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09-18-2022, 10:11 PM   #1
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Pentax K3 mode dial - not doing what it is pointing at..!

OK strange title but I shall explain.

Sunny day in the garden so I picked up my K3 to see if there was anything interesting around. I had my "macro rig" fitted (manual extension tubes, Sigma 28-90 and a pentax flash), same as have had on for several months.

First image I took the shutter speed was way slow, so I checked the display and sure enough it was se at 1/60. With the flash on I normally set it to 1/180, so I wound the front dial around to raise the shutter speed.

No response, tried the rear dial (I can never remember which one changes things) still no dice. Check the mode dial, still set in Manual, switched everything off and on again, same result.

When I tried changing the mode, I noticed that the rear display was telling me it was in a different mode from the dial selection. A bit of trial and error showed that to get Manual mode I had to select U3 on the dial, so everything is misaligned by three spots.

Any ideas? Anyone seen it before? Before I hit the factory reset selection and then have to work out what I had it all set up to do, I wondered if there was a simple solution.


Cheers

09-18-2022, 10:59 PM   #2
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I think a factory-reset is a good first solution and hopefully will solve it.
As you somehow can get to your settings, I would first make notes and then do the reset.

But my guess is that it is dirt on the inner parts of the Mode-Dial.
HERE a tutorial how to disassemble the K3 and get to the dials.

I once only had to clean a mode-dial but then took no photos.
09-19-2022, 02:49 AM   #3
hcc
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+1 for the factory reset.

Take off the battery for 24 h. Recharge the battery fully. (If you could, check the battery hold its voltage, because this could be another source of issues.) After 24 h, re-insert the battery and restart the camera.
09-19-2022, 03:27 AM - 1 Like   #4
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As you are using a all manual lens (extension tube) the camera will say that it is in Av-mode on most mode except for M-mode.
This sounds different than that, but I just want to remind that sometimes the camera will display different mode than selected.

If you mount a fully supported AF lens (with the aperture ring on the A-setting if it has an aperture ring), does it behave the same?

09-19-2022, 05:59 AM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by Fogel70 Quote
If you mount a fully supported AF lens (with the aperture ring on the A-setting if it has an aperture ring), does it behave the same?
Yes it does, I tried that before posting. I did find an old thread with a similar description, but in that case it stayed in Manual and would not change out. On my camera I can still change modes, but the indication on the dial and the actual mode are three spots apart.

---------- Post added 09-19-22 at 10:31 PM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by photogem Quote
I think a factory-reset is a good first solution and hopefully will solve it.
As you somehow can get to your settings, I would first make notes and then do the reset.

But my guess is that it is dirt on the inner parts of the Mode-Dial.
HERE a tutorial how to disassemble the K3 and get to the dials.

I once only had to clean a mode-dial but then took no photos.
Thanks. I would agree with you about dirt on the contacts if the actual mode was not changing, but the indicated mode and the actual mode are constantly three dots apart. It's almost as if the "current" mode when it was turned on was not what was selected, but it still acknowledges each turn of the dial by incrementing the mode

---------- Post added 09-19-22 at 10:32 PM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by hcc Quote
+1 for the factory reset.

Take off the battery for 24 h. Recharge the battery fully. (If you could, check the battery hold its voltage, because this could be another source of issues.) After 24 h, re-insert the battery and restart the camera.
Sounds like a good plan, cheers
09-19-2022, 01:00 PM - 1 Like   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by Liney Quote
Thanks. I would agree with you about dirt on the contacts if the actual mode was not changing, but the indicated mode and the actual mode are constantly three dots apart. It's almost as if the "current" mode when it was turned on was not what was selected, but it still acknowledges each turn of the dial by incrementing the mode.
I think that's why a reset might help. The mode dial and other dials are not conventional rotary switches. They just send something like "one click clockwise" to the camera electronics. If a system like that loses track of where it is, it would behave like that. If you can't convince it to reset, print up a new mode dial on a sticker.
09-19-2022, 08:56 PM - 1 Like   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by Just1MoreDave Quote
I think that's why a reset might help. The mode dial and other dials are not conventional rotary switches. They just send something like "one click clockwise" to the camera electronics. If a system like that loses track of where it is, it would behave like that. If you can't convince it to reset, print up a new mode dial on a sticker.
I see a strong possibility for an accidental wrong setting which then will be solved with a factory reset.

Nevertheless did I come across several dirty dials in Pentax K-bodies which behaved similar as @Liney's K3 mode-dial.
I had this with E-dials, the On-Off-Switch/Shutter-Release-Button and (only) twice with the "Mode-Dial" In all cases there it was dirt.


Such a system can lose track of where it is when dirt is involved.

09-26-2022, 06:34 PM   #8
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Well I did some things and found the source of the error.

And the problem was....... drum roll please....... the Viewfinder / camera interface!

Which is a long winded way of saying I was at fault. Looking at the camera from the rear on the K3 there is a mode lock toggle which either means you can turn the mode button freely or means you need to push down the small button in the middle of the mode button in order to change modes.

The mode lock has a small white line to indicate whether the lock is enabled or not. The small white line is on the back of the camera body. The small white line indicator to show which mode you have selected is on the side of the prism housing, 90 degrees round the mode button from the mode lock white line, or three mode selections if you count them.

So for some reason I went to check the mode, and read the selection closest to the mode lock button rather than the mode selection mark. Hence the fact that the "indicated" mode and the mode shown on the screen were always three points different.

I shall now retire and have a stiff drink and give myself a good talking to.
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