[veezchick]

On a recent shoot, I was shooting with my K20D in manual mode when the rear e-dial stopped working. The dial would turn, but had no effect on zooming in on images during playback, and would not change the aperture value in any capture mode (my settings are such that my rear e-dial is always assigned to adjust aperture – in every mode). Needless to say, this was a big pain in the arse, as I could not adequately adjust exposure and/or DOF. I double-checked all the e-dial settings, turned the camera off & on, even removed the batteries to “reset” it, etc. Still no rear e-dial function. I found a work-around to finish that part of the shoot, but it wasn’t pretty. Then a little while later, out of habit (forgetting the e-dial wasn’t working), I zoomed in on an image and alas, the e-dial was working again. I have no idea how it fixed itself. The only thing I can think of was that I changed lenses at some point during the malfunction and thought perhaps that somehow remedied the situation – maybe dislodged some dust in the contacts or something. So ... ‘this ever happen to anyone? Did you figure out how/why it happened?

It seems like no matter how proficient I am with my equipment, how much I know/learn about the craft, how good o’ care I take of my gear ... there’s always that one thing that goes wrong in every shoot. I’m getting pretty good at fixes and work-arounds on the fly, but it’s getting kinda’ old. Sigh.

[kenafein]

Very common issue with Pentax cameras. Cost me a sale when it just started acting up for my buyer. Just spray a squirt of contact cleaner into it and work it into the dial and that should fix it up. There are many posts on this forum on how to fix it.

[Lowell Goudge]

On a recent shoot, I was shooting with my K20D in manual mode when the rear e-dial stopped working. The dial would turn, but had no effect on zooming in on images during playback, and would not change the aperture value in any capture mode (my settings are such that my rear e-dial is always assigned to adjust aperture – in every mode). Needless to say, this was a big pain in the arse, as I could not adequately adjust exposure and/or DOF. I double-checked all the e-dial settings, turned the camera off & on, even removed the batteries to “reset” it, etc. Still no rear e-dial function. I found a work-around to finish that part of the shoot, but it wasn’t pretty. Then a little while later, out of habit (forgetting the e-dial wasn’t working), I zoomed in on an image and alas, the e-dial was working again. I have no idea how it fixed itself. The only thing I can think of was that I changed lenses at some point during the malfunction and thought perhaps that somehow remedied the situation – maybe dislodged some dust in the contacts or something. So ... ‘this ever happen to anyone? Did you figure out how/why it happened?

It seems like no matter how proficient I am with my equipment, how much I know/learn about the craft, how good o’ care I take of my gear ... there’s always that one thing that goes wrong in every shoot. I’m getting pretty good at fixes and work-arounds on the fly, but it’s getting kinda’ old. Sigh.

My *istD is getting tempermental in this respect, specifically with zooming, and note, with one versionof firmware, on my K7 when the battery got low, the zoom function with the rear dial got very erratic. have not noticed since a very early version of firmware

[Mike.P®]

Do you have a grip on the camera?

If so the wheel on the grip can cause this problem with the camera if it isnt turned properly and gets stuck halfway between "clicks".

[veezchick]

I do have a grip. Hmmmmm ... that's very interesting. I'll watch for that next time. Thanks :-)

[klh]

Do you have a grip on the camera?

If so the wheel on the grip can cause this problem with the camera if it isnt turned properly and gets stuck halfway between "clicks".

Ditto.

I have had the same experience with my K20D and grip combo. It cost me most of a high school swim meet on senior night. Took the camera home and it was working fine. I didn't figure it out until weeks later.

Spin the dials on the grip (or remove the grip), and problem solved.

[wildweasel]

I had the same problem with my KX (no grip of course) and as said before, a quick squirt of contact cleaner and it was as good as new.

[kenafein]

Just fixed my k7 too. Took two applications for me, but it is good to go now.

[veezchick]

Do you have a grip on the camera?

If so the wheel on the grip can cause this problem with the camera if it isnt turned properly and gets stuck halfway between "clicks".

Mike - you were right. It happened again when the grip's e-dial was halfway. I tested this several times. That was definitely the problem. That was the easiest fix ever!

Thanks

[Mike.P®]

Your welcome. :-)

[Ardie]

Very common issue with Pentax cameras. Cost me a sale when it just started acting up for my buyer. Just spray a squirt of contact cleaner into it and work it into the dial and that should fix it up. There are many posts on this forum on how to fix it.

What type of contact cleaner did you use? Do you just spray it on the dial?

[stevebrot]

What type of contact cleaner did you use? Do you just spray it on the dial?

Hi! Welcome to the Pentax Forums!

This is an old thread that you have awakened. (Zombie!) If you have a similar problem, I would suggest starting a new thread where you can provide the details of what camera you have and the exact nature of the problem you are having. For what it is worth, I am not sure I would spray contact cleaner into my camera. For one thing, most Pentax cameras have seals that are in the way and might be damaged by the cleaner.


Steve

[kenafein]

Many people have used contact cleaner for the E-dial issue over the years. I have used it on two cameras with no issue. It will not damage the electronics.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CCMLD0/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[stevebrot]

It will not damage the electronics.

What does it do to the seals?

I understand what your are doing. Contact cleaner is made for use on electronics and I would expect that it would not damage them. That being said, have you considered that the contact cleaner is a solvent and that it must penetrate past the camera's seals to do its work? It may also penetrate into the mechanical parts of the camera and flush lubricants from their intended location to where they are not supposed to be.

Now on an older camera that is not functioning correctly, the risk may be worth it, but I would not consider the body water resistant after doing this. This most recent commenter has not indicated anything about the camera or the nature of the problem (if any) that they are having. I would not recommend using contact cleaner as routine maintenance. Edit: Added NOT into this last sentence


Steve

[kenafein]

What does it do to the seals?

I understand what your are doing. Contact cleaner is made for use on electronics and I would expect that it would not damage them. That being said, have you considered that the contact cleaner is a solvent and that it must penetrate past the camera's seals to do its work? It may also penetrate into the mechanical parts of the camera and flush lubricants from their intended location to where they are not supposed to be.

Now on an older camera that is not functioning correctly, the risk may be worth it, but I would not consider the body water resistant after doing this. This most recent commenter has not indicated anything about the camera or the nature of the problem (if any) that they are having. I would recommend using contact cleaner as routine maintenance.


Steve

Not sure about that, not sure how the seals work there. They might be more internal than that component. They do pack too much grease around the contacts and that causes the problem. I hope grease isn't part of the weather sealing. However, I am certainly no expert. There are scores of threads on this forum where people have done the same thing. I realize that doesn't necessarily make it the right thing to do. If he does open up another thread, it's going to look very similar to all those that came before it.