[SidecarDan]

I was taking pictures of the sun directly behind a cloud formation and the last one was into direct sunlight when the cloud moved, now all pictures that I take are very dark. Any ideas on how badly I have damaged my camera and how expensive the repair will be? I have a K-70 and was using a 55/300 zoom on auto.
Thanks for any input.
Dan

[UncleVanya]

Is this the case on all lenses?

Does live view work at all?

Do you have any manual aperture lenses with an aperture ring?

If you have an aperture ring on your lens try setting the camera to M mode, then set exposure based on this chart:

https://images.app.goo.gl/qpZUhiNkBHHgMekm7

[ehrwien]

How long was the camera (or better: the front of the lens looking at it) directly exposed to the sun? You could have burned a hole into the shutter/sensor when the sun was very bright and you had the camera pointed at it for a long time... you could make sure by taking the lens off and, using the "mirror-up for sensor cleaning" option to have a look at the inside of the mirror housing and the sensor to see if everything looks okay.

Remember to be very careful when pointing the camera at bright light sources (sun, lasers, powerful LEDs might be dangerous as well?), especially when using lenses with a big physical aperture or long focal lengths, and especially especially when looking through the optical viewfinder: not only could you damage the camera itself, but also your eyes. Don't look directly into the sun, with or without the camera in front of your eyes!

[stevebrot]

Any ideas on how badly I have damaged my camera and how expensive the repair will be?

Welcome to the Pentax Forums!

Does live view work at all?

This is the key question where possible sensor damage is part of the mix ^ ^ ^


Steve

[UncleVanya]

I have had direct sun on live view many times but typically I was using a wide angle lens which minimizes the impact. Were you zoomed in on the long end of that zoom?

[reh321]

Since this is a K-70, I believe we should hear from the OP concerning UncleVanya's first questions - the ones involving 'M' mode, before pursuing sensor damage questions further.
Frankly this does not sound like sensor damage to me in any case.

[stevebrot]

Since this is a K-70, I believe we should hear from the OP concerning UncleVanya's first questions - the ones involving 'M' mode, before pursuing sensor damage questions further.
Frankly this does not sound like sensor damage to me in any case.

Confirming that Live View still works is easy to do (simply turn on the camera and go into live view). A burnt out sensor will simply fail to display. It makes more sense than pursuing the outside possibility of aperture control failure if the sensor is toast.


Steve

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Last edited by stevebrot; 09-09-2020 at 12:38 PM.

[mikesbike]

Don't look directly into the sun, with or without the camera in front of your eyes!

Absolutely! Thank goodness these days for live view, and for a tilt rear screen as well!

[SidecarDan]

Hi All, thanks for your responses.

Live view does work but it's very dark and grainy, when I push the button down half way to focus it gets even darker.
I'm sitting at my computer and set the camera on M mode at iso 100 1/100 f8 and aimed at my computer screen, it's quite dark for a second or so while focusing and then goes completely black, when I push the button to take a picture nothing happens. It doesn't matter what I set the ISO, shutter speed or f-stop to when I push the button nothing happens, no picture. When I set it back to auto and try and take the same picture nothing happens now.
I will wait until daylight and try a couple of pictures outside and see what happens.

Regards, Dan

[reh321]

Hi All, thanks for your responses.

Live view does work but it's very dark and grainy, when I push the button down half way to focus it gets even darker.
I'm sitting at my computer and set the camera on M mode at iso 100 1/100 f8 and aimed at my computer screen, it's quite dark for a second or so while focusing and then goes completely black, when I push the button to take a picture nothing happens. It doesn't matter what I set the ISO, shutter speed or f-stop to when I push the button nothing happens, no picture. When I set it back to auto and try and take the same picture nothing happens now.
I will wait until daylight and try a couple of pictures outside and see what happens.

Regards, Dan

You should also try the following:
1. set the camera to operate in 'M' mode or 'Av' mode
2. set the camera body to the f-stop one down from wide-open {so if the lens goes from f/4 to f/22, set the camera to f/4.5} using a DA lens or a lens with the aperture set to 'A'
3. in a place where you can see the aperture, take a photo
4. if the aperture flicks slightly tighter, the aperture control is OK; if the aperture closes to almost completely closed, the aperture control has a problem.

[mikesbike]

Next consideration is how long have you had this K-70, and is it still under warranty? Some credit cards carry an extended warranty clause. Going into menus and doing a reset to original factory settings might be worth a try also- procedure should be in your owner's manual.

[SidecarDan]

OK folks, please bear with me, I'm somewhat of a techno-tard when it comes to anything computerized. I'm trying out the suggestions as I go.
I have two lenses, an 18/135 that came with the camera and a 55/300 that I bought extra.
Both lenses are acting the same way so I don't think they are the problem.
question: how to I set the aperture to "A" and how do I see if it flickers, where am I looking?
I've had the camera since the end of 2017, so, no warranty left.
I just dug out the manual and will see if I can do a factory reset to see if this help.

Thanks again for the suggestions, I will keep you posted.
Regards, Dan

[UncleVanya]

.
question: how to I set the aperture to "A" and how do I see if it flickers, where am I looking?

Those lenses don't have aperture rings and are essentially always in "A" mode.

Setting the camera in M mode on the dial then setting the 18-135 lens on 18mm and f4 is the first step. Set shutter speed to something like 1/2 second.

Point the camera at yourself. Look at the center of the front glass on the lens and watch inside to see what happens with the aperture. It shouldn't close down to a tiny hole. If it does we have bad news for you...

[reh321]

OK folks, please bear with me, I'm somewhat of a techno-tard when it comes to anything computerized. I'm trying out the suggestions as I go.
I have two lenses, an 18/135 that came with the camera and a 55/300 that I bought extra.
Both lenses are acting the same way so I don't think they are the problem.
question: how to I set the aperture to "A" and how do I see if it flickers, where am I looking?
I've had the camera since the end of 2017, so, no warranty left.
I just dug out the manual and will see if I can do a factory reset to see if this help.

Thanks again for the suggestions, I will keep you posted.
Regards, Dan

Do ask questions as they come up - that is why we respond.

The 'A' setting only applies to lenses which allow you to set the aperture at the lens;
the two lenses you have require that the body set the aperture, which means you will always get what is needed to see if this problem is present..

[reh321]

OK folks, please bear with me, I'm somewhat of a techno-tard when it comes to anything computerized. I'm trying out the suggestions as I go.
I have two lenses, an 18/135 that came with the camera and a 55/300 that I bought extra.
Both lenses are acting the same way so I don't think they are the problem.
question: how to I set the aperture to "A" and how do I see if it flickers, where am I looking?
I've had the camera since the end of 2017, so, no warranty left.
I just dug out the manual and will see if I can do a factory reset to see if this help.

Thanks again for the suggestions, I will keep you posted.
Regards, Dan

If you had an older lens, like the manual-focus "Pentax-A" lens pictured, you would have an 'aperture ring', which gave you the choice of setting the aperture yourself, or setting 'A', which tells the body to select the aperture based on shutter speed and light coming through the lens.

Pardon me for the detour - it doesn't apply in your case. I was just explaining why we older folk might even be aware of such things.