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04-16-2009, 09:11 PM   #1
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K20D Shutter whine/noise

OK, can someone help me out here?

I'm pretty sure... I'm almost positive, that my K20D until recently did not display this, but after each shutter, it's making this kind of funky whining/scraping/vibrating/I don't know what to call it sounds. Better if you just listened to it:


http://homepage.mac.com/rawhead/k20d.mp3



I fire the shutter 4 times, the noise after the first one is the loudest, the noise occurs an instant after the shutter with the 2nd time, so it's hard to distinguish, but it's there, and then the 3rd and 4th shutters, you still hear the noise, but it's fainter.


Now, it might not sound like much in the audio file, but believe me, when I have my eye and face pressed against the camera, it's pretty annoyingly loud. Moreover, I think I sense a slight vibration that goes along with the sound, just behind the LCD. That's why I though it might be OIS related, but the sound doesn't go away when I turn OIS off.


Actually, the exact same thing happened to my K200D last year, and that time, I sent it to Pentax in Colorado, and they sent it back to me saying there's nothing wrong with it.


Except, when it came back, the sound was gone I'd purchased my K20D in the mean time, so I immediately sold off the K200D so I don't know if it had truly been cured, though.


Anyway, it's back, and I'm just wondering if this just happens to all Pentax DSLRs after a while of use. Does anybody else have this problem? Am I just super unlucky to have it happen to me twice, two models in a row?


Just so you know, I have never dropped my K20D or bumped it hard etc., which was also true of the K200D when it developed this problem.


If it's just something that happens, and more importantly, if it won't develop into something more serious, I'm thinking of holding on to it for a while longer, perhaps till immediately before my warranty runs out to get it fixed for maximum efficiency.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

04-16-2009, 10:36 PM   #2
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I've never heard that sort of sound from my K10D, and the mechanicals are pretty much the same.
04-16-2009, 10:57 PM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by Canada_Rockies Quote
I've never heard that sort of sound from my K10D, and the mechanicals are pretty much the same.

Thanks for the input!
04-16-2009, 11:19 PM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by RawheaD Quote
Thanks for the input!
OK. I compared the sound on your camera to my K10D.

It sounds the same. If everything else is working normaly, then it is probably normal. Check exposures and see if your settings are not being carried out. If they are, I would not worry about it.

04-16-2009, 11:34 PM   #5
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Hmm, all right, we have conflicting reports... but it actually might prove my point––that the noise does not exist out of the box, but a lot of bodies develop it after a while. I'd love to hear from other people.


What do you think that whiny/zippery/grindy noise is, though? I hate to make the comparison, but my 5D, despite its rather un-sexy shutter sound, does not make that annoying "zip" sound afterwards.
04-16-2009, 11:45 PM   #6
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I have a faint memory of reading about this before… and that it had something to do with the camera being in a certain mode. Try switching between single or multiple shoot mode.
04-17-2009, 12:06 AM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by Gimbal Quote
I have a faint memory of reading about this before… and that it had something to do with the camera being in a certain mode. Try switching between single or multiple shoot mode.


OMGOMGOMGOMG!!!! That's IT!!!!


I can't believe it; that's right, I did put it into Hi-speed multi-shot mode today to shoot some birds, and forgot to turn it off! I turned it off, and it goes away!!

I can't believe it was that simple!


Thank you SO much!

04-17-2009, 05:51 AM   #8
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I will appologize in advance for making light of this issue punm intended

while i can understand the concern people have about the noise the camera makes, I keep thinking back to the origonal design concept of an SLR.

it has a viewfinder to put your eye up to, not an ear plug to put in your ear.

the camera is a mechanical device, it makes noise,
04-17-2009, 08:20 AM   #9
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I have a Pentacon Six TL medium format camera that sounds like a cannon when the mirror slaps and the shutter fires. I'm perfectly fine with that.

With a *D*SLR, which has the potential of becoming an expensive doorstop when that hyper sensitive *digital* portion of the camera fails, I damn well will be concerned when it makes noise that it shouldn't be making
04-17-2009, 07:58 PM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by RawheaD Quote
OMGOMGOMGOMG!!!! That's IT!!!!


I can't believe it; that's right, I did put it into Hi-speed multi-shot mode today to shoot some birds, and forgot to turn it off! I turned it off, and it goes away!!

I can't believe it was that simple!


Thank you SO much!
I noticed that sound about a month ago on my K10D. I was not worried because the camera still gets the right exposure. It may have made it when I first got the camera; I don't remember because I was so excited when I started to learn the camera.
04-18-2009, 11:32 AM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by res3567 Quote
I noticed that sound about a month ago on my K10D. I was not worried because the camera still gets the right exposure. It may have made it when I first got the camera; I don't remember because I was so excited when I started to learn the camera.

Now does anyone know exactly what this sound IS when it is in Fast continuous mode?
06-03-2009, 08:27 AM   #12
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I have the same issue on my k200d, when yu switch to single frame mode, the noise goes away. Seems fine no image problems but is this normal?
06-03-2009, 09:12 AM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by steve500 Quote
Now does anyone know exactly what this sound IS when it is in Fast continuous mode?
I would guess that something about the shutter stays energized or pre-loaded in some way in order to get the high speeds? I haven't really actually used the fast speed, except once to try it out when I first got the camera, and I guess I didn't notice: the shutter sound on the K20d is pretty different from what I'm used to, anyway, kind of scissors-like, almost. Doesn't bother me, though.
06-03-2009, 09:18 AM   #14
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Haha, wow. I've been noticing the same noise for almost as long as I've had my K20D and it has always bothered me a little bit. Everything has always worked just fine so I ignored it.

Realized I had the same issue. I almost always keep mine in the low or hi speed drive mode, switched it to single shot and sure enough, away goes the odd noise. Funny how simple solutions tend to work like that
06-03-2009, 03:18 PM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by mk07138 Quote
Haha, wow. I've been noticing the same noise for almost as long as I've had my K20D and it has always bothered me a little bit. Everything has always worked just fine so I ignored it.

Realized I had the same issue. I almost always keep mine in the low or hi speed drive mode, switched it to single shot and sure enough, away goes the odd noise. Funny how simple solutions tend to work like that
Ditto, except mine is always in high speed mode. Now I'll have to switch it off just to see! (I mean, hear). I always thought it sounded funny.
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