[Mapleleaf-Mick]

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My daughter is using my K10 and brought this problem to my attention. When she tries to take a picture with the flash up, the shutter locks. What I mean to say is when you press the shutter button nothing happens. She tells me that she used the camera earlier and took a picture with the flash up and it made a funny noise. Since then no way it will take a pic with the flash up. Is it possible to burn out the bulb in the flash and would that cause the shutter button to lock and not allow you to take a picture? In all my years of photography, I have never heard of the "bulb" in a flash burning out. However, I guess anything is possible. Are there setings in the camera she may have changed that would cause this? Thanks for reading my post. Any comments/suggestions are both welcomed and appreciated.

[Adam]

Possibly- there's a custom function that allows you to shoot when the flash isn't charged. Try enabling this. If you still get the funky noise, chances are it's the bulb or some circuitry.

[Mapleleaf-Mick]

Thanks for the reply Adam. When we try to use it now, we don't get any noise. Is it possible the noise she heard was the bulb blowing out. I looked at the flash but really can't tell if the bulb is blown out or not. No burn marks etc. I had a look at the manual and couldn't really see anything that made any refernce to shutter being locked when the flash is up.

[noblepa]

The sound you heard might have been the capacitor blowing out. The capacitor is an electronic component used in electronic flashes, that stores the power until the flash is triggered, a little like a battery. Unlike a battery, the capacitor can dump all its stored energy in a very, very short period of time, like 1/1000 - 1/50,000 second.

I believe that the "bulb", more properly called a flashtube, can, indeed die, but I'm not sure that would prevent the shutter from operating. Never having had the flashtube on my K10D die on me, I can't say from experience exactly what would happen. I suspect that the camera would operate as if the flash was working. All your pictures would come out seriously underexposed.

The capacitor, on the other hand, can prevent the shutter from working. That's because the default for the K10D is to lock the shutter until the flash is fully charged. That means that the capacitor has stored the maximum amount of energy that it can, in preparation for the flash.

Under "Custom Settings", check the "Release While Charging" option. If it is OFF, the shutter is disabled until the capacitor is fully charged. If it is ON, the shutter can be tripped while the flash is still charging. In normal operation, this can result in underexposed images, since the flash won't have full power. I suggest that you set it to ON and try it. If the capacitor has blown, or the charging circuit for it has blown, it will never reach full charge and thus would not normally allow the shutter to operate. If setting it ON allows the shutter to work, then I would conclude that something is wrong in the flash circuitry. It could be the capacitor itself, the charging circuit, or the circuitry that tells the processor that the flash is fully charged. In any case, if that is what is happening, there is nothing you can do about it. It is definitely NOT a user-serviceable item.

If the flash is dead, you can always use a shoe mounted flash, which is better anyway. Provided the hotshoe still works. I suspect that it will. If the capacitor were charging up, but it was the flash synchronization circuitry (which might interfere with the hotshoe), then I would expect the camera to work, as if the flash were working.

A shoe-mounted flash is a lot less expensive than a new camera. As I said, shoe mounted or, even better, off-camera flash is better than the builtin flash, which is almost guaranteed to cause red-eye, when photographing people, because it is so close to the lens' axis.

Good luck.

[Mapleleaf-Mick]

Thank you noblepa. If it is the capacitor, can it be fixed/replaced by a certified camera repair shop?

[noblepa]

Thank you noblepa. If it is the capacitor, can it be fixed/replaced by a certified camera repair shop?

I would assume that it could be replaced. However, it might be prohibitively expensive. These things were not made with service in mind. Others have reported seemingly simply fixes done out of warranty, that required replacing the motherboard, to the tune of more than $300. The trouble is that you can't replace a single component. Everything is built in such a way that you must replace an entire subassembly.

If it were happening to my camera, I would think seriously about getting a shoe-mount flash, rather than spending that much on a repair, but its up to you, of course.

Have you tried it with "Release while charging" set to ON?

[Mapleleaf-Mick]

I haven't tried that yet noblepa but will this evening. Your point is very well taken about using an external flash. I am sure I can get an external flash for less than $300.00. Do you have any suggetions as to type etc. Would you stick with a Pentax TTL flash? Thanks again for your assistance. Much appreciated.

[Lowell Goudge]

I haven't tried that yet noblepa but will this evening. Your point is very well taken about using an external flash. I am sure I can get an external flash for less than $300.00. Do you have any suggetions as to type etc. Would you stick with a Pentax TTL flash? Thanks again for your assistance. Much appreciated.

Just a note here, you need a P-TTL flash for the K10D not a TTL. slight but important distinction.

Also, have you looked at the custom setting that locks the shutter with the flash ready indication? not sure what function but I know there is one. That may be why the shutter does not trip, (although onboard flash is probably dead)

Also, this sounds like an excuse to get a new body, and slip a split image finder into the K10D to play with MF lenses.

[mugund]

I had good results with AF280T in manual mode, I obtained the flash for $40. It is a TTL flash. In manual mode, it uses its own light meter and adjust the light. The flash itself contains different aperture values/ ISO values to be used after moving the mode dial to 1/180 sync mode

In the marketplace, watchout for AF360, you might get one for < $150. It is a simple PTTL flash

If you just want a substitute flash for your in camera flash AF200G < $100 and it is PTTL

[noblepa]

Lowell is right. The K10D supports only p-ttl flashes, not the older ttl technology.

In the Pentax lineup, this means the AF36FGZ, AF540FGZ or AF200FZ. There are some third-party flashes, as well, such as Metz and others.

I don't have a Pentax external flash. I use an old Promaster 5500, which is a so-called auto-flash. That means that the sensor to read the returning light is built into the flash unit itself, not the camera. I shoot with the camera in manual mode. Depending on the ISO and the flash power setting, I set the aperture to a pre-determined value, the shutter speed to 1/180 (the K10D's max. synch speed) and shoot. Its not as sophisticated as a p-ttl flash, but it does the job fairly well. At one time, this was cutting edge tech.

[Mapleleaf-Mick]

Gee, thanks for all the replies guys. I really really appreciate. I have an older outboard flash. It is really really powerful but alas, it hooks up with a synch cord. I used it on my Pentax Plus and it was deadly. Every setting you could think of quarter, half , three quarters and full power. Bounce and swivel. I am not sure if I could use this on the K10. It was 100% manual set. You guys know what I am talking about. You all probably had a flash virtually identical to it.......

I am looking at the brand new Metz. It is designed for Pentax and I beleive it is a P-TTL. It is model #58-AF-2 and I can purchase it for $380.00. The comprable Pentax flash is about $550.00. What do you guys think? Can I hook up the old one (mentioned above) and still shoot in aperatue and shutter priority? If so, I guess I could save $380.00. I sure do like Lowell's suggestion. If I could only get my wife on side with his line of reasoning......

Thanks again for your help. I appreciate it.

[noblepa]

With any older flash that predates the digital revolution, the thing to watch out for is the trigger voltage. This is the voltage across the synch terminals of the flash when it is fully charged. Some older flashes have a trigger voltage of 300 volts or more.

High voltage was not a serious problem on older film SLR's, since the synch mechanism in the camera was often a mechanical switch. On a modern dslr, however, it is all done with electronics and such high voltage can fry it.

If you have a small digital multimeter, its easy to measure the trigger voltage. Just charge the flash up and touch one of the meter's leads to the center pin of the flash's hotshoe and the other lead to the ground connector in the side of the slot that slides over the lip of the camera's hotshoe. If your meter shows more than about 25 volts, don't use the flash. New flashes, by comparison, are usually less than ten volts.

You can get a relatively inexpensive adapter that will fit on your K10D's hotshoe and give you a PC connector. Search ebay for "nikon as15". This device offers no protection for your camera.

NIKON AS-15 hot shoe D3000 D40 D40X D50 D60 D90 - eBay (item 200553843530 end time Dec-18-10 09:27:20 PST)

You can also get a Wein Safe-Sync adapter. This device also fits on your hotshoe and provides a female PC socket, but it also reduces the voltage that is presented to the camera. With this, you can safely use older, high voltage flashes with a dslr. Search ebay for "wein safe sync"

Wein Camera Hot Shoe to Flash Hot Shoe Safe Sync PC NEW - eBay (item 140478401841 end time Dec-14-10 11:42:19 PST)

[Mapleleaf-Mick]

Well low and below I went through my camera bag and found.....you guessed it.....A safe converter hotshoe adaptor. I guess I must have bought this a couple of years ago to be able to use my off camera flash. There you go, that is the cheapest option....... I dunno though, I still like the look of that Metz.......:ugh: My wife will kill me.........

[sterretje]

I dunno though, I still like the look of that Metz.......:ugh: My wife will kill me.........

Tell her it's for the daughter

[Mapleleaf-Mick]

Sterretje, I like the way you think...... With my luck, she will then say oh, you might as well give her the K10 to go with the flash.....

Oh well, I always have my Program Plus to go back on......