K-50 Blackout

boraclicks · 04-02-2017, 07:53 PM

My K-50 has been behaving weird since the 1.1 upgrade.

With the OEM battery, the camera struggles to take pictures in low light and the pictures are pitch black. On the contrary, the pictures are fine when I use AA batteries. I have checked multiple permutations and combinations of modes and different lenses. Every time, the pictures are fine with AA but they struggle with the stock battery.

The Live mode is black too with OEM battery. I assume that the battery might have gone bad. But the battery seems to work perfectly, just the pictures are black.

My question is that will the problem be solved if I downgrade the firmware? Is there any other way of checking the OEM battery. The camera and the battery is four years old.

photolady95 · 04-02-2017, 09:00 PM

Sounds like Aperture Block failure. Some of us have fixed ours by using the AA adapter.

More on this problem here:

K-30 / K-50 Aperture Block Failue - Repair Solution available - PentaxForums.com

And here:
Dark exposure problems on K-30 or K-50? Read me first! - PentaxForums.com

JohnX · 04-03-2017, 02:10 AM

Sorry to possibly contradict you photolady95, but I'm not sure it's aperture block failure, as the OP says his camera works ok on AA batteries but not the stock battery, and I've never read anything about AB failure that suggests AA batteries change it? Would be interested in sources please? Could be, if correct, that the AA's deliver more power to the actuator and this overcomes the friction?

OP - the only thing I can suggest is that the stock battery is failing to deliver enough power, but that's only a guess. At 4 years old it's had a life. Can you borrow an OEM battery from somewhere? I see from your location that you might be in a location where Pentax is thin on the ground unfortunately.

Have you tried re-loading the firmware? AFAIK you can't revert to a previous version, but may well be able to over-write 1.1

sys3175 · 04-03-2017, 04:54 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by JohnX

Sorry to possibly contradict you photolady95, but I'm not sure it's aperture block failure, as the OP says his camera works ok on AA batteries but not the stock battery, and I've never read anything about AB failure that suggests AA batteries change it? Would be interested in sources please?

If you would kindly read the thread about the aperture failure and repair in the K-30/50 forum (see the link above), then you would realize that it's common knowledge that the failure shows more often/earlier with the D-Li109, using Eneloops in the adapter mitigates the problem somewhat, although this may be temporary.

@OP: this is most certainly the common aperture failure, which unfortunately happens to many cameras of these series.

Kire1984 · 04-03-2017, 05:19 AM

Originally posted by boraclicks

My K-50 has been behaving weird since the 1.1 upgrade.

With the OEM battery, the camera struggles to take pictures in low light and the pictures are pitch black. On the contrary, the pictures are fine when I use AA batteries. I have checked multiple permutations and combinations of modes and different lenses. Every time, the pictures are fine with AA but they struggle with the stock battery.

The Live mode is black too with OEM battery. I assume that the battery might have gone bad. But the battery seems to work perfectly, just the pictures are black.

My question is that will the problem be solved if I downgrade the firmware? Is there any other way of checking the OEM battery. The camera and the battery is four years old.

It seems using AA batteries solves the issue. It has to do with a lower voltage coming from the AA batteries. Somehow the aperture mechanism can't handle the higher voltage from the standard battery on the long run.
I prefer the AA batteries (I recommend Eneloop) because they last longer (+1000 shots is realistic as opposed to +400 with the standard battery).

JohnX · 04-03-2017, 05:30 AM

Originally posted by sys3175

If you would kindly read the thread about the aperture failure and repair in the K-30/50 forum (see the link above), then you would realize that it's common knowledge that the failure shows more often/earlier with the D-Li109, using Eneloops in the adapter mitigates the problem somewhat, although this may be temporary.

@OP: this is most certainly the common aperture failure, which unfortunately happens to many cameras of these series.

Thanks. Can you help further please with where in the threads, i.e. page? The first one is 34 pages long!

boraclicks · 04-03-2017, 12:25 PM

Thanks for all the valuable information. I have been using eneloop batteries in the AA bracket and that might be mitigating the problem.

I will try and revert to an older firmware but I have a gut feeling that it won't help. Prima facie, this seems to be a hardware issue to me. I have no idea how much will it cost to repair as I presume the motor would have to be replaced. The service center has asked me to send the camera and then they would give me an estimate.

KDD · 04-03-2017, 12:38 PM

My k-50 same. So I burst the shutter with jpeg both OVF and Live View, until back normal. Easy. Not worry my k-50 cuz I have K-70.

04-02-2017, 07:53 PM	#1
boraclicks Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Bangalore Photos: Albums Posts: 96	K-50 Blackout My K-50 has been behaving weird since the 1.1 upgrade. With the OEM battery, the camera struggles to take pictures in low light and the pictures are pitch black. On the contrary, the pictures are fine when I use AA batteries. I have checked multiple permutations and combinations of modes and different lenses. Every time, the pictures are fine with AA but they struggle with the stock battery. The Live mode is black too with OEM battery. I assume that the battery might have gone bad. But the battery seems to work perfectly, just the pictures are black. My question is that will the problem be solved if I downgrade the firmware? Is there any other way of checking the OEM battery. The camera and the battery is four years old.

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04-02-2017, 09:00 PM	#2
photolady95 Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Cruising the forum watching his back Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,712	Sounds like Aperture Block failure. Some of us have fixed ours by using the AA adapter. More on this problem here: K-30 / K-50 Aperture Block Failue - Repair Solution available - PentaxForums.com And here: Dark exposure problems on K-30 or K-50? Read me first! - PentaxForums.com

04-03-2017, 02:10 AM	#3
JohnX Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: London Posts: 1,116	Sorry to possibly contradict you photolady95, but I'm not sure it's aperture block failure, as the OP says his camera works ok on AA batteries but not the stock battery, and I've never read anything about AB failure that suggests AA batteries change it? Would be interested in sources please? Could be, if correct, that the AA's deliver more power to the actuator and this overcomes the friction? OP - the only thing I can suggest is that the stock battery is failing to deliver enough power, but that's only a guess. At 4 years old it's had a life. Can you borrow an OEM battery from somewhere? I see from your location that you might be in a location where Pentax is thin on the ground unfortunately. Have you tried re-loading the firmware? AFAIK you can't revert to a previous version, but may well be able to over-write 1.1

04-03-2017, 04:54 AM - 1 Like	#4
sys3175 Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2017 Posts: 50	Originally posted by JohnX Sorry to possibly contradict you photolady95, but I'm not sure it's aperture block failure, as the OP says his camera works ok on AA batteries but not the stock battery, and I've never read anything about AB failure that suggests AA batteries change it? Would be interested in sources please? If you would kindly read the thread about the aperture failure and repair in the K-30/50 forum (see the link above), then you would realize that it's common knowledge that the failure shows more often/earlier with the D-Li109, using Eneloops in the adapter mitigates the problem somewhat, although this may be temporary. @OP: this is most certainly the common aperture failure, which unfortunately happens to many cameras of these series.

04-03-2017, 05:19 AM	#5
Kire1984 New Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 3	Originally posted by boraclicks My K-50 has been behaving weird since the 1.1 upgrade. With the OEM battery, the camera struggles to take pictures in low light and the pictures are pitch black. On the contrary, the pictures are fine when I use AA batteries. I have checked multiple permutations and combinations of modes and different lenses. Every time, the pictures are fine with AA but they struggle with the stock battery. The Live mode is black too with OEM battery. I assume that the battery might have gone bad. But the battery seems to work perfectly, just the pictures are black. My question is that will the problem be solved if I downgrade the firmware? Is there any other way of checking the OEM battery. The camera and the battery is four years old. It seems using AA batteries solves the issue. It has to do with a lower voltage coming from the AA batteries. Somehow the aperture mechanism can't handle the higher voltage from the standard battery on the long run. I prefer the AA batteries (I recommend Eneloop) because they last longer (+1000 shots is realistic as opposed to +400 with the standard battery).

04-03-2017, 05:30 AM	#6
JohnX Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: London Posts: 1,116	Originally posted by sys3175 If you would kindly read the thread about the aperture failure and repair in the K-30/50 forum (see the link above), then you would realize that it's common knowledge that the failure shows more often/earlier with the D-Li109, using Eneloops in the adapter mitigates the problem somewhat, although this may be temporary. @OP: this is most certainly the common aperture failure, which unfortunately happens to many cameras of these series. Thanks. Can you help further please with where in the threads, i.e. page? The first one is 34 pages long!

04-03-2017, 12:25 PM	#7
boraclicks Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Bangalore Photos: Albums Posts: 96 Original Poster	Thanks for all the valuable information. I have been using eneloop batteries in the AA bracket and that might be mitigating the problem. I will try and revert to an older firmware but I have a gut feeling that it won't help. Prima facie, this seems to be a hardware issue to me. I have no idea how much will it cost to repair as I presume the motor would have to be replaced. The service center has asked me to send the camera and then they would give me an estimate.

04-03-2017, 12:38 PM	#8
KDD Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 403	My k-50 same. So I burst the shutter with jpeg both OVF and Live View, until back normal. Easy. Not worry my k-50 cuz I have K-70.