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04-16-2010, 01:49 AM   #1
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K10D metering errors

This morning my K10D suddenly started over exposing everything by between 3-5 stops.

This occurs in all metering modes.

Has anyone else had this happen? And if so, was there a non return to Pentax solution?

Luckily I am old school so can use rule of thumb pretty successfully, but it is a pain to have to run in manual ALL of the time.

04-16-2010, 02:20 AM   #2
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Does your lens still close down?
Try the DOF preview button to verify - provided it is set to optical preview.

Is it with more than one lens? Trying to see if it's a body or a lens problem.

You didn't set a EV compenstion?

Other than that - no idea, I'm afraid.
04-16-2010, 03:10 AM   #3
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I haven't checked other lenses yet - bit busy.

But I can tell you that I was using AV mode, f8 at 200ISO in bright daylight - by my reckoning about 1/125sec. The meter was showing 1/20sec or less, and indeed implementing that shutter time when the shots were taken.

I'll check with other lenses (I did remove the battery and then remount the lens in case of some electronic glitch) but it didn't change the behaviour.

I'm going to reinstall the firmware later and see if that does the trick.
04-16-2010, 04:44 AM   #4
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COUPLE OF THINGS TO CHECK

Is it possible you were getting light through the eye peice can this be shaded?

when you dial up an aperture for the lens does it give you wide open aperture that the lens is capable of?

maybe the lens is missing/not making connection to some contacts on the mount

04-17-2010, 03:54 AM   #5
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It's not the camera body.

I put the lens, a Tamron 28-300 Di on my K20D and the same thing is happening.

I will attempt to clean the contacts later and report back.
04-17-2010, 04:58 AM   #6
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Check for a sticking aperture on the lens, or a damaged lens mechanism. I had an old Tokina do this due to a damaged spring. (On K-mount lenses the aperture is entirely mechanical, unlike the other modern mounts).

Mind you I can't imagine that lens to be all that great, good excuse for an upgrade perhaps?
04-17-2010, 09:54 AM   #7
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Yeah Asteroid, it's not a brilliant lens all the time, but it is great thing to have on a body all the time becuase of the enormous range.

Tragically I've just blown my new lens budget on a Tamron 90 macro, only to be shown by my photographer neighbour this month's 'Chasseur d'Images' featuring not only one of his macro shots (a dragonfly in flight) but also a review of 40 macro lenses. Guess which one came bottom.

B*gg*r

04-17-2010, 10:10 AM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by Tringle WP Quote
Yeah Asteroid, it's not a brilliant lens all the time, but it is great thing to have on a body all the time becuase of the enormous range.

Tragically I've just blown my new lens budget on a Tamron 90 macro, only to be shown by my photographer neighbour this month's 'Chasseur d'Images' featuring not only one of his macro shots (a dragonfly in flight) but also a review of 40 macro lenses. Guess which one came bottom.

B*gg*r
Don't let lab tests get you down. Just don't take pictures of graphs and charts and you'll never know how bad your Tamron (which is an excellent lens) is.
04-17-2010, 10:15 AM   #9
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When one of my K10D bodies came back from Pentax repair (autofocus issue), it consistently underexposed by about 2/3 stop, regardless of exposure mode, including manual. Same story with all meter modes and any subject or light condition. I mostly shoot in AV so I corrected with Exposure Compensation rather than send it back to Pentax. I didn't want to risk them screwing up something else. Previously the exposure was right on the money.

Oh, they did manage to fix the autofocus problem.

Richard
04-17-2010, 11:40 AM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by Old Timer 56 Quote
When one of my K10D bodies came back from Pentax repair (autofocus issue), it consistently underexposed by about 2/3 stop, regardless of exposure mode, including manual. Same story with all meter modes and any subject or light condition. I mostly shoot in AV so I corrected with Exposure Compensation rather than send it back to Pentax. I didn't want to risk them screwing up something else. Previously the exposure was right on the money.

Oh, they did manage to fix the autofocus problem.

Richard
That's a bit of a downer isn't it.

I seem to have solved my problem by simply cleaning the contacts on the lens. As it is probably my most used lens along with my 50mm I guess it just got a bit grubby.

I don't expect it to last forever, but a little longer would be nice .

As for the Tamron 90, this is the only review of it I have seen that was negative. I'm not that proficient myself, so I am sure that it'll do what I need it too.

Thanks for the help and advice guys.
04-17-2010, 07:41 PM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by Tringle WP Quote
That's a bit of a downer isn't it.

I seem to have solved my problem by simply cleaning the contacts on the lens. As it is probably my most used lens along with my 50mm I guess it just got a bit grubby.

I don't expect it to last forever, but a little longer would be nice .

As for the Tamron 90, this is the only review of it I have seen that was negative. I'm not that proficient myself, so I am sure that it'll do what I need it too.

Thanks for the help and advice guys.
I personally never take a single review as gospel. There are chances, no matter what the quality control may be, that the testers picked up a faulty lens. I also very carefully look to see why they put it at the bottom of the list. As to macro lenses, there are really no bad prime macro lenses, just some are a notch above others. Macro on a zoom lens is a meaningless term.
04-17-2010, 11:05 PM   #12
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I'm going to buy the magazine, simply because my neighbour has a picture published in it.

It could, indeed, have been a duff sample. The thing about the French mags is that they test kit objectively - all DXO, polar charts etc. I suspect the low score was due to the oft stated difraction problems with the Tamron that appear above f8, making the maximum IQ fall at a much lower point than most other macros where f16-22 is the norm.

I get the lens next week and then I'mon holiday for a while, so it'll be a couple of weeks before I post anything from it.
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