auto focus lens would not work with K10D

coatz · 07-30-2007, 05:00 PM

Hi all. I am really new to this I will try to explain my problem the best that I can. I've been using manual lenses lately and have been interchanging the auto focus kit lens with the manual lenses. I installed the firmware 1.3 a couple of days ago and I suspect that was the cause of it. It looks like the shutter would not open so it looks really dark through the viewfinder. It only happened today and its the same problem with my other autofocus lens.

Peter Zack · 07-30-2007, 05:09 PM

Welcome to the forum. First what settings was the camera on when you tried the AF lens? It's going to be hard to help without some data about the shots tried. Do you mean the picture was dark or the viewfinder went dark for an extended time? Was the 2 second timer (MLU) on? If you put it in "P" mode and AF.C, the shot should come out fairly normal.

Chako · 07-30-2007, 05:13 PM

Have you tried removing the batteries for a while out of the camera?

Your saying that the aperture (blades in the lens), are stuck in a position that is not allowing much light to pass through, causing your view finder to be dark?

I would check the lens contact area. Check for any scuff marks that might be caused by the manual lenses. Also check to see if the lens mount contacts are uniform on the camera body, etc... You might get a visual on your problem assuming it is a hardware issue.

If it is software, have you tried to flash your camera back to the older firmware? Not sure if this is allowed, but I cannot see why not. Just remember that flashing your camera comes with some risks. I recall a recent post on this forum of a bad flash that more or less killed the OS of the camera, necessitating a trip to a Pentax repair center.

coatz · 07-30-2007, 05:32 PM

The apertures are stuck in on position causing the view finder to be dark. I tried all the settings green, p, sv, tv AFS, AFC and it still wouldn't work. I wiped off the contact points too. i may have to try the firmware route as a last resort but I really dont want to because of what I have read on the recent post re: firmware updates. any other suggestions pls.

stewart_photo · 07-30-2007, 05:36 PM

You're not the first to experience this issue. See...

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/10068-k10d-drastic-underexposure.html

Like you, his mentions manual focus lenses, auto focus lenses, and firmware update 1.3. He also describes unusually extreme exposure settings. As such, you may want to contact him (in that thread) to share notes on what each have done to attempt a solution (successfully or unsuccessfully).

In the meantime, both of you may want to fire off an email message to Pentax in case this proves to by a much wider problem, such as a bug in firmware update 1.3.

stewart

**mtngal** · 07-30-2007, 08:22 PM

I haven't had such extremes, but I have noticed a difference in metering since upgrading to 1.30. I originally had a big overexposure problem with some old M lenses and the green button (more than a stop) and ended up putting in an ist focusing screen - no more problem until I upgraded the firmware. Recently I've noticed that the camera is now underexposing significantly - almost as much as it was over-exposing so yesterday I went back to the original focusing screen. It now slightly overexposes (definitely less than a stop) with manual lenses, but not enough to blow the highlights and easily adjusted in LR since I shoot raw. The kit lens and the one FA lens I have (Phoenix 100 macro) both expose correctly now.

Has anyone else noticed any metering differences since they upgraded to 1.30? Or do you suppose that there is something else going on with the meters?

**Lowell Goudge** · 07-31-2007, 04:55 AM

Originally posted by mtngal

Has anyone else noticed any metering differences since they upgraded to 1.30? Or do you suppose that there is something else going on with the meters?

I have not yet tried a series of tests, but I had several discussions with pentax technical support, and forwarded them some photos I used to check calibration.

As part of the discussion, I made a casual observation. My *istD took longer to set the exposure when the green button was pushed, or more specifically the lens seemed to be stopped down longer (almost 2 times as long).

The pentax rep suggested I might get better results with the green button if I used the Depth Of Field preview first. I tried this and the results were more consistent.

When I got V1.30, I put my *istD and K10D side by side and pushed the green button on both. Guess what. They now both take the same time.

As I said, I still need to run some control exposures to check.

For anyone who wants to try, take a series of shots, using a simple background like a block wall or paved road surface, and shoot from min to max apature using the green button. plot the greyscale exposure value from the histogram on the center section of the print (thisis easy in PSP XI) against apature (apature on a log scale)

I still find it gets big apatures (my 1.4 50mm) a little wrong.

coatz · 08-02-2007, 03:22 PM

I sent an email to Pentax Cutomer service two days ago and this is the response i got today...

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for contacting Pentax.
You may want to call into our support center for assistance.
If you are in need of further assistance, please respond to this email
or call our technical support center at 800-877-0155.

Sincerely,
Jensy Carranza
Pentax Imaging Technical Support

Your Email:
aperture would not change on autofocus lenses resulting in dark pictures
or not functioning at all.

I called Pentax after I sent the email and they told me to send the camera in for repairs because they don't know what is wrong with the camera. Anyway, I just gave up and contacted Amazon.com where I bought my camera from and they overnighted me a replacement. It did not cost me anything because i sent it back within 30 days saying it is defective. I got the new camera today and won't be doing any firmware updates until Isee that there are no more bugs in it.

stewart_photo · 08-02-2007, 03:52 PM

Well, glad to see you finally have a K10D in full working order. Anyway, I think you're fairly safe to go with firmware updates through 1.20. These updates have been out for a while without any major problems being reported. Give 1.30 some more time. If there is indeed a problem, they may provide a minor update to fix it. Or just completely skip over 1.30 entirely if you don't need what it offers. Future updates will surely fix any issues with the previous ones.

stewart

07-30-2007, 05:00 PM	#1
coatz New Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: los angeles Posts: 13	auto focus lens would not work with K10D Hi all. I am really new to this I will try to explain my problem the best that I can. I've been using manual lenses lately and have been interchanging the auto focus kit lens with the manual lenses. I installed the firmware 1.3 a couple of days ago and I suspect that was the cause of it. It looks like the shutter would not open so it looks really dark through the viewfinder. It only happened today and its the same problem with my other autofocus lens.

07-30-2007, 05:36 PM	#5
stewart_photo Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Heidelberg, Germany Posts: 1,864	Two Reports - Similar Problem. You're not the first to experience this issue. See... https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/10068-k10d-drastic-underexposure.html Like you, his mentions manual focus lenses, auto focus lenses, and firmware update 1.3. He also describes unusually extreme exposure settings. As such, you may want to contact him (in that thread) to share notes on what each have done to attempt a solution (successfully or unsuccessfully). In the meantime, both of you may want to fire off an email message to Pentax in case this proves to by a much wider problem, such as a bug in firmware update 1.3. stewart

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07-30-2007, 05:09 PM	#2
Peter Zack Pentaxian Moderator Emeritus Join Date: May 2007 Location: Edmonton Alberta, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 10,643	Welcome to the forum. First what settings was the camera on when you tried the AF lens? It's going to be hard to help without some data about the shots tried. Do you mean the picture was dark or the viewfinder went dark for an extended time? Was the 2 second timer (MLU) on? If you put it in "P" mode and AF.C, the shot should come out fairly normal.

07-30-2007, 05:13 PM	#3
Chako Inactive Account Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Sault Ste Marie, Ont, Canada. Posts: 563	Have you tried removing the batteries for a while out of the camera? Your saying that the aperture (blades in the lens), are stuck in a position that is not allowing much light to pass through, causing your view finder to be dark? I would check the lens contact area. Check for any scuff marks that might be caused by the manual lenses. Also check to see if the lens mount contacts are uniform on the camera body, etc... You might get a visual on your problem assuming it is a hardware issue. If it is software, have you tried to flash your camera back to the older firmware? Not sure if this is allowed, but I cannot see why not. Just remember that flashing your camera comes with some risks. I recall a recent post on this forum of a bad flash that more or less killed the OS of the camera, necessitating a trip to a Pentax repair center.

07-30-2007, 05:32 PM	#4
coatz New Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: los angeles Posts: 13 Original Poster	The apertures are stuck in on position causing the view finder to be dark. I tried all the settings green, p, sv, tv AFS, AFC and it still wouldn't work. I wiped off the contact points too. i may have to try the firmware route as a last resort but I really dont want to because of what I have read on the recent post re: firmware updates. any other suggestions pls.

07-30-2007, 08:22 PM	#6
mtngal Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Wherever I’m Parked Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,003	I haven't had such extremes, but I have noticed a difference in metering since upgrading to 1.30. I originally had a big overexposure problem with some old M lenses and the green button (more than a stop) and ended up putting in an ist focusing screen - no more problem until I upgraded the firmware. Recently I've noticed that the camera is now underexposing significantly - almost as much as it was over-exposing so yesterday I went back to the original focusing screen. It now slightly overexposes (definitely less than a stop) with manual lenses, but not enough to blow the highlights and easily adjusted in LR since I shoot raw. The kit lens and the one FA lens I have (Phoenix 100 macro) both expose correctly now. Has anyone else noticed any metering differences since they upgraded to 1.30? Or do you suppose that there is something else going on with the meters?

07-31-2007, 04:55 AM	#7
Lowell Goudge Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 17,891	Originally posted by mtngal Has anyone else noticed any metering differences since they upgraded to 1.30? Or do you suppose that there is something else going on with the meters? I have not yet tried a series of tests, but I had several discussions with pentax technical support, and forwarded them some photos I used to check calibration. As part of the discussion, I made a casual observation. My istD took longer to set the exposure when the green button was pushed, or more specifically the lens seemed to be stopped down longer (almost 2 times as long). The pentax rep suggested I might get better results with the green button if I used the Depth Of Field preview first. I tried this and the results were more consistent. When I got V1.30, I put my istD and K10D side by side and pushed the green button on both. Guess what. They now both take the same time. As I said, I still need to run some control exposures to check. For anyone who wants to try, take a series of shots, using a simple background like a block wall or paved road surface, and shoot from min to max apature using the green button. plot the greyscale exposure value from the histogram on the center section of the print (thisis easy in PSP XI) against apature (apature on a log scale) I still find it gets big apatures (my 1.4 50mm) a little wrong.

08-02-2007, 03:22 PM	#8
coatz New Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: los angeles Posts: 13 Original Poster	I sent an email to Pentax Cutomer service two days ago and this is the response i got today... Dear Sir/Madam, Thank you for contacting Pentax. You may want to call into our support center for assistance. If you are in need of further assistance, please respond to this email or call our technical support center at 800-877-0155. Sincerely, Jensy Carranza Pentax Imaging Technical Support Your Email: aperture would not change on autofocus lenses resulting in dark pictures or not functioning at all. I called Pentax after I sent the email and they told me to send the camera in for repairs because they don't know what is wrong with the camera. Anyway, I just gave up and contacted Amazon.com where I bought my camera from and they overnighted me a replacement. It did not cost me anything because i sent it back within 30 days saying it is defective. I got the new camera today and won't be doing any firmware updates until Isee that there are no more bugs in it.

08-02-2007, 03:52 PM	#9
stewart_photo Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Heidelberg, Germany Posts: 1,864	Well, glad to see you finally have a K10D in full working order. Anyway, I think you're fairly safe to go with firmware updates through 1.20. These updates have been out for a while without any major problems being reported. Give 1.30 some more time. If there is indeed a problem, they may provide a minor update to fix it. Or just completely skip over 1.30 entirely if you don't need what it offers. Future updates will surely fix any issues with the previous ones. stewart