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01-25-2010, 09:40 PM   #1
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Off-center MF Confirmation with Debug K100D!

Just thought I'd share this. A couple months ago I put my K100d into debug mode to play with focus adjustment. Well, tonight - while the camer was still in debug mode - I was playing around with a k mount rokinon 28mm/2.8 and found I could select other focus points besides the center point.

I'll do some further testing to confirm it is focusing on the other the other points and not just selecting the other points but still using the center point for confirmation...i.e. if I selected the lower right focus point, is the lower right portion in focus, or is the center in focus.

Debug instructions are here if anyone wants to try: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/80558-k100d-super-...tructions.html


Last edited by rmtschanz; 01-26-2010 at 11:13 AM.
01-25-2010, 10:12 PM   #2
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Very interesting. Please come back and tell us more on what setting to change to enable this feature.
01-25-2010, 10:36 PM   #3
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Here's my test results, and they're very positive! This gives my MF lenses new life!

These aren't perfect or even good shots, but they illustrate the fact that the different focus points confirm focus correctly for a MF lens:

Center Focus:



Upper Left Focus:


Anyone care to try debug mode on another body?
01-25-2010, 10:56 PM   #4
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That's a great finding! I've been wanting that feature. I got it working with my K-x. You have to put "AF Area Test" to 1 and "AF Area Number" to a different numer (different numbers are different areas). It works also with catch in focus.

01-25-2010, 11:33 PM   #5
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Odd, I kept 'AF Area Test' at the default 3 and it's been working fine for me. I guess different cameras may require different settings though.

Edit: Radix, are you saying that you have to adjust the focus area in the debug console? So, "AF Area Number 1" would focus in center, "AF Area Number 2" would focus upper left, etc? On the K100D, since it has the red indicator lights in the lightbox/viewfinder, I can select the focus point just like I was using an Autofocus lens. And, yes catch in focus works for me too.

Last edited by rmtschanz; 01-26-2010 at 12:29 AM.
01-26-2010, 03:25 AM   #6
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When you change those settings in the debug menu, will it cause problem in the normal AF operation? or you revert all the settings when you wanna use the normal AF again?
01-26-2010, 04:54 AM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by rmtschanz Quote
Odd, I kept 'AF Area Test' at the default 3 and it's been working fine for me. I guess different cameras may require different settings though.

Edit: Radix, are you saying that you have to adjust the focus area in the debug console? So, "AF Area Number 1" would focus in center, "AF Area Number 2" would focus upper left, etc? On the K100D, since it has the red indicator lights in the lightbox/viewfinder, I can select the focus point just like I was using an Autofocus lens. And, yes catch in focus works for me too.
I was wrong, it works just as you described. But "AF Area Test" has to be 2 (default was 0) and "AF Area Number" can be 0. Then it focuses on the selected focus point. The only difference between this and using an AF lens is that it shows still only the center point on the main screen although another focus point is selected and used.

If I exit debug mode it stops working. It's a shame that you have to be in debug mode, because the development menu appears every time I turn the camera on.

01-26-2010, 03:32 PM   #8
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Great info! And while we're at it, could someone please figure out how to enable matrix metering with M lenses ...? ;-)

It's great to see that there is still progress and new infos on "hardware hacking" for a camera that is a couple of years old :-)
01-26-2010, 08:00 PM   #9
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So I tried many different options to try and fool the debug mode to turn off the screen. Nothing in software worked. Luckily, debug mode still registers the A/V port. Plug in the A/V cable and the screen turns off. So, next step would be to hack a cable, or find out how to emulate the cable detection (usually just a shorted pin).

Last edited by rmtschanz; 01-27-2010 at 12:53 AM.
01-27-2010, 08:30 AM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by mcjm78 Quote
When you change those settings in the debug menu, will it cause problem in the normal AF operation? or you revert all the settings when you wanna use the normal AF again?
Yes, autofocus behaves differently if "AF Area Test" is set to '1', '2' or '3'. 0 is the default. See AF Test Area link for more info.

Last edited by rmtschanz; 01-27-2010 at 09:05 AM.
01-27-2010, 09:19 PM   #11
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Success!!! I've now created a stealthy debug mode! See pics below:

Hmm, this looks like a normal K100d turned on. I see the top info LCD is on and the back LCD screen is black.


Wait, how did the debug mode come on?


Ohhh, I see...
01-28-2010, 02:46 AM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by rmtschanz Quote

Ohhh, I see...
LOL, that has to win "Pentax Hack of the Year!" ;-)
01-28-2010, 10:38 AM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by distudio Quote
LOL, that has to win "Pentax Hack of the Year!" ;-)
Haha, thanks.

I would takes pictures of the actual piece I used, but I'm afraid of taking it out. It works like this: when the side door is closed the foil connects the two wires, which causes the camera to think that the A/V cable has been inserted, which causes the back LCD to turn off. When I open the side door, the two wires lose connection, the camera thinks the A/V cable has been unplugged and the back LCD turns back on.

Last edited by rmtschanz; 01-28-2010 at 11:02 AM.
01-28-2010, 10:46 AM   #14
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If there's enough interest I'll make a pictorial tutorial, but for now, here's a written description of what I did. I also express no warranty should you or your camera become malfunctioning from doing this tutorial. My pictures show the hack-o-matic connection, but believe me it's a precision process to get it working.

1. I used this page as reference, as that's the connector the K100d, and probably all other non-HDMI cameras, use for the A/V port. It's called an AGOX 8-pin connector (or so says Wikipedia), and it is not the same as a Kodak U-8 connector or a micro-usb.

2. Take the A/V cable and saw off the AGOX end, so you're left with about 1/4 inch of just the metal end and the little plastic insert (the part that sticks into the port). You need to make sure the plastic part and the little wires inside stay intact and don't get lost.

3. Cut about two inches off the A/V cable and strip out the stranded ground wiring. Peel it apart so you're left with a bunch of individual wire strands, which should be about the thickness of a human hair.

4. Use your fingernail or small pliers and carefully push out the black plastic piece out of the cut AGOX connector. Hopefully the little gold wires are all intact. You should now have a little black plastic piece with wires and a metal shell.

5. With the metal shell, there's a square opening on one side. Take two or three of the ground wire strands and braid them through the hole in a 'U' fashion, then twist the 'U' together so it becomes an "I" . This will act as a ground point and also allow you to pull out the connector once it's been plugged into the A/V port (think of it as a pull cord for a tub drain).

5. With the black plastic piece, using an exacto knife, carefully remove pins 6 and 7. This should leave you with only three ground pins. Use the link in step 1 for reference on pin assignment.

6. Using an exacto knife, at the cut end of the plastic piece (read: opposite side that would directly insert into the A/V port), very carefully lift up one of the remaining gold wires but don't completely pull it out of it's groove. The back end of the gold wire should be out and tilted. Once you've done that, carefully tuck one of the ground wire strands underneath the gold wire, then push the gold wire back down into the groove. The ground wire strand should now be resting underneath the gold wire.

7. Repeat step 6 for the two remaining ground wires.

8. Cut a strip of translucent tape, about an 1/8-inch wide by 3/4-inch long and slowly wrap it around the cut end of the plastic piece. this will keep the gold wire and the ground wire in place. Make sure that the end that plugs into the A/V port still has exposed gold wire.

9. This is the hardest part. You'll need to slide the black plastic piece back into the metal sleeve. It requires patience, as it's easy to knock the black ground wires out from underneath the gold wires.If all goes well you should have a bunch of little wires sticking out the back of the piece, with a bit of tape too.

10. To help secure the wires down, I tried to melt a bit of the tape. i used hot wax, but looking back a hair dryer on low would have probably worked better. You don't want to melt that black plastic piece.

11. Carefully plug the hack-o-matic cable into the A/V port, then turn the camera on. Play around with the ground wire strands, connecting and unconnecting each one together, you're trying to isolate the one wire strand that causes the screen to turn on and off.

12. When you have found the one wire, separate it from the other wires and position/secure it as shown in my last picture in post #11.

13. Then tape some foil as shown in post #11. With the camera on, play around with the door and verify operation. You may have to add or remove foil. Opening the door should cause the screen to turn on, closing the door should cause the screen to turn off.

Last edited by rmtschanz; 01-28-2010 at 11:11 AM.
04-26-2010, 02:51 PM   #15
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hey friends, i got K100d super which has version 1.00

How can I turn it to Debug mode?

Please help me,
I wrote the codes [DEBUG_MODE EN]
[OPEN_DEBUG_MENU] to SD card's root and renamed as MODSET.459


but nothing happened ( i am opening the sd card door for first)

How can I turn it to Debug mode?
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