[Bruzer]

This is my first post so I must have joined the forum too late to take the survey.

I started in 35mm film photography in 1986 with a Ricoh KR-30sp and a Sigma 35-70 f2.8 lens. I later acquired a Sigma 70-210 zoom. When I experienced an issue with the Ricoh body in 1997 and had to have it repaired, I acquired a Pentax ZX-M body to use while I awaited the Ricoh's return. It took over 4 months to get it back.

I used a K100D from 2006 until February 2014 when I got my K-500. I was also able to use the Sigma 70-210 zoom on both bodies which I thought was really cool. I was absolutely amazed by the advances made from the K100D to the K-500. Then in late May 2016 I started experiencing this issue where the first shot I'd take was completely black but subsequent shots were just fine. The issue gradually worsened until I started Googling the symptoms in mid June. I learned then that several other Pentax bodies were having this issue. Then by the end of June the camera went completely dark. I called Pentax support to ask about the issue mainly to see how to go about getting it fixed or if it was even worth doing. I was given a website to check for a price on getting this repaired. I needed my camera back quickly as I had a family wedding to attend in early August. The website indicated that the repair would cost about $165 including return shipping and take about 8 weeks. Since I would need the camera before its return, I started looking for a replacement. I am too heavily vested in K mount lenses to switch to another brand so I decided to get the K-70 once it was available. My new K-70 arrived two weeks before the wedding so I spent some time getting used to my new body (I only bought the body) with my existing lenses. Wouldn't you know that they got my K-500 back to me 3 days before we were to leave to go to the wedding.

So the bottom line is I had my K-500 for almost 2.5 years before the issue arose. This data comes from a photo shot right before the full failure.

Camera: PENTAX K-500
Shutter Count: 10,144
Manufacture Date: 2013:08:14
Lens: smc PENTAX-FA 28-200mm F3.8-5.6 AL[IF] or Tamron AF LD 28-200mm F3.8-5.6 [IF] Aspherical (171D)

(I have the Tamron lens in case anyone is keeping track!)

I have since gotten a K mount to m42 adapter and several m42 lenses that I am now using on the K-500 and using my K mount lenses on the K-70. I replaced the focusing screen in the K-500 with a split 45 degree focusing screen and my m42 photos have dramatically improved. I find myself reaching for those manual prime lenses and the K-500 more frequently now, but the K-70 still gets used. My wife has taken an interest in photography, but she's not interested in any of the technical aspects of the hobby. I recently stumbled on a white with pink trim K-S1 brand new for $259 with a 16 gb FLUCARD. She loves the camera and I replaced the 16gb FLUCARD SD card with a 64gb SD card. I leave her alone in full automatic mode and she is very happy snapping away.

[Unregistered User 8]

Hi from Australia, and welcome to the Pentax forums. Glad you were able to keep using your K-500 with the m42 lenses. Good to have you aboard.

[CarlJF]

Welcome!

For you K-500, have you try to use it with AA rechargeable batteries ? Some people report that it solved their problem.

There's also a very good post on a French Pentax forum about what can be done to save a camera with aperture block failure. Yeah, it's written in french but Google Translate is your friend...

Repair options (black/dark pictures)

If you're a tinkerer and wknow how to use a soldering iron, you can do the repair yourself...

[Bruzer]

Hi from Australia, and welcome to the Pentax forums. Glad you were able to keep using your K-500 with the m42 lenses. Good to have you aboard.

As I re-read my original post, and see the two responses, I realize that I wasn't very clear about the repair on the K-500 so here is an update.

I did opt to get it repaired. $165 to repair vs what I paid for it, $400 seemed reasonable to me. And having lived with two camera bodies in my past film life, I liked the idea of having two different lenses mounted and ready for any situation that might arise.

My venture into the M42 lenses was to acquire some inexpensive prime lenses with aperture settings in the sub f2.0 range. I had already acquired two K mount A type lenses (SMC Pentax-A 1:1.4 50mm used, but mint and a new Rokinon 1:1.4 85mm) as well as an older used "M" type Sears K mount 135mm. The Sears lens was acquired after I had read a blog article at robertsdonovan.com about Shooting manual lenses on Pentax DSLRs « robertsdonovan.com. I found this very interesting and since I tend to shoot in manual focus more often than not trying the "M" type lens was an easy decision. The switch over to M42 lenses was not a stretch for me at all and justified the split focusing screen update on the K-500. I did start out with the cheapo Chinese M42 adapter knock offs and after struggling with these, ultimately found a Pentax brand adapter under $30 that works great. I keep an eye out for more sub $50 adapters so I can have a spare.

I've got the range covered with useful to me focal lengths from 28mm - 200mm including two Russian lenses, Helios M44-2 58mm (square aperture opening) and Jupiter-9 85mm w/13 aperture blades (circle aperture opening) both f2.0. Still playing with these Russian lenses to get the desirable bokeh effect. Aperture ring is on the outside edge of the lens vs against the camera body, interesting.

And the journey continues...

[Kerrowdown]

And the journey continues...

Welcome to the forum, long may that continue with both Pentax and all of us here.