used gear.

JBox · 09-07-2017, 05:41 AM

Originally posted by MJKoski

I can search my archives for whatever test shots there may be from January when I received the 2nd unit.

I would very much appreciate it if you could. I think it would be very helpful for @awscreo and I to have your test images to compare to our tests.

awscreo · 09-07-2017, 11:48 AM

Originally posted by JBox

I would very much appreciate it if you could. I think it would be very helpful for @awscreo and I to have your test images to compare to our tests.

Definitely. I've just shipped my camera out to Precision, hope they'll be able to help me. I dunno if I'm over reacting, I actually just noticed those for the first time after a full year of enjoying the camera, but I figured if it's not normal, and I bought the damn extended warranty, might as well use it and get an even better camera (fingers crossed)

Markovo · 12-09-2017, 03:07 AM

My K-1 has the same white dot issue starting from 1min exposures and above. Calibration does not helped, so the camera was sent to France for service. There they changed the CMOS (the whole SR block actually) and guess what? Nothing happened... Still white dots everywhere...

DimC · 12-12-2017, 02:53 PM

Originally posted by Markovo

My K-1 has the same white dot issue starting from 1min exposures and above. Calibration does not helped, so the camera was sent to France for service. There they changed the CMOS (the whole SR block actually) and guess what? Nothing happened... Still white dots everywhere...

oh man...feel sorry for you.

When I discovered my camera was suffering the WD issue, I had a few email exchange with French Ricoh support with sample pics, then had to talk directly to the official repairshop that Ricoh redirected me to.
there, They had no clue how to deal with this issue, I forwarded them email exchange, this forum specific thread and some other french forums reporting the issue. After a week of phone calls etc they told me that I can send them my camera but they wouldnt know what to do, that they will need to check a couple things ...but they had no clue what to do ...I decided no to send the camera and waste my time.

It's a shame the way Ricoh handle this issue, at least in France.

Markovo · 03-23-2018, 03:35 AM

Got me a second K-1 Body (second hand) and found that it also has the White Dot issue... Send some test photos to the local service, which they forwarded to Ricoh/Pentax. Still no answer and a resolution to the problem...

Gimbal · 03-23-2018, 04:22 AM

Is there anyone that doesn't have the white dots? More or less.

Markovo · 03-23-2018, 05:46 AM

Originally posted by Gimbal

Is there anyone that doesn't have the white dots? More or less.

I personally know a man that has two K-1 Silver bodies and both of them doesn't experience the White Dot problem.

normhead · 03-23-2018, 05:53 AM

Originally posted by MJKoski

@Jbox

I do not have any (Pentax) digital gear anymore. I can search my archives for whatever test shots there may be from January when I received the 2nd unit. Most likely high ISO stuff related to dark frames. Maybe some lucky local shooter now has the unit as I sold it to a brick & mortar store which buys used gear.

I always thought I be retiring with a 4x5 camera. Oh well, the best laid plans of mice and men, often come to naught.

DeadJohn · 03-23-2018, 06:21 AM

Originally posted by Gimbal

Is there anyone that doesn't have the white dots? More or less.

I have had my K-1 for 16 months. Zero white dot issues. I do a fair amount of low light photography.

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09-04-2017, 08:45 AM	#466
MJKoski Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 1,784	That is another story. Yes, the dots were mostly gone and comparable to fixed Nikon D810 (which had the same issue), however I also had that black stripe present which required 2nd calibration to get it right. My 2nd K-1 was super clean all the way up to 4-5mins @ ISO100 without any additional noise reduction when doing long exposure landscape photography. I sold all digital stuff in May and swapped to using Intrepid 4x5 camera which has remained my primary system since then. It has no noise issues 3 hours long exposure? No problem!

09-04-2017, 10:03 AM	#467
awscreo Veteran Member Join Date: May 2016 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,722	Originally posted by MJKoski That is another story. Yes, the dots were mostly gone and comparable to fixed Nikon D810 (which had the same issue), however I also had that black stripe present which required 2nd calibration to get it right. My 2nd K-1 was super clean all the way up to 4-5mins @ ISO100 without any additional noise reduction when doing long exposure landscape photography. I sold all digital stuff in May and swapped to using Intrepid 4x5 camera which has remained my primary system since then. It has no noise issues 3 hours long exposure? No problem! I guess I'm going to chat with Pentax tomorrow. Actually, I need to check if I have any white dots at ISO 100

09-06-2017, 02:51 AM	#468
MJKoski Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 1,784	How did your chat go? Did they admit there is an issue or still strictly unofficial business?

09-06-2017, 07:34 AM	#469
JBox Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Michigan Posts: 109	I got around to doing some test images last night. I did a sequence of 3 at ISO800, then 2 at ISO100, and finally another at ISO800. I did a map pixels between the two ISO100 images. That removed some of the obvious hot pixels, but not any of the noise that we are concerned with. See the sequence here. A number of the images are mostly light because clouds kept moving through. My K-1 was reporting a few degrees higher temp, but they all still look pretty bad by comparison. I have not done any LE stuff since I had it calibrated around a year ago. I guess ignorance is bliss after all. @MJKoski Would it be possible for you to post 4 minute ISO100 and ISO800 examples from your second K-1? It would be really good to get some kind of baseline in this thread.

09-06-2017, 08:36 AM	#470
awscreo Veteran Member Join Date: May 2016 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,722	They immediately told me to call Precision Camera that repairs Pentax products in USA, and Precision just told me to send it in, no questions asked. It seemed like they know about the issue, but I can't be certain as they haven't admitted it outright. I also mentioned the shutter shock issue, they asked to send the lens in as well. I'm doing some final tests now, I tried the pixel mapping, will see if it does anything.

09-07-2017, 01:10 AM	#471
MJKoski Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 1,784	@Jbox I do not have any (Pentax) digital gear anymore. I can search my archives for whatever test shots there may be from January when I received the 2nd unit. Most likely high ISO stuff related to dark frames. Maybe some lucky local shooter now has the unit as I sold it to a brick & mortar store which buys used gear.

09-07-2017, 05:41 AM	#472
JBox Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Michigan Posts: 109	Originally posted by MJKoski I can search my archives for whatever test shots there may be from January when I received the 2nd unit. I would very much appreciate it if you could. I think it would be very helpful for @awscreo and I to have your test images to compare to our tests.

09-07-2017, 11:48 AM	#473
awscreo Veteran Member Join Date: May 2016 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,722	Originally posted by JBox I would very much appreciate it if you could. I think it would be very helpful for @awscreo and I to have your test images to compare to our tests. Definitely. I've just shipped my camera out to Precision, hope they'll be able to help me. I dunno if I'm over reacting, I actually just noticed those for the first time after a full year of enjoying the camera, but I figured if it's not normal, and I bought the damn extended warranty, might as well use it and get an even better camera (fingers crossed)

12-09-2017, 03:07 AM	#474
Markovo Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Bulgaria Posts: 149	My K-1 has the same white dot issue starting from 1min exposures and above. Calibration does not helped, so the camera was sent to France for service. There they changed the CMOS (the whole SR block actually) and guess what? Nothing happened... Still white dots everywhere...

12-12-2017, 02:53 PM	#475
DimC Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Paris Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 813	Originally posted by Markovo My K-1 has the same white dot issue starting from 1min exposures and above. Calibration does not helped, so the camera was sent to France for service. There they changed the CMOS (the whole SR block actually) and guess what? Nothing happened... Still white dots everywhere... oh man...feel sorry for you. When I discovered my camera was suffering the WD issue, I had a few email exchange with French Ricoh support with sample pics, then had to talk directly to the official repairshop that Ricoh redirected me to. there, They had no clue how to deal with this issue, I forwarded them email exchange, this forum specific thread and some other french forums reporting the issue. After a week of phone calls etc they told me that I can send them my camera but they wouldnt know what to do, that they will need to check a couple things ...but they had no clue what to do ...I decided no to send the camera and waste my time. It's a shame the way Ricoh handle this issue, at least in France.

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03-23-2018, 03:35 AM	#476
Markovo Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Bulgaria Posts: 149	Got me a second K-1 Body (second hand) and found that it also has the White Dot issue... Send some test photos to the local service, which they forwarded to Ricoh/Pentax. Still no answer and a resolution to the problem...

03-23-2018, 04:22 AM	#477
Gimbal Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Sweden Posts: 2,106 Original Poster	Is there anyone that doesn't have the white dots? More or less.

03-23-2018, 05:46 AM	#478
Markovo Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Bulgaria Posts: 149	Originally posted by Gimbal Is there anyone that doesn't have the white dots? More or less. I personally know a man that has two K-1 Silver bodies and both of them doesn't experience the White Dot problem.

03-23-2018, 05:53 AM	#479
normhead Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Near Algonquin Park Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 40,448	Originally posted by MJKoski @Jbox I do not have any (Pentax) digital gear anymore. I can search my archives for whatever test shots there may be from January when I received the 2nd unit. Most likely high ISO stuff related to dark frames. Maybe some lucky local shooter now has the unit as I sold it to a brick & mortar store which buys used gear. I always thought I be retiring with a 4x5 camera. Oh well, the best laid plans of mice and men, often come to naught.

03-23-2018, 06:21 AM	#480
DeadJohn Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: New York Posts: 4,833	Originally posted by Gimbal Is there anyone that doesn't have the white dots? More or less. I have had my K-1 for 16 months. Zero white dot issues. I do a fair amount of low light photography.