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Forum: Sold Items 01-12-2020, 11:56 AM  
For Sale - Sold: Red Pentax Q10 Body Only Working, But Has Battery Issue
Posted By dem5867
Replies: 7
Views: 971
PM'ed you,,
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 08-22-2019, 02:59 PM  
Pentax X-5 conversion ?
Posted By dem5867
Replies: 4
Views: 1,049
I'm hoping the the sensor and hot mirror are the same size as a K20d ??

Lensbaby , they will not help me with a X-5,and I'm not sure the X-5 can that a filter on the front of the lens..

Thank's for the tip on Kolarvion, I'm going to drop them an email and see what they say..

The picture ?? Is it non Photoshoped ??

Thanks
DEM
Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion 08-21-2019, 07:44 AM  
Pentax X-5 conversion ?
Posted By dem5867
Replies: 4
Views: 1,049
Has anybody done an ir, uv or full spectrum on a Pentax X-5 bridge camera ?? Does the EVF work with IR ??

TIA
DEM
Forum: Pentax K-30 & K-50 08-04-2019, 04:32 PM  
K50 Focusing questions ??
Posted By dem5867
Replies: 24
Views: 2,996
Well,, it's tons better,, it only got lost maybe 2 times, it missed focus once (totally unfocused.), and it did hunt a little, saying that the hunt most times was maybe 1 or 2 steps, not the quick back & fourth it used to do.. With most of the failures a release and repress of the shutter and it did it's thing, only once did it fight with me it just wouldn't the shutter, even with 3 R&Rs.

It still (appears much less. maybe 6 times out of 600) refuses to fire once in a while, I can clearly see that it's focus lock (Green hex lit.), yet it will not fire. It seemed to be more troublesome the darker it got, it must be a setting someplace , I know in the menu the AF / AE lock linkage is set to not, yet I'm not sure if any of the modes override that setting, if not than is there a setting that will lock out the shutter if the exposure setting cannot be achieved ?? Is it possible to out shake the SR system so much it will lock the shutter out ?
I'm thinking it's an exposure setting only because a couple of times it stopped shooting at the second shot of a 0 -1 +1 bracket...

All and all it's now a joy to shoot with, even the low light performance seems to be great also.. 2 pictures posted..
Forum: Pentax K-30 & K-50 08-02-2019, 04:59 PM  
K50 Focusing questions ??
Posted By dem5867
Replies: 24
Views: 2,996
I'm betting you're right, it's easier to point to the camera or a lens, than a limitation, I didn't know that and it makes sense, that's why the camera is full open during focusing thru the VF.. I'm thinking we humans (I think.) most times want to believe that because it's automatic it's better, yet in this case it could still be limited more so than humans..



I should have elaborated, it's more than just the clear pictures, it just sounds better (It now "clicks") ! Before fixing the aperture issue {Now that you can put xxxx+ on a card instead for just xx (film days) I bracket most all my shots, have been for a long time..) , nobody ever commented about the bracketing, yet now I get comments on it all the time now, I used to get with the K20. Funny I purchased the K50 and K-01 within days of each other , the plan was to use the K-01 around people and the K50 taking the pictures I like to take
, no people, yet the K50 was so quiet I didn't need to !! The other good thing is now that the K50 is "loud" (It's really not loud it's the bracketing, it catches people off guard there expecting 1 sound not 3 ..) , I'm going to use the K-01 more as was the plan..

I should note that I also cleaned the lens and fitter , the lens was somewhat clean already, yet the filter needed to be cleaned, normally I clean the filter if it gets, finger prints on it, rain or ocean salt spray on it , toasted a filter by leaving salt spray on it..

It's real a joy to use now. It still does "hunt", yet it's much better , it like takes bigger steps , It's only done the baby steps once so far to fine tune and shoot where as before it would do baby steps back and fourth and just give up and most times, thru the VF it looked close to focus to me, yet it wouldn't fire..

The other big thing is before at most it would light one maybe two (I don't ever think I saw 3 or more..) of the red focus boxes , now sometimes it lights most of them when focusing it going to take sometime to get used too. One other thing I should clear up is at least with the K50 it appears that the red focus boxes turn off when the green focus hex comes on..

The bummer is I just got back a project I started with a team some 10+ years ago,, the good news is I got back the project and it's now done the way another engine and I told them to do it, so it should be fun,, only took 10+ years , so I'm not going to be shooting for at least a couple of weeks while I setting up..

Lastly, I'm going to look before I open another post,, I think I saw something set to +1 someplace, so it may not be an issue, yet it appears that the 1st shot of 3 (bracketed) is washed out , and the 2nd is great, I have it set to 0 -1 +1, I'll open a new post if it is an issue.
Forum: Pentax K-30 & K-50 08-01-2019, 10:24 AM  
K50 Focusing questions ??
Posted By dem5867
Replies: 24
Views: 2,996
Are you saying that if it could go to like f/3.5 it would focus better ?

I have to use it for a little time , I took a picture at a friends house last night in dim lighting (I don't think he be happy if I post it.) and it focused 1st. time without hunting it all which a location I've shot before without it locking at all, so it's much better.



Not any more than my others cameras saying that , one of the bodies took a ~7' fall in a neoprene skin like case which toasted the lenses that was on it , yet that was a very long time ago , so long I not sure which camera it was ?? Most of a the hard damage was from others not myself , I have a habit of wracking camera into things when turn or walking in tight areas most times it's in the neoprene case. For the most part the camera all most looks new {now that I cleaned the outside, white body,, note to self try not to buy white bodies !!}

I've take less then ~12 shots with it since cleaning, it's great , now maybe better than the K-01 and that doesn't have a mirror to clean (I need to take the K-01 out and confirm, I think the K-01 was the camera that took the fall stated above.) .

Note: in other post this been talk about the sealing on the weather sealed bodies, well the K50 had about a 1/4" flood of coke , which I quick cleaned up,, I have to tell you I expected there would be coke inside the bottom cover of the camera when I opened it for service,, not a drop went passed the gaskets,, to my surprise !!!

I have to think everybody here with extra thanks to Photogem, Thanks everybody so have it's been a joy to work with a clean camera !!!

Posting two pictures:

I'm not sure how to upload the extra data...
Forum: Pentax K-30 & K-50 07-30-2019, 01:02 PM  
K50 Focusing questions ??
Posted By dem5867
Replies: 24
Views: 2,996
Photogem

Sorry, not able to figure out how to quote on IPad ,, doing the same thing as the PC brings up the apple copy paste box.. not a big deal..

Looked like smoke, dust, and hair on both the AF sensor lens and between the mirrors. In addition the AF lens had something black that the swab picked up, looked like ink.

I didn’t pull the focusing screen , yet somehow in the process of cleaning I got an eyelash on it, I got the lash off by lightly tapping the top of the camera. The lash appears to have left some oil or something on the screen. You really have to look for it , so I’m not going to touch it...

Better ? Much, I will post a couple of the pictures later.

I’m still a little concerned that it still seems to “hunt” more than I thing it should. I wish I had another K50 to compare it to.. It seems most times it doesn’t get the focus 1st shot even sometimes outside in sun light. Saying that it’s better most times making small steps until focus lock, before if it didn’t focus on something most times I could release the shutter button and press it again and most times it wouldn’t focus , yet now it appears to focus most times on a second release..

I know the K-01 AFs differently, yet most times it AF locks 1st shot, sometimes it does hunt, as you might know it moves slowly to fine focus which is different than the pulse fine tuning of the K50.. Do you remember if your K50 does that ?

I did look at the K30 service manual, if there’s still an issue with the AF system, I will have to send it to somebody, I don’t have the equipment here to calibrate the AF system.. For now I’m going to use it and see how it goes.. There is not doubt it’s working much better, maybe I’m just expecting too much !!

I will open a new post, I have questions on the AF assist led..
Forum: Pentax K-30 & K-50 07-29-2019, 01:37 PM  
K50 Focusing questions ??
Posted By dem5867
Replies: 24
Views: 2,996
I looked in the shutter box, less dust than I was thinking. What I could see of the sensor there is some dust maybe a hair. The AF sensor is not at all what I was thinking it would look like I expected to be flat. I need to look closer it looks like it has a film of smoke of something coating it. Is there a odd coating or it ?? Can I use the cleaning solution on it ?? The mirror,, on the top mirror top has a little dust on it and a very light looking finger print on it. What I did notice is that the top mirror underside is dirty and the top side of the second mirror is dirty and has a hair on it.. I guess the question is lenses cleaner or sensor cleaner, any difference ??

The penta-prism besides cleaning the eyepiece on the outside is there anything on the underside (inside shutter box) that should be cleaned ?? I'm not going to touch the focusing screen , yet is there anything like a light sensor that should be cleaned ??

I didn't get any replies about lens brushes , so I'm guessing no to lens brushes ??

Little off subject: When did what use to be called the OTF sensor in the film days, go away ?? I remember seeing it in the ist I use for parts , yet didn't see it in the K50..


TIA
-----




I kept that simple ,, yet you didn't explain how !! Which was the question .... Not what it looks like.. Exactly the reason for explaining things in detail..
Anyhow think I figured the quoting thing out somewhat..



I don't think I ever said "the K50 is bad !!" I think I said how bad the green solenoid was / is and how bad it is that Pentax isn't standing up of the issue. Why would I be looking for a K70 , if I didn't like the K50.. I'd go for the KP , yet it's a new body style and I am so used to the KXX bodies I just don't think I want to switch..



I know Freon been banned.. The question should have been "You found can air that's safe to use on mirrors ??" , Yet I'm betting many would have replied you can use any can of canned air on a camera, which as you know since the post Freon days most cans state do not use on mirrors in one form or another.. I didn't think the air all the way thru,, I have food quality CO2 here and I sure one of the labs would let me use any number of clean gases. Yet I like your and others suggestion to vacuum instead of blowing..



Short is good , yet most things it's in the detail !! If I say I want a fruit , what i'm I going to get ?? If I say I want a green apple, there can be no mistakes, details.



That's good ,, how many would have wrote back ,it's OP as you yourself nicely suggested, settings (I was hoping.), or even worst that it needed a major repair ?? You are correct about the extras , keeping it short it's not something I do , like people that use there hands to explain something, it's kind of my way to give an idea of why am asking or trying to let somebody know why I'm asking so they know I checked to insure the plug is in, it's my way of trying to point a person closer to the answer for things that could have several answers or letting one know how I understood something that I read or was told.. I'm that guy who always want's to know why and how in that ordered , those who know me , know if I do not know something or if I question what you're telling me , I'm going to ask where, as in where can I go look it up, where did you hear that, etc.. Small note (One of those extra's) , Most people until they get to know me dislike it,, and bosses in the known like it, those bosses that are clueless and don't want to know ,, there loss !! It comes down to every since I was very young I've have always tried to learn as much about anything as I could , the best I could,, once again those who know me know I do facts and not BS and I don't mind calling anybody out on there BS..



It seems to me making a odd sound when AFing might just be an important fact that it's something to do with the AF system and not OP. I didn't say anything about it beeping, yet glad you broth it up , I may have not noticed the green hex, yet I remember sometimes it would beep and still not take the picture,, It pissed me off and I'm sure anybody else also. I could be wrong yet I don't remember the K-01 doing that... The di,di,di,di was the way the one person having the same issue explained the sound, so he thought it was important also..




You're 100% right , I was trying to put a good green item in the K20 and put a known bad.. TMI. In the end I think I'm putting to much work into the K20 to chance even a new green solenoid when I have some used white ones. I don't know what I'm going to do with the to new green ones,, I just don't trust them..

Photogem,, As I hope you can see I do care about your suggestions and I am trying to improve my style of posting, this is only the second forum I've posted in and the other forum get's and requires a lot for detail sometimes, most times the details have already been posted and the return detail posting are detailed questions on things that were tried or suggestions to try. Solutions in that group a lot of times deals with family members and others , so a lot of times one needs to go into the exact detail of what's going on to find the answer.. A long time ago that forum have users like yourself and others that policed the posts , as well as the forum owner (A company.), good or bad there was censorship , at one time it was suggested that some for the censored items , were important to the user base of the project at that time the company basically took the attitude it's are web site we will censor what we want,, they quickly rethought that and decided it was really the users forum. No more censorship the good is the fact that now what ever is posted is posted,, the bad is posts that get cluttered like this with with useless back and fourths like this never get cleaned out,, yet saying that most people on that forum don't do back and fourths on anything about spelling , style , content , etc..They understand that everybody has a different styles , they know we all can't be writers !! Yes I did jump the K30/K50 asking about the K70.. I might have been PM for that but unlikely. There a highly technical group that realizes that the answers to the question are more important than the content.. So they ether answer or not and don't complain about style or spelling in a post, they understand that the post stops when there's back and fourth BS about spelling or anything else not related to the post and that helps nobody !!
Forum: Pentax K-30 & K-50 07-28-2019, 09:45 AM  
K50 Focusing questions ??
Posted By dem5867
Replies: 24
Views: 2,996
photogem: I'm still having issue with the quoting thing I can't figure out how to just quote sections, I tried highlighting the item I want quoted yet it appears to copy the whole post.. Anyhow I'm going to try to keep it short (As you already know I'm not known for short..)..

Canned Air; I remember years ago when canned air was made with Freon the cans stated that (Dust-Off brand.) it was specially design for using on cameras ,,etc. Yet not that I read every can , I read a lot because I would love to if cans that don't say "Do not use on sensitive items like camera mirrors and coated lenses. Yes I was once told by a mechanic when I went to him with a caliper issue that the manual in big bold letters said "Do not use air .." well he used a few pounds of air, so I asked him "But the manual stated use no air,," he looked at me and said "I never read the manual I just know how to do it !!" On a job site I did see somebody cleaning an instrument with front coated mirrors, lenses and other fine optics with canned air , I asked him about the warning he stated that as long as you used it carefully and made sure you kept the can at right angle not to let any of the liquid come out it's fine. I know my limitations and spray cans are one of them, if you need something screwed up with a spray can send it to me , paint , lubes, glue, etc.

Bulb blowers , I never thought of using them in vacuum mode like one does with a de-soldering bulb.

There are ESD vacuum cleaners, but DIYers did it long time ago for computers:.
I have 2 service vacuums I believe one for them is ESD proof, yet I presently can not get to them, in lue of them I have a battery powered keyboard vacuum that just might fit the need..

With finest microfiber cloth such as for glasses it works perfect but they have to be cleaned as well.
I ordered the some of the highest rated from Amazon.. As I stated above I have a few really high end lab instrument lint free cloths yet they leave 1" or larger threads all over the place !!

Thanks everybody for all the fantastic tips.. I'm getting itchy to clean my cameras, yet I have to wait until my supplies come in.

Lens brush, yes / no ??
Forum: Pentax K-30 & K-50 07-28-2019, 08:39 AM  
K50 Focusing questions ??
Posted By dem5867
Replies: 24
Views: 2,996
Thanks ,, I never thought about the green hexagon, I now the red box was the focus point, it seems to me I read in one of the manuals the when the red box is lit solid the cameras in focus lock , maybe that's not true anymore (Could had been from a manual for from one for the 1st Pentax AF cameras.) ?? I used to use the green hexagon , I think I stopped, when I read about the red box or maybe I just started to see what the focus point is / was because of the issue.. The green hexagon makes sense, getting old wish I could member when I started using the red box for focus lock, It could have been with the K50, funny when I was playing with the K20 I noticed it , maybe it didn't come on very often or maybe I was trying to figure out why it appeared to quickly get to the focus point and start doing the di-di-di-di thing trying to find focus lock !!

I need to clean my equipment.
Forum: Pentax K-30 & K-50 07-26-2019, 11:18 AM  
K50 Focusing questions ??
Posted By dem5867
Replies: 24
Views: 2,996
Wow , There's clearly 2 schools of thinking when it comes to mirror cleaning,, Some say do it and others clearly say don't touch it. I was told many years ago by a big camera shop don't clean the mirror !! My personal experience I cleaned a 35mm mirror with damp lens paper and scratched it, I couldn't see it thru the viewfinder. Lens paper just never made sense to me, dry it's really hard and to make it soft one has to wet it damp just don't work, I was showed to fold it so it's ~2" * 2" and just damping it to clean lenses, yet I scratched a lens with the one of the folded corners..

I was hoping and kind of itchy to clean the K50 this weekend , I'm amassed how many people state there AF works so much better and I found a Pentax user on another forum that seemed like very close to the same issue I have, he found a piece of hair laying across the AF sensor..

I decided to order new supplies the supplies I have for cameras is old and well the lens paper that I scratched a lens with.. I have a couple of puffer blowers , I just don't trust them so I ordered a Rocket Blower.. I have electronic and lab grade cleaning swabs and cloths , yet the dust free cloths have treads that come off the sides, they are dustless just not thread-less. I ordered sensor cleaning swabs, cleaner for sensors and new lens cloths 4" * 4".. Can anybody think of a must buy item(s) that I don't have listed ?

I know not to use canned air,, I read something that just seemed like such a bad idea,, somebody talked about using a standard (Tire) air compressor , lucky somebody told him only use a low pressure oil-less compressor , I have both low pressure / low volume medical compressors (Like fish tank air compressors yet have both in and out ports. I don' even think there 5psi open ended.) and medium mid volume \ pressure maybe 7 psi open ended , I wouldn't use them for cleaning a camera , that just seems like asking for issues.. I was surprised there seemed to be some people that seem to be really aggressive when cleaning cameras !! I was taught don't clean the shutter box unless there's an issue (Film), I guess today's DSLRs require a cleaning schedule. Yearly ??

Lens brushes ? I has a couple of older giveaway free be brushes, I've never used them, another item I was told not to.. I saw a couple of users use lens brushes in the shutter box, one person used a carbon ion brush to attack dust without touching anything.. Comments ?

Last question, the ion brush got me thinking what about a ion generator ?? I know your all thinking are you crazy, If have a couple of dc and ac ion generators, yet I'm not talking about those (Which I would be afraid of damaging something.) , how about the hand powered gun type ??

TIA
Forum: Pentax K-30 & K-50 07-25-2019, 12:09 PM  
K-50 / K-500 Aperture Solenoid fix (DIY with pics)
Posted By dem5867
Replies: 417
Views: 109,416
MarkJerling; "Don't fix it if it ain't broke." I think you're right. I'm hoping to keep the K50 as a backup !!

Not that I'm looking to buy new , especially of here in the USA , so I'm asked if anybody knows if companies still do if you didn't by it in the US it's grey market and the warranty will not be valid in the US ?? If so are the Japanese new cameras grey market also ??

"There is a risk, but it would be a considerably lower risk than with the K-30 and K-50."

So am I hearing the there is a consensuses that the feeling is that the K70 definitely has less chance of having a solenoid issue ??

For me I kind of decided , I'm hoping to find a K70 with the aperture issue ,, yet If I see a used one that at the right price I'll pop for it.. It comes down to I've always loved my Pentaxs , I have years invested in Pentax lenses and accessories, the K70 has the features I want , I have parts and know how to do the repair, age
(My), so I think it's best to stay with the animals that I know..

What I was / am / will be worried about is that like me somebody don't know they have an issue.. I can't tell you how much of an idiot I feel like, I've been shooting for 40 years , I should have caught it years ago.. In my defense the early days it's was very intermittent, yet I have a wedding shoot that the church which was darker than the reception hall were the few pictures in the church came out good yet almost none of the hall came out at all, I should have noticed that !! Film day artifact I'm sure I don't look at the previews on the LCD screen , I most times wait till I download them to the PC weeks later, no competition like in my film days.. I need to make checking the previews a habit..
Forum: Pentax K-30 & K-50 07-24-2019, 11:26 AM  
K50 Focusing questions ??
Posted By dem5867
Replies: 24
Views: 2,996
The Squirrel Mafia: Off subject I thought the KP was the flagship ??

Frustrated to put things lightly.. Manual focusing I was pretty good at it with my SP..

I'd be a little less frustrated if I could figure out the setting will let the shutter fire without it being in focus , I thought I found it , yet I seem to remember it wouldn't fire even set so the shutter should fire un-focused,, as I stated it seems to get in this hunting mode it's in focus yet it's taking little steps around the focus point and will not fire.. I'll need to check again.. My K20 I don't ever remember it hunting for focus lock, sometimes it would do the end to end thing and give up.. The K-01 , I'm sure it's done the end to end thing one of twice and most times as soon as it has focus lock it fires. Once in a great while it seems to have an issue what to focus on , the red box will jump locations most times it hunts once or twice locks and fires , sometimes the item that you're shooting will be out of focus and the item that the red box stopped on will be in focus {This normal operation !!) .. I wish I could spell the way it sounds when hunting (very tiny steps), looking thru the viewfinder it don't look like the focus is changing, it's the sound , blinking box and the shutter not firing , that sets this body off from my other Pentaxs. It does it even in the brightest light sunlight much less and forget low light most times it just goes end to end and gives up.. I know both the K-01 and the K20 give up sometimes in low light it seems to be less , now that I'm trying to think this thru, yet I can't be sure I shoot more with the K50 than the K-01 so it could just be I notice more on the K-50.. The K20 not designed to be as good in low light as the K50 or K-01..

Sorry for the long one just trying to piece together , what I'm looking for over the weekend.. It's so odd there has to be something in the focus path.. seems to me I saw someplace a drawing on the focus path somewhere.. If somebody knows a link for it ,, please share..

Being Lazy, going to post it here instead of above. I figure out what the K50 hunting sounds like "Moss code" !!

Thanks
Dave
Forum: Pentax K-30 & K-50 07-24-2019, 10:05 AM  
K50 Focusing questions ??
Posted By dem5867
Replies: 24
Views: 2,996
thanks tduell:
I'll try that this weekend.

I'm a little confused on the AF system , did I read that the AF system is done differently in LV mode than it is in VF mode ??

I'm thinking / hoping that everybody right and there's dirt or dust someplace, I don't think it's a finger print.. It appeared that after I replaced the aperture solenoid it got clearer, yet I'm sure the solenoid replacement did not have any effect on on the focusing unless I knocked some dust off someplace. I've never cleaned inside the shutter box or mirror of any camera with the exception of my super program I got a fat greasy thumb print on it..

Bad habits: Early on I was taught not clean inside the shutter box unless it really needed it and only clean lenses when this an issue and lightly at that (film cameras). I used to look inside the shutter box once in a while with my film cameras.. About the time I went DSLR I had stopped looking in the shutter boxes unless I saw something on the mirror , which maybe was once or twice. I never thought about if dust gets on the film it goes with the film to the processor, yet on a DSLR any dust stays in the camera so it's probably best to check inside the shutter box.. I know better yet I have a habit of removing the lens from the K50 to use on another body and I leave the camera face up with no body cover. It's not that I don't have body covers ,, I've just gotten lazy !!!

Wish me luck I'm going to look in the mirror box and see if there's dust, dirt, finger print..

One last question , what would be the effect if any of getting a finger (thumb) print on the underside of the mirror ??

TIA
DEM
Forum: Repairs and Warranty Service 07-24-2019, 07:32 AM  
Full Conversion Questions ???
Posted By dem5867
Replies: 11
Views: 1,370
I didn't realize the K20 was CMOS ,, I'll have to look closer at them, I looked at them quickly and they looked the same..

I did read some of the links you posted,, after I started the K20 conversion,, that's the reason for the coating question, It appears some say to coat and others say don't.. I need to go back and reread the links.. It seems and I only looked quickly so there's most likely other points of view I didn't read, yet it appears most don't AR coat a full conversion, and others seemed mostly VIS / IR conversion stated to AR coating , A couple stating it's a must for astrophotography.. Never say never , so I will stay it this way I don't plan on doing astrophotography.. So The question was to coat or not,, I'm thinking unless somebody states the difference is night and day, I'm not going to coat..

The K-01 ,, yes yourself and several others had stated that the K-01 is a good platform to convert, yet I try not to open cameras until they need to be. Timex Syndrome !!
Yet I was going to ask you about K-01 , I believe it's here in the USA, that was / is going on the cheap because the owner states that the shutter is stuck. I was thinking of getting it yet, in looking into I'm not sure it's would be a smart move of me. There seems to be several posts on the K-01 questioning about the normal shutter position (opened or closed..) and the is a very small amount that appear to really have shutter issues, I just do think I ready to take on a shutter issue.. It would most likely be a good K-01 to learn on, yet I just presently cannot lay out the short cash, especially if I going to pull the trigger on a used K70, I would love to find another K70 for cheap that has the aperture issue,, yet I'm getting an itchy trigger finger.

Lastly , so I'm guessing , yet the thin glass glued to the front of the sensor is not an issue ?? I'm replacing the 2 glass filter with a piece of clear quartz, it's supposed to be flat from < 290nm to > 1000nm, I'm thinking that's a good choice for a full conversion.
Forum: Pentax K-30 & K-50 07-24-2019, 06:35 AM  
K-50 / K-500 Aperture Solenoid fix (DIY with pics)
Posted By dem5867
Replies: 417
Views: 109,416
Yes, I do babble [A lot],, and a lot of times it's TMI and causes confusion.. I will try to keep things short !!!
Thanks for the feedback..

I feel like an and moron,, My K50 was broke for sometime and I was clueless about it !! 85 / 90 % of time I use the camera outdoors and there are only a few shots (That I didn't delete..) from outdoors appear to be darker then maybe they should be,, I just thought the camera took richer color pictures then my other cameras , personally I thought looked great, richer color.. yet I've been to a couple of functions were when I looked at the pictures I ended up deleting more pictures than I kept, not thinking thru I blamed it on operator error , not correcting for the back light coming thru the windows.. One of the sites I have shot many times under the same outdoor lighting coming thru the windows. Never even considered a problem with the camera.. Now that I remember I just want to get it out there that if like me you think you're having a back lighting issue , you may want to do the check on it to insure it's not the aperture problem.. I've owned enough cameras I should have catch it !!
Forum: Pentax K-30 & K-50 07-23-2019, 09:47 PM  
K50 Focusing questions ??
Posted By dem5867
Replies: 24
Views: 2,996
I have a K50 I purchased used off a person that I ask why he was selling such a low shutter count less than a couple months old. They told me that the camera was a gift and he felt the camera didn't take as sharp of pictures as his Nikon.. The camera does once in a while take really sharp pictures just not most of the time.. It seems the auto focus system is wracked out,, the auto focus seems to hunt when it gets close to focus , it states it's in focus the red block in the viewfinder, yet it seems like it's decided that the focus can be better and you can hear it doing little steps with the lens , while it's doing this the red block locks and unlocks in the same place,, sometimes it just gives up and focus to one end , I'm not sure if it's one end or the other ,, I think it's ether , yet have not confirmed.. I need to go back and check yet it seems that I remember getting pissed because even though I had set it to fire the shutter even if un-focus yet it steps so much so quickly most times it will not let the shutter fire, the shutter override could just be operator error ,, I seem to member some settings in the settings menu were related to shutter override..

I have done a reset when I first had the aperture problem , I don't think I did one after the recent firmware upgrade.. During my looking for info. on the aperture I saw a K70 going for cheap because the person that was selling it got it for free with the person given it to him stated that the only issue it had was "It doesn't take sharp pictures." the person selling it figured out it had the aperture issue and didn't want to put the time or money into,, I thought great somebody else with the same issues I have with my K50 yet they had noted that they were never able to get properly exposed pictures with it,, so the sharpness issue was never confirmed...

It's been stated that maybe this dust or dirt in the AF path,, Which is what I'm hoping it is.. So my question(S) are pointed at those who know or have worked on the mechanical workings of the K50 AF system..

1. Were is the AF sensor located , how big is it (Posted picture would be nice..).
2. Is it adjustable , can it be knocked out of adjustment without damaging some other more fragile items (Like bumping the camera without leaving a mark..) , is it possible that it didn't get adjusted correctly at the factory ??
3. I don't notice anything odd when I look thru the viewfinder , yet is it possible that the mirror is tilted or not returning to the correct location ??

Lastly I was going to start a new post asking about focusing screens , yet I had my Super Program focusing screen changed to flat matt because I hated the focusing aids.. So I think I'll stay with the focusing screen that the K50 has.. So here's the question , I always thought focusing screens are made of glass, so what is a resin focusing screen ?? Are they ant better ??

TIA
DEM
Forum: Repairs and Warranty Service 07-23-2019, 05:21 PM  
Full Conversion Questions ???
Posted By dem5867
Replies: 11
Views: 1,370
Thanks for responding,, photogem ,, so the K20 only has the big shaky part and no piezo-ceramic , correct ?

Boy, I'm hoping you can straiten me out on this,, I read all over the place to be careful to not scratch the CCD or that it's hard to get dust off of it, which lead me to think the sensor itself is exposed , yet the K20 and a ist I use for parts has a thin glass cover on it is that normal or is that a Pentax thing ??

Well if you can't tell by my questions on this upgrade that optics is a huge weakest for me even though I've worked for a couple for Otological companies. I do electronics, yet in one of those jobs I showed an optical engineer that one didn't need a BS to prove a plastic lenses didn't burn a test paper when the glass lenses could,, He was trying to protect his job , he ordered hundreds of bad plastic lenses saving the company hundreds and costing them thousands,, they walked him , and I left because the CEO came to me after I showed him the issue an stated "You don't have an optical degree so what's makes you right and him wrong he, has a degree !" The day they trashed all the plastic lenses I told that CEO , I didn't need a degree to tell you they were bad did I !! and walked out the door !! Many years later I would work for him again at which time he apologizing.. There's more to the story yet you get the idea !!


So 1st question is what is the story with the thin glass cover , it doesn't seem that easy to scratch !! Is it a low pass filter ?? Do I need to worry about it for the conversion ?? The glass appears to be bonded to the ceramic with some type of heat cured glass epoxy,, Do I need to worry about this glass ?? The only way I can see to remove it is to break it,, just seems like a bad idea !!

2. I pulled out what from reading I thought it the hot filter sandwiched with a low pass filter, yet I tried to unsuccessfully break them apart and from what I can tell both pieces of glass appear blue which I thought was an indicator of the color correcting part of the hot filter, do you know are they both blue or can I not see it correctly and one is clear ?? Could the low pass filter be blue in color..

Lastly I'm on the fence wither I should try to find somebody to AR coat the Quartz glass I have coming in,, from what I've read it appears that AR coating may limit the spectrum range ,, I did read something about using two coatings ,, it just seems to be getting to be a lot to go thru for a AR coating ,, and in the end there seems to be some correlation between the coating and the light transmission (Seems odd to me most times when you add something on you lose something , is this not so with coatings ??) as well as the thickness of the glass to coating spectrum .. In your and anybody else is it worth the hassle to have it coated for full spectrum use ??

I hope I can regret this statement later,, yet from all I read about UV it seem like such a hassle , is it worth it or as some have said just go with vis, uv..
If I'm read correctly UV has issue with lenses , sensors, is there other issues with UV maybe I should know about ??

TIA
DEM
Forum: Pentax K-30 & K-50 07-23-2019, 03:42 PM  
K-50 / K-500 Aperture Solenoid fix (DIY with pics)
Posted By dem5867
Replies: 417
Views: 109,416
My mistake wrong term "The sound is maybe a bit snappier" your right it sounds snappier them the green one did..

"I did a search worldwide for completed listenings of K-70's "for parts or not working": you're right as soon as the posted there gone the last one was posted 3 days ago and sold for over $400us in less than 12 hours, as I stated I've been following them !! and there have been a few listed that one has to read the details, which is a hassle..

If you get better pictures with the K-01 than with the K-50, I would guess that something is either wrong with your K-50

I think you're right again , I think it's dust or dirt , It doesn't appear to be or the mirror,, I haven't looked for the AF sensor , maybe you can point me to were it might be ??

When I used the word hardly on the K50 I've put over 4000 shots on it compared to the ~7000 shots I put on the K20, My Super Program has well over 10,000 , My buddy that passed and I would go out almost 40 {Some weekday evenings also.} or more weekends shooting 3 to 5 36+ rolls of film and developing it during the week, did that for some 5+ years, He did shot professionally at functions with his medium format cameras , and used his A-1 most times he came out with me.. The K-01 it's sad it's a great camera , and if I could find any complaint it would be how much clearer the pictures in reality as to the way the look on the LCD I'm sure it's not an issue with the camera ,, I think the K50 looks the same when using live-view which I use only when see thru the viewfinder which isn't very often !! I kind of tried to get the wife to use the K-01 she didn't like the feel of it and like me kept putting up to her eye,, old habits die hard or can't teach an old dog new tricks !!

"Japan, which as I mentioned "is a different cup of tea" and I am not going to exlain now how Japanese dealers work" and why is that ,, as far as I can see there selling the same used K70s as everybody else. So unless they stole them or got them illegally some how ,, how are they different cameras USA dealers that I searched are carrying used K70s with both low and high shutter counts , the only difference I see is that the USA vendors for the most part appear to be listing there K70s really close to there new K70 selling price point, (>$650 ) and the ones doing that have some of the highest prices for new K70s, so what would one pay over $600.00 for a used K70 when other are selling them new for under $600 ??

"Also your claim that there is no way to tell now many K-70's are going to fail... yes, there is a way:
As the aperture mechanism is the same as in the K-S1 and K-S2 as well as the K-30 and K-50 and as there are hardly any failures with the K-S1 and K-S2 this is actually the way!" Wrong only time well tell , and your logic is iffy at best 1st as I stated there have been no failures of the pre- K20 and as I stated the few I found were in the end blown off as some type of operator error !! So how many pre-k20 are there in there world , how long have they been out there ?? OK hardly means there ones that you know of !! How many don't you know of , one can only guess ,, how many years has been that the K-S1 and S2 been out ?? So if I did my math right 0/over who knows * time ,,I would say more than one is an issue,, especially when the issue has been found and can be easily corrected yet , Pentax has continued so that to mickey mouse a know bad part to work as a known good part.. I've worked for several large companies and a few small that did the same thing , and with time it cost them a bundle or there no longer in business !! I sure nobody will disagree that the new part is junk and more than one failure is to many..

"But if I am pissed about Pentax for whatever reason for I don't want to read nice things, I will search for the bad things... thats how it usually just works.
But this is not research then... but quite the opposite. No value in this." Maybe you're not pissed at Pentax ,, Yet I'm betting anybody that has had a K30 - K70 fail is. In fact if I was pissed at Pentax why would I be looking for a K70 ?? I was thinking of jumping ship not because of the aperture issues at the time I didn't even know there was a problem. The 2 reasons I almost jumped ship is 1. Is I been trying to get a used Sigma 4.5mm for Pentax mount ,, yet the only ones used for a good price appear to be Canon and Nikon I've seen both for under $500us a couple of times, Yet the Pentax mount 4.5mm there's been very few posted used and the ones posted are going at >$600us , new $699->$1,200, and less and less camera shops here in the USA are carrying Pentax mount lenses.. 2. Pentax has been gone how my local electronic shops for sometime now, and the very few camera shops left close to me that I can stop in and look around most times only has newer display models with no stock for sale , yet I noticed that it's not just Pentax,, it's most brands , one of the camera shops seems to be only carrying a few low end and a few high end models, mostly Nikons and 1 or 2 Canons , that was about a year ago and I don't even know if there still opened.. Hunt's and Abe's of Maine are most likely the closest open shops around me and both are >70 miles away.. Both great places to shop,, yet a little bit pricey (Have to be to keep the doors open in this market.) , they most times have what you're looking for or something the will work.. I'd say there are 3 reasons yet the third reason is why I stay with Pentax, the failure of the K50, I've only had have a few problems with any of my Pentax bodies and each time I was able to fixed the issue quickly and easily (My Super Program has taking so many beatings it isn't funny , it has dings , the white panel for the viewfinder LCD lighting is pushed in and epoxied from the outside, basically looks like crap, it's had beer dropped on it , been way out on the ocean with slat spray, beaches with sand and so much more.. People I know not as daring as I am have had problem with there cameras and sent them to be repair ,most times after getting them back trashed them,, most were out of warranty when they trashed them.. My buddies A-1 had a issue (If I remember it was something to do with the shutter , I think it was cloth and ripped.) Not sure if the shop repaired it or if it was sent to Canon ,, it worked fine when he got it back , he did comment that the black screws on the camera clearly looked like the camera was opened, it worked fine for many more years , my comment on the A-1 It's a tank compare to the Super Program,, big, heavy, loud,, yet a solid performer and the long shutter made for some interesting color shifts..

I did not post to argue with you !!
I should have asked what is the chances that I would purchase a faulted K70 used or new..

Because I'm sure my camera has had a problem for a while , I didn't notice it or as I stated I thought it was a metering glitch, over the last couple of years I mostly shot outside,, only a few shots,, yet it sat for sometime I was using go-pro clones it's small and people just don't seem to be intimidated as much, plus I use a Lytro (Mostly likely spelled wrong..) that I've been using,, odd camera at best,, anyway the week before the K50 went total, I was at a baseball game and the pictures came out good maybe one failure , the next week I went to a indoors birthday party and it crapped out at first I tough I had a setting screwed up because the light coming thru a window was overexposed as I expected it would be yet everything in the room was way underexposed.. It was the aperture issue.. I got home looked the problem up on the internet and came up with many posts about the issue, and because of several get post within a day my K50 was up and running ,, I believe it was your post that I found to be the best !! Yet I wish I would have read the "A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY: Development of the solenoid in Pentax cameras." a little closer ,, I had asked on one of the forums if any of the 35mm bodies had the solenoid and I was told there was none , yet it appears that in this post or in the post about the history , it seems like it was stated that some have had some luck with one from a MZ,, Is that confirmed and does anybody know if that fix(es) are still working today ???

I posted so I could get a felling of what others thought about any K70 failing, I didn't expect to open several days of worms !! I was hoping for an option of what others tough about it ! I don't understand why you appear to be taking it so personally !! If I wanted to be personal and ask "how do you know what us going on at Pentax ,,You stated that Pentax couldn't use another manufacturer yet it appears to me the long over patent is in Ashii's (Pentax) name ,, I'm sure most would agree with me that if there's was years of NO documented online about any bodies pre-K30 and now there's even a few (As you state.) post-K20 failures the issues hasn't been corrected , at better companies I worked at If we had no failures and them started having failures the problem would not be considered fix until we were back to zero,, more times than not somebody in the financial chain found a part or process that was cheaper didn't understand why, didn't ask why, just did it !! It always amazed me that some poor person only doing there job or doing what they were told to do , getting the walk,, when most times the finger really pointed else were !! I asked about your resources only because the name of the company stated to make the parts still has the same white style part shown on there web site and one of my early jobs used to order samples of parts that engineers wanted (That's what my job was,,wish I could find a job like that today, it was a fun and cool job..) if I called and the manufactures representatives told me that the picture or ad was just a put on , those engineers would go out of there way not to use there products for wasting theirs and my time,, I could email them if you want me to, I'm betting that they would say they can still supply the part as it looks on there web site.. I don't know about the rest of the world yet in this country to advertise something you don't have is a crime,, False Advertising !! So I'm thinking maybe they just might keep the web site up to date ,,Just guessing ??

So you're wrong about about my feelings for Pentax ,, I've always put my Pentaxs up against other cameras , Size and handling is what I 1st. notice , followed by the lack of lenses and accessories they have , most camera companies change there mount with almost every series they come out with or so it seems. I am worried that Pentax is going to go out of business,, yet I have years of investment, I love my pentaxs , and have always had good thing so say about Pentax and cameras ,, what I am saying is that one body really knows for many have failed or how many will have (Real numbers no your guessing of the few failures you know of !!!) !!

I posted because I not as trusting as you are and I question how many cameras are listed because of this failure and my exact comment was there seems to be more used or per-owned K70s listing on Ebay them any other pentax and yes if I take out Japan (Which once again they don't have as many other used or pre-owned Pentaxs older cameras as K70s..) the number is smaller , yet if we exclude the whole world we will have not K70s failure which is what it appears you're trying to say,, As I stated show me real numbers !!

I know I didn't realize my camera was broken ,, how many people do you think don't know they have an issue or know they have am issue and just don't want to report it.. I don't know how it is in your country yet in this country most people who go out and by a nice camera , purchase it base on a event (Birthday, Birth, wedding , ETC.) and than it ends up in a closet or attic, and like myself when I purchase my 1st. camera ,, I wanted an A-1 just like my buddy , I knew nothing about SLRs and the salesman made many very good points about why the Pentax was better (And it just looked better than the A-1, Lighter,,) so I bought the Pentax Super Program, I on occasion thought I made a mistake ,, yet today I know it was the right option , and the reason for the post I was hoping to get an objective opinion on what the chances are of getting a problem camera.. What I'm not going to pay >600+ to purchase a new camera that I'm going to have to open.. Second I've had great luck with my used Pentax purchases.. so knowing what I know now and having let a few slip thru my hands , I'd purchase a K70 with the aperture issue, it appears I'm not the only one who is willing to open a camera !!

Trust: do I really think somebody would list something that was broken as not !! Well I would hope not , yet some may not know, and at the camera stores a lot of times they take in a trade from somebody upgrading so I'm sure sometimes things get missed and maybe some tech.s just don't know what to look for so , I don't think that has anything to do with trust and yes I've gotten used items that have an issue or to and most times it was just missed.. Saying that I'd be foolish to think that it couldn't happen..

Lastly , I to think Pentax is close to doom , It's sad yet I don't think it's only Pentax ,, It appears that Nikon posted lower earnings this week,, bummer ! It looks to me like DSLRs are going the way of the 8 track tape, I wondering if there will still be a 3 camera market,,

So after all this , I still don't have an answer to my question ,, asked the correct way , and now it turned into 2 questions !!

1. Now that it isn't as important ,, what do you all think this chances of getting a new or used K70 that has the aperture issues ??
2. If you purchased a K70 used and it didn't appear to have the problem , would you replaced the green solenoid as soon as you got the camera or would you wait until you have issues ??

Jeallen01, I don't want to drag you in this , yet it appears I'm not the only one who thinks that Pentax don't have a handle on this.. Maybe others have the same concern ?? Speak up or it will never be known..

photogem: It's clear your knowledge of the insides for Pentax cameras (Maybe others.) far exceeds mine, and that's not hard to do when it comes to camera's.. I now have open a total of like five cameras and fixed a couple of point and shoots by pounding the lenses to there in position , not very scientific, yet it appears to work.. {saw some wacko do it on UT..well I guess that makes me a wacko for trying it..}.. Not important , yet any idea why so many P&Ss seem to do that , is it something to do with the batteries dying ?? Anyhow I have questions on the K50 AF, a question on another K-01, and on focusing screens mostly Pentax brand and questions about what there made of.. I've read some of the post here on focusing screens yet have additional question that maybe others will or can chime in.. I'm only asking for your opinion as any for my bosses would tell you I always try to find the most and quickest information about something I can.. I'm thinking on the K50 and K-01 questions I should start a new post , If you know of a post talking about the focus system of the K50 or any that are the same please point me to it. The K-01 it's more of a is repair possible or is the body junk / parts I didn't look a lot but it appears nobody else has had the problem.. The focusing screen should I start a new post ?? I don't want to railroad somebody posts..

photogem Even though it may seem like I'm trying to beat on you I'm not ,, It's the one thing mostly bosses, everybody loves and hates about me is I asked questions and go out for my way to insure there true ,, I a ball in sales meetings !! and fellow engineers always tell me how much they love it when " Do you have documentation or someplace I can look it up.." Once in a while I find oddities like in a MOS-FET datebook I found a timeline that showed that there was very few failures of this part , I mean like 1 out of a 1m, yet I notice the timeline ended with the words "The end of time.." yet the data sheet clearly stated that the devices was rated at like 1 billion switchings norm. and 5 billion max. tpy. We were using the FET in a 1 MHZ switching power supply , I didn't do the math but it was clear to all of us the at 1 mhz. 5 billion isn't very long.. So I asked the sales engineer "how can a timeline be to the end of time when the part is only rated for 1 billion switches,, he told me he would get back to me about it, 36+ years later I'm still waiting.. So please don't take it personal,, It's just a camera and I would like to get the whole story from somebody at Pentax (It's not going to happen so your the next best thing..).. So I thank you once again for with out all your posts with history is the only reason a lot of us have working Pentaxs.. Believe me I wish there like yourself for other of issue I've had !! P.S I'm hoping my other questions aren't so controversial and we can keep them to a couple of small posts

DEM
Forum: Pentax K-30 & K-50 07-22-2019, 01:37 PM  
K-50 / K-500 Aperture Solenoid fix (DIY with pics)
Posted By dem5867
Replies: 417
Views: 109,416
did you read my whole statement low shutter counts and volume was basically what I said.. What I said was if one looks on EBAY there are more K70s listed than any other Pentax listed and I'm thinking 3 sold in >3 months seems low to me.. Lastly I've been following the K70s for months and there been several here at USA camera shops that have had K70 with low shutter counts, some even stated that they have underexposure issues.. If I knew what I know now I would have a K70, for less than $300.00..



Why's that, is Japan a different world ?? Does Japan have a special Japanese Pentax factory ?? Are you saying that the Japanese K70's better in some way then the K70s in the rest for the world ???



The only way to do as you call it "prober conducted research!" would be to purchase several K70s and test them or ask prospected sellers to do the test them,, you think there going to do it ,, would you want to find out you're trying to sell a broken camera ?? You're right the only research I conducted is from yours and many many more posts and discussions like this one and searching the world for a K70 at a great price because it seems to me that there's a good chance the aperture problems are just starting to show up,, I hope I'm wrong !!

My 1st. Pentax DSLR was the K20 (that I'm mod.ing for full spectrum..) fantastic camera.. I purchased the K50 sometime ago used , it had like 50 shots on it the person selling it to me told me that it was a present and it didn't seem as sharp as his Nikon DSLR, (thought he was crazy , the K20 was just so clear how could a more pixel camera not be sharp ??) well outside it took ok pictures some great some not so great , once in a while it would do a really dark picture view able but dark sometimes I would do 2 or 3 of the same shots and most times the others would come out ok, just thought it was just a metering glitch,, yet although sharp just not breathtaking as the K20.. inside it was a different story , the non-flashed pictures were all over the place mostly not sharp , well not as sharp.. once in awhile a unexplained dark picture.. Sometime shortly after the I purchased the K50 I purchased a low shutter count K-01 (Nice camera just can't get used to no viewfinder..), Funny looking at the pictures on the LCD just doesn't do the camera any justice, it really takes great pictures, they just don't look so great via the LCD..

Disappointed in both cameras I was hardly shooting at all even when I did take the K50, I even shot with my cell phone a couple of times.. Well at my grandson's 1st. birthday it broke.. I've been looking at used K70 and use surprised by two things 1. there seem to be more K70s used for sale than K50s,, 2. There seemed to be a lot of K70s with what to me seem to be low shutter counts (<3000),, at the time it just seemed to me to be odd,, didn't think no more about it.. Your right there does seem to be a lot both new and used from Japan (Don't understand what your trying to say about Japan sold cameras as far as I know there the same Pentaxes sold around the world..),, the only thing I noticed about the Japanese is there pricing seems to by all over the map with not apparent logic,, some are price low with high shutter counts (>5000) and low prices for low count ones and the reverse is also somewhat the same..

My K50, something I notice almost right away is the the shutter cycle seemed quieter than the K20, at the time I just thought ok Pentax made the K50 quieter,, yet it just sounded different click or other sound just sounded off, maybe mushy.. compared to the K20 and one cannot compare it to the K-01 (no mirror sounds).. The day I got home I googled about the cameras problem and I learnt about the problem.. of course I ordered several green replacements only to read more about the issue, that's when I remembered the K20.. Every time I time of opening a camera , I think of broken Timex watches , repairs just never end up well when I've try to repair them ,, something about rotary springs !! Based on a couple of posts , pictures and videos I moved the part from the K20 to the K50 , The bad news is the camera is much louder (It now clicks like the K20, maybe a touch louder.) the good news is the camera sounds better.. Well you know what I stupidly did with the bad one !!!

I need to thank everybody for all the great posts on the K30/K50 repair, for with out my K50 wouldn't be working..

As I stated above,, if I knew about the issue the day I got home with the broken K50 I would presently be in a K70,, that day in my searching for K70s (Really just looking I've been looking for sometime now..) there was one listed for $299.00 that clearly stated it had the aperture problem and oddly stated that the person he purchased it from said "It didn't take sharp pictures",, at the time I had never open a digital camera before (with the exception of a few P&Ps and well remember the watches), so I didn't jump on it ,, today it be mine.. The sharpness issue I don't see how the solenoid could be an issue causing that, and only I and the person on EBay are the only ones who seemed to comment about it , in my case I think there's dust or something in the AF path,, although it seems to do it less , it seems to hunt a lot when it gets close to focus, more so than the K-01 and the K20 pre-mod.

"Amateur Photographers (UK) Predicts End for Pentax.." I think it's the end of Pentax , I'm surprised there holding on.. Been to a electronics store in the USA in the last 5 to 10 years ?? Pentax hasn't !! See anybody other than Ricoh making Pentax mount items ??

What ever you want to call it fact , fiction , what ever pre-K30 and back even the few failures that were reported on this cameras were figured out to be mostly caused by some other issues, there has been failures of the K70 , I've not read about any repair done with the white solenoid, fail.. So if I did my research correctly there has been almost zero aperture faults reported pre-K20 with the white solenoid and there have been hundreds if not thousands of K30/K50 up to and including K70s with the green part mod.ed not not fail.. So at the end of the day there's no way to tell how many K70s are going to fail Having been thru many engineering issues with many companies , I just don't see with the engineering that went into the white part ,, that one will ever be able to mickey mouse the green part to work like the white part,, Ricoh is just buying time and it so sad your right "That's modern life. Not so easy to return." yet seems to me the truth is "There is no return.."

So the only proper conducted research I conducted was to read and read and read on the internet and my own personal experiences..
Forum: Pentax K-30 & K-50 07-21-2019, 05:31 PM  
K-50 / K-500 Aperture Solenoid fix (DIY with pics)
Posted By dem5867
Replies: 417
Views: 109,416
Well as I stated it was totally by mistake,, I have 2.5 new green ones on hand, yet I decided with the K20D to put a white one in, I have 3 of them.. The K20D is just such a nice body, I don't want to chance a green going bad and having to open the camera for a 3rd. time. How does one get .5 of a solenoid you ask ,, I was pulling the plunger out and it was stuck so tight that it flew out of my fingers.. The good news is it sounded like it stuck to some metal,, the bad news is the same ,, I have a ton of metal were it got lost..

"Photogem": Your statements are about how I feel between the white and green,, If I have an older 327 in the back yard you know runs , why would you by a junk yard motor that you don't know if it even runs ??

I have to say, after seeing the engineering and manufacturing of the white part compared with the green part , I'm totally bummed that Pentax {Ricoh} still insists that the mod.ed green part is as good as the white parts.. This I'm sure is penny wise , dollar foolish , for Ricoh.. Instead of putting there tail between there legs and go back to the original design at a buck or two per more camera , they'll spend thousand trying to mickey mouse the green ones to save a few cents at production... It just amasses me the if one looks for underexposed pictures some time pre-K30 , the K20d and back for sure one finds very few underexposed posts and mostly what one finds it appears that it's O.E.. Look at the K30 up (There have not been as many failures reported with the K70 , yet there has been some. The few K70 failures still appear to be using the same green solenoid mod'ed to work !! Look on EB , it appears that the K70 has the most used or pre-owned listings of Pentax DSLRs, a lot have very low shutter counts , I saw one with ~240 clicks and a lot are just under ~500 why are there so many people willing to give up what spec. wise is a great DSLR ??? Could it be there's more K70s out there with the aperture problems, then has been reported.

Lastly I hoping somebody can answer this for sure,, Does the KP not have the same aperture control system ??


TIA
Forum: Repairs and Warranty Service 07-21-2019, 08:04 AM  
Full Conversion Questions ???
Posted By dem5867
Replies: 11
Views: 1,370
More questions ,, the hot filter pack (As I'm calling it ) is clearly 2 pieces of glass {Term used loosely.} sandwiched together, I was thinking the one piece was the IR filter with color correction and the other I'm thinking is a low past filter.. yet now that I see the ccd has what appears a thin piece of glass I'm thinking maybe that's the low pass filter,, does anybody know.. Maybe one of those people that did their own conversion can post if they remove the glass covering the CCD or not.. Is that the piece of glass that some people say has 2 piezo strips ?? I ask because some people state to be careful about touching the sensor and checking for dust on the sensor yet this glass does not aloud one to direct touch the sensor with this glass in place..

TIA
Forum: Repairs and Warranty Service 07-20-2019, 11:14 AM  
Full Conversion Questions ???
Posted By dem5867
Replies: 11
Views: 1,370
Age again,, I have a ccd frame from the ist I'm using for parts.. Couple of items I noticed is there is a thin piece of glass directly over the CCD , the hot filter is ~.5mm thicker from the ist (2mm K20 , 2.5mm ist.), the glass appears lighter colored on the ist., the ist appears to have less refection than the k20 and lastly the ist HMF appears NOT to be blacked around the edge.. I'm hoping the sticky gasket is the thickness..

The attachment is trying to show the thin glass...
Forum: Repairs and Warranty Service 07-19-2019, 07:14 PM  
Full Conversion Questions ???
Posted By dem5867
Replies: 11
Views: 1,370
"Would imagine the color and thickness of the replacement needs to be exact. Either clear or UV cut and the thickness I would think needs to be the same or thinner with shims to set the focus point."

The quartz windows I have coming are the exact same size as the hot mirror pack I removed (22mm * 28mm * 2mm).. Knowing as little as I do about lenses , I didn't even think age or lack there of would be an issue.. Lucky for me I have a lot of old glass I just can not get myself to toss.. One never knows maybe a full frame dslr in the future (Doubtful , One can dream...).. I guess at the other end UV opens a whole other can of worms, especially with lenses.. Everything sounds so simple ,, it's always the details that becomes the issue..

Photoshop,, I'm an old photo guy , liked doing things in the lab,, hoping to use Photoshop as little as possible.. Bummer nobodies come up with a way to switch the channels via the camera..

One thing I've already noticed (Others have mentioned it lightly.) is that the dark IR end is exceptionally hard to focus LV or not and I'm thinking the same thing when using VIS blocking UV filters.. If I'm happy with the K20 I may look to see if the K-01 can use clip in filters or see if I can make clip in filters for a K-01.. Although not a big fan of my K-01 (Camera is great , operator issue ,,, always trying to look thru the viewfinder, Ya , I know the K-01 don't have a viewfinder !!) and I wouldn't do it to the K-01 I own,, if I was to see one at a good price I'd think about it .. Why ,, just the logic of using a mirror less body ,, basically what ever the sensor can see you can see or so they say..

I'm still on the fence on the AR.. I may put a non AR piece in the K-20 , I have enough that I could see if somebody would throw a couple in with a larger job or end run of AR coating.. One reason I think not to AR coat is the apparent complex math to calculate the centers bands of the coating it appears that the thickness of the glass plays a roll in the band calculations , there appears to be media to glass light wave as well as the normal glass to surface math..

I'll report back on how it goes..

As always ,, comments , suggestions ....
Forum: Pentax K-30 & K-50 07-19-2019, 08:20 AM  
K-50 / K-500 Aperture Solenoid fix (DIY with pics)
Posted By dem5867
Replies: 417
Views: 109,416
I can confirm that putting a known failed green solenoid in a K20, fails as one would expect.. I was planning on putting a new non-mod.ed {by me.} green solenoid, yet age set in, I have some new green ones,, yet I have an old white one that I'm going to put in the K20.. I just don't think putting even a new green one in the K20 is smart, when I have a white one. I want / have to open the camera again , to fix the switches on the top deck , hopefully I will have deciding to replace the the microscope slide with, quart glass window , nothing or just leaving the slide..
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