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05-01-2008, 09:45 AM   #76
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How would you know whether or not your camera is revised, I bought mine from adorama in early april

05-01-2008, 12:00 PM   #77
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QuoteOriginally posted by Old Timer 56 Quote
Also, I wonder just how accurate PhotoMe is because I have noticed some figures that are occasionally wrong, like the shutter speed setting. On one image I have, PhotoMe has the shutter speed as 1/90sec but it was actually 1/125sec.
Ok, thanks for the info
05-01-2008, 01:22 PM   #78
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Hello,

QuoteOriginally posted by Jonson PL Quote
QuoteOriginally posted by Old Timer 56 Quote
Also, I wonder just how accurate PhotoMe is because I have noticed some figures that are occasionally wrong, like the shutter speed setting. On one image I have, PhotoMe has the shutter speed as 1/90sec but it was actually 1/125sec.
Ok, thanks for the info
PhotoME show only the informations which the camera write to the metadata.
If PhotoME show 1/90 sec, the camera has written that to the metadata. Since it's very unlikely that the camera write a wrong shutter speed to the metadata, it means the camera actually used 1/90 sec and not 1/125 sec.

Cu, Jens
05-01-2008, 01:31 PM   #79
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I just left my K10D's with Pentax France. They are going to do a revision. Not sure what it is, but they will change the a whole segment. I am not sure if it is a chip or AF sensor or just a software update. Again, they hadn't heard of Revision 8.1. That could be more to do with the fact that when they do the update, they don't read the info on the screen after it is done. I'll see when I get them back.

Ben

05-01-2008, 02:53 PM   #80
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Hello,

maybe I can clean up the things about the "Model Revision" a little bit.

First, about me: I'm the author of PhotoME.

Since Pentax does not provide any informations about the maker notes, the complete maker notes decoding base on reverse engineering - not only by me and the PhotoME users, but also by Phil Harvey (author of ExifTool) and the users of his software.

Many things can be figured out by taking some shots using the camera and compare them. For example the Hometown city tag (0x0023) was easy to decode by shooting different images with different settings and then compare the data the camera write to the metadata.

Other data can't be set or seen on the camera, like the "CameraInfo" tag, which contains 5 LONG (unsigned 32-bit) values:
"Pentax Model", "Manufacture Date?", "Model Revision?" and "Internal Serial Number?".
Here you can only guess their meaning.

By comparing shots of different cameras it's easy to see that the first value is the same for the same model and different for different models. That means this must be a model-identifier (the "Pentax Model").

The second value looks always like a date. Since it indicate a date before the user bought the camera, it must have something to do with the manufacturing of the camera. But that doesn't mean it's the date where the camera was assembled - it could be also the date were the EEPROM was last written, or something like that. That's why PhotoME show a question mark behind the tag title.
The only thing which is definitely, is that this date is important enough for Pentax, that they decided to write it into the metadata.

The third and the fourth values are combined by PhotoME to one value, because both numbers are always very low, so it looks like a version number and sometimes it increase after the camera was serviced. That these 2 numbers are a "Model revision" is just a guess (indicated by the question mark).
Maybe these 2 numbers don't need to be combined. Maybe they are no version number and have a totally different meaning.
Like some users in this thread figured out, the first number change to 8 after the camera was serviced. That's an very interesting observation. I wonder if it change again if the camera was a second time in the service.
Maybe the second number isn't a sub-version - it could be really everything, a ID of the factory which manufactured the camera, a ID of the assembly line in the factory, or an ID for the market for which it was built (Europe, America, Asia...).
It could really mean anything - and I'm very thankful for every hint or idea.

The same count for the last value, which is shown as "Internal Serial Number?" by PhotoME. It seems to be unique for a model and seems to increase for different cameras of the same model - just like a serial number. I've already heared from people that this serial number changed while the camera was serviced. That means Pentax either replaced the complete camera (which is unlikely), or at least the part where the this number come from.


Only Pentax can tell what these numbers really mean - but they don't seems to be very interested.
I wish they would enlighten these things a little bit, but I assume this will never come true.

Cu, Jens
05-01-2008, 02:59 PM   #81
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QuoteOriginally posted by benjikan Quote
I just left my K10D's with Pentax France. They are going to do a revision. Not sure what it is, but they will change the a whole segment. I am not sure if it is a chip or AF sensor or just a software update. Again, they hadn't heard of Revision 8.1. That could be more to do with the fact that when they do the update, they don't read the info on the screen after it is done. I'll see when I get them back.

Ben
Ben, I guess you requested a revision specifically? Did you have to send any lenses with the cameras as well? I'm asking because I'm a bit reluctant about sending my lenses with the post, especially as my most used lenses are the FA Ltd. ;-s

Ebbe
05-01-2008, 03:15 PM   #82
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QuoteOriginally posted by Jens D. Quote
Like some users in this thread figured out, the first number change to 8 after the camera was serviced. That's an very interesting observation. I wonder if it change again if the camera was a second time in the service.
Jens

Well it's not every camera that has been serviced, that get's it's model revision updated. Got my camera back a bit more than a month ago after it being serviced at Pentax Germany. Mine is still rev. model 1.2, manufacture date 2006-12-10.

Ebbe

05-01-2008, 04:06 PM   #83
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QuoteOriginally posted by Jens D. Quote
Hello,



PhotoME show only the informations which the camera write to the metadata.
If PhotoME show 1/90 sec, the camera has written that to the metadata. Since it's very unlikely that the camera write a wrong shutter speed to the metadata, it means the camera actually used 1/90 sec and not 1/125 sec.

Cu, Jens
I'm inclined to agree. I may have looked at a duplicate image when I posted this.

Richard
05-01-2008, 04:08 PM   #84
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QuoteOriginally posted by Jens D. Quote
.....
Only Pentax can tell what these numbers really mean - but they don't seems to be very interested.
I wish they would enlighten these things a little bit, but I assume this will never come true.

Cu, Jens
I think you're right. Pentax will never tell us unless some anonymous internal employee spills the beans.

Richard
05-01-2008, 07:29 PM   #85
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Hey guys, sending my camera to pentax for a slight FF problem. Talked to the CSR and they never mentioned anything about sending my lenses with it. I'll let you know my findings
05-05-2008, 06:56 PM   #86
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My K10D has Rev. 8.1 Now...

I sent my K10D in for a BF issue, and when it came back from Pentax Canada it was now Rev. 8.1. It was version 2.1 when I sent it in.
05-05-2008, 07:04 PM   #87
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Warranty Repair Code?

QuoteOriginally posted by Cam Traviss Quote
I sent my K10D in for a BF issue, and when it came back from Pentax Canada it was now Rev. 8.1. It was version 2.1 when I sent it in.
It seems apparent from reading this entire thread that 8.x designates a body that has had a Pentax (possibly warranty) repair above some level of parts replacement, but something similar to the little sticker placed inside the film door when a K2 went in for a focusing screen replacement or an LX went in for a factory CLA.

My K10D was manufactured 08-10-07 and delivered 02-25-08. It is version 2.1.
05-06-2008, 02:57 AM   #88
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Hello,

in the next version of PhotoME, I'll change the "Model revision" tag.

I think I'll split it into "Camera was serviced?" (the first number) and "Production ID?" (the second number), or has anyone a better idea?

It seems like both numbers are not related to each other.

Old Timer 56 has written that his number changed from 1.5 to 8.5, flyer has written his number changed from 1.2 to 8.2 and Frogroast has written his number changed from 1.1 to 8.1.
If it would be really a major/minor version number, the minor version should be changed too - and not only the major version.

Now there is just the question where the differences are between the 5, 2 and 1 in the second number, and between 1 and 2 in the first number.
Has anyone an idea?

To figure out if something changed while the camera was in service, I think the DSPFirmwareVersion and CPUFirmwareVersion tags are more useful.

Cu, Jens
05-06-2008, 04:41 AM   #89
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QuoteOriginally posted by Ebbe S Quote
Ben, I guess you requested a revision specifically? Did you have to send any lenses with the cameras as well? I'm asking because I'm a bit reluctant about sending my lenses with the post, especially as my most used lenses are the FA Ltd. ;-s

Ebbe
Hello Ebbe;

No, I didn't send in any of my lenses only the K10D bodies. I will probably call Pentax on Wednesday or Thursday to see how they are progressing.

Ben
05-06-2008, 04:06 PM   #90
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Turns out my second body that I bought used was sent in for repairs at one time. Its now a 8.1 revision, however it was sent in late 2007. So I would assume 8 does not stand for 2008.
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