[rawr]

I guess if one had the time you could try and induce a similar failure by putting a big fast SD card into the camera, charging up all your NiMh batteries in grip and body, and then just holding down the shutter button for 500-600 exposures (or whatever) and see if the problem can be made to recur.

And just keep on doing variations of that procedure (grip on/ grip off, SR on/ SR off, AF-S on/AFS-off, etc) until you find a combination of settings where you can consistently and repeatedly trigger the lockup.

May be time consuming though but it might be the only way to nail down the root cause of this and what the problem component or issue may be.

Another option may be to scour the web to see if there are other reports of similar K200D lockups, and then see what these reports have in common.

[madbrain]

Bummer. I wish we could have found the simple solution for you.

I know. I appreciate you stepping in to help.

[madbrain]

I guess if one had the time you could try and induce a similar failure by putting a big fast SD card into the camera, charging up all your NiMh batteries in grip and body, and then just holding down the shutter button for 500-600 exposures (or whatever) and see if the problem can be made to recur.

And just keep on doing variations of that procedure (grip on/ grip off, SR on/ SR off, AF-S on/AFS-off, etc) until you find a combination of settings where you can consistently and repeatedly trigger the lockup.

May be time consuming though but it might be the only way to nail down the root cause of this and what the problem component or issue may be.

Another option may be to scour the web to see if there are other reports of similar K200D lockups, and then see what these reports have in common.

Last year I did a test to check for battery life and did over 1000 shots holding the shutter button, without problem. I only had a few 2GB cards and I had to change them, though. Now I have a 16 GB card.

But the shutter is supposed to have a limited life of about 100,000 clicks. So I don't think I would want to reduce the life of the camera by trying this again.

But if that will help anyone, when it occurred, I had SR ON. The whole day. I was on AF-S mostly, though a few times my fingers switched the camera to MF accidentally.
I used mostly the AUTO and NO FLASH shooting modes.

I didn't do much other than half presses for focus and full press for shoot. I had the very occasional picture review only with the play button and zoom with e-dial. But not before the problem occurred, as far as I remember.

[rawr]

I actually think this issue may be answered by a case of the dreaded RTFM. Myself included.

In the K200D manual, on page 245 at the back of the 'Troubleshooting' section, there is a memo note that says:

In rare cases, the camera may not operate correctly due to static electricity. This can be remedied by taking the batteries out and putting them back in again. When the mirror remains in the up position, take the batteries out and put them back in again. Then, turn the power on. The mirror will retract. After the procedure is done, if the camera operates correctly, it does not require any repairs

This might cover your issue, as well as the one currently floating about in this forum about mirror lockup.

Now what Pentax mean by 'static electricity' here is a mystery to me. I know what static electricity is, but how does it build up within the camera to cause this behaviour? And why does removing the batteries solve the static electricity problem?

The ways of Pentax are very mysterious.

[GaryM]

Modern DSLRs are basically computers, and subject to the same types of gremlins that strike out of the blue and turn our high-tech tools into paperweights. That's why it's essential when doing mission-critical work to bring a back-up body, whether you are using the mighty D3x or a lowly K200D. Murphy's Law reigns supreme.