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Forum: Pentax K-30 & K-50 06-26-2020, 07:30 PM  
K50 Aperture Block Failure?
Posted By sachmo
Replies: 11
Views: 3,664
Hi photogem,

If I switch to Live-view, prior to taking an image, live view works fine. The moment I press the button to take a picture, the camera locks up (all buttons unresponsive, lcd screen turns off) as noted before. If I am in M mode, I can press the green button, and the camera will do the light metering properly. It's only when I actually try to take the photo, that I get the weird camera lock up.

I ultimately decided to buy a used K3 over sending the K50 in for repair. I would also agree that it's not worth it to spend ~$200 on a camera body that may have a lot of manufacturing issues, vs spending on a new (or used) body.

For someone in the future who faces this same issue, thread is here as well as a justification for my decision:
K50 body acting weird, time to upgrade camera body... Considering KP vs Sony A7 ii - PentaxForums.com

Initially I was looking at the KP and Sony A7, but ultimately went for a lightly used K3 for a much cheaper price which still feels like an upgrade from the K50.
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 06-22-2020, 02:52 PM  
K50 body acting weird, time to upgrade camera body... Considering KP vs Sony A7 ii
Posted By sachmo
Replies: 20
Views: 2,291
Haven't received the K3 yet, but I'll check back in after I have the opportunity to take it with me on a few hikes.
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 06-22-2020, 10:19 AM  
K50 body acting weird, time to upgrade camera body... Considering KP vs Sony A7 ii
Posted By sachmo
Replies: 20
Views: 2,291
Hi All,

thank you for all the helpful advice.

Based on all the feedback here, I looked at the K3 and K5ii, and ultimately picked up a lightly used K3 for ~$425 (shutter count < 5k).

For anyone else that looks at this in the future, I made this decision because:
--repair on K50 body at ~$200 doesn't seem like it would get nearly the lifetime usage that I would get out of the K3 for only a little bit more. In my case I have not experienced the aperture block failure yet, and i think it's possible that this issue could also come up in the future.
--K70 is out b/c it uses the same solenoid as the K50 and people are just starting to report the same aperture block issues. It is completely unacceptable that Pentax has not fixed the issue as it has been around since the K30 model.

Some ppl may have the attitude that a camera body failure is ok if the camera is cheap enough, and to just get another one when the time comes. That's fine for those users, but for me, I pull out the camera infrequently to photograph family gatherings and trips -- and an unexpected camera body failure means that I miss important opportunities to get quality pics that I can frame.

A camera body failure that's not a direct result of me dropping the camera, allowing water ingress, or exceeding rated life of camera is just not worth it. Also, I am not going to take 2 cameras with me every time I go on a trip, so I need one camera that is reliable.

Between the K3 and K5ii, both looked pretty good. I went with the K3 b/c Pentax released a lot more firmware updates, and it had slightly better IQ, and it wasn't too much more money for the upgrade on the used market.

I also looked at the KP, since I value it's compactness but it was $750, and the K3 seems like it will meet all my needs.

Hope this thread is helpful for anyone else who has K50 issues.
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 06-18-2020, 02:17 PM  
K50 body acting weird, time to upgrade camera body... Considering KP vs Sony A7 ii
Posted By sachmo
Replies: 20
Views: 2,291
Hi all,

Thank you for the suggestions!

I haven't seen as much posted on the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III on this forum, but will start looking through threads on it.

Will also take a look at the K3 as well. Most ebay sellers don't post shutter counts, though I guess I could message them on that. I've seen ppl recommend the KP over the K3, though I guess I could save a little bit if I went that route.

I'm a little skeptical of the repair route. Precision Camera will only warranty repair for 90 days. That's a lot of money for something that may only be a temporary fix. If i'm going to drop $175, it needs to be on something reliable. I kept the camera in good condition, so honestly am very surprised that this issue came up. Wouldn't consider the K70. I've seen pics of it now unassembled, and it's basically the same components as the K50, and some of the same quality control issues are starting to bubble up.
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 06-18-2020, 12:49 PM  
K50 body acting weird, time to upgrade camera body... Considering KP vs Sony A7 ii
Posted By sachmo
Replies: 20
Views: 2,291
Hi all,

I started developing weird issues with the k50 where the camera shuts off every time I attempt to take a picture. This is different from the standard aperture block failure. I have tried a number of things (swapping batteries, using AA battery adapter, cleaning electrical contacts, swapping SD cards, upgrading to latest firmware, etc) but this seems like a hardware issue with the electrical board. I have kept this camera in good condition and shutter count is less than 2000 for reference. Precision Camera is quoting ~$175 for the repair, and given other reliability issues with the K50, i am seriously questioning if it is worth putting this money into the camera body if later it develops other problems like the aperture block issue.

So I'm currently looking at new camera bodies (would consider buying used too). I don't want to deal with any camera body with reliability issues, and have heard that the k30/k50/k70/ks1/ks2 all have the aperture block failure. I use exclusively older, film era manual focus lenses to keep the costs down and although theoretically you can use manual lenses if the aperture block fails, I've also heard members report that they started getting weird power issues when the aperture block failed, and regardless I would prefer a camera body that will just work as intended over its lifetime.

Anyway, was thinking about the KP or the Sony A7 ii. KP because it's the natural upgrade from the K50 without the reliability issues, the Sony A7ii because why should I reward Pentax's poor quality control with another camera body purchase? Kind of ridiculous that they let so many manufacturing defects continue from K30 to K50 to K70.

I wanted to get other members thoughts who use older manual lenses, would it make sense to get a KP or Sony A7 ii, or something else entirely?

Budget matters. I am not thrilled about shelling out $750 for a KP, or $900 for a Sony A7ii. Ideally would spend $500 or less, but could go up to $1000 if I am confident that any new purchase will last 7+ years.

I don't see myself getting into new digital lenses. I want to keep my costs down, and the manual primes are good enough for me.

Thank you for any insight.
Forum: Pentax K-30 & K-50 06-18-2020, 11:54 AM  
K50 Aperture Block Failure?
Posted By sachmo
Replies: 11
Views: 3,664
I tried swapping SD cards and had the same issue.

With regards to the detection of aperture block failure thread, I can't get to step 2 in the workflow which involves taking a picture as the camera shuts off. On the few occasions where the camera does not shut off, the pictures appear properly exposed.
Forum: Pentax K-30 & K-50 06-18-2020, 10:40 AM  
K50 Aperture Block Failure?
Posted By sachmo
Replies: 11
Views: 3,664
Hi All,

Bought my K50 in 2015. Light shutter count at just under 2000.

Recently, when I attempt to take photos, the LCD in the back goes completely black and the camera appears to have a weird power issue where none of the buttons are responsive -- including the on / off switch. The odd thing is that in the viewfinder, I can still see the electronic numbers as if there is still some part of the circuitry that is powered on.

The only way to reset the camera in this case is to pull the battery, place it back in, and power on. Boot up and camera menu works normal, until I attempt to take a picture and I have the same issue again.

I have tried ordering new batteries and charging them fully, cleaning the electrical contacts on both the batteries and inside the camera battery holder, also tried using a AA adapter with eneloops. I have also upgraded to latest firmware (version 1.10). I can occasionally get the camera to work if I fiddle with long enough by rebooting it enough times, but it usually does not work and is unreliable.

When the camera does work and takes pictures, they appear normal -- as in exposed properly.

I am an engineer and would guess that when I press the power button, something in the camera is drawing more current than the battery pack can handle -- the shutter begins to activate, the voltage suddenly drops, and then most of the circuitry is left in a weird error state except maybe the viewfinder which might have lower voltage chips. This is just a guess, wouldn't know unless I took it apart and actually started metering the circuit.

I am trying to figure out if this is an aperture block failure or something else. Also wanted to add that I only use older, manual pentax lenses, but I think the aperture mechanism also controls the shutter? Not sure, reading through all these threads on the issue it sounds like it is related.

I am looking into repair options and have sent an email to Precision Camera who has yet to respond to my issue or tell me what exactly they will do if this is in fact the dreaded aperture block failure. If this is the solenoid causing the issue, I don't see how simply replacing it for another will really solve it. I would expect it to last another 18 months or so and then die again, which doesn't seem worth the cost of repair. Would rather invest that money in a new camera body.

I was writing here to see if anyone else experience a similar issue and if they were able to resolve it.

Any insight would be appreciated, thank you.
Forum: Sold Items 01-24-2019, 11:38 PM  
For Sale - Sold: Rokinon 14mm 2.8 Full Frame Lens
Posted By sachmo
Replies: 4
Views: 1,300
Is there any flexibility on price?
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