[pathdoc]

Not long ago I was gifted an old P3 that has sat in its case for the better part of ten years. It looks well cared for. It even had a roll of film still in it. So I thought why not put new batteries in it and fire it up?

New batteries in, power switch on... nothing.

Reverse the batteries in case I accidentally got the polarity wrong - still nothing.

To quote Obi-Wan Kenobi (as played by the great Sir Alec Guinness), "I fear something terrible has happened." But what, I ask you? And to whom might I send it for an attempt at repair, knowing that Pentax-as-Ricoh have surely washed their hands of customer support on this one.

If the worst happens, it will be the third Pentax camera to whose death I have been witness.

"...not with a bang, but a whimper."

[kp0c]

Send it to Eric. https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/8-pentax-film-slr-discussion/273314-change-address-eric.html

[JohnX]

I'd check out eBay prices before paying for a repair, unless this camera has sentimental value?

[ZoeB]

Dunno if i can offer any advice aside from a link to the manual, and to wish you good luck with fixing it, it's a good little camera!



This might be considered blasphemy, but i honestly kind of prefer it to my LX. It's lighter and the grip is more comfy.

[gaweidert]

Are the battery terminal contacts clean?

[pathdoc]

Are the battery terminal contacts clean?

Pretty sure they are - I gave the one in the battery compartment lid a good scrape anyway; the battery well and the contacts at the base are good, and the old batteries (silver oxide, as are the replacements) were intact and free of any visible leakage when I dumped them out.

[pathdoc]

Update - IT LIVES!!!

Of course it waited until after its (nominal) replacement was en route before it kicked back into life again, but it does seem to be working.

THINGS I LEARNED AS A RESULT:

1) The P3 seems to play well with DA lenses, specifically my 40mm Pancake - it will flip into program mode and you have no control over aperture or shutter speed, but it does function and there is no black circle of doom in the viewfinder.

2) I then put an 18-50mm Sigma DC kit lens on it. Digital-optimised, so no aperture ring and default to program mode as above, but again, it seemed to play well. Zoomed out to 18mm and of course the vignetting sticks out like a sore thumb, but I thought what the hell, let's take a shot anyway, then zoom in and see when it goes away. From what I can tell through the viewfinder, the black circle vanishes just south of 24mm. Focus is awful, of course; with no AF linkage at all there is no damping in the focusing ring, but I really only put it on to see what the vignetting was like.

3) M42 lenses are a dream to use on this camera. I'll have to wait until the prints are back, but I suspect my 135mm Samigon is about to get a new lease on life.

4) My LBA is going to be a lot harder to control now.

[AquaDome]

Next you need an SF1n.

[pathdoc]

Next you need an SF1n.

No. If I want autofocus, I will go with my DSLR. Part of going back to film was, for me, going manual on most if not all controls as much as possible.

Oddly enough, when I first seriously got interested in photography, the SF1n (or SFXn as it was called in Australia) was recommended to me as one of two cameras to get. The other was the then-current Nikon. I suspect the person making this suggestion was a camera snob; I would have been much better served with a K1000 or even something very basic from Chinon, but I had nobody sensible to advise me.

[pathdoc]

Bumping an old thread, but I thought it worthwhile for one particular reason. To recap: I thought this camera was dead, but lo and behold the problem turned out to be corroded battery contacts in the battery compartment lid and it sprang to life again once they were cleaned.

Four months later it starts behaving erratically once more, and I begin to despair again. Behaviour consists of refusing to "switch on", or at least I'm practically up to (or beyond) the half-press of the shutter button that gives me my exposure preview data, and suddenly it fires (which costs me a frame if the shutter speed wasn't set right). One more try before I take out the film, I tell myself this afternoon, and I pull out another film camera to scavenge the batteries. No sooner have I got the P3's battery compartment lid off, however, than the thought arises "What if it's just got corroded all over again?"

Sure enough, a few seconds' scraping with the tip of a nail file on the battery compartment lid centre and she's sweet!

So there you go, P3 owners - not only do the battery compartment lid contacts need cleaning to bring back to life; they can also do with REGULAR routine scraping to maintain the camera in good working order. Have been playing with my 35mm DA Macro on this camera to see what it's like - Program mode seems to drive the lens appropriately, and no doubt I will see what the vignetting (if any) is like in due course (and yes, I did take a picture of a plain white surface).

[dsmithhfx]

Rust never sleeps!

[Not a Number]

Do yourself a favor and buy some Deoxit in the pen applicator and flaky connections from oxidized/corroded contacts is a thing of the past.

DeoxIT®, #D100P

BTW you should not use an instrument like a nail file or screw driver that will score the surface of the contact. These are often plated with chrome or other metals that resist oxidation. Scraping this off and scoring the bare metal underneath will encourage oxidation. Use wood or plastic to scrap off the worst residue before applying the Deoxit.

You can find Deoxit at Radio Shack.

[pathdoc]

Rust never sleeps!

It would appear not!

BTW you should not use an instrument like a nail file or screw driver that will score the surface of the contact.

Now they tell me! LOL my bad. Will keep in mind for future, and will also keep an eye out for DeoxIT. Thanks.