[Katevoskova]

Hi everyone! I just bought Pentax 645z and have a question
I bought it used but in a great condition and fairly moderate shutter count. Today when I started shooting I could hear and see that the shutter was clicking twice when pressing fire button. It takes 1 image in the result (1 click of fire-2 clicks of shutter-one image) and an off-camera flash fires on the second click. I'm in a single shoot mode and bracketing is off. I was trying to find any information on what could have caused it online or in the manual, but without any luck. I reset the camera to factory settings, updated the software, tried without the lens - shutter still clicks twice no matter what I do. Also it seems to click after I go to view images and back. I'm not sure if that's the way it should be? Am I missing something? I use if with Fa120mm macro.

Appreciate any help!

[HarisF1]

Are you using it in live view mode? That may explain the apparent double shutter sound.

[cmohr]

As Above, I was going to ask if you were using LiveView, that has to close the shutter and drop the mirror, then open and close the shutter for the exposure, then it will reopen the sutter and lift the mirror to go back into LV mode.


Welcome aboard, with a Loverly Camera .

[Katevoskova]

Are you using it in live view mode? That may explain the apparent double shutter sound.

Thanks for your response! Live view is off - that is wht I'm so confused

---------- Post added 01-08-20 at 07:38 PM ----------

Are you using it in live view mode? That may explain the apparent double shutter sound.

Quite frankly it feels like it - almost any action I do - clicking playback, for examples - makes the shutter click. But live view is off.

[cmohr]

Only other things that come to minds are, Is 2 sec Mirror Up delay on?? Being a dial on the side, of the pentaprism could be why if after reset no change has happenned??

Also, what shutter speed is being used? Flash is obviously set to Trailing curtain release if the flash fires just before the shutter closes, if it is a really slow shutter speed, you would hear the opening and closing quite distinctly.

Hopefully someone else may have some ideas. Did you buy the camera privately or from a Store?

[Katevoskova]

Only other things that come to minds are, Is 2 sec Mirror Up delay on?? Being a dial on the side, of the pentaprism could be why if after reset no change has happenned??

Also, what shutter speed is being used? Flash is obviously set to Trailing curtain release if the flash fires just before the shutter closes, if it is a really slow shutter speed, you would hear the opening and closing quite distinctly.

Hopefully someone else may have some ideas. Did you buy the camera privately or from a Store?

How does the mirror up delay switch look like? Is it a switch on the right hand side with small dial m.up? (That's a new thing for me, I'm not quite sure what it suppose to do but while in this mode in just lifts up the mirror and camera beeps till I release it). Or is it something else?

For the shutter speed - I tried anything from super long to super fast - my stobes support hss.The duration of first click remains the same, the duration of the second one changes accurately (as far as a bare eye can see).

I bought it from the store and can return it without any hassle (except shipping and waiting on refurnd) , I'm just not sure if that's a camera issue or I'm missing something

[SGOMMO7]

How does the mirror up delay switch look like? Is it a switch on the right hand side with small dial m.up? (That's a new thing for me, I'm not quite sure what it suppose to do but while in this mode in just lifts up the mirror and camera beeps till I release it). Or is it something else?

For the shutter speed - I tried anything from super long to super fast - my stobes support hss.The duration of first click remains the same, the duration of the second one changes accurately (as far as a bare eye can see).

I bought it from the store and can return it without any hassle (except shipping and waiting on refurnd) , I'm just not sure if that's a camera issue or I'm missing something

The M.UP is used to avoid shake induced from the mirror flipping up, sometimes when the mirror flips up it can cause very small vibrations that can induce some blur, when this is activated it separates the mirror coming up and the actual image capture so that they do not coincide close together.

This M.UP can create 2 clicks, and being in live view also can create 2 clicks as one click is the camera coming out of live view before the picture is taken

I'm trying to think if there's any other setting that would induce 2 clicks, the only one that's coming to mind is if you're in continuous shooting mode, so when you press the button it is taking more then one photo. Is only one picture registering when you get two clicks? If you getting 2 separate images it's probably because you're in continuous shooting mode. Also HDR mode would cause this

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Last edited by SGOMMO7; 01-08-2020 at 09:02 PM.

[Katevoskova]

The M.UP is used to avoid shake induced from the mirror flipping up, sometimes when the mirror flips up it can cause very small vibrations that can induce some blur, when this is activated it separates the mirror coming up and the actual image capture so that they do not coincide close together.

This M.UP can create 2 clicks, and being in live view also can create 2 clicks as one click is the camera coming out of live view before the picture is taken

I'm trying to think if there's any other setting that would induce 2 clicks, the only one that's coming to mind is if you're in continuous shooting mode, so when you press the button it is taking more then one photo. Is only one picture registering when you get two clicks? If you getting 2 separate images it's probably because you're in continuous shooting mode. Also HDR mode would cause this

Thank you for the explanation! I only get 1 image after two clicks. Continuous shooting, HDR and live view are off. Pentax just got back to me and advices to update software and resent to factory - neither helped

[SGOMMO7]

Thank you for the explanation! I only get 1 image after two clicks. Continuous shooting, HDR and live view are off. Pentax just got back to me and advices to update software and resent to factory - neither helped

Okay here's a question for you, what happens when you stick it into HDR or continuous shooting mode, if you go in HDR mode with 3 exposures does it click 6 times? Or does it only click twice on the first exposure? Or does it work correctly and you get 3 clicks for 3 exposures when it's in the HDR setting set for 3 exposures?

[cmohr]

I'm wondering if the first click you are hearing is the very large mirror flipping up, then the second click leading shutter opening, the third click trailing shutter closing , forth click the mirror flipping back down, I know when I would hear my old friends medium format take a photo (Mamiya 645 it had a sound very different to a normal 35mm slr with a real thump- click-thump sound with each photo)

You could carefully, set a 1 or 2 sec manual shutter speed, and with NO lens on the camera, release the shutter, and watch exactly what happens, and see if the clicks you hear correspond to the different things happening, , you would also see if the shutter does actually open and close twice.

Just don't go putting your finger in there whilst it's all going on.

[cmohr]

Have a quick look at this You Tube video, at the 2min 40sec mark, he takes a picture to hear the shutter sound, it does sound very much like a few clicks going on. Again, much different to a FF or APS-C Dslr.

You Tube

You Tube

[Katevoskova]

Have a quick look at this You Tube video, at the 2min 40sec mark, he takes a picture to hear the shutter sound, it does sound very much like a few clicks going on. Again, much different to a FF or APS-C Dslr.

First Impression Review: Pentax 645Z - YouTube

Thanks a lot!
I actually recorded a video that shows for it works:

You Tube

You Tube

On two occasions there it might seems like i'm clicking two times - I do that when nothing happens after first 'fire'. If you watch it will the very end - it clearly shows that i click one and it fires two times.
Also while I was filming it acted weird - sometime clicks once, sometimes twice and sometimes shutter was getting jammed. That's the first occasion I see it acting this way but now it makes me believe in a mechanical problem.

---------- Post added 01-09-20 at 11:08 AM ----------

Okay here's a question for you, what happens when you stick it into HDR or continuous shooting mode, if you go in HDR mode with 3 exposures does it click 6 times? Or does it only click twice on the first exposure? Or does it work correctly and you get 3 clicks for 3 exposures when it's in the HDR setting set for 3 exposures?

Clicks four times and gets me three exposures

---------- Post added 01-09-20 at 11:18 AM ----------

Have a quick look at this You Tube video, at the 2min 40sec mark, he takes a picture to hear the shutter sound, it does sound very much like a few clicks going on. Again, much different to a FF or APS-C Dslr.

First Impression Review: Pentax 645Z - YouTube

And just so I don't confuse anybody with me clicking either once or twice, here's one more video with long and fast shutters:

Youtu.be

Youtu.be

[HarisF1]

I've seen this happen to a K-30 I was looking at - there was a problem with the aperture mechanism which was linked to the mirror assembly. Are you getting the correct exposures?

I would recommend getting a Pentax repair centre to have a look at it as it doesn't seem to be user error.

[Katevoskova]

I've seen this happen to a K-30 I was looking at - there was a problem with the aperture mechanism which was linked to the mirror assembly. Are you getting the correct exposures?

I would recommend getting a Pentax repair centre to have a look at it as it doesn't seem to be user error.

Exposures seem to be correct before 1/125, after that it doesn't change much.

It is covered with warranty and I can ship it back (actually already have a shipping label) - I just wanted to eliminate my error before going ahead and mailing it

[SGOMMO7]

Clicks four times and gets me three exposures

OK, I don't know why it uses the shutter twice for one press of the shutter release button to take one photo, but only for the first shot if the drive mode allows for consecutive shots.

I'm guessing if you put it into Interval Shooting mode or Interval Movie Record mode it would be fine except for the initial capture?

---------- Post added 01-09-20 at 01:40 PM ----------

Two long shot ideas I would try is to go into Button Customization change the setting of the Preview Dial. The Preview Dial has two settings optical preview or digital preview, whichever one it is set to, switch to the other one and see if that changes the behavior.

The other thing I would try would be to go into the custom menu to page 5 to enable and disable controls and change it to type 2,(type two disables more inputs then type one) then push the lock button which will be on the top of the camera and while the camera is "locked" see if the camera is still exhibiting those double clicks.

The idea is to see if any of these elements by changing or disabling them are the culprit which is causing the double click to occur. As a button with a messed up contact, (like not properly disengaging) could be the issue.