|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
07-19-2019, 11:37 AM
|
| |
Just to close the loop on this, I have discovered that my battery tray is the culprit. I was able to find a used 645 in very good condition (sans lens) for ~$160. When I loaded the batteries into that tray and placed it in my current 645..........voila! It turned on. Now all I need to do is to find another battery tray for my 645 and I'll have 2 fully functioning bodies. If anyone has ideas or suggestions for locating the tray or has an idea for swapping something, let me know.
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
07-17-2019, 06:32 PM
|
| |
Again, thanks to all (especially Alex645) for the suggestions. I'm convinced that it's the battery holder. I didn't gauge each battery, but I've put them in other devices and those work just fine. It has to be the holder. I didn't have the batteries installed when I smelled that odd odor and I actually was holding the battery holder when I felt it get really hot. I must have fried something in the connections. I've looked at it pretty intensively and I can't see anything obvious, but, by the process of elimination, it just has to be that piece. The bad news is that i can't find one for sale anywhere. I've looked for 645s for sale for parts, and just about all of them have some issue with the battery holder (corrosion, cracked, etc.). I'll keep looking. If anyone on this forum has any insight as to where I might find one, just let me know. I really like that camera and I'll probably look for another if I can't find a part soon. This group has been very patient and helpful. I really appreciate the comments and input.
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
07-16-2019, 07:38 PM
|
| |
Thanks to all for these suggestions. I'll see if I can't locate a meter to check out the voltage. The really odd thing about this is that the LCD screen is blank. That's supposed to be powered by the internal battery. To be sure about this, I also replaced that today as well, and still no dice. If it was just the batteries in the grip, the LCD should still display something and it's just a total blank. Is there any way to "reset" the entire system?
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
07-16-2019, 07:14 AM
|
| |
Thanks to both of you for the suggestion regarding the battery. I just inserted some fresh alkaline batteries and still no go. Nothing even on the screen. Unfortunately, I don't have any kind of meter to see if I'm getting juice from the grip to the camera. The other odd thing here is that as soon as I removed the battery grip, the LED screen went blank. I don't know if that was supposed to happen or not. I think I just have a fairly expensive paperweight at this point!
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
07-15-2019, 07:11 PM
|
| |
Hello All. I'm having a problem with my Pentax 645. As the saying goes, no good deed goes unpunished! I had not used this camera in a while and decided to charge up the 6 AA batteries before taking it out for a shoot. As I was replacing the fully recharged batteries, I started to smell something burning and the battery holder got really hot along some of the contacts. Obviously, I had the batteries mounted incorrectly, or something! BTW, I had not put the battery holder into the camera at this point. I immediately removed them. I couldn't see any issue with the holder or the batteries. I reinserted the batteries in the proper orientation and then inserted them into the camera and it won't turn on. As another aside, I had recently (~6 months ago) replaced the internal battery, so I don't think that's an issue. I could see the display light up before removing the AA batteries for charging. So, did I fry the batteries, or did I fry the holder? I sure as heck hope it's not the latter, because I can only find one for sale on ebay and it's from Japan for $75! Any help or critique (aside from letting me know I'm an idiot!) would be helpful. I'm going to see if recharging the batteries will help. :o Totally frustrated at this point!! Another FYI, I did try cleaning the contacts on the holder with an eraser!
|
|
Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
05-01-2018, 07:12 PM
|
| |
Shot with Pentax 645 using Acros 100 rated at box speed.
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
08-22-2016, 06:54 AM
|
| |
Thanks once again to all who have provided insight to me on this. Special thanks to Alex and AquaDome for their advice. This group is VERY helpful. I've been making photographs for over 40 years. I started with 35mm film (Olympus OM-1) and then moved into digital (Canon) over the years. I'm strictly an amateur in the true sense of the word. I do this because I love to do it! I'll never feed my family through my photography (thank goodness for day jobs!), but I will feed my passion. I've been studying with John Batdorff in Chicago, and he's gotten me back into film. While you don't get the instant gratification of seeing the images immediately, I am learning to slow down a bit and think about things like composition, exposure, etc. My work with 35mm film got me to thinking about what it would be like to work with a larger format. I've resurrected some photographs my father made with his waist level finder Kodak that used 120 film and some of those images are really cool! I found this used Pentax 645 on line (Victory Camera) and snagged it. The thing seems to be built like a tank! It is a bit quirky (yes Alex, I have had to pull out the batteries and re-insert to get it to fire!), but I'm learning. I think I'm going to have to shoot somewhere around 100 - 200 frames before I'll really get the hang of it. Then again, it's really about the journey.............isn't it?!
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
08-21-2016, 04:08 PM
|
| |
Just a note in review here. I wasn't sure if I had loaded the film correctly or not. In thinking through this, I decided it would be better to waste one roll of film as opposed to wasting potential images, the cost of developing a blank roll of film and all of the time! Indeed, I had the the wrong side of the film that would have been exposed to the shutter! What a dope I am! In the end, I did fix the issue.:o
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
08-21-2016, 05:42 AM
|
| |
This is really appreicated, Alex. I have one question I'm a bit hesitant to ask the group. Is it possible to load the film incorrectly? From the videos I've watched it looks like the film should be loaded in a way that opposes the way it's wound on the spool. I can't recall exactly, but when I loaded my first roll it seemed like it wanted to follow the natural contour. I did see the Start markings on the roll and they lined up with the arrow on the spool holder. I'm trying to decide if I waste this unexposed roll and go back to see if I did this right, or just forge ahead. Thoughts?
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
08-20-2016, 05:44 AM
|
| |
Thanks for this, Alex. I'm really excited to see the results of my first attempts. I understand that there is a learning curve here, but I really want to slow down, and think about making an incredible image.
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
08-19-2016, 04:38 AM
|
| |
Thanks to all for the informative advice. It's been VERY helpful and I have solved the issues! The 645 is a bit quirky, at least in my mind with these settings, etc. I'm getting more comfortable with it by the minute. I'm really looking forward to making some images. The research I've done suggests that this is a timeless classic and some of the photos I've seen are just outstanding. Thanks again to all for your help, guidance and patience!!!!
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
08-18-2016, 06:24 PM
|
| |
I have the manual, and it's pretty uninformative with respect to the LCD screen. I think the screen is always on, at least in this old beast!
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
08-18-2016, 06:23 PM
|
| |
I have loaded film and the LCD screen is still on, but thanks for giving it a shot!
|
|
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
08-18-2016, 12:02 PM
|
| |
Hello to all. I'm new to this forum and Pentax in particular. I just purchased a used Pentax 645 film SLR. I popped some batteries into the grip and everything came to life. However, when I turn off the main switch, I still see the LCD screen display. Is this normal? I'm reading through the manual now. I don't have film in the camera, but I don't seem to be able to select the proper aperture priority mode. I get Auto F----in the LCD display. Will this change once I have film in the camera? Sorry for the naive questions, but I'm very new to this camera.
|
