[CT Dude]

Hello all! I have a *istDS and suddenly it won't work in the Autopict mode. The internal flash pops up and then I depress the shutter button, I see the red square, the lens focuses somewhat and then nothing. The shutter button will not go all the way down and the flash will not discharge.

In non-flash mode the camera will take a picture however the other modes...nada-zilch-zero! I went online to Pentax Live Chat Support and the person there stepped me through resetting the camera, change flash modes etc. Still nothing short of sending it out to Colorado for them to assess the problem and send me a quote in the mail.

Has anyone else had this happen to their *istDS? Any help is appreciated!

Thanks!
CT Dude

[forensicscientist]

Do you have it set such that shutter will not release while flash is charging? If you do, and the inboard flash is broken...then it will not fire as the camera thinks the flash is still charging. Try changing the selection in the menu system and see what happens.

Also, does the flash fire in any mode?

mark

[CT Dude]

Hi Mark...first thanks for responding. It very frustrating to say the least. In response to your question; no the shutter is as it was last week when I used it last. I've basically left it in Autopict mode and Auto Flash and Auto Focus. As far as any other modes and the flash...no, it doesn't fire off at all.

I think I'm gonna bundle it up and send it off to Pentax in Colorado and have them evaluate it and hopefully repair it within a reasonable cost. Again many thanks for your input!

Gary
(aka) CT Dude

[forensicscientist]

If the flash does not fire under any circumstances, then thats at least part of, if not the entire problem. If you look under the Custom menu you'll see: release when charging..... Off is the default setting, and if its still set like that, it matches the symptoms you are describing.

You can send it in to Pentax for repair...but I suspect the cost of repair will be rather high....considering you can buy a used one for about 200 (or less) these days. Another option is to use an external flash mounted to the hot shoe. The DS uses ttl flash, and nice ones can be found for next to nothing.

Or its a great time to upgrade to k10 or k20

I still have my DS, and love it just for the small size and ttl flash system.

Good luck with whatever path you take....