[Allan Brown]

Hello Pentax folk,

Thanks for the add.

I have a question straight off the bat. I have a K-S2 and have used it successfully for the couple of years I've owned it, with the settings on auto primarily.
I've been trying to take some photographs today and whilst the control panel is lit up, the autofocus works etc. when I take a photo there is no image displayed and when I press the playback button, there is no discernible image, it's just a black screen. If I go to delete it deletes the photo as if there is one there, but I can't see it.

I've reset everything a couple of times, but the problem persists. I definitely don't have the lens cap on!

Any clues as to what's happening? Thank you very much

[Nakedgun]

Welcome!

[Michail_P]

Welcome to the forum! So you press the shutter, take the shot and it is pitch black? Or the shot can’t be even taken?
You say that the camera deletes the photo as if there’s one. So there’s a file but it’s black ?

[Charlie Victor]

Welcome from South Africa. It sounds like the dreaded aperture block that some Pentax cameras develop. Here is a link outlining the procedure to determine if that is the problem:
Detection of aperture block/diaphragm-block failure/stuck solenoid K-30, K-50, K500
How to detect aperture block failure on Pentax K-30/50/500


Read more at: Detection of aperture block/diaphragm-block failure/stuck solenoid K-30, K-50, K500 - PentaxForums.com

[MSL]

I agree it sounds like the control block problem. Easiest way to test is to use a lens with an aperture ring, and manually set the aperture (M mode, green button metering) and see if it works. If you get a clean image, it is a control block problem. It is currently plaguing my daughter's K-S2 and there have been a few other cases for that model.

Issues aside, welcome to the forums.

[Kerrowdown]

Welcome to the forum, hope you get your issue resolved promptly.

[Allan Brown]

Thank you for your helpful comments. I'm embarrassed to say that it turned out to be a simple case of me having pressed the the AF/AE-L button and the exposure wasn't able to automatically adjust.

It did force me to look through the manual and I will make efforts to start to learn how to use this camera properly.

[Des]

Welcome Allan.

I have a K-S2 as well. It's a very capable camera. I think the first step for moving away from the auto settings is to control one variable in the exposure triangle (aperture, shutter speed and ISO) yourself. Aperture is probably the one to start with, so try Av mode and see what happens. When you change the aperture, it will affect the depth of field (DOF), that is, the extent of the area in front of and behind the subject that is in reasonable focus. You can use a wide aperture (ie low f number, like f2.8) for short DOF (to separate the subject from the foreground and background) and a high one (like f11) for greater DOF. Here is an online calculator to help work out the DOF for particular settings: A Flexible Depth of Field Calculator
With most lenses, a wide aperture will not give sharp corners/edge, even if they are in the same plane of focus. So if you want, say, the whole facade of a building to be sharp you will often need to "stop down" (that is, use a narrower aperture). The optimum sharpness is often about f8 to f11 (check some tests for the particular lens). Beyond a certain aperture, the resolution will start to decrease due to diffraction - which is why most people with most cameras/lenses will use f8 or f11 for landscapes (on an APS-C camera) rather than say f16 or f22.

Once you feel more confident about aperture, you can move on to shutter speed (to control the extent of motion blur).

With ISO, the idea is simply the lower the better. With the K-S2, I try to keep the ISO to 3200 or less as much as possible. When you are using it on a tripod, you should use 100 ISO, unless that would cause unwanted effects (e.g. where you want to freeze a moving subject so that a faster shutter is required).

Getting the hang of the triangle is probably the most crucial first step in advancing your photography. You will start to see opportunities that you had not seen before.

[MSL]

Thank you for your helpful comments. I'm embarrassed to say that it turned out to be a simple case of me having pressed the the AF/AE-L button and the exposure wasn't able to automatically adjust.

I'm glad it proved to be something so simple.

[Allan Brown]

Welcome Allan.

I have a K-S2 as well. It's a very capable camera. I think the first step for moving away from the auto settings is to control one variable in the exposure triangle (aperture, shutter speed and ISO) yourself. Aperture is probably the one to start with, so try Av mode and see what happens. When you change the aperture, it will affect the depth of field (DOF), that is, the extent of the area in front of and behind the subject that is in reasonable focus. You can use a wide aperture (ie low f number, like f2.8) for short DOF (to separate the subject from the foreground and background) and a high one (like f11) for greater DOF. Here is an online calculator to help work out the DOF for particular settings: A Flexible Depth of Field Calculator
With most lenses, a wide aperture will not give sharp corners/edge, even if they are in the same plane of focus. So if you want, say, the whole facade of a building to be sharp you will often need to "stop down" (that is, use a narrower aperture). The optimum sharpness is often about f8 to f11 (check some tests for the particular lens). Beyond a certain aperture, the resolution will start to decrease due to diffraction - which is why most people with most cameras/lenses will use f8 or f11 for landscapes (on an APS-C camera) rather than say f16 or f22.

Once you feel more confident about aperture, you can move on to shutter speed (to control the extent of motion blur).

With ISO, the idea is simply the lower the better. With the K-S2, I try to keep the ISO to 3200 or less as much as possible. When you are using it on a tripod, you should use 100 ISO, unless that would cause unwanted effects (e.g. where you want to freeze a moving subject so that a faster shutter is required).

Getting the hang of the triangle is probably the most crucial first step in advancing your photography. You will start to see opportunities that you had not seen before.

Thank you for these helpful suggestions.

I'm primarily using a 50mm macro lens, doing close ups of textiles and fibres etc. I've tried using different aperture settings, but the results - probably due to the nature of the lens - don't show that much difference, to my eye.
I shall check out some threads that discuss using a 50mm lens.

[MSL]

I'm primarily using a 50mm macro lens, doing close ups of textiles and fibres etc. I've tried using different aperture settings, but the results - probably due to the nature of the lens - don't show that much difference, to my eye.I shall check out some threads that discuss using a 50mm lens.

It is funny you are doing that topic as it is one on my to do list as my kids are into crafts and I thought the various materials would be interesting macro subject.

There are many good discussions of macro photography on the forums. And you don't need to limit yourself to 50 mm lens discussions. In all cases with macro, your depth of field (DOF) is very shallow. So changing aperture doesn't do that much, especially at extreme close ups. If I can find it, there's at least one good thread detailing all the ways to do macro that should be of interest.

Another site I found helpful when starting out was this one: Macro Camera Lenses

[Des]

I'm primarily using a 50mm macro lens, doing close ups of textiles and fibres etc. I've tried using different aperture settings, but the results - probably due to the nature of the lens - don't show that much difference, to my eye.I shall check out some threads that discuss using a 50mm lens.

In all cases with macro, your depth of field (DOF) is very shallow. So changing aperture doesn't do that much, especially at extreme close ups.

That might be it. The other possibility is that if Allan is shooting at right angles to the subject, there won't be a lot of difference in the focal plane, so an increase in DOF might not matter much.

there's at least one good thread detailing all the ways to do macro that should be of interest.

CHEAP MACRO -- Buying or exploiting a lens for ultraclose work - PentaxForums.com
Macro By Any Means Possible - PentaxForums.com
Macro by any means necessary club - PentaxForums.com
What does the ideal macro flash diffuser look like? - PentaxForums.com
My Temporary Diffuser (using built-in flash) - PentaxForums.com

[MSL]

Thanks @Des.
The first one might have been the thread I was thinking about. I'll still try to look through ones I've bookmarked.
Once you dig a bit further, you'll see why for larger depth of field people resort to focus stacking. It isn't something I've tried, and I would not recommend diving into it at the outset, but it does get around the shallow DOF problem you have from a single image.

[MSL]

Found another thread that specifically talks about sharpness issues
allover sharpness in macro's - PentaxForums.com

[termy]

Hello Pentax folk,

I have a question straight off the bat. I have a K-S2 and have used it successfully for the couple of years I've owned it, with the settings on auto primarily.
I've been trying to take some photographs today and whilst the control panel is lit up, the autofocus works etc. when I take a photo there is no image displayed. it's just a black screen.

Any clues as to what's happening? Thank you very much

g'day Allan.

Am curious.

Before "today", how long have you not been using the K-S2?
6months? 9months? Or more?