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06-21-2017, 08:35 PM   #1
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Pentax K-5 will not take photos?

Hello, my Pentax K-5 will not take photos when I am trying to photograph fireflies. There is very little light pollution in the field I go to, which leaves me in near-darkness. I have tried fiddling with the aperture and the ISO in Manual mode, but every time I try to take a picture, the camera makes a noise, but doesn't photograph anything. I have an 18-55mm lens, more specifically the SMC Pentax DA 1:3.5-5.6 18-55mm AL WR lens. I know the Pentax K-5 has gotten a lot of praise and a lot of great reviews, so I'm suspecting that it's just the lens I'm using, or simply me. I have been sorely tempted to get theRokinon FE14M-P 14mm F2.8 Ultra Wide Fixed Lens for Pentax, anyway....

06-21-2017, 08:40 PM   #2
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Does it do this when set to fire whether in focus or not? Or will it not fire because it can't obtain focus?
06-21-2017, 08:42 PM   #3
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I don't think it can obtain focus, because I have tried Live View in hopes of seeing what I was photographing better instead of through the viewfinder. It would zoom in, zoom out, and have a red square soon after and would not do anything else. If I point it at, say, a streetlight in the distance, however, it will go off.
06-21-2017, 08:47 PM   #4
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The red square is only telling you that's where it's focusing. It does not indicate it's in focus. If there isn't enough light to focus, it won't fire the shutter.

06-21-2017, 08:48 PM   #5
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Would a different lens, such as the one I gave for an example, make a difference, then? It's supposed to be a great astrophotography lens.
06-21-2017, 08:57 PM   #6
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Any other lens rather than the 18-55mm would work better for what you're trying to do. That lens isn't fast enough for low light photography especially at night in the dark. The Rokinon would be fast enough with it's f2.8.
06-21-2017, 08:59 PM   #7
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Oh, thank you so much! I figured it was the lens, but I wanted to make sure before I went out and bought a different one, in case it was something I was doing wrong and there was a workaround. I believe I have a kit lens?

06-21-2017, 09:05 PM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by AislinP Quote
Oh, thank you so much! I figured it was the lens, but I wanted to make sure before I went out and bought a different one, in case it was something I was doing wrong and there was a workaround. I believe I have a kit lens?
You're welcome!
You'd probably do better if you had one with an f stop of 1.2, or 1.4. But those can get expensive. And the kit lens, is fine for daylight.
06-21-2017, 09:18 PM   #9
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Yes, I can see where they may run a little pricey. I see a lot of lenses that are 50, 55, 35, 30, and 85mm with the 1.4 f stop, but could you give me any recommendations for lenses in particular?
06-21-2017, 09:39 PM   #10
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Use manual focus. Set the lens for the distance you want to your subject and expose when the fireflies at close to that distance.
06-21-2017, 10:40 PM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by AislinP Quote
Hello, my Pentax K-5 will not take photos when I am trying to photograph fireflies. There is very little light pollution in the field I go to, which leaves me in near-darkness. I have tried fiddling with the aperture and the ISO in Manual mode, but every time I try to take a picture, the camera makes a noise, but doesn't photograph anything. I have an 18-55mm lens, more specifically the SMC Pentax DA 1:3.5-5.6 18-55mm AL WR lens. I know the Pentax K-5 has gotten a lot of praise and a lot of great reviews, so I'm suspecting that it's just the lens I'm using, or simply me. I have been sorely tempted to get theRokinon FE14M-P 14mm F2.8 Ultra Wide Fixed Lens for Pentax, anyway....
Make sure the camera is set to manual focus. Use live view magnification (if possible) to obtain accurate focus, or trial-and-error it if it's too dark to see what's going on.

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06-22-2017, 02:54 AM   #12
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When using autofocus you can tell the camera to use shutter priority or focus priority. With focus priority the camera will not fire until there is focus confirmation, with shutter priority it will fire regardless of focus confirmation. You can find the setting on the third tab of the 'C' custom menu of the camera.
06-22-2017, 04:27 AM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by D1N0 Quote
When using autofocus you can tell the camera to use shutter priority or focus priority. With focus priority the camera will not fire until there is focus confirmation, with shutter priority it will fire regardless of focus confirmation. You can find the setting on the third tab of the 'C' custom menu of the camera.
That's a solution but is it the right solution?
06-22-2017, 04:52 AM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by photolady95 Quote
That's a solution but is it the right solution?

It will get the shutter to go of it is probably not the ideal method for shooting fireflies. The real question here is probably not why the K-5 doesn't take photos but how to shoot fireflies.
06-22-2017, 04:55 AM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by D1N0 Quote
It will get the shutter to go of it is probably not the ideal method for shooting fireflies. The real question here is probably not why the K-5 doesn't take photos but how to shoot fireflies.
Yes, it will get the shutter to actually fire to make sure user knows his camera is fine. However, shutter priority isn't the ideal solution, IMO.
And you're right, asking why the camera won't fire, probably isn't the best question on how to shoot fireflies.
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