K-X Help required please, cleaning & SH release.

sadsack · 08-07-2012, 03:14 PM

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Hi all,

After much searching and looking at different IR release mechanism's I have finally bit the bullet and decided to ask here for some help.

I have looked at the Seculine Infra-Red release for nikon/canon/pentax IR20 from wex :

Seculine Infra-Red Release for Nikon/Canon/Pentax IR20 (7373) - Wex Photographic

The Maxsima:

Maxsima - IR Remote control Shutter Release for Pentax: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics (but no B setting)

The Pentax IR-FB F

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pentax-Remote-Control-Shutter-Release/dp/B00005AB9R/ref=pd_sim_sbs_ce_4 (but states it only works in front of the camera)

So for my 1st query I'm after an IR release that allows B setting and hopefully it will also work from behind the camera. (Can't see how you could do wildlife pics from being in front of the camera).

My second problem is more of an irritation, through the lens viewfinder there is a tiny speck of dirt near the top left hand corner that has become a real irritation, it does not come out on any photos so I am assuming it's not on the sensor, but some how inside the camera on the otherside of the viewfinder. Is this at all possible to clean from a beginners point of view. (when I say beginner, I have stripped down ME2 winders and repaired parts inside) but I've done this because it would not be a major loss as a camera would be.

Thanks chaps for any advise it is always very much appreciated.

sadsack

**jatrax** · 08-07-2012, 06:36 PM

There are NO IR remotes that will work from behind the k-x. It has only one receptor which is in front. This is a camera fault, not the remotes. I have the Pentax F and it works fine although the range is not as good as I would like. I believe it will work with B, but you have to set it up properly in the camera menu so 1 push triggers the shutter and the second releases it. There are fancier ones with timers, and AFAIK they will all work.

Your dirt is likely on the focusing screen. To test, turn on live view, if you can see it there then it is on the sensor, if not then it is on the focusing screen. Cleaning the screen can be done with a rocket blower, just take off the lens and blow some clean air in. Note you do not want to have the mirror up, you only do that to clean the sensor. The focusing screen is what the image in the viewfinder is projected on. I guess the dirt could also be on the outside of the mirror, but you should be able to see it clearly there by looking into the camera with the lens off. If the dirt is on the viewfinder side of the focusing screen then the screen needs to come out to clean, and that is a little harder. Not difficult but try everything else first.

Edit: Well let me amend that a bit. It looks like the first remote you have listed has a directional lens which is pointed at the front receptor of the camera so it would work from behind. But since it is mounted on the hot shoe, I do not see the point. Unless it has a receiver and a handheld remote, which is not shown in the picture. It looks like it has a button to press on the top, and if it is mounted to the camera why not just use the camera? Maybe I am missing something.

**patrick9** · 08-07-2012, 06:39 PM - **1 Like**

I don't know about the IR remotes you listed. I have a couple of the Pentax remotes. They both work on my DL in bulb. The shutter will stay open as long as I hold the button down. They also only work from in front of the camera. I just make sure I am out of the line of fire. I usually stand behind the camera or off to the side with my hand and remote in front. I am not sure if the K-X has a trigger in the rear or not.
As for the speck in your viewfinder I would try a blower. I have gotten dirt there and a Rocket blower has been successful in getting rid of it. while blowing my sensor clean. I just angle it towards the top of the inside of the camera for a couple of the blows. be sure to hold the camera with the lens opening down. so the dirt that is dislodged falls out

**jatrax** · 08-07-2012, 06:53 PM

Here is a link to a homemade IR receiver that would work I think. At least interesting reading.

sadsack · 08-07-2012, 07:24 PM

Thanks for the replies chaps......
Probably my own fault really for upgrading from my ME super to the K-X......
I should have been more thorough in my reviews before purchasing.
I seem to be having more troubles than ever, I recently did the firmware update from 1.02 to 1.03 and now the battery error seems to have returned, also had a short break a few weeks ago and tried out the HD movie capture at a near by zoo, another mistake I seem to have made, I think it has something to do with the AE-L button, because I suffered from some really serious color shifting, Whites totally bleaching out the image and then a few seconds later it would calm down and go back to normal. So as long as I kept the k-x in one position it was okay.
Also I remember changing a setting ages ago within the menu system to stop the flash from popping up, ...... at the time I had no access to a p.c. to do any research into the pop up flash problem, So all I could do at the time was to keep pressing the flash button at the bottom of the k-x and choosing no flash, only problem was everytime i turned the camera off and back on again it forgot the setting and I had to do the same thing again.
I'm thinking I may try to do a complete reset of the k-x back to factory default, and reset the k-x to how I want it to work.
There all minor niggles but they can seriously hack you off when you just cannot remember where you found the settings before.
Thanks again chaps for the help and advice.

**Just1MoreDave** · 08-07-2012, 07:39 PM

The manual has a settings chart in it. You might try penciling in the changes you make. Some of them are quite cryptic - even if you find out what it is, you wonder why you would ever want to do that. And six months later, you might have lots of stuff that you want to keep and one that you want to restore to default. A record of the keeper settings is good.

If dust in the viewfinder stays after some blowing, it might be something to just ignore. The screen is easy to scratch or damage.

sadsack · 08-07-2012, 08:15 PM

Thanks Just1MoreDave,

I've been doing a lot more reading and it seems the k-x has a liking for dust in all the wrong places. Also seen quite a few vids of the color shifting as well.
I came across this vid

You Tube

that explains how to use the ae-l button but not how to find it within the black hole of a menu system. To be honest the user manual could be better if it was just a little larger,..... about 6in higher and 5in wider .... lol.
I never look forward to getting the user manual out even with my specs on.

**Just1MoreDave** · 08-07-2012, 08:21 PM

Remote operation is covered on p. 134 of the manual, with a lot of fine print on p. 135 including:

The custom setting for bulb mode and remote operation is [Custom Setting 2] item 12.
SR automatically disabled in remote mode, useful and sensible but easy to forget
There's also a custom setting for how AF works with the remote - [Custom Setting 2] item 11.
On long exposures, don't forget the viewfinder cover for keeping stray light from entering the viewfinder.

sadsack · 08-08-2012, 07:43 AM

There are NO IR remotes that will work from behind the k-x. It has only one receptor which is in front. This is a camera fault, not the remotes. I have the Pentax F and it works fine although the range is not as good as I would like. I believe it will work with B, but you have to set it up properly in the camera menu so 1 push triggers the shutter and the second releases it. There are fancier ones with timers, and AFAIK they will all work.

Your dirt is likely on the focusing screen. To test, turn on live view, if you can see it there then it is on the sensor, if not then it is on the focusing screen. Cleaning the screen can be done with a rocket blower, just take off the lens and blow some clean air in. Note you do not want to have the mirror up, you only do that to clean the sensor. The focusing screen is what the image in the viewfinder is projected on. I guess the dirt could also be on the outside of the mirror, but you should be able to see it clearly there by looking into the camera with the lens off. If the dirt is on the viewfinder side of the focusing screen then the screen needs to come out to clean, and that is a little harder. Not difficult but try everything else first.

Edit: Well let me amend that a bit. It looks like the first remote you have listed has a directional lens which is pointed at the front receptor of the camera so it would work from behind. But since it is mounted on the hot shoe, I do not see the point. Unless it has a receiver and a handheld remote, which is not shown in the picture. It looks like it has a button to press on the top, and if it is mounted to the camera why not just use the camera? Maybe I am missing something.

(this was supposed to be a quote but all I keep getting is "The message you have entered is too short. Please lengthen your message to at least 5 characters".

Hi jatrax,
I contacted the supplier of the Seculine ir20 and they never knew how it works either, so they put me in touch with there showroom who hadn't heard of the product but there going to see if they can dig one out and have a look at the instruction.
I also had a look at Seculines website and the item isn't listed, strange..... because Wex Photographic said it was a new product line. All this..... and all Pentax had to do was to put a nice little thread into the top of the shutter release and I could have used my cabled shutter release,..... Just heard back from Wex, The Seculine IR20 IS NOT an infra red remote control, regardless of what the website states, they told me all it does was to remotely open the live view, .... for which purpose I have absolutely no idea.
So they reccomended I go for a Seculine Twin 1-R3 UT Seculine Twin 1 R3 Universal Remote (7415) - Wex Photographic I may look around and see if I can get it a little cheaper, good thing is that the nice sales person said it does have a B setting on it.
I'm also going to see if I can look inside the front of the k-x with a magnifying glass to see if I can see the dirt.

Also Just1MoreDave,

"SR automatically disabled in remote mode, useful and sensible but easy to forget" sorry for the noobness but do you mean "Shutter Release" SR?

Thanks guys...

sadsack

**jatrax** · 08-08-2012, 08:58 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by sadsack

The Seculine IR20 IS NOT an infra red remote control, regardless of what the website states, they told me all it does was to remotely open the live view, .... for which purpose I have absolutely no idea.

I suspect Wex has no idea what it does either, as that does not sound correct. "open live-view" What for? But regardless I do not think it will do what you want. Although the concept looks right, it seems to have a IR projector that you hang in front of the receptor on the front of the camera. Now if it had a radio (or IR) remote that would work.

Some of the radio flash triggers have the ability to trigger the camera shutter, but the ones I have seen require a hard wired release port like on the k-5. What you need is something that can be triggered by radio that generates an IR pulse directed at the camera's receptor. The secureline ir20 looks like it might be part of that but I still do not understand how it is triggered.

Another thought if you are up for a homemade solution would be to get a little mirror like bicyclists wear on their helmets and rig it so that it can be mounted on the hot shoe. You might have to buy an old flash and tear it apart but that can be had for $5 or less, maybe free if you talk to your local shop as it does not have to work you just need the mount. Anyway, mount the flash, then mount the mirror on the flash so the IR projection from the remote hits the mirror and reflects onto the camera receptor. Hope I was clear on that, I tend to run on. But it would work and with a bit of work probably would not look bad either.

**Just1MoreDave** · 08-08-2012, 11:39 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by sadsack

Also Just1MoreDave,

"SR automatically disabled in remote mode, useful and sensible but easy to forget" sorry for the noobness but do you mean "Shutter Release" SR?

Thanks guys...

sadsack

Shake Reduction. It makes sense, because shake reduction is meant to reduce vibrations from your hands, and the camera usually isn't in your hands.

sadsack · 08-08-2012, 07:26 PM

Thanks for the idea of diy job jatrax, I have a couple of really old flashes that i got from holborn cameras years ago, they were only £2 each so I brought a couple and a slave trigger and cabling and used to use them as fill flash, as they were so weak.
Ripping one of these apart will not pose a problem.

Thanks also to Just1MoreDave.... Understood... thank you.

will let you know how I get on chaps...
all the best
sadsack

**jatrax** · 08-08-2012, 08:37 PM

Originally posted by sadsack

will let you know how I get on chaps...

Do that, and if you build the thing you have to post pictures of it!

08-07-2012, 03:14 PM	#1
sadsack Forum Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: London Posts: 70	K-X Help required please, cleaning & SH release. Staff note: This post may contain affiliate links, which means Pentax Forums may earn a small commission if a visitor clicks through and makes a purchase. If you would like to support the forum directly, you may also make a donation here. Hi all, After much searching and looking at different IR release mechanism's I have finally bit the bullet and decided to ask here for some help. I have looked at the Seculine Infra-Red release for nikon/canon/pentax IR20 from wex : Seculine Infra-Red Release for Nikon/Canon/Pentax IR20 (7373) - Wex Photographic The Maxsima: Maxsima - IR Remote control Shutter Release for Pentax: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics (but no B setting) The Pentax IR-FB F http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pentax-Remote-Control-Shutter-Release/dp/B00005AB9R/ref=pd_sim_sbs_ce_4 (but states it only works in front of the camera) So for my 1st query I'm after an IR release that allows B setting and hopefully it will also work from behind the camera. (Can't see how you could do wildlife pics from being in front of the camera). My second problem is more of an irritation, through the lens viewfinder there is a tiny speck of dirt near the top left hand corner that has become a real irritation, it does not come out on any photos so I am assuming it's not on the sensor, but some how inside the camera on the otherside of the viewfinder. Is this at all possible to clean from a beginners point of view. (when I say beginner, I have stripped down ME2 winders and repaired parts inside) but I've done this because it would not be a major loss as a camera would be. Thanks chaps for any advise it is always very much appreciated. sadsack

08-07-2012, 06:36 PM	#2
jatrax Site Supporter Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cascades Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,992	There are NO IR remotes that will work from behind the k-x. It has only one receptor which is in front. This is a camera fault, not the remotes. I have the Pentax F and it works fine although the range is not as good as I would like. I believe it will work with B, but you have to set it up properly in the camera menu so 1 push triggers the shutter and the second releases it. There are fancier ones with timers, and AFAIK they will all work. Your dirt is likely on the focusing screen. To test, turn on live view, if you can see it there then it is on the sensor, if not then it is on the focusing screen. Cleaning the screen can be done with a rocket blower, just take off the lens and blow some clean air in. Note you do not want to have the mirror up, you only do that to clean the sensor. The focusing screen is what the image in the viewfinder is projected on. I guess the dirt could also be on the outside of the mirror, but you should be able to see it clearly there by looking into the camera with the lens off. If the dirt is on the viewfinder side of the focusing screen then the screen needs to come out to clean, and that is a little harder. Not difficult but try everything else first. Edit: Well let me amend that a bit. It looks like the first remote you have listed has a directional lens which is pointed at the front receptor of the camera so it would work from behind. But since it is mounted on the hot shoe, I do not see the point. Unless it has a receiver and a handheld remote, which is not shown in the picture. It looks like it has a button to press on the top, and if it is mounted to the camera why not just use the camera? Maybe I am missing something. Last edited by jatrax; 08-07-2012 at 06:42 PM.

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08-07-2012, 06:39 PM - 1 Like	#3
patrick9 Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Murfreesboro Tennessee Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,458	I don't know about the IR remotes you listed. I have a couple of the Pentax remotes. They both work on my DL in bulb. The shutter will stay open as long as I hold the button down. They also only work from in front of the camera. I just make sure I am out of the line of fire. I usually stand behind the camera or off to the side with my hand and remote in front. I am not sure if the K-X has a trigger in the rear or not. As for the speck in your viewfinder I would try a blower. I have gotten dirt there and a Rocket blower has been successful in getting rid of it. while blowing my sensor clean. I just angle it towards the top of the inside of the camera for a couple of the blows. be sure to hold the camera with the lens opening down. so the dirt that is dislodged falls out

08-07-2012, 06:53 PM	#4
jatrax Site Supporter Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cascades Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,992	Here is a link to a homemade IR receiver that would work I think. At least interesting reading.

08-07-2012, 07:24 PM	#5
sadsack Forum Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: London Posts: 70 Original Poster	Thanks for the replies chaps...... Probably my own fault really for upgrading from my ME super to the K-X...... I should have been more thorough in my reviews before purchasing. I seem to be having more troubles than ever, I recently did the firmware update from 1.02 to 1.03 and now the battery error seems to have returned, also had a short break a few weeks ago and tried out the HD movie capture at a near by zoo, another mistake I seem to have made, I think it has something to do with the AE-L button, because I suffered from some really serious color shifting, Whites totally bleaching out the image and then a few seconds later it would calm down and go back to normal. So as long as I kept the k-x in one position it was okay. Also I remember changing a setting ages ago within the menu system to stop the flash from popping up, ...... at the time I had no access to a p.c. to do any research into the pop up flash problem, So all I could do at the time was to keep pressing the flash button at the bottom of the k-x and choosing no flash, only problem was everytime i turned the camera off and back on again it forgot the setting and I had to do the same thing again. I'm thinking I may try to do a complete reset of the k-x back to factory default, and reset the k-x to how I want it to work. There all minor niggles but they can seriously hack you off when you just cannot remember where you found the settings before. Thanks again chaps for the help and advice.

08-07-2012, 07:39 PM	#6
Just1MoreDave Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Aurora, CO Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,340	The manual has a settings chart in it. You might try penciling in the changes you make. Some of them are quite cryptic - even if you find out what it is, you wonder why you would ever want to do that. And six months later, you might have lots of stuff that you want to keep and one that you want to restore to default. A record of the keeper settings is good. If dust in the viewfinder stays after some blowing, it might be something to just ignore. The screen is easy to scratch or damage.

08-07-2012, 08:21 PM	#8
Just1MoreDave Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Aurora, CO Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,340	Remote operation is covered on p. 134 of the manual, with a lot of fine print on p. 135 including: The custom setting for bulb mode and remote operation is [Custom Setting 2] item 12. SR automatically disabled in remote mode, useful and sensible but easy to forget There's also a custom setting for how AF works with the remote - [Custom Setting 2] item 11. On long exposures, don't forget the viewfinder cover for keeping stray light from entering the viewfinder.

08-08-2012, 07:43 AM	#9
sadsack Forum Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: London Posts: 70 Original Poster	There are NO IR remotes that will work from behind the k-x. It has only one receptor which is in front. This is a camera fault, not the remotes. I have the Pentax F and it works fine although the range is not as good as I would like. I believe it will work with B, but you have to set it up properly in the camera menu so 1 push triggers the shutter and the second releases it. There are fancier ones with timers, and AFAIK they will all work. Your dirt is likely on the focusing screen. To test, turn on live view, if you can see it there then it is on the sensor, if not then it is on the focusing screen. Cleaning the screen can be done with a rocket blower, just take off the lens and blow some clean air in. Note you do not want to have the mirror up, you only do that to clean the sensor. The focusing screen is what the image in the viewfinder is projected on. I guess the dirt could also be on the outside of the mirror, but you should be able to see it clearly there by looking into the camera with the lens off. If the dirt is on the viewfinder side of the focusing screen then the screen needs to come out to clean, and that is a little harder. Not difficult but try everything else first. Edit: Well let me amend that a bit. It looks like the first remote you have listed has a directional lens which is pointed at the front receptor of the camera so it would work from behind. But since it is mounted on the hot shoe, I do not see the point. Unless it has a receiver and a handheld remote, which is not shown in the picture. It looks like it has a button to press on the top, and if it is mounted to the camera why not just use the camera? Maybe I am missing something. (this was supposed to be a quote but all I keep getting is "The message you have entered is too short. Please lengthen your message to at least 5 characters". Hi jatrax, I contacted the supplier of the Seculine ir20 and they never knew how it works either, so they put me in touch with there showroom who hadn't heard of the product but there going to see if they can dig one out and have a look at the instruction. I also had a look at Seculines website and the item isn't listed, strange..... because Wex Photographic said it was a new product line. All this..... and all Pentax had to do was to put a nice little thread into the top of the shutter release and I could have used my cabled shutter release,..... Just heard back from Wex, The Seculine IR20 IS NOT an infra red remote control, regardless of what the website states, they told me all it does was to remotely open the live view, .... for which purpose I have absolutely no idea. So they reccomended I go for a Seculine Twin 1-R3 UT Seculine Twin 1 R3 Universal Remote (7415) - Wex Photographic I may look around and see if I can get it a little cheaper, good thing is that the nice sales person said it does have a B setting on it. I'm also going to see if I can look inside the front of the k-x with a magnifying glass to see if I can see the dirt. Also Just1MoreDave, "SR automatically disabled in remote mode, useful and sensible but easy to forget" sorry for the noobness but do you mean "Shutter Release" SR? Thanks guys... sadsack

08-08-2012, 08:58 AM - 1 Like	#10
jatrax Site Supporter Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cascades Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,992	Originally posted by sadsack The Seculine IR20 IS NOT an infra red remote control, regardless of what the website states, they told me all it does was to remotely open the live view, .... for which purpose I have absolutely no idea. I suspect Wex has no idea what it does either, as that does not sound correct. "open live-view" What for? But regardless I do not think it will do what you want. Although the concept looks right, it seems to have a IR projector that you hang in front of the receptor on the front of the camera. Now if it had a radio (or IR) remote that would work. Some of the radio flash triggers have the ability to trigger the camera shutter, but the ones I have seen require a hard wired release port like on the k-5. What you need is something that can be triggered by radio that generates an IR pulse directed at the camera's receptor. The secureline ir20 looks like it might be part of that but I still do not understand how it is triggered. Another thought if you are up for a homemade solution would be to get a little mirror like bicyclists wear on their helmets and rig it so that it can be mounted on the hot shoe. You might have to buy an old flash and tear it apart but that can be had for $5 or less, maybe free if you talk to your local shop as it does not have to work you just need the mount. Anyway, mount the flash, then mount the mirror on the flash so the IR projection from the remote hits the mirror and reflects onto the camera receptor. Hope I was clear on that, I tend to run on. But it would work and with a bit of work probably would not look bad either.

08-08-2012, 11:39 AM - 1 Like	#11
Just1MoreDave Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Aurora, CO Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,340	Originally posted by sadsack Also Just1MoreDave, "SR automatically disabled in remote mode, useful and sensible but easy to forget" sorry for the noobness but do you mean "Shutter Release" SR? Thanks guys... sadsack Shake Reduction. It makes sense, because shake reduction is meant to reduce vibrations from your hands, and the camera usually isn't in your hands.

08-08-2012, 07:26 PM	#12
sadsack Forum Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: London Posts: 70 Original Poster	Thanks for the idea of diy job jatrax, I have a couple of really old flashes that i got from holborn cameras years ago, they were only £2 each so I brought a couple and a slave trigger and cabling and used to use them as fill flash, as they were so weak. Ripping one of these apart will not pose a problem. Thanks also to Just1MoreDave.... Understood... thank you. will let you know how I get on chaps... all the best sadsack

08-08-2012, 08:37 PM	#13
jatrax Site Supporter Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cascades Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,992	Originally posted by sadsack will let you know how I get on chaps... Do that, and if you build the thing you have to post pictures of it!