Hacking / Modifying the K-50

redbull707 · 07-18-2017, 10:16 AM

Hello Everyone,

Do any of you know what modifications or "hacks" are available to the firmware/software of the K-50? I realized that's a very general question and that's the point. I want to know my options.

Thanks!

The Squirrel Mafia · 07-18-2017, 10:39 AM

A couple of threads.

Resurrecting Pentax firmware hacking - PentaxForums.com

Running K-50 firmware on K-30 - PentaxForums.com

The user by the name of ABel seems to be very knowledgeable about hacking firmware. You might want to hit him up.

About the only thing I'd like to see is if it's possible to create 14bit RAW files from the K-50/K-30. Don't know if that's a firmware and/or hardware limitation.

ABel · 07-18-2017, 08:26 PM

The first thread linked by The Squirrel Mafia above describes the current state of the K-30 (and automatically of the K-50) firmware hacking.
Shodan has made a huge progress on this, and one of his patches allowed for loading and executing almost arbitrary code snippets in the camera, which could be used for the further firmware research.

Unfortunately, no one else seemed to be interested in participating this research. I think unless some kind of K-30/K-50 hacking community appears suddenly, there will be no progress.
Shodan's code on the GitHub is bound to the firmware 1.05 for K-30, and if it's necessary I can adopt it to the latest firmware for K-50.

As for 14-bit RAW, I've tried to search the K-30/K-50 firmwares for the image bitness lowering, but could not find it. It seems that 12-bit limitation is imposed by the hardware.

The Squirrel Mafia · 07-19-2017, 06:51 AM

^ Ah. Good to know. Thanks!

07-18-2017, 10:16 AM	#1
redbull707 New Member Join Date: Jul 2017 Posts: 1	Hacking / Modifying the K-50 Hello Everyone, Do any of you know what modifications or "hacks" are available to the firmware/software of the K-50? I realized that's a very general question and that's the point. I want to know my options. Thanks!

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07-18-2017, 10:39 AM	#2
The Squirrel Mafia Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2015 Posts: 3,058	A couple of threads. Resurrecting Pentax firmware hacking - PentaxForums.com Running K-50 firmware on K-30 - PentaxForums.com The user by the name of ABel seems to be very knowledgeable about hacking firmware. You might want to hit him up. About the only thing I'd like to see is if it's possible to create 14bit RAW files from the K-50/K-30. Don't know if that's a firmware and/or hardware limitation.

07-18-2017, 08:26 PM	#3
ABel Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Middle of Siberia Photos: Gallery Posts: 212	The first thread linked by The Squirrel Mafia above describes the current state of the K-30 (and automatically of the K-50) firmware hacking. Shodan has made a huge progress on this, and one of his patches allowed for loading and executing almost arbitrary code snippets in the camera, which could be used for the further firmware research. Unfortunately, no one else seemed to be interested in participating this research. I think unless some kind of K-30/K-50 hacking community appears suddenly, there will be no progress. Shodan's code on the GitHub is bound to the firmware 1.05 for K-30, and if it's necessary I can adopt it to the latest firmware for K-50. As for 14-bit RAW, I've tried to search the K-30/K-50 firmwares for the image bitness lowering, but could not find it. It seems that 12-bit limitation is imposed by the hardware.

07-19-2017, 06:51 AM	#4
The Squirrel Mafia Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2015 Posts: 3,058	^ Ah. Good to know. Thanks!