[magkelly]

As of yesterday all of a sudden my K-x is randomly experiencing major shutter lag about every 5th to 10th shot. That's with new, fully charged batteries and a couple of fairly fast new San Disk cards. I've tried changing out the batteries, and the cards, changing lenses, no effect. It still happens even in bright light outside and even on full auto. The sensor is fairly clean, used the blower to make sure, so no problems there. I have put some wear and tear on it but not as much as I thought actually. Shutter count is at like 11K. The camera did go flying a while back, when I nearly fell in a pool shooting, but it wasn't damaged at all.

I was lucky. I caught it right in my hands on my lap. It never hit anything. That was over a year ago and it's been working just fine till yesterday. I went to do a few head shots with it and it just started doing that. I've never had a shutter fail so I don't know if this is what it's doing. When the bad *ist I bought died it just quit working completely. I'm wondering is this what happens when a shutter decides to blow? Does it just randomly freeze up every so often until it just finally dies? Please tell me not! I don't want this right now, I really DON'T! :P

I'm just wondering how worried I should be? I'm not working a lot. I'm doing like 5-6 small jobs a month right now. I'm making the rent and that, but just barely. Business has really sucked since Dec, but if this camera goes it's going to cause me to have to quit working for a month or two until I can afford another body. I just don't have the room on my credit card just now to charge a new one and not much in the Hello Kitty bank either.

Stupid 3K bathtub repair and my roomie moved out, so now I'm paying 2X the rent. I do have to wait till at least July. If it does go I'll have to resort to using the M43 camera (or film) and that probably won't fly very well with my snobby clients who totally expect a DSLR. I've got a credit card limit increase coming in July for sure. My CU told me so. I can grab a sub $500 body then if I have to, but until then I'm going to have to baby this one and hope it holds out till then.

I'm just sitting here wondering if this is a sign of impending doom? I didn't expect it. The K-x has never given me a lick of trouble before. It's been a very dependable little DSLR. I was going to give it to my niece this Summer but that might not be a viable option now I guess. I can't afford to just let it go and send it off to be fixed, and anyway I doubt that would be cost effective anyhow. As little as K-x's are going for now it would probably cost me more than just grabbing another used camera in a month or two would. Not worth it.

Info? I could use a little advice here. Should I try a hard reset? (It has the latest firmware.) I figure I'll just keep using it, just for work, and hope for the best till July, but I am a bit worried that it might blow out on me before then and cost me some work. Anyone here experience shutter failure and if you did is this what happened?

This is why it's always a good idea to have TWO bodies if you're going to shoot for a living, and why I am going to have to go there as soon as I can. I've had so many people ask me why I want 2, but I think this situation pretty much illustrates the need. This camera goes and I am a bit screwed. You are unless you have a backup, which is why by this time next year I will have TWO DSLR bodies, not one.

Just out of curiosity I checked the exif on some shots I did to test my lenses and what I'm seeing is that it says I'm going to long bulb like exposures when I'm only trying for normal exposures not settings like I'd use for a night shot. I'm not changing it to anything. The camera does it whether I am in full auto or using manual. It will take me from a normal exposure to that without me touching the dial, and no matter what the lens settings are. I'm shooting 50mm at 1/60 or 1/30 or whatever and I'm getting long exposure times when I'm just taking more than one shot of the same thing, same lighting, lens settings, camera settings etc. The first 5 or 10 shots will be fine, but then the next one will be totally screwed up. Then it will be fine again for 5 or 10 shots then screw up again. It's not just a little random blur like I just missed my shot focus. I'm talking major overexposure, lightning effects, the whole picture being totally messed up and the shutter lags. You can hear it stalling. It catches, then releases, but it takes a while, like the camera is shooting at night in bulb mode, only it's not.

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Last edited by magkelly; 03-23-2014 at 01:00 AM.

[Giklab]

You should make an badass oversized case for your m4/3 that looks like a camera. Problem solved!

[magkelly]

You haven't seen the pic I posted of my M43 camera have you? LOL



My Oly is deliberately blinged out and made to look as "silly" and "fluffy" as possible. I use it for stealth photography a lot. People don't take it seriously. That's a good thing. I don't get messed with in places I want to use it and thieves think it's not worth stealing. :P It's not up to pro work really. I would never use it for that. It's not bad for a personal camera, but it's nowhere near as good as my K-x. Too much noise all the time in anything above 200 iso. It's a very old M43 body. It's a cool toy, but it definitely has it's limitations. I might be able to use it for a quick passport head shot, but not for much else.

[tomwil]

I'm making the rent and that, but just barely ... Stupid 3K bathtub repair ...

Sorry for your financial worries.

If you are renting, shouldn't the landlord pay for that $3K bathtub repair? That could free up enough money for repair or new DLSR.

[Giklab]

>You haven't seen the pic I posted of my M43 camera have you? LOL

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Gee, you think?

1. Show up to a shoot, Oly in hand (to nail the exposure)
2. Just as the client is about to throw you out, take out a RB67 and shoot the keepers
3. Take a shot of client's face
4. ??????
5. Profit

[magkelly]

Sorry for your financial worries.

If you are renting, shouldn't the landlord pay for that $3K bathtub repair? That could free up enough money for repair or new DLSR.

By rent I mean lot rent, maintenance fees. I own a mobile home. I don't live in an apt or someone else's house, and no all inside repairs are my responsibility. They take care of the keeping the lawns and all the outdoor stuff though. I wish. This place has been a freaking major money pit. It's just been a bad month. My roomie decided to move out and in with her GF finally, which I am actually happy about because they really love each other and have for a long time. But that means I'm paying all the lot rent myself now and it's not so cheap. Plus I'm paying on the bath. I'm doing okay, considering, but I just cannot afford a new body till summer is well under way. It's just not in the budget till then. So my K-x is just going to have to BEHAVE! :P

[Giklab]

A used body is an option, right? On our forum, there is a K-20D w/ grip and 16-45 being sold for 250€. K200D, 18-55 with random stuff for 150€.

If there's something you can count on it's finding a Pentaxian that's switching systems.

[magkelly]

Okay, this is going to sound so snarky, but this is how I feel at this point. After my last utter fiasco trying to sell some of my own gear on here to raise funds for a new body I have decided that I am no longer going to support this marketplace. I still love the site, and the brand, and I still intend to be a regular here otherwise, but if I can't sell on here, after 4 years here sans Pay Pal? Even with reluctantly signing up for Amazon Payments to accommodate people who absolutely have to use an online payment method? Well, then I don't particularly want to buy on it either. Yes, I have done so the no feed backs notwithstanding. Sorry, but I just don't and I've quite made up my mind on that one.

If I do go for a used body it will be via Amazon or KEH maybe but it won't be bought on here, and particularly not with effin Pay Pal! I once joked to my roomie that if I was a religious end times type that surely I'd think Pay Pal was the Mark of the Beast. These days it's almost impossible to buy or sell without it, at least online, and now it's offline too, in stores and that. I'm not religious but sometimes I think back to all that weird Hal Lindsey bible studies stuff my grandma and her church cronies used to have around when I was a kid and I think about Pay Pal and what it's become and I go "Uhuh..." because that's what it sure reminds me of. Then again some folks would probably say that about using Amazon too I suppose. I mean it's not like they're not trying to own all the commerce on the planet too, right?

I've got about $250 on my credit card that I can use right now and I will go there if my K-x dies on me before July. I can pick up a non weather resistant body with at least 10-16MP's if I have to fairly easily for that. (Another K-x or a K-r.) But I don't want to unless I have to. I want to stick it out and wait till I get my limit increase and get a used K-5 or a K30 or at least a used K-7. I don't really want a K-7 at this point. It would only cost me a hundred or two more to get a K-30 or a used K-5. It just makes sense to wait until I get my limit increase. If I have to I have to, but I intend to use my K-x until July if I can. shutter antics notwithstanding. The K-7 would be the oldest body I'd want to spend $$$ on but I'd really rather have something a little newer. I need the AF upgrade and I definitely want AF points with the new camera. That's the one thing I don't like about my K-x, the lack thereof. I miss those from the K-7 I borrowed.

In the letter I got from my credit union they told me my limit would go up by like $700 in July if I approved the credit limit increase, which I did. By the time I get it I'll have likely paid a few $$$ besides so I'll have $1100 or so to play with. That gives me plenty of wiggle room and I want to use it to get the best body I can afford short of buying a K3 which I don't want and maybe the 18-150 WR.

(Why not the K3? Because it's still very expensive right now and because it's a whole lot more camera than I need. I don't particularly like or want it. It's overkill in some ways and a major waste of funds for me compared to the bargain of a K-30 or a K5. I can pay off a K30 or K5 a lot quicker and get a lens besides for less than a K-3 probably. Then I can work on getting a second body next year.)

Anything older than a K-7 though and it probably would not meet my needs or stand up to the abuse of being a photographer's working camera. I may not be pulling in work left and right but I'm not a hobbyist anymore either and the next camera I get has to last me a while and be up to me working with it. I'm all for buying used but there's a limit to how far back I can go with a body and still get the features I need on it. I have thought about a K200D but honestly I think it's too old at this point to be a viable choice. Preferably whatever camera I get needs to be WR because of where I live and the fact that I am a total klutz and am likely to get it wet sooner or later. I've nearly baptized the K-x once. Next camera it's going to have WR. I'm not pushing my luck anymore if I can help it. It's not an optional feature if you live where I live and are me. :P

[Sliver-Surfer]

Your saying, Paypal is evil and a Credit card is not. Im Lost

[GibbyTheMole]

Dunno why you're hating on PayPal, but I'm sure you have your reasons. It's been alright for me.

Anyhoo, You might try a hard reset and if that doesn't do the job, KEH has a white K-x for $225 and a K100D for $119. Both are EX+ condition. Hope you get the problem worked out. Good luck!

[Just1MoreDave]

Maybe clean the battery contacts? I thought my *ist DS was just about to "head for the light" a few years ago, but cleaning the battery contacts fixed it right up. A pencil eraser should work fine. Do the batteries too if you're just using a few sets. It can't hurt unless you spend all day in a Lady MacBeth frenzy. My symptoms were almost opposite yours - the camera would sound like it was rapidly firing 6 frames a second, without writing anything to the card. My second thought is the contacts for the SD card, but I don't know how to clean those. The most unusual symptom is that the fault is recorded in EXIF. That makes no sense to me.

...Preferably whatever camera I get needs to be WR because of where I live and the fact that I am a total klutz and am likely to get it wet sooner or later. I've nearly baptized the K-x once. Next camera it's going to have WR. I'm not pushing my luck anymore if I can help it. It's not an optional feature if you live where I live and are me. :P

Yesterday I wanted to take an ordinary tourist shot, my wife and I and the 12 second self timer. I used a snowbank as a tripod - it happened to be the perfect support. Someone saw me do it and actually ran up to me to ask if I was insane/stupid (more politely), then wanted to see if the camera still worked, then had lots of Pentax questions. I could not resist asking "So your Canon T3i isn't weather resistant at all?"

[magkelly]

Your saying, Paypal is evil and a Credit card is not. Im Lost

It was a joke, me comparing Pay Pal to the MOTB. Fact is my CU makes it very difficult to use Pay Pal. They've had issues with them apparently. My only major CC is from them also so that complicates things. I don't feel like changing banks or going through their Machiavellian restrictions to use it. I've been with the same CU for years and I'm not inclined to go there. I've heard more than a few horror stories about using it too from doll people and someone I know lost a lot of money via an auction scenario because Pay Pal let a scammer get away with it. I do realize that what I've heard is probably a small amount of people with issues doing the vetching, but after watching that person lose hundreds I decided it just wasn't something I was going to risk given my CU doesn't like them anyway . It would mean opening an account or credit card elsewhere. I chose Amazon instead because I've been on Amazon forever and I have never had a problem where Amazon didn't have my back. I felt it would be safer and my CU apparently doesn't mind them. But apparently no one in the market wants to use them because they're all addicted to using Pay Pal. :P

---------- Post added 03-24-14 at 02:35 PM ----------

Anyhoo, You might try a hard reset and if that doesn't do the job

I'm thinking about trying a reset this weekend actually. I'm not buying a used Kx or anything older though. As I said I need something a bit newer than a decade old camera. I love my K-x otherwise but I really want focus points this time and if possible WR. It's K-7 or later, but I'm preferably hanging on waiting for a credit limit increase so I can go new K-30 at least. K-30's are only running like $325 on Amazon, KEH used, but they're still about $400 new. They're dirt cheap now. If I can scrounge together another $100 or so I've at least got a used one if my K-x goes kaput. It just makes more sense not to spring for anything older, shrug. I'm actually trying to sell some stuff locally and on my doll board. If I can I'm going to make a $150 payment on my CC in April. That would give me enough for a used K-30 if push comes to shove but I'd rather wait till July so I can get a new one and/or a K-5 maybe. I'd prefer the camera new and with the 18-135 WR if I can swing it and likely I can then.

---------- Post added 03-24-14 at 02:38 PM ----------

Maybe clean the battery contacts? I thought my *ist DS was just about to "head for the light" a few years ago, but cleaning the battery contacts fixed it right up. A pencil eraser should work fine. Do the batteries too if you're just using a few sets. It can't hurt unless you spend all day in a Lady MacBeth frenzy. My symptoms were almost opposite yours - the camera would sound like it was rapidly firing 6 frames a second, without writing anything to the card. My second thought is the contacts for the SD card, but I don't know how to clean those. The most unusual symptom is that the fault is recorded in EXIF. That makes no sense to me.



Yesterday I wanted to take an ordinary tourist shot, my wife and I and the 12 second self timer. I used a snowbank as a tripod - it happened to be the perfect support. Someone saw me do it and actually ran up to me to ask if I was insane/stupid (more politely), then wanted to see if the camera still worked, then had lots of Pentax questions. I could not resist asking "So your Canon T3i isn't weather resistant at all?"

I will try that tonight and see. I would love that it is that simple. I had that happen with the loaner K-7. I was shooting in a little rain, not much, but still in the rain and some guy just about had a conniption. He stared and I couldn't help but feel a bit smug. I just looked at him, shrugged and said "It's a Pentax." It was like a freaking commercial. His face, it was just beautiful, lol.