Picture counter stuck on 999

Sitting Bull · 02-28-2009, 10:39 PM

Good evening all,
first day out taking pictures after getting my camera yesterday. I seem to have taken some pretty good shots according to my eyes. But I think I have a lot to learn about composition of a picture.
Any way I was unable to locate in the manual anything other than the picture counter goes up to 999. I have taken well over 200 pictures so far and the counter on the top LCD still shows 999. One time last night after shutting the camera off and a few hours later turned it back on and it showed 670. I turned off the camera for the night and this morning back to 999. It has not moved all day. What can I do to rectify this? I can not find anything in the manual. I have a new K200D
Thanks

jak442 · 02-28-2009, 11:01 PM

Sounds like an issue with the card and not the camera. Since the camera shows "remaining" shots it has to know how big the card is in order to calculate this. If there is some compatibility issue with the card and the camera is unable to tell how big(or small) it is it makes some sense that it would just display an arbitrary/default number. You'd also get the same from a card that is larger than 999 photos(like an 8Gig).

Although it seems like you'd just get a card error this is the only thing that makes any sense.l

I'd try a diferent card and see what you get.

Sitting Bull · 02-28-2009, 11:08 PM

Thanks for your reply,
I put a Sandisk ultra 11, 8gb. So does this mean I will never be able to know where I am at ? should i put a different card in it?

BPT · 02-28-2009, 11:37 PM

When you get less then 1000 pictures remaining on your card it will be able to count down. Right now it is just greater then the number the lcd can display.

jezza323 · 03-01-2009, 12:09 AM

yeah, thats a big card

i can get >700 jpegs on a 4gb card, so i wouldnt expect the number to drop below 999 until you have shot at least 500 photos with an 8gb card

Sean Nelson · 03-01-2009, 03:37 AM

Originally posted by Sitting Bull

I put a Sandisk ultra 11, 8gb. So does this mean I will never be able to know where I am at ? should i put a different card in it?

It's just the limitation of the display. No need to put a different card in - what the camera is telling you is that you have "at least" 999 shots left. That should give you plenty of leeway - you won't run out by surprise unless you go through 1000 shots without looking at the counter.

Peter Zack · 03-01-2009, 03:40 AM

If you switch the camera to RAW or RAW+ you'll see the counter drop much lower. Take a couple of test shots and you'll see it drop. As everyone said it's working normally.

Wildnsyko · 03-01-2009, 06:59 AM

Ahhh... I get now. I too have the same problem and I've gone through the manual with a fine tooth comb and it tells me nothing. I have an 8gb card in there, so that explains it. Thanks!!

calicojack · 03-01-2009, 07:20 AM

I recently bought my wife a K200d. I started out by putting in one of my old 2GB cards and set her camera on jpg 10meg max quality. The counter on top was showing about 400 pictures. Then the 8GB card finally came (bought with the camera but shipped later). I put the 8GB card in and it showed 999. Based on the 2GB card it should be about 1600. During all of her local shooting the card always showed 999 left. Then she went on a cruise and (my God) I forgot to give her any spare sd cards. She took about 750 pictures and the camera was showing about 700 left on the card when she returned.
999 is normal. But I think smaller cards might be a better idea to avoid total loss if one card goes bad. I use 4GB cards in my K10D shooting Raw.

Sitting Bull · 03-01-2009, 08:46 AM

Thanks again guys,
I just found it strange that after I shut it off once and on again that for a brief moment it showed 670.,
Any way 2 cards make sense. I got the 8gb because I thought the price was very good. Did not think about the what if scenario .
Seing as I got it from Costco, do you think I should return it and pick up the 3 pack with 3x 2gb transend cards instead of this 8gb ultra 11. Or like the other poster expressed keep it no need to worry.
What about the performance between the Sandisk ultra 11 and the transend?
Thanks again.

aleonx3 · 03-01-2009, 09:13 AM

keep the Sandisk 8GB ultra II card; it's faster, more reliable and life time warranty. Also, if you decide to take RAW (which I do) the extra capacity comes in handy. I don't use my 2GB card anymore (only as backup).

Mike Cash · 03-01-2009, 12:09 PM

Originally posted by Wildnsyko

Ahhh... I get now. I too have the same problem and I've gone through the manual with a fine tooth comb and it tells me nothing

It took me one minute to find and download a K200D manual online and less than one minute to find the information on page 29.

Sean Nelson · 03-01-2009, 03:56 PM

Originally posted by Sitting Bull

I just found it strange that after I shut it off once and on again that for a brief moment it showed 670.

This is pure speculation, but it's possible that you caught an intermediate number as the camera was enumerating the card's file system and calculating the remaining capacity.

ftpaddict · 03-01-2009, 04:04 PM

Originally posted by Sean Nelson

This is pure speculation, but it's possible that you caught an intermediate number as the camera was enumerating the card's file system and calculating the remaining capacity.

Or he was simply shooting RAW at that point, hence the lower number. When he switched back to JPG, the frame counter "shot through the roof", as they say.

To see just how many shots you can take with your current settings, go into your K200D's menu and select the field where you can change resolution. Activate that field and a four-digit frame counter should activate in one of the corners of the screen. It should change the moment you change the setting to something else.

(this advice is based on my experience with the K100D. Since the two cameras are related, I expect similar results, but do not take my word for it. If the camera does not display any frame counter, it might be by design)

Sitting Bull · 03-01-2009, 04:21 PM

Thats it! Thanks ftpaddict. You are right, I checked the menu in picture quality. I have it set at 10mp and at its highest quality and it showed 1660. It also increased as I changed the setting to lower quality al the way up to 4788. So like mentioned it probably will start to decrease as i go below 999.
As well i never thought that I may have accidently pressed the raw button. That would make sense.
Thanks again.

02-28-2009, 10:39 PM	#1
Sitting Bull Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Posts: 114	Picture counter stuck on 999 Good evening all, first day out taking pictures after getting my camera yesterday. I seem to have taken some pretty good shots according to my eyes. But I think I have a lot to learn about composition of a picture. Any way I was unable to locate in the manual anything other than the picture counter goes up to 999. I have taken well over 200 pictures so far and the counter on the top LCD still shows 999. One time last night after shutting the camera off and a few hours later turned it back on and it showed 670. I turned off the camera for the night and this morning back to 999. It has not moved all day. What can I do to rectify this? I can not find anything in the manual. I have a new K200D Thanks

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02-28-2009, 11:01 PM	#2
jak442 Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Seattle Posts: 54	Sounds like an issue with the card and not the camera. Since the camera shows "remaining" shots it has to know how big the card is in order to calculate this. If there is some compatibility issue with the card and the camera is unable to tell how big(or small) it is it makes some sense that it would just display an arbitrary/default number. You'd also get the same from a card that is larger than 999 photos(like an 8Gig). Although it seems like you'd just get a card error this is the only thing that makes any sense.l I'd try a diferent card and see what you get.

02-28-2009, 11:08 PM	#3
Sitting Bull Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Posts: 114 Original Poster	Thanks for your reply, I put a Sandisk ultra 11, 8gb. So does this mean I will never be able to know where I am at ? should i put a different card in it?

02-28-2009, 11:37 PM	#4
BPT Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Fruitvale, British Columbia Canada Photos: Gallery Posts: 310	When you get less then 1000 pictures remaining on your card it will be able to count down. Right now it is just greater then the number the lcd can display.

03-01-2009, 12:09 AM	#5
jezza323 Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Brisbane Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,421	yeah, thats a big card i can get >700 jpegs on a 4gb card, so i wouldnt expect the number to drop below 999 until you have shot at least 500 photos with an 8gb card

03-01-2009, 03:37 AM	#6
Sean Nelson Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Vancouver BC Canada Posts: 353	Originally posted by Sitting Bull I put a Sandisk ultra 11, 8gb. So does this mean I will never be able to know where I am at ? should i put a different card in it? It's just the limitation of the display. No need to put a different card in - what the camera is telling you is that you have "at least" 999 shots left. That should give you plenty of leeway - you won't run out by surprise unless you go through 1000 shots without looking at the counter.

03-01-2009, 03:40 AM	#7
Peter Zack Pentaxian Moderator Emeritus Join Date: May 2007 Location: Edmonton Alberta, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 10,643	If you switch the camera to RAW or RAW+ you'll see the counter drop much lower. Take a couple of test shots and you'll see it drop. As everyone said it's working normally.

03-01-2009, 06:59 AM	#8
Wildnsyko Inactive Account Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Southeast MO Photos: Gallery Posts: 366	Ahhh... I get now. I too have the same problem and I've gone through the manual with a fine tooth comb and it tells me nothing. I have an 8gb card in there, so that explains it. Thanks!!

03-01-2009, 07:20 AM	#9
calicojack Inactive Account Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Long Island, N.Y. Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,124	I recently bought my wife a K200d. I started out by putting in one of my old 2GB cards and set her camera on jpg 10meg max quality. The counter on top was showing about 400 pictures. Then the 8GB card finally came (bought with the camera but shipped later). I put the 8GB card in and it showed 999. Based on the 2GB card it should be about 1600. During all of her local shooting the card always showed 999 left. Then she went on a cruise and (my God) I forgot to give her any spare sd cards. She took about 750 pictures and the camera was showing about 700 left on the card when she returned. 999 is normal. But I think smaller cards might be a better idea to avoid total loss if one card goes bad. I use 4GB cards in my K10D shooting Raw.

03-01-2009, 08:46 AM	#10
Sitting Bull Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Posts: 114 Original Poster	Thanks again guys, I just found it strange that after I shut it off once and on again that for a brief moment it showed 670., Any way 2 cards make sense. I got the 8gb because I thought the price was very good. Did not think about the what if scenario . Seing as I got it from Costco, do you think I should return it and pick up the 3 pack with 3x 2gb transend cards instead of this 8gb ultra 11. Or like the other poster expressed keep it no need to worry. What about the performance between the Sandisk ultra 11 and the transend? Thanks again.

03-01-2009, 09:13 AM	#11
aleonx3 Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Brampton, Ontario Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,996	keep the Sandisk 8GB ultra II card; it's faster, more reliable and life time warranty. Also, if you decide to take RAW (which I do) the extra capacity comes in handy. I don't use my 2GB card anymore (only as backup).

03-01-2009, 12:09 PM	#12
Mike Cash Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Japan Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,950	Originally posted by Wildnsyko Ahhh... I get now. I too have the same problem and I've gone through the manual with a fine tooth comb and it tells me nothing It took me one minute to find and download a K200D manual online and less than one minute to find the information on page 29.

03-01-2009, 03:56 PM	#13
Sean Nelson Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Vancouver BC Canada Posts: 353	Originally posted by Sitting Bull I just found it strange that after I shut it off once and on again that for a brief moment it showed 670. This is pure speculation, but it's possible that you caught an intermediate number as the camera was enumerating the card's file system and calculating the remaining capacity.

03-01-2009, 04:04 PM	#14
ftpaddict Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Yurp Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,666	Originally posted by Sean Nelson This is pure speculation, but it's possible that you caught an intermediate number as the camera was enumerating the card's file system and calculating the remaining capacity. Or he was simply shooting RAW at that point, hence the lower number. When he switched back to JPG, the frame counter "shot through the roof", as they say. To see just how many shots you can take with your current settings, go into your K200D's menu and select the field where you can change resolution. Activate that field and a four-digit frame counter should activate in one of the corners of the screen. It should change the moment you change the setting to something else. (this advice is based on my experience with the K100D. Since the two cameras are related, I expect similar results, but do not take my word for it. If the camera does not display any frame counter, it might be by design)

03-01-2009, 04:21 PM	#15
Sitting Bull Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Posts: 114 Original Poster	Thats it! Thanks ftpaddict. You are right, I checked the menu in picture quality. I have it set at 10mp and at its highest quality and it showed 1660. It also increased as I changed the setting to lower quality al the way up to 4788. So like mentioned it probably will start to decrease as i go below 999. As well i never thought that I may have accidently pressed the raw button. That would make sense. Thanks again.