[markku55]

Hi!
I don't know if the camera is broken or do I have some wrong adjustment's:
If I pres the button a little longer, the camera is taken 3 shots and all shots are totally black, short pres and the result is only one black picture!
I have just bought new KP, so I should sell this body, but it is not possible if it don't work.
What should I check or do?
Thank's for helping!

Edit 1: Now I changed back to original adjustments, so it takes only one picture, but still it's black!
Edit 2: I realized that I have to increase the light to max +5 stops, then I can see picture, not good, but I see it. Why is that?

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Last edited by markku55; 04-17-2020 at 07:55 PM. Reason: Adding new situation.

[othar]

Pentax Aperture Block Failure Survey Results - Articles and Tips | PentaxForums.com

It might be connected to the aperture block failure, do the sympthoms match?

[photogem]

You best check exactly as described here:
Detection of aperture block/diaphragm-block failure/stuck solenoid K-30, K-50, K500 - PentaxForums.com


and then consider:
Manual: Solenoid Replacment Pentax K-30/50/500 + Discharge of flash-condenser - PentaxForums.com

If you get your K-30 repaired in a normal workshop, you'll get for 99% the same China Solenoid built in.
So find a donor camera which has the white solenoid or buy it on ebay.com and then repair it yourself.

[stillshot2]

If it is the aperture block failure, the camera will still work with lenses that have a manual aperture ring. If you do sell it, you could still get around $100 for it since a lot of people like to score a cheaper camera to use with their old Takumar lenses.

[markku55]

Thank's for helping me!
So now I have to ask from Pentax in Finland what would be the repair cost. I have to admit that I gave the K-30 to my daughter some years ago, and when she got the problem, I wasn't so much interested to look what's wrong, and my daughter gave the K-30 back and after that it was without use. I just bought a new KP and because of that I tried the K-30 if I could sell it, but unfortunately I can't do it.
The K-30 is quite unused, I have to check how many shots, but it must be less than 5000, anyway it is like new and now it is useless.
The KP was quite expensive, so I believed that I could get some money from the K-30, but unfortunately I don't!

If they will repair it with understandable price, so isn't the present Chinese solenoid good enough or even today it's rubbish?

[MarkJerling]

Thank's for helping me!
So now I have to ask from Pentax in Finland what would be the repair cost. I have to admit that I gave the K-30 to my daughter some years ago, and when she got the problem, I wasn't so much interested to look what's wrong, and my daughter gave the K-30 back and after that it was without use. I just bought a new KP and because of that I tried the K-30 if I could sell it, but unfortunately I can't do it.
The K-30 is quite unused, I have to check how many shots, but it must be less than 5000, anyway it is like new and now it is useless.
The KP was quite expensive, so I believed that I could get some money from the K-30, but unfortunately I don't!

If they will repair it with understandable price, so isn't the present Chinese solenoid good enough or even today it's rubbish?

If you can have it repaired with the Japan made solenoid, you're good. The Chinese made solenoid will most likely simply fail again.

[photogem]

Official Ricoh workshops hardly will built in the Japan-Solenoid.

Many don't even know about it.
Some had been approached and asked if one sends the camera in with this solenoid but in almost all cases when this was tried they won't accept
I heard of exceptions in Australia, so maybe we will be surprised.

The repair costs will probably be higher than what one can get for it.
Thats why DIY is really the most sensible particular as one learns something usefull doing it.

[markku55]

So, if we accept that the Chinese solenoid don't work for ever, so which bodies I should try to buy from where I can be sure I get the right solenoid for replacement?
Is it important to buy a body which is as new as possible or with low shooting figures like less than XXXX?

[RGlasel]

Is it important to buy a body which is as new as possible or with low shooting figures like less than XXXX?

There is a random element to aperture block failures, even with the Chinese built solenoids, so there is no guarantee that a used K-30 or K-50 with very low shutter counts will not fail. Time and frequent usage is a good test for failures; the K-30 was only manufactured from 2012 to 2013 when it was replaced by the K-50, which was discontinued in 2016, so not only will used K-30's and K-50's be inexpensive to purchase, if they have worked without problems during the last few months, they should be good for the next several months and possibly longer. It would be a rare one that had a shutter count of greater than 100,000, if you find one of those I would be concerned that something else might be worn out to the point that the camera will fail for a different reason. On the other hand, if you can obtain a new solenoid and can do the repair yourself, you have an inexpensive way to renew a used K-30 with light usage and you know for a fact how well the previous owner treated it.

[markku55]

One more time:

In which bodies there is suitable Japanese solenoid for replacement to K-30?

[photogem]

*ist D, DS/2, DL/2, K10D, K20D, K100, K110, K100Super, K200D, Km, Kx, Kr
plus Samsung equivalents GX1, GX10, GX20 in all their variations

[markku55]

What about K200D and K7, with Japanese solenoids or Chinese?

[MarkJerling]

*ist D, *ist DS (Samsung GX1), *ist DS2(Samsung GX1s), K100D, K110D, K200D, K-m (2000), K-x, K-r (all those have 2 solenoids built in: One in the aperture circuit, one in the flash circuit).
Also the K10D (Samsung GX10) and K20D (Samsung GX20), as per Photogem's post.

Can't confirm if K7 would work. So far as I know, K-7 used a motor for aperture control.

[photogem]

Yes, the K-7 was the first to have the stepper-motor, followed by the K5, K3 and K-01 as well

Pentax K10D, K20D and Samsung GX10/20 have just 1 Japan-Solenoid for aperture but none in the flash circuit.

It might very well be, that from K100D up to K-r there is a green China-solenoid in the flash circuit because it was in the EU and Switzerland that Ricoh tested the green

solenoid. But in some they had the white Japan solenoid as well.
If one finds a white one in the flash circuit, one can exchange it with the green one, it works there without any problem!
Just to be careful, this is a bit of a complex spring mechanism (more so in K-x and K-r!) and thus one might lose a small plastic rod if not careful.
This rod is held by a metal spring and pops up through a tiny hole when the flash is open but is pressed down when the flash is closed!

[markku55]

Thank's for help, my problem is that when I buy an used body, I should know that there is the right solenoid made in Japan and for sure rather in the apperture system than for the flash. The bodies are not normally opened for checking, so I should know what I buy. There was one working K200D for 50€ and one K7 not working properly because of display problem for 30€, so the only one for repair work is the K200D.