shutter not firing when in focus

**sipsey** · 11-17-2019, 11:21 AM

Hi-

Occasionally, my shutter won't fire, after AF has been locked in. Anyone else have this issue? What i mean is I press halfway, AF beeps, but when I press all the way it won't take a picture.

When this happens, it seems there's a correlation with a preview image not appearing on the back screen. Like the shutter doesn't fire, or it does fire and I don't see the preview image. Both these are happening.

Any thoughts? Thanks.

**kiwi_jono** · 11-17-2019, 12:12 PM

Thats a little odd. The preview image only shows after successfully taking a photo though.

Only thing I can think of, is you are not accidentally using one of the drive modes like "Mirror up" (where it takes two presses)?

**sipsey** · 11-17-2019, 12:21 PM

Well, I don't think i'm in a different drive mode if it only happens sometimes?

And also when the shutter does fire, sometimes I get a preview image and sometimes I don't, and I forgot to mention sometimes I do but it takes a couple seconds to appear on the screen...

**Kevin B123** · 11-17-2019, 12:53 PM

Originally posted by sipsey

shutter not firing when in focus

What camera and lens combination is this on?

**TwoUptons** · 11-17-2019, 01:16 PM

Depending on your settings and shooting conditions, the pause can be dark frame subtraction for noise reduction, so I wouldn’t worry about that until you figure out the ‘won’t always fire’...

What autofocus settings are you using? Are you or your subject moving? Is it possible the image is no longer officially in focus? If you just hold the button down, does this ever happen when focus locks? And does this happen in live view or only with the optical viewfinder?

Sorry, that’s a lot of questions...

-Eric

**sipsey** · 11-17-2019, 01:40 PM

Originally posted by Kevin B123

What camera and lens combination is this on?

K-1ii, FA 77. That's what I was using yesterday when it happened. Think it's also happened with the 43. I haven't considered that it could be a lens issue- that seems even stranger.

Using spot AF, subject not moving, no live view. Never use live view so don't know if it would happen with it or not.

It seems to happen when I'm trying to take several shots in rapid succession. Maybe if I switch to continuous mode in those situations it'll solve the problem. haven't tried that.

jeallen01 · 11-17-2019, 01:54 PM

Is the lens firmly locked into the body mount to ensure the "info pins" are correctly aligned?

Unregistered User · 11-17-2019, 03:15 PM

"It seems to happen when I'm trying to take several shots in rapid succession. " your manual will tell you that the camera is just processing the shots. Look it up in the manual under "solving problems".

jeallen01 · 11-17-2019, 03:37 PM

Originally posted by AfterPentax

"It seems to happen when I'm trying to take several shots in rapid succession. " your manual will tell you that the camera is justprocessing the shots. Look it up in the manual under solving problems.

Ah, maybe I understand - are you using an "old", and thus probably very slow, HDSC card?

If you are then the camera can't clear the data from the buffer on to the card quickly enough - happened to me many times with the K3 & K3 II (and more so with the K-30 and K-70 which have much smaller buffers, although the K-70 is much better). Solution could thus be to get much more modern and faster HDSC cards

For comparison purposes, I can probably shoot about 15-20 RAW+ (RAW and High Quality JPEGs) in "maximum machine gun" mode before that happens when using a 60Mbs Class 10 card in the K-3s, but only about 7-8 with the card in the K-70.

The clue comes from the flashing red LED on the back of the body - if it is still flashing when the shutter won't fire then the buffer is still clearing data to the card, When that flashing stops stops then you should be able fire the shutter should again.

If those symptoms mirror your experience then that may be the cause of your problems (??).

Unregistered User · 11-17-2019, 04:45 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by jeallen01

Ah, maybe I understand - are you using an "old", and thus probably very slow, HDSC card?

If you are then the camera can't clear the data from the buffer on to the card quickly enough - happened to me many times with the K3 & K3 II (and more so with the K-30 and K-70 which have much smaller buffers, although the K-70 is much better). Solution could thus be to get much more modern and faster HDSC cards

For comparison purposes, I can probably shoot about 15-20 RAW+ (RAW and High Quality JPEGs) in "maximum machine gun" mode before that happens when using a 60Mbs Class 10 card in the K-3s, but only about 7-8 with the card in the K-70.

The clue comes from the flashing red LED on the back of the body - if it is still flashing when the shutter won't fire then the buffer is still clearing data to the card, When that flashing stops stops then you should be able fire the shutter should again.

If those symptoms mirror your experience then that may be the cause of your problems (??).

It can also happen with a fast card, it depends on the buffer and the speed of the camera processor.

SSGGeezer · 11-17-2019, 05:56 PM

The K-1 does not have a huge buffer and if you are shooting RAW+ or Jpeg and have noise reduction, dark frame, sharpening or anything that requires in camera processing (Pixel shift perhaps?) Then the camera won't fire again until the processing is completed.

**sipsey** · 11-17-2019, 08:47 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by SSGGeezer

The K-1 does not have a huge buffer and if you are shooting RAW+ or Jpeg and have noise reduction, dark frame, sharpening or anything that requires in camera processing (Pixel shift perhaps?) Then the camera won't fire again until the processing is completed.

Thanks for all the responses. I spent an hour shooting a family this afternoon and it didn't happen once. I did have different SD cards than yesterday, but they are all the same brand, and I know they are better than average cards.

My best guess is that it is some sort of buffering issue, and I have read that the K-1 doesn't score the highest in that regard...

Julie Whelan · 08-09-2021, 02:22 AM

I realise this is an old thread but I've had this very same problem when shooting a wedding last weekend. I can't remember having this problem before. The only thing I've done differently is set the SD cards with the 2nd option, ie. saving a RAW copy on card2 for back up. Would that have slowed down my shutter burst?

It was so annoying and I missed a fair few 'decisive moment' shots sadly.

11-17-2019, 11:21 AM	#1
sipsey Site Supporter Join Date: May 2013 Posts: 26	shutter not firing when in focus Hi- Occasionally, my shutter won't fire, after AF has been locked in. Anyone else have this issue? What i mean is I press halfway, AF beeps, but when I press all the way it won't take a picture. When this happens, it seems there's a correlation with a preview image not appearing on the back screen. Like the shutter doesn't fire, or it does fire and I don't see the preview image. Both these are happening. Any thoughts? Thanks.

11-17-2019, 03:15 PM	#8
Unregistered User Guest	When the shutter does not fire "It seems to happen when I'm trying to take several shots in rapid succession. " your manual will tell you that the camera is just processing the shots. Look it up in the manual under "solving problems". Last edited by Unregistered User; 11-17-2019 at 04:38 PM. Reason: just correcting a mistake, a missing space.

11-17-2019, 04:45 PM - 1 Like	#10
Unregistered User Guest	Originally posted by jeallen01 Ah, maybe I understand - are you using an "old", and thus probably very slow, HDSC card? If you are then the camera can't clear the data from the buffer on to the card quickly enough - happened to me many times with the K3 & K3 II (and more so with the K-30 and K-70 which have much smaller buffers, although the K-70 is much better). Solution could thus be to get much more modern and faster HDSC cards For comparison purposes, I can probably shoot about 15-20 RAW+ (RAW and High Quality JPEGs) in "maximum machine gun" mode before that happens when using a 60Mbs Class 10 card in the K-3s, but only about 7-8 with the card in the K-70. The clue comes from the flashing red LED on the back of the body - if it is still flashing when the shutter won't fire then the buffer is still clearing data to the card, When that flashing stops stops then you should be able fire the shutter should again. If those symptoms mirror your experience then that may be the cause of your problems (??). It can also happen with a fast card, it depends on the buffer and the speed of the camera processor. Last edited by Unregistered User; 11-17-2019 at 04:50 PM. Reason: I forgot to mention the second technical detail in processing the image.

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11-17-2019, 12:12 PM	#2
kiwi_jono Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Christchurch, New Zealand Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,437	Thats a little odd. The preview image only shows after successfully taking a photo though. Only thing I can think of, is you are not accidentally using one of the drive modes like "Mirror up" (where it takes two presses)?

11-17-2019, 12:21 PM	#3
sipsey Site Supporter Join Date: May 2013 Posts: 26 Original Poster	Well, I don't think i'm in a different drive mode if it only happens sometimes? And also when the shutter does fire, sometimes I get a preview image and sometimes I don't, and I forgot to mention sometimes I do but it takes a couple seconds to appear on the screen...

11-17-2019, 12:53 PM	#4
Kevin B123 Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Hampshire Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,176	Originally posted by sipsey shutter not firing when in focus What camera and lens combination is this on?

11-17-2019, 01:16 PM	#5
TwoUptons Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2015 Photos: Albums Posts: 4,213	Depending on your settings and shooting conditions, the pause can be dark frame subtraction for noise reduction, so I wouldn’t worry about that until you figure out the ‘won’t always fire’... What autofocus settings are you using? Are you or your subject moving? Is it possible the image is no longer officially in focus? If you just hold the button down, does this ever happen when focus locks? And does this happen in live view or only with the optical viewfinder? Sorry, that’s a lot of questions... -Eric

11-17-2019, 01:40 PM	#6
sipsey Site Supporter Join Date: May 2013 Posts: 26 Original Poster	Originally posted by Kevin B123 What camera and lens combination is this on? K-1ii, FA 77. That's what I was using yesterday when it happened. Think it's also happened with the 43. I haven't considered that it could be a lens issue- that seems even stranger. Using spot AF, subject not moving, no live view. Never use live view so don't know if it would happen with it or not. It seems to happen when I'm trying to take several shots in rapid succession. Maybe if I switch to continuous mode in those situations it'll solve the problem. haven't tried that.

11-17-2019, 01:54 PM	#7
jeallen01 Pentaxian Join Date: May 2008 Location: London, UK Posts: 1,697	Is the lens firmly locked into the body mount to ensure the "info pins" are correctly aligned?

11-17-2019, 03:37 PM	#9
jeallen01 Pentaxian Join Date: May 2008 Location: London, UK Posts: 1,697	Originally posted by AfterPentax "It seems to happen when I'm trying to take several shots in rapid succession. " your manual will tell you that the camera is justprocessing the shots. Look it up in the manual under solving problems. Ah, maybe I understand - are you using an "old", and thus probably very slow, HDSC card? If you are then the camera can't clear the data from the buffer on to the card quickly enough - happened to me many times with the K3 & K3 II (and more so with the K-30 and K-70 which have much smaller buffers, although the K-70 is much better). Solution could thus be to get much more modern and faster HDSC cards For comparison purposes, I can probably shoot about 15-20 RAW+ (RAW and High Quality JPEGs) in "maximum machine gun" mode before that happens when using a 60Mbs Class 10 card in the K-3s, but only about 7-8 with the card in the K-70. The clue comes from the flashing red LED on the back of the body - if it is still flashing when the shutter won't fire then the buffer is still clearing data to the card, When that flashing stops stops then you should be able fire the shutter should again. If those symptoms mirror your experience then that may be the cause of your problems (??).

11-17-2019, 05:56 PM	#11
SSGGeezer Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Indiana, U.S. Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 4,845	The K-1 does not have a huge buffer and if you are shooting RAW+ or Jpeg and have noise reduction, dark frame, sharpening or anything that requires in camera processing (Pixel shift perhaps?) Then the camera won't fire again until the processing is completed.

11-17-2019, 08:47 PM - 1 Like	#12
sipsey Site Supporter Join Date: May 2013 Posts: 26 Original Poster	Originally posted by SSGGeezer The K-1 does not have a huge buffer and if you are shooting RAW+ or Jpeg and have noise reduction, dark frame, sharpening or anything that requires in camera processing (Pixel shift perhaps?) Then the camera won't fire again until the processing is completed. Thanks for all the responses. I spent an hour shooting a family this afternoon and it didn't happen once. I did have different SD cards than yesterday, but they are all the same brand, and I know they are better than average cards. My best guess is that it is some sort of buffering issue, and I have read that the K-1 doesn't score the highest in that regard...

08-09-2021, 02:22 AM	#13
Julie Whelan Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: United Kingdom Photos: Albums Posts: 40	I realise this is an old thread but I've had this very same problem when shooting a wedding last weekend. I can't remember having this problem before. The only thing I've done differently is set the SD cards with the 2nd option, ie. saving a RAW copy on card2 for back up. Would that have slowed down my shutter burst? It was so annoying and I missed a fair few 'decisive moment' shots sadly.