[Lanfriendly]

i just got my k20d this week and have a question, sometimes while i'm shooting my camera will kind of freeze up, i won't be able to take any pictures, and when i turn it off it still shows how many pictures i can take on the LCD screen. when i turn it on again it just shows my battery level and nothing else, and my camera is frozen. the only thing that fixes this is if i pop out the battery and put it back, any ideas anyone?

I'm hoping i won't have to send it away, i'm leaving in about 4 days and am going to be out of town for a month and need a camera :S

[rfortson]

Doesn't sound promising. I guess you could try a system reset, or take out the batteries and leave them out for a day or so. However, it sounds to me like you've got issues with your camera. Does it do it with different lenses?

[Gooshin]

are you taking like 9 pictures very fast?

is the orange light on? maybe its just writing to your SD card.

[benjikan]

The "Problem" and NOT the "ISSUE" (I hate that overly used term) that you are referring to has occurred on occasion with my K10D's. I can't recall if it happened with my K20D's. However it does exist and the work around is that I turn off the camera, remove the battery, put it back in and start up the camera. That usually works for me. In my case I am using a battery grip.

Again it does crop up very rarely and when it does, it is a major frustration. I have no idea what the root problem is, but it does exist, for me at least.

So there does seem to be a "Problem", but the "issue" here is, "is it endemic?"

Ben

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Last edited by benjikan; 07-08-2008 at 03:12 PM.

[Wheatfield]

i just got my k20d this week and have a question, sometimes while i'm shooting my camera will kind of freeze up, i won't be able to take any pictures, and when i turn it off it still shows how many pictures i can take on the LCD screen. when i turn it on again it just shows my battery level and nothing else, and my camera is frozen. the only thing that fixes this is if i pop out the battery and put it back, any ideas anyone?

I'm hoping i won't have to send it away, i'm leaving in about 4 days and am going to be out of town for a month and need a camera :S

Try a new battery. These cameras do weird things when they get a faulty cell. It's one of the reasons for them going to a proprietary battery after the istD.

[NicholasN]

If you are shooting in Premium JPEG or RAW and you max out the buffer (normally attributed to a slow SD card) the camera can take up the 30 seconds to write the data and will make the camera unavailable to shoot in the meantime.

You will know if this is the case because when you turn off the camera the read/write light will still be on indicating data is still being transferred to the SD card.

[little laker]

Lanfriendly, Take it back. I tested a K20D that did the same thing, and Pentax Canada wouldn't admit that it was the cameras fault, as a result it never got fixed. I understand they sent it out to another store as new
It would have had 50 or so shots, after the tests that both the store owner and myself did, and it probably froze up 10 times r so in that time.

I live by the airport, drop me a PM if your free for a coffee or a quick shoot.
I'd probably just loan you my K100D for your trip if it wasn't so long

[Mallee Boy]

I have been waiting for this to be raised.

My K20 started this behaviour after a couple of hundred shots. Quite dis-concerting at first.

The problem is erratic ie) happens sometimes and then other times everything operates normally....but the frequency was increasing.

However, a short term fix is to do as you are currently doing, remove the battery briefly. I just pop the battery cover, release the battery in the compartment and push it back in again. Its not ideal, but it got me through the trip(s).

I returned my camera to Pentax for repairs, and am waiting for its return.

The manual does talk about a static electricity build up as a cause of this, but I think its something else.

It is annoying and dis-appointing but hopefully only affects a small number. And before certain people want to lead a lynching party into Pentax HQ, I also had a problem with a brand new car once.....that is why the manufacturer warranties its product.

I'll keep my powder dry 'til I get the camera back.

[little laker]

Mallee Boy,

When I tested that K20 which had that problem I was almost certain that it would be a rare occurrence. Which is why I didn't start a post on it, although I did write a PM to Chris asking if he'd encountered it. He hadn't

Now that the cameras been out for a few months, and very few people have had the problem we know I was right about being rare.

I really hope that Lanfriendly can get a new camera, and just as important that Pentax Canada starts fixing the problems rather than passing them onto the next customer.
I

[NicholasN]

Is it just me, or is the K20D showing signs of multiple faults on a very regular basis. There is an increasing number of posts lately with regard to K20D issues.

[Peacekeeper]

Only two things...

1. Do you have a grip attached?
2. What sort of SD card asre you using?

When I first got my K20D back in March I decided to buy a an 8gig SD card. Ended up not being worth the money, it was cheap and not very compatible with the camera. Did exactly what you are describing.

I have gone back to my Sandisk Extreme cards and not had a problem.

However, having said that my camera has frozen once ot twice since and usually after I have been changing batteries and I find if I remove and re-seat the Battery Grip it sorts it. Maybe oneof th epins isn;'t lning up I don't. All I know is my K20D hangs a lot less often than my laptop hangs or my car not starting.

A simple suggection...
Try a different card, say a simple 1gig Sandisk
Remove your grip and see if it locks up/hangs.

You may find the problem/glitch/issue(ben ) isnt the camera but an accessory fitted to the camera.

PK

[Mallee Boy]

Hi Nicholas: I'm not aware of any endemic issues. I am aware that some people would like faster AF etc, but I think thats an entirely different matter.

Hi Peacekeeper: Can't speak for others, but in my case I am using Sandisc Ultra 3 (8 g), Panasonic (4 g) SDHC and a host of older Toshiba 2 gig's.......no difference in the power issue.

I suspect its as simple as a connection not quite 'connecting'.... (which probably shows up my lack of technical know how.)

[Roburg]

I had a similar problem with my K100D a couple of weeks after I got it. The pulling out the battery trick worked for a while, but eventually I had to do it every shot so I took it back to the shop. About 2 weeks later I got it back and its been fine ever since (almost 2 years now, and 15,000 shots later).
It may have been my imagination, but I could have sworn that the camera took better photos as well after its return!

The only on-going problem was that CR Kennedy (Pentax agents in Australia) took off the eyepiece when they fixed the camera and it took about 4 months to get one back from them. So if you send it back, keep your eyepiece as well as anything else that can be removed.

[NorthPentax]

I have that problem to. I have to remove the battery and everything goes back to normal.
Once I shoot 3 pictures that looked like the one i post #4.

Yesterday was the third time this happened. I only had my K20D for about 19-20 days.

[kibipod]

Folks,

Seems like this requires more attention. I am curious whether you bought your cameras from the same dealer

Also, can we start a thread with body serial numbers just like the thread for 16-50mm lens? May be if there is enough number of users complaining about the same issue, Pentax will listen and try to fix it.

Just my 2 cents.