Grip creaking (near IR sensor)

MJKoski · 12-22-2016, 05:13 AM - **1 Like**

Probably not, but it does not matter. This is hilarious issue as it does matter either that body is made of mag alloy. What matters is that this issue causes a feeling of operating a plastic bucket.

**BigMackCam** · 12-22-2016, 05:54 AM - **4 Likes**

Originally posted by lithedreamer

I didn't bother since it's been some days since there's been any response at all from a Ricoh representative to concerns there. Probably just the holidays.

I've sent Bruce - @BigRed - a PM to alert Ricoh to the issue...

MJKoski · 12-22-2016, 06:11 AM - **1 Like**

Nice, will be looking what they answer.

Gimbal · 12-23-2016, 01:53 PM - **2 Likes**

Originally posted by MJKoski

Probably not, but it does not matter. This is hilarious issue as it does matter either that body is made of mag alloy. What matters is that this issue causes a feeling of operating a plastic bucket.

I agree, mine has been creaking since day one and while not being a huge problem it does take a way the "solid" feeling the camera otherwise would have. Now it just feels embarrassing in a way. As when proudly handing it over to someone to admire it and the first thing that happens is the handle starts creaking.

MJKoski · 12-23-2016, 02:44 PM

Indeed sir. Exactly what happened to me. I handed over K-1 with 15-30 to a Nikon user and was asked what was the body made of again? Not a joke.

Meg4mi · 12-27-2016, 12:18 PM

Originally posted by BigMackCam

I've sent Bruce - @BigRed - a PM to alert Ricoh to the issue...

Any anwser from him ?

Thanks for sending him a PM by the way.

**BigMackCam** · 12-27-2016, 12:52 PM

Originally posted by Meg4mi

Any anwser from him ?

Thanks for sending him a PM by the way.

Nothing yet, I'm afraid...

**hyyz** · 12-27-2016, 02:46 PM

FYI. I don't have K-1 yet. But my K-3 has the same creaking mentioned here. What I discovered was it is caused by the battery latch that holds battery in place. The tolerance between battery and the latch has to be right. Otherwise, a slight force on grip can cause that creaking. When I got a second OEM battery, that noise is absent. This led me to think it indeed is battery-related. I used knife to shave that latch a little to make it thinner.Then for most part, noise is gone.

Add: please see my further explanation below.

olipaba · 12-27-2016, 10:26 PM - **1 Like**

I`ve had the creaking sound from day one... I called the repair shop that does the repairs for Pentax in Germany, and the answer I got was that it is nothing to worry about... I live in Peru so there is no Pentax repairs around here and the creaking is not consistent... of course I feel it more with a heavy lens (tamarin 70-200) but I feel that it also depends a little bit in the weather... can´t really say if it is battery related... but I´ll try to watch out for it...

asahi man · 12-29-2016, 11:34 PM

Correct,nothing to worry about.
Best regards

MJKoski · 12-30-2016, 05:27 AM

Let's be honest - nothing is worth worrying about until it happens with own device.

**hyyz** · 12-30-2016, 08:26 AM

Explain a bit about my observation mentioned above. It is the white latch in battery compartment that rubs the battery compartment cover. My theory is: if battery is slightly larger than nominal, it would push the latch harder and causes it to be slightly outward. If this is severe enough, the latch would touch the cover. If you look at inside of the cover, there's a recess in it to accommodate the latch. But sometimes it may not be enough. For instance, if battery is larger than nominal, or if grip flexes due to heavy lens attached, the latch can contact the cover, causing creaking noise. I confirmed this by checking the recess and found rubbing mark. So, I shaved the latch a little and solved it.

This is just my 2 cents. And this is for my K-3. Hope this might be helpful.

Meg4mi · 01-01-2017, 08:36 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by hyyz

Explain a bit about my observation mentioned above. It is the white latch in battery compartment that rubs the battery compartment cover. My theory is: if battery is slightly larger than nominal, it would push the latch harder and causes it to be slightly outward. If this is severe enough, the latch would touch the cover. If you look at inside of the cover, there's a recess in it to accommodate the latch. But sometimes it may not be enough. For instance, if battery is larger than nominal, or if grip flexes due to heavy lens attached, the latch can contact the cover, causing creaking noise. I confirmed this by checking the recess and found rubbing mark. So, I shaved the latch a little and solved it.

This is just my 2 cents. And this is for my K-3. Hope this might be helpful.

Checked this on mine. The problem doesn't come from the latch and cbattery cover.

And I confirm that my problem is not really a creaking but more a pop/click kind of sound when I press on the grip, or when lifting heavy lense.

MJKoski · 01-01-2017, 10:58 AM

No issue with latch here. It may be IR sensor moving with the rubber and causing the sound. It was not there out of the box either.

Meg4mi · 01-29-2017, 06:40 AM

Just to keep you updated:

I've send back my k-1 under warranty, but i won't be able to tell you if and how pentax would have solve the issue beacuse they detect another problem (anormal sound when you release the shutter) on my k-1 and they are going to send it to japan for further analysis.

So they change it for a new body.

Hope the new body won't have the same grip issue.

12-27-2016, 02:46 PM	#38
hyyz Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Michigan Posts: 478	FYI. I don't have K-1 yet. But my K-3 has the same creaking mentioned here. What I discovered was it is caused by the battery latch that holds battery in place. The tolerance between battery and the latch has to be right. Otherwise, a slight force on grip can cause that creaking. When I got a second OEM battery, that noise is absent. This led me to think it indeed is battery-related. I used knife to shave that latch a little to make it thinner.Then for most part, noise is gone. Add: please see my further explanation below. Last edited by hyyz; 12-30-2016 at 08:48 AM.

12-30-2016, 08:26 AM	#42
hyyz Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Michigan Posts: 478	Explain a bit about my observation mentioned above. It is the white latch in battery compartment that rubs the battery compartment cover. My theory is: if battery is slightly larger than nominal, it would push the latch harder and causes it to be slightly outward. If this is severe enough, the latch would touch the cover. If you look at inside of the cover, there's a recess in it to accommodate the latch. But sometimes it may not be enough. For instance, if battery is larger than nominal, or if grip flexes due to heavy lens attached, the latch can contact the cover, causing creaking noise. I confirmed this by checking the recess and found rubbing mark. So, I shaved the latch a little and solved it. This is just my 2 cents. And this is for my K-3. Hope this might be helpful. Last edited by hyyz; 12-30-2016 at 08:42 AM.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
For Sale - Sold: InfraRed (IR) Converted *istDL2 - Great for Taking IR Photos w/o Using a Tripod	frank	Sold Items	6	03-31-2015 03:53 PM
Converting a Pentax *ist DL DSLR to Near Infrared (IR)	danmerrick	Pentax DSLR Discussion	4	03-11-2015 12:00 PM
K-30 Creaking Sound	strangeboy	Troubleshooting and Beginner Help	21	09-02-2013 05:28 PM
Sensor heat transfer system for IR photos?	slackercruster	Pentax DSLR Discussion	4	04-01-2012 08:19 PM
k20d IR + sensor noise	slaw0710	Pentax DSLR Discussion	6	08-19-2009 02:57 AM

12-22-2016, 05:13 AM - 1 Like	#31
MJKoski Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 1,784	Probably not, but it does not matter. This is hilarious issue as it does matter either that body is made of mag alloy. What matters is that this issue causes a feeling of operating a plastic bucket.

12-22-2016, 05:54 AM - 4 Likes	#32
BigMackCam Digitiser of Film Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: North East of England Posts: 20,670	Originally posted by lithedreamer I didn't bother since it's been some days since there's been any response at all from a Ricoh representative to concerns there. Probably just the holidays. I've sent Bruce - @BigRed - a PM to alert Ricoh to the issue...

12-22-2016, 06:11 AM - 1 Like	#33
MJKoski Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 1,784	Nice, will be looking what they answer.

12-23-2016, 01:53 PM - 2 Likes	#34
Gimbal Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Sweden Posts: 2,106	Originally posted by MJKoski Probably not, but it does not matter. This is hilarious issue as it does matter either that body is made of mag alloy. What matters is that this issue causes a feeling of operating a plastic bucket. I agree, mine has been creaking since day one and while not being a huge problem it does take a way the "solid" feeling the camera otherwise would have. Now it just feels embarrassing in a way. As when proudly handing it over to someone to admire it and the first thing that happens is the handle starts creaking.

12-23-2016, 02:44 PM	#35
MJKoski Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 1,784	Indeed sir. Exactly what happened to me. I handed over K-1 with 15-30 to a Nikon user and was asked what was the body made of again? Not a joke.

12-27-2016, 12:18 PM	#36
Meg4mi Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 124 Original Poster	Originally posted by BigMackCam I've sent Bruce - @BigRed - a PM to alert Ricoh to the issue... Any anwser from him ? Thanks for sending him a PM by the way.

12-27-2016, 12:52 PM	#37
BigMackCam Digitiser of Film Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: North East of England Posts: 20,670	Originally posted by Meg4mi Any anwser from him ? Thanks for sending him a PM by the way. Nothing yet, I'm afraid...

12-27-2016, 10:26 PM - 1 Like	#39
olipaba New Member Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: Urubamba / the sacred valley of the inkas Posts: 7	I`ve had the creaking sound from day one... I called the repair shop that does the repairs for Pentax in Germany, and the answer I got was that it is nothing to worry about... I live in Peru so there is no Pentax repairs around here and the creaking is not consistent... of course I feel it more with a heavy lens (tamarin 70-200) but I feel that it also depends a little bit in the weather... can´t really say if it is battery related... but I´ll try to watch out for it...

12-29-2016, 11:34 PM	#40
asahi man Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Photos: Albums Posts: 324	Correct,nothing to worry about. Best regards

12-30-2016, 05:27 AM	#41
MJKoski Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 1,784	Let's be honest - nothing is worth worrying about until it happens with own device.

01-01-2017, 08:36 AM - 1 Like	#43
Meg4mi Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 124 Original Poster	Originally posted by hyyz Explain a bit about my observation mentioned above. It is the white latch in battery compartment that rubs the battery compartment cover. My theory is: if battery is slightly larger than nominal, it would push the latch harder and causes it to be slightly outward. If this is severe enough, the latch would touch the cover. If you look at inside of the cover, there's a recess in it to accommodate the latch. But sometimes it may not be enough. For instance, if battery is larger than nominal, or if grip flexes due to heavy lens attached, the latch can contact the cover, causing creaking noise. I confirmed this by checking the recess and found rubbing mark. So, I shaved the latch a little and solved it. This is just my 2 cents. And this is for my K-3. Hope this might be helpful. Checked this on mine. The problem doesn't come from the latch and cbattery cover. And I confirm that my problem is not really a creaking but more a pop/click kind of sound when I press on the grip, or when lifting heavy lense.

01-01-2017, 10:58 AM	#44
MJKoski Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 1,784	No issue with latch here. It may be IR sensor moving with the rubber and causing the sound. It was not there out of the box either.

01-29-2017, 06:40 AM	#45
Meg4mi Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 124 Original Poster	Just to keep you updated: I've send back my k-1 under warranty, but i won't be able to tell you if and how pentax would have solve the issue beacuse they detect another problem (anormal sound when you release the shutter) on my k-1 and they are going to send it to japan for further analysis. So they change it for a new body. Hope the new body won't have the same grip issue.