[MariMar]

Hi,

So I tried playing around after the factory reset didn't take and I would HATE for this camera to have been broken. I've been playing with the shutter speed and f-stop on the ATvT setting and a picture did come out of it but it was on full brightness and was still very dark. The Last time I messed with this camera was when I was taking telephoto shots of the moon and I cant for the life of me remember what I did.

Thank you!
Hope you guys can help!

[pepperberry farm]

Hi,

So I tried playing around after the factory reset didn't take and I would HATE for this camera to have been broken. I've been playing with the shutter speed and f-stop on the ATvT setting and a picture did come out of it but it was on full brightness and was still very dark. The Last time I messed with this camera was when I was taking telephoto shots of the moon and I cant for the life of me remember what I did.

Thank you!
Hope you guys can help!

which camera?

[BigMackCam]

Hi,

So I tried playing around after the factory reset didn't take and I would HATE for this camera to have been broken. I've been playing with the shutter speed and f-stop on the ATvT setting and a picture did come out of it but it was on full brightness and was still very dark. The Last time I messed with this camera was when I was taking telephoto shots of the moon and I cant for the life of me remember what I did.

Thank you!
Hope you guys can help!

which camera?

From the OP's profile, it's a K-30... aperture block failure?

[reh321]

Hi,

So I tried playing around after the factory reset didn't take and I would HATE for this camera to have been broken. I've been playing with the shutter speed and f-stop on the ATvT setting and a picture did come out of it but it was on full brightness and was still very dark. The Last time I messed with this camera was when I was taking telephoto shots of the moon and I cant for the life of me remember what I did.

Thank you!
Hope you guys can help!

1. The first thing you should do is to check whether the in-body aperture control is working correctly.

The gold standard for diagnosing aperture block failure is to put the camera in M mode (auto ISO off, aperture ring not being used) with aperture set wide open and shutter speed at something slow (e.g. 1-2 seconds). Release the shutter while observing the aperture opening through the front of the lens.* Anything other than the aperture remaining wide open is indication of a problem with the controller. If the problem has been intermittent, it may help to do the test after a period of non-use. Even one failure is significant.


* This method was instrumental in diagnosing the initial wave of aperture block failures on the K-30 and narrowing the cause to a fault in a mechanical component rather than electronics.

2. How long since you last used your K-30??

[MariMar]

1. The first thing you should do is to check whether the in-body aperture control is working correctly.
2. How long since you last used your K-30??

I will try #1, and it's been roughly 4 years that i used it while knowing how to fully work it, but I tried using it ~ 2 years ago at my brother's graduation and I forgot about the issue.

[MariMar]

From the OP's profile, it's a K-30... aperture block failure?

How would I fix an aperture block failure?

[reh321]

How would I fix an aperture block failure?

There are many threads on this subject in the K-30&K-50 section, unfortunately.

This guy has the most experience
Manual solenoid replacement Pentax K30 / Discharge flash-condenser / Solenoid choice - PentaxForums.com

Another option, the one I chose even though it offends some here, was to use only those lenses which have an aperture ring, because they enable you to set aperture at the lens, thereby bypassing the faulty aperture-controlling mechanism in the body. That method is more awkward, because you have to use so-called 'green-button metering', but it worked for me until I could purchase my KP.

You can also get it done professionally, at a cost of around $150.

[MariMar]

I will try #1, and it's been roughly 4 years that i used it while knowing how to fully work it, but I tried using it ~ 2 years ago at my brother's graduation and I forgot about the issue.

So I'm not sure what I should be looking for when taking a photo when trying your #1 suggestion. I set the aperture at 30 and f-stop at 4..0 and iso at 100 on manual mode and a photo was indeed produced with color. but I don't know what the next step would be to fix the auto mode.

[reh321]

So I'm not sure what I should be looking for when taking a photo when trying your #1 suggestion. I set the aperture at 30 and f-stop at 4..0 and iso at 100 on manual mode and a photo was indeed produced with color. but I don't know what the next step would be to fix the auto mode.

I'm not sure I understand your question.

[MariMar]

I'm not sure I understand your question.

So in the original post bu stevebrot it says to "put the camera in M mode (auto ISO off, aperture ring not being used) with aperture set wide open and shutter speed at something slow (e.g. 1-2 seconds). Release the shutter while observing the aperture opening through the front of the lens.* Anything other than the aperture remaining wide open is indication of a problem with the controller.", I beleive, I put it into the correct settings and got a non black only photo, but I don't know what that means or what the next step should be. I put up my settings "aperture at 30 and f-stop at 4..0 and iso at 100" so anyone could check if they are indeed the correct settings.

[pschlute]

So in the original post bu stevebrot it says to "put the camera in M mode (auto ISO off, aperture ring not being used) with aperture set wide open and shutter speed at something slow (e.g. 1-2 seconds). Release the shutter while observing the aperture opening through the front of the lens

What did you observe the aperture do when you pressed the shutter button ?

[mikesbike]

So I'm not sure what I should be looking for when taking a photo when trying your #1 suggestion. I set the aperture at 30 and f-stop at 4..0 and iso at 100 on manual mode and a photo was indeed produced with color. but I don't know what the next step would be to fix the auto mode.

The aperture wide open is not set at 30! You see, we are so used to talking with people that know certain basic things, we forget what it is like not to know them. An aperture of 30 would be a completely closed-down (usual term is completely stopped down) aperture. No wonder your resulting photo was black! Gross underexposure.

The higher number means a narrower aperture setting. The smallest number a lens can be set to is its widest aperture it is capable of, that is to say wide open. So if it is a zoom lens you are using, most of these have a variable aperture according to the zoom setting, so first thing is, leave it at its shortest focal length- don't zoom it. This will allow the smallest aperture number (widest aperture) to be set.

But then, you are saying aperture at 30...f-stop at 4? The f-stop is the aperture setting.

---------- Post added 03-29-19 at 11:58 AM ----------

So I'm not sure what I should be looking for when taking a photo when trying your #1 suggestion. I set the aperture at 30 and f-stop at 4..0 and iso at 100 on manual mode and a photo was indeed produced with color. but I don't know what the next step would be to fix the auto mode.

Since you are able to produce photos with normal color, maybe your camera does not have aperture block. What lens are you using? Sometimes there are settings on the lens itself, depending the vintage of the lens design. With a modern lens within the last 15 years or so, most will not have such settings and just attaching them will provide full function in the green auto mode of the camera.

[reh321]

I put up my settings "aperture at 30 and f-stop at 4..0 and iso at 100" so anyone could check if they are indeed the correct settings.

The aperture wide open is not set at 30! You see, we are so used to talking with people that know certain basic things, we forget what it is like not to know them. An aperture of 30 would be a completely closed-down (usual term is completely stopped down) aperture. No wonder your resulting photo was black! Gross underexposure.

The higher number means a narrower aperture setting. The smallest number a lens can be set to is its widest aperture it is capable of, that is to say wide open. So if it is a zoom lens you are using, most of these have a variable aperture according to the zoom setting, so first thing is, leave it at its shortest focal length- don't zoom it. This will allow the smallest aperture number (widest aperture) to be set.

Aperture and f-stop mean the same thing, but we have different values mentioned here.
I interpreted this information as a shutter speed of 1/30 and an aperture of f/4.0, but I don't actually know.

It may be time for the OP to start over, to get a good tutorial for the camera,
{ would a K-50 e-book work? }

Instantly download your Pentax eBook! (K-1, KP, K-70, K-3, K-5, K-50, K-S2) - PentaxForums.com

[mikesbike]

Aperture and f-stop mean the same thing, but we have different values mentioned here.
I interpreted this information as a shutter speed of 1/30 and an aperture of f/4.0, but I don't actually know.

It may be time for the OP to start over, to get a good tutorial for the camera,
{ would a K-50 e-book work? }

Instantly download your Pentax eBook! (K-1, KP, K-70, K-3, K-5, K-50, K-S2) - PentaxForums.com

Exactly. This is confusing to us, and indicates confusion on the part of the OP. We do not really have insight so far as to what is really going on with her equipment.

[rogerstg]

I wonder, what happens when the OP uses the camera set to AUTO?
That might help us determine if it's a hardware malfunction or operator error. Hopefully it's the latter: it's easier to learn things than fix stuff.