[RuairiM95]

Hi there,

I recently purchased a P30 for around 30 euros (sold as working) The condition of the camera is great, v little wear and tear, rust or anything of that nature.

However, for whatever reason, the internal light meter is not showing up. I have tried two sets of batteries, put in as per the manual's instructions; a pair of Duracell 1.5v LR44 (alkaline), and then a pair of silver oxide SR44W batteries (at 1.55v). Despite putting pressure on the shutter button as per the manual, no meter is showing in the viewfinder.

I am tempted to open up the bottom of the camera as a friend who had the P50 model did so when facing similar issues and the camera popped on (tho I'm aware this is an entirely different model/machine so that may not work in this case!)

Any tips? Did i purchase the wrong batteries possibly?

Many thanks for any help,

R. M.

[RedRuff]

Silly question, but is it switched on? I got given a P30T and wasn't used to a film camera having an "on" button so I tried a few sets of batteries before I realised.

[gofour3]

Hi there,

I recently purchased a P30 for around 30 euros (sold as working) The condition of the camera is great, v little wear and tear, rust or anything of that nature.

However, for whatever reason, the internal light meter is not showing up. I have tried two sets of batteries, put in as per the manual's instructions; a pair of Duracell 1.5v LR44 (alkaline), and then a pair of silver oxide SR44W batteries (at 1.55v). Despite putting pressure on the shutter button as per the manual, no meter is showing in the viewfinder.

I am tempted to open up the bottom of the camera as a friend who had the P50 model did so when facing similar issues and the camera popped on (tho I'm aware this is an entirely different model/machine so that may not work in this case!)

Any tips? Did i purchase the wrong batteries possibly?

Many thanks for any help,

R. M.

Welcome to the forum!

The light meter does not come on with a lens attached and the cap off?

Phil.

[Papa_Joe]

Welcome to the forum.


LR44 batteries are fine. The P30 should work with SR or LR type.

Next things to check:
Are the batteries with the + side showing in the battery compartment?
Is the camera switched on? Switch is on the left side of the prism.

The meter should come on regardless of a lens or a cap on the camera. And regardless of a film being in the camera.

If the meter is still dead I would contact the seller.
If the meter is working: Have fun with the most underrated Pentax!

[RuairiM95]

Hi folks,

So to answer a couple of questions above - yes, the camera is on, and the batteries are loaded correctly. There is still no meter showing in the viewfinder which is a real shame.

I contacted the seller and they claim that the camera was working for them as recently as February, so part of me thinks it could be an electronics issue that occurred in the month following - either that or they've just wanted to make a quick 30 quid!

Thanks for the advice!

[Astro-Baby]

Not familiar with the P30 but a common cause with a lot of cameras is the wire to the battery holder getting old, solder connections failing is common.

Getting the base plate off snould be easy enough, usually held on on most cameras with just a pair of screws. Take the plate off and have a look, maybe touch off the battery lead with a soldering iron and resolder carefully.

Also chexk contacts are good and give batteries a wipe with a clean cloth before inserting.

It may be that simple, if its not it could be a whole load of things that are more complicated to fix. People fibbing on eBay is common.

[mkgd1]

I recently bought a PZ-20 as part of a bundle on ebay. I installed a new battery and......Nothing. I an guessing that the old battery had leaked on the contact. Without disassembling the camera, I was able to clean it up with a Q tip and some Deoxit D5 contact cleaner. Now works fine