[andyk17]

I wish people would stop saying things like "My K-30/50 failed" .... aperture control failure does not mean the camera failed. My Canon Rebel {actually 2 of them} failed when the processor failed, because the camera did absolutely nothing, so I had a choice between using it as a paper-weight or trashing it {so each is now in the county landfill}. On the other hand, my K-30 is still usable ten months after its aperture control totally failed - I just have to use a lens with aperture ring and then 'green button meter'.

Surely if a camera won't work in the various modes it should because an integral part has stopped working it has 'failed'.
I also used mine in manual mode for several months, but in the end missed TAV mode and not being able to use some of my favourite lenses because they didn't have an aperture ring.

If the aperture block stops working again, I will use it as a backup to my K3ii.

Andy

[lucero]

I just had this happen a couple of weeks ago with my K50. It was 4 years old. I sent it to the lab in CA where the guy supposedly fixes them, but it got damaged in transit. I refused to have it repaired further. So I'm very upset and looking for alternatives. I liked the camera very much but looking at trying an entry level Nikon. I can't afford to get the Pentax KP, which would seem to be the next option in Pentax since the K70 also has the same problem.

[mikesbike]

I just had this happen a couple of weeks ago with my K50. It was 4 years old. I sent it to the lab in CA where the guy supposedly fixes them, but it got damaged in transit. I refused to have it repaired further. So I'm very upset and looking for alternatives. I liked the camera very much but looking at trying an entry level Nikon. I can't afford to get the Pentax KP, which would seem to be the next option in Pentax since the K70 also has the same problem.

I would say look for a lightly used former Pentax flagship model. I have the K-S2 (no problem so far- thank goodness!) as my lightweight secondary camera, and the KP. I also have a K-5 IIs bought new some years ago and I still like it a lot. With patience you might find one lightly used, which should not cost all that much. It is a great camera. The next model forward would be the K-3, and perhaps would not cost much more. Either one of these two would be a definite upgrade over the K50, and no further aperture issue.

[SharkyCA]

I just had this happen a couple of weeks ago with my K50. It was 4 years old. I sent it to the lab in CA where the guy supposedly fixes them, but it got damaged in transit. I refused to have it repaired further. So I'm very upset and looking for alternatives. I liked the camera very much but looking at trying an entry level Nikon. I can't afford to get the Pentax KP, which would seem to be the next option in Pentax since the K70 also has the same problem.

Although my K-70 failed outside of warranty if I had bought it through the Canadian market it would have still been covered! There are not that many K-70's that have failed and I would suspect if you added the "EXTRA" warranty that are normally available you would be quite happy with the camera!

The cost for repairing my K-70 ran $273.00 Canadian including shipping (with insurance) Hope this helps!

[lucero]

Thanks for the suggestions. When I saw what happened to my K50 when I got it back I was devastated all over again. I’m waiting to see if FEDEX will honor my insurance claim. The camera is complete junk now. It would probably take $300 or more to fix it due to the damage it incurred in shipping. I really regret sending it to the place in CA. He claims it arrived in that condition. I KNOW it wasn’t in that condition when I packed it. I talked to two friends who have Canons and I’m going to get a Canon. I used a K1000 so I was pretty loyal to Pentax until this. I gave away my lenses a year after I got the K50 because I really couldn’t get the hang of using them on the DSLR. So I just have one Pentax lens and I’d rather quit while I’m ahead and not put more money into this brand. The lack of customer support and inability to find parts in the USA is a problem that I don’t want to deal with.

[photogem]

Thanks for the suggestions. When I saw what happened to my K50 when I got it back I was devastated all over again. I’m waiting to see if FEDEX will honor my insurance claim. The camera is complete junk now. It would probably take $300 or more to fix it due to the damage it incurred in shipping.

Well, in a way your were lucky because the FEDEX insurance claim might bring you more money than the broken K50 was worth (Hope you didn't tell them you sent it for repair and it was already broken).

I really regret sending it to the place in CA. He claims it arrived in that condition. I KNOW it wasn’t in that condition when I packed it.

If the camera was packed well, nothing usually can happen if not a car, a tank or whatever rolls over the parcel.
I am astonished how people pack things into a parcel, particular sensitive electric equipment such as a DSLR or lenses.
In Europe any device has be protected well enough so that when a parcel falls from 80cm height nothing can happen. It used to be by law
that one would have to have 15cm bubblewrap protection on all sides but this seems to be past now.

I talked to two friends who have Canons and I’m going to get a Canon. I used a K1000 so I was pretty loyal to Pentax until this. I gave away my lenses a year after I got the K50 because I really couldn’t get the hang of using them on the DSLR. So I just have one Pentax lens and I’d rather quit while I’m ahead and not put more money into this brand. The lack of customer support and inability to find parts in the USA is a problem that I don’t want to deal with.

Any Canon- Nikon- Sony- and all the otherbrand users will usually tell you to buy the brand they use. Usually people "want to like their product".

Canon would be the last brand I'd buy. If, then a Nikon. But only if I'd be into taking photos of sports or similar. Otherwise, if I'd have to start from scratch I would go again for Pentax. Best quality-cost relation and ... what I love: The possibility to use a lot of vintage (but great) lenses.

You are sure you have a real lack of customer support in USA?
Which parts are impossible to be found in USA?

[Captainmoonman]

I am wondering if the weak aperture solenoid could be exacerbated by software. Just to be clear I am not disagreeing with the forums diagnoses. I'm just suggesting (hoping) that there might be something else contributing to aperture failure. I am refering to the v120 firmware update. The literature for this update states -- 'it makes the camera compatible with a KAF4 lens mount that is equipped with an electromagnetic diaphragm control system' which sounds if the code for camera to lens communication is being changed. I updated my KS2 with this firmware the day before I went to the British superbike. On the day the camera froze (first time it had ever done that) wouldn’t switch off so I had to pull the battery. When it came back on I had to go through the setup you get when you first get the camera: you know, location, time etc. It did it again when I switched it back on. Put another battery in it and that’s when the aperture problem started. Anyway sent it for repair twice and it went the same way three times. The third time the camera shop where I purchased it wrote to Pentax complaining that the camera had broken three times in a year. I got a replacement. Now the guts of that camera had been replaced twice so even if it was a weak component then it should have lasted another couple of years, shouldn’t it? Both repairs lasted a matter of months but it still had the same motherboard running that horrible V120 software. It seems like a remarkable coincidence that an update related to a new aperture mechanism should coincide with an aperture fault in the camera. I am convinced it was this update that trashed my camera. The replacement camera is still worked fine it has been updated 1.11 and no further. I hope my theory is correct as I've said the replacement was another KS2 í think I might be tempting fate posting on here. I'll be disappointed if I get an avalanche of replies from people with broken KS2's who haven’t bothered with firmware updates.

[mikesbike]

I don't usually bother wth firmware updates if I am getting fine results as is. I have no plans to obtain a KAF4 lens. The reports so far show something interesting- the K-S2 is on the same order of aperture failure incidence as the newer K-70!

[MarkJerling]

...t seems like a remarkable coincidence that an update related to a new aperture mechanism should coincide with an aperture fault ....

Thus far, all evidence points to your experience being a coincidence, and nothing more.

[photogem]

There is no connection to firmware at all.
With all thosePentax bodies:
K-30/50/500
K-S1/S-2

I had samples with early firmware as well as late firmware.

But best example:
Almost all K-30's never got the modified K-50 1.10 KAF4 firmware but had from 1.01 up to 1.06.
So no ability to drive KAF4 lenses.

Firmware plays no role in this.

It is the solenoid only and thus pure mechanical. Not even electric, allthough using Eneloops helps at times to push the problem further away (but eventually it shows up anyway).

I'll be disappointed if I get an avalanche of replies from people with broken KS2's who haven’t bothered with firmware updates.

I have repaired 2 x K-S2's, all had early firmware.
After I exchanged the solenoid they naturally were updated with their latest firmware.
And never failed again.
Same goes for the K-S1, I have repaired as well 2 of them with early firmware, no question that they work fine with the latest firmware
after exchange of the solenoid!

[Captainmoonman]

Well that puts my wrong oil in a bad engine theory up on bricks. I thank you for your candid replies although it wasn't what I wanted to hear because it means the replacement KS2 could go the same way. The engineers report on both repairs on the old camera said: 'shutter assembly replaced', it didn't mention the aperture motor. I know that aperture motor and shutter work simultaneously. Is the aperture motor part of the shutter assembly?

[reh321]

Well that puts my wrong oil in a bad engine theory up on bricks. I thank you for your candid replies although it wasn't what I wanted to hear because it means the replacement KS2 could go the same way. The engineers report on both repairs on the old camera said: 'shutter assembly replaced', it didn't mention the aperture motor. I know that aperture motor and shutter work simultaneously. Is the aperture motor part of the shutter assembly?

Aperture control and shutter are different, although aperture control issues do sometimes lead to shutter issues because people will set off bursts to get the aperture control working again.

Both the K-S2 and K-70 seem to have ocassional aperture control issues, but it seems to happen less often than it does with the K-30/50.

[photogem]

Well that puts my wrong oil in a bad engine theory up on bricks. I thank you for your candid replies although it wasn't what I wanted to hear because it means the replacement KS2 could go the same way. The engineers report on both repairs on the old camera said: 'shutter assembly replaced', it didn't mention the aperture motor. I know that aperture motor and shutter work simultaneously. Is the aperture motor part of the shutter assembly?

It is as reh321 explained.

The report actually might not be a true report because usually they just replace the solenoid (which is all that's needed).
If experienced, it will take them about 30min. To replace the complete assembly which looks like this they'd have to work several hours which I daubt very much they'd do because why spend more money
on the complete assembly when they can do it for free (sanding) or ... my guess... $ 5 or so for the green China-solenoid.

The shutter-motor (not aperture motor, because here we have the solenoid in action) works together with 2 stronger solenoids, again a very complicated mechanism. And yes, the shutter.motor sits on the diaphragm control block, as it is named as well.

[SharkyCA]

Well that puts my wrong oil in a bad engine theory up on bricks. I thank you for your candid replies although it wasn't what I wanted to hear because it means the replacement KS2 could go the same way. The engineers report on both repairs on the old camera said: 'shutter assembly replaced', it didn't mention the aperture motor. I know that aperture motor and shutter work simultaneously. Is the aperture motor part of the shutter assembly?

Aperture control and shutter are different, although aperture control issues do sometimes lead to shutter issues because people will set off bursts to get the aperture control working again.

Both the K-S2 and K-70 seem to have ocassional aperture control issues, but it seems to happen less often than it does with the K-30/50.

It is as reh321 explained.

The report actually might not be a true report because usually they just replace the solenoid (which is all that's needed).
If experienced, it will take them about 30min. To replace the complete assembly which looks like this they'd have to work several hours which I daubt very much they'd do because why spend more money
on the complete assembly when they can do it for free (sanding) or ... my guess... $ 5 or so for the green China-solenoid.

The shutter-motor (not aperture motor, because here we have the solenoid in action) works together with 2 stronger solenoids, again a very complicated mechanism. And yes, the shutter.motor sits on the diaphragm control block, as it is named as well.

I had posted in another section an image of the part replaced in my k-70 when it was repaired at Sun Camera, consisted of the "aperture control block" as per their description.

[photogem]

I had posted in another section an image of the part replaced in my k-70 when it was repaired at Sun Camera, consisted of the "aperture control block" as per their description.

Yes, I know.

I have disassembled many cameras and I know how to get that far that you actually can take the complete diaphragm control unit out. For this the repaircost wasn't so high at all!

I guess sometimes they replace it if they have found out that this part of the gear mechanism sitting on this unit was already misaligned or hurt which actually rarely is the case. I only came across such further damage when the plunger of the solenoid was filed or the wrong solenoid was chosen.