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07-03-2021, 09:35 PM   #1
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Protecting against accidental power on

Occasionally I carry my cameras in my hiking/running bag rather than a proper camera bag. I noticed that with my old K-01 that my preferred orientation of hand grip up and left side of the body down (so I touch the grip first when reaching into the bottom of my bag) results in the power switch sometimes being accidentally flipped on because of the movement of the the bag interior against the body when I'm running/hiking/cycling. Since the K-01 is mirrorless, it switches to record mode and with the LCD and sensor engaged, the battery drains quite fast.

I also discovered this the hard way with my K-3 III; you can basically have it act like a mirrorless by setting the shooting mode dial to "LV" whereas on the K-1 you have to push a button on the back of the camera to engage live view. Unfortunately, my movement must have turned on the camera because after a few hours in the bag my camera had gone from nearly full to fully dead. Hopefully no permanent damage keeping it on that long.

Aside from customizing the K-3 III to behave like a K-1 (keep the shooting mode to optical and set a button for live view), any ideas about a solution? I can always store the camera in a less risk prone orientation but curious if anybody else has this issue. I was thinking some sort of power off mode that is harder to circumvent accidentally, short of removing the battery.

I looked through the settings and I also don't see a timeout for live view in compose mode after which time the camera shuts off (there's a lot of options so if anybody can confirm the setting exists, would be appreciated). Old P&S cameras often had this setting buried somewhere to conserve battery life.

07-04-2021, 12:26 AM   #2
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I'm thinking some sort of "shell" that sits over the top of the camera, padded inside to prevent any abrasion marks, held in place simply by being in the bag … I don't think there's anything in the menus that'll effectively allow the default action of the on/off switch to be changed.
Unfortunately the ergonomics of the K-01's styling possibly make the on/off switch rather more prone to accidental activation than the more "usual" Pentax body-shape.
07-04-2021, 01:47 AM   #3
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Wouldn’t just putting it in a plastic bag help? And, in any case, it would make sense to carry a spare battery. I don’t think the camera can be damaged by being on permanently, although it may shorten battery life.
07-04-2021, 02:15 AM   #4
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Spare battery is a must. But besides that, the standby mode is saving a lot of energy. I wouldn’t worry so much.

07-04-2021, 08:33 AM - 1 Like   #5
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Thanks for the suggestions. I have spare batteries so that’s always possible although in this case I was down to barebones equipment wise.

I actually think the USB-C in camera charging is a great asset in this case. Sadly it’s a third cable to carry as my other devices use micro USB and lightning!
07-05-2021, 06:08 AM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by jslifoaw Quote
Thanks for the suggestions. I have spare batteries so that’s always possible although in this case I was down to barebones equipment wise.

I actually think the USB-C in camera charging is a great asset in this case. Sadly it’s a third cable to carry as my other devices use micro USB and lightning!
I also got tired of carrying multiple cables, so I recently purchased one of these:

amazon.com: CHAFON USB C Fast Charging Cable,PD 60W 3A Braided 5-in-1 Multi USB-A/C to Type C,Phone,Micro Charger Cord Adapter Compatible with Galaxy S20 S10 LG Sony Android Smartphones (3.3FT): Computers & Accessories?tag=pentaxforums-20&

It is a USB-C to USB-C cable with attached adapters to convert to USB-A on one end and Micro-USB and Lightning on the other. So far, it works fine for everything.

-Robin
07-10-2021, 04:36 PM - 1 Like   #7
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Are you sure that the root problem is related to LV mode and turning camera on?
My case was different. My setup was AV mode, Still Image, OVF and auto power off set to 1 minute. I made some shots and put camera into bag. Camera was ON but LCD monitor just turned off so I was pretty sure that after 1 minute camera should turn off automatically. I decided to return home carrying the bag. After 2 or 3 hours I opened the bag. The camera was hot and there was a warning displayed "Battery depleted". I was surprised because I fully charged battery before the trip. I investigated this case and my conclusion is to always turn main switch to "Power Off" position when inserting camera to a bag.
When camera is on and no operations are made the LCD monitor turns off after 10 seconds but all buttons, e-dials, joystick and eye-sensor are still active until Auto Power Off time is reached (let say 1 minute). The eye-sensor detects ANY OBJECTS close to it and turns camera on when detected. Not only an eye, a skin, a nose but also any piece of plastic or fabric. So, LCD monitor turned off, I put the camera to the bag before auto power off. When i closed the bag the eye-sensor detected the fabric and turned camera on, to OVF mode. When I was walking the camera was moving in the bag and probably constantly switching between OVF and LCD monitor. As far as I remember the LCD brightness in Outdoor View Setting was maximum, so power consumption was rather high and battery depleted quickly. The eye-sensor is specific for K3 Mark III and such scenario should not happen for any other Pentax cameras.

07-11-2021, 12:56 PM - 1 Like   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by tatizoo Quote
Are you sure that the root problem is related to LV mode and turning camera on?
My case was different. My setup was AV mode, Still Image, OVF and auto power off set to 1 minute. I made some shots and put camera into bag. Camera was ON but LCD monitor just turned off so I was pretty sure that after 1 minute camera should turn off automatically. I decided to return home carrying the bag. After 2 or 3 hours I opened the bag. The camera was hot and there was a warning displayed "Battery depleted". I was surprised because I fully charged battery before the trip. I investigated this case and my conclusion is to always turn main switch to "Power Off" position when inserting camera to a bag.
When camera is on and no operations are made the LCD monitor turns off after 10 seconds but all buttons, e-dials, joystick and eye-sensor are still active until Auto Power Off time is reached (let say 1 minute). The eye-sensor detects ANY OBJECTS close to it and turns camera on when detected. Not only an eye, a skin, a nose but also any piece of plastic or fabric. So, LCD monitor turned off, I put the camera to the bag before auto power off. When i closed the bag the eye-sensor detected the fabric and turned camera on, to OVF mode. When I was walking the camera was moving in the bag and probably constantly switching between OVF and LCD monitor. As far as I remember the LCD brightness in Outdoor View Setting was maximum, so power consumption was rather high and battery depleted quickly. The eye-sensor is specific for K3 Mark III and such scenario should not happen for any other Pentax cameras.
This makes a lot of sense – thank you for the alert!
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