[theunartist]

Hi everybody...

I got a k10 recently, low shutter count, great condition but the Auto Focus was intermittent at best and at worst just could not auto focus.

I regularly use Manual lenses so not having the AF work everytime was not a big big deal. When I did try out an AF lens, the lens would just go "back and forth" as if it could not see anything in front of it OR it would work sporadically. I tried cleaning OEM focusing screen etc, but still no joy. One day after a few weeks of not using any AF lens on the K10, I decided to try one out. Darn it, it worked like a charm with every AF lens I own, but then no more than 2 days later the AF went back to it's old self.

The only thing I could think would cause this were the contacts on the camera and/or lenses. I went ahead and aggressively cleaned the k10 contacts with lens cleaning fluid and a micro fiber cloth, slapped an AF lens on camera and it has not stopped working... In fact, it AF very well even in near darkness, I've tried every scenario and lighting condition I could think of and the auto focus just shines!!!

I've seen this "k10 will not auto focus" both here and on google, and I think cleaning the contacts on the camera as well as on the lenses is the answer... at least for me.

Hope this helps, thanks, Rick

Pentax-F 50/1.4

[metalmania]

That's good info.

Similar situation on Fujifilm cameras, the rechargeable battery won't charge and the LED light just keeps blinking, cleaning the contacts on the battery will solve the problem.

[cbaytan]

Good advice, thanks.

[JeffJS]

I'm sure there have been others but I think this is the first time I've ever read that cleaning the contacts actually worked.

Enjoy your new AF adventure.

[theunartist]

I'm sure there have been others but I think this is the first time I've ever read that cleaning the contacts actually worked.

Enjoy your new AF adventure.

I was telling a friend, who works for Canon R&D, about my adventure with cleaning the contacts and he said THAT was the first thing to check when having any focusing issues. Personally, I thought that was the last thing it could possibly be but then again by simply restarting a sluggish/stalled computer usually fixes most issues.

I should add, I also used a bit of Alcohol on a Mirco Fiber cloth to clean the contacts. The AF has not stopped working and now the only drawback, I haven't used any manual lenses in quite awhile...

[Lloydy]

You would think that the action of screwing the lens onto the bayonet mount would drag the lens over the sprung contacts and therefore maintain a good clean contact, but apparently not.

[paulh]

Good to hear the problem's fixed (at least for now), and for sharing your solution. Now just don't forget how to use those manual lenses!

[theunartist]

You would think that the action of screwing the lens onto the bayonet mount would drag the lens over the sprung contacts and therefore maintain a good clean contact, but apparently not.

Well, makes sense... the person I bought it from told me it was working before he got a new k5, meaning he had it stored away for a bit with just a body cap attached... continued below...

Good to hear the problem's fixed (at least for now), and for sharing your solution. Now just don't forget how to use those manual lenses!

Paul... I think after I stopped using Takumars for awhile and started using my M's more it somehow nudged the contacts enough to get the AF to work for couple of days. My Takumar 50 and 55 have the smaller bases which do not touch the contacts when mounted v. the M's had the standard size mount which covered the contacts. I figure I used the M lenses for a couple of weeks, mounting one than another than another and that must have loosened something in the contacts.

It wasn't till I cleaned the contacts did the camera AF work as expected, almost flawlessly even in dim lighting...

Yeah, I've used my manual lenses for like 20 total shots in the last couple of weeks