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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
03-25-2016, 10:08 PM
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That's IT!!!!!! Jonathan, you are the MAN!!!!! The card door is broken but the card goes in and stays so it didn't occur to me that there would be a door connection!! Especially since it ONLY refuses to stay in shooting mode. In firmware mode (holding menu button) it stays on indefinitely.
Obviously not battery related, as same behavior with power supply, and have used assorted sets of batteries as mentioned. Only bought Eneloops for decades but tried others of all kinds just to see.
Here's what appears to be the skinny, and it's not even that complicated, certainly not electronic: There is a tiny dimple button under the card door that gets depressed by a matching non-mechanical tiny bumper on the rubber of the inside of the door when it shuts tight. Button not pushed, camera powers up and shuts of after one second. Since the door is broken, hold down this button with any pointed object, camera shoots good as new. I do have to figure out how to keep this button depressed, but that's hardly the dealkiller that a faulty logic board is.
Upon close examination, this connection seems very susceptible to being worn into ineffectiveness, even with the door shut. Makes sense that a lot of people with the famous K200 battery problems actually had this button not being pushed enough and their batteries were fine.
After reading sooo many posts about this I am so jazzed to have the solution be so simple : ) THANK YOU, JONATHAN!!!!!
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
03-24-2016, 09:29 PM
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I know, I know, it's revisiting an old well worn topic : ) But too much of the info on older threads didn't ring true here (and the K200 doesn't have its own subforum), so I'm hoping that someone has some wisdom about it.
I want to gift someone a K200 we've had in the closet for ages. Fresh batteries of all kinds and it turns on and then immediately turns off. Everything has been cleaned and blown. But it does the same with batteries removed and using the power supply. Now here's something interesting: I wanted to update the firmware, just in case that could clear it up. A boot up holding the menu button showed 1.00, the firmware it shipped with. I downloaded 1.01 (even though there are references to 1.02 i could find no trace of it. Ricoh's site offers 1.01). With this shutting down behavior I understood the danger of doing the update, but figured it was useless as it was, if I bricked it in my attempt to fix it no big loss. (This was even before I went and got a universal power supply). The whole update from the card worked, and the K200 stayed on for the 30 seconds and even stayed on with the "completed" alert! Checked again with boot and menu button and the update did take. But the behavior is the same. Turn it on, it turns right off. But if I hold down the menu button to see the firmware version it stays on as long as I hold the button. Go back to shooting mode and same shut down issue. Same with lens swapped. And as mentioned, same with power supply.
Any thoughts? I'm game for swapping capacitors, as was brought up for a power problem years ago, or anything else, since it would make for a decent experience for the intended recipient, but it's not worth a repair bill. Really any advice about the self repair surgery on this would be hugely appreciated.
Thanks!!!!!
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
03-21-2016, 07:57 PM
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The problem in the US is a real one. One company does warranty repair, and if you send them a misbehaving piece of hardware there's a fair chance that when you eventually get it back there will be no evidence it had even been dealt with. To be fair, Ricoh is far from the only company who has shifted to severely limited warranty repair options and not ended up giving the user a place they could send their gear to with confidence. (IIRC, Sony cameras now must go to this same service provider) But I would say that characterizing it as a "rough patch" that happened last fall is being exceedingly generous : ) Ever since they officially went from Cris to Precision at least a year previous it's been a below standard circumstance, and I frankly haven't seen much to be encouraged about. But I'd be glad to be pointed to anything to show me to be a grouchy nattering nabob. I want the scenario to improve.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
02-13-2016, 01:29 PM
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I don't think market fragmentation holds a candle to scarcity of models for a reason for higher prices, and I don't believe that there's nearly enough market fragmentation caused by the amount of lenses to move the needle on prices.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
09-13-2015, 11:19 PM
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Dan,
It's good to know that. Thanks !
Never dealt with Advance but have a good impression from others.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
09-13-2015, 07:25 PM
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I have a feeling they can't get parts. Be interesting to find out, as Precision is to be avoided if possible.
I used to take my Pentax gear years ago to PhotoTech here in NYC. Wasn't warranty work and can't recall if they could do such, but they were authorized and could get parts and as importantly tech notes and info. Did good work and I felt lucky to be able to walk over there. When Pentax cut them out of the parts loop they just stopped taking the gear. Oh well. I understood the business of it and in fact everyone else was also heading in the same direction as far as pulling out of service centers. Wasn't fond of the shipping routine but Cris really was pretty good.
But, holy moly. What kind of company can Ricoh possibly be if they think that what Precision has been doing is anything but bad for their business? You might as well wrap your camera up and drop it in the trash and then pick it out a month later. If you're going to have one single place that your users can get service from (again, not a rare thing in this product category) having it be Precision is like telling your customers to buy this expensive and delicate piece of gear and then once the charge goes through go away and don't bother us anymore, we defy you to get it serviced.
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Forum: Pentax Price Watch
09-01-2015, 06:27 PM
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And it can't be used on FF without the detachable hood, correct??
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
05-27-2015, 06:51 PM
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
10-23-2014, 07:14 PM
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That's my favorite version of this. She looks awesome 50 feet tall.
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Forum: Pentax Price Watch
10-22-2014, 12:34 PM
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Naturally it's good for potential buyers, of course. And I might finally grab one.
But for the reasons I mentioned I can't see it as anything but a sign they're being dumped, not that it's a response to competition, which they've sadly long ceded to here in the States. Or due to a K-3II coming any time soon. Don't want to take this further off topic. But when a blind test between the K-3 and K-5iis can even be a topic here much less get such a result as it did, you have to make the margin between the them just a few hundred almost regardless of any feature difference, which I don't think was the goal for the K-3 by design.
I really hope Ricoh's next enthusiast/pro DSLR is a big success, not only technically but finally market wise.
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Forum: Pentax Price Watch
10-22-2014, 10:37 AM
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I take this as bad news. This says to me there are plenty of (as in too many) K-3s filling up stockrooms, or else they would have just let the existing lowered price take it until the end of November. It also, unfortunately, tells us there still isn't any demand for them regardless of stock (aside from K-5 and under users wanting to upgrade and stay with Ricoh).
It would be fantastic if it meant we're getting a killer $1,750 camera in Q1, but we can all agree that's not the case.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
10-17-2014, 05:32 PM
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Have to disagree on this, based on time spent with photographers in other camps. They're entrenched in their formats and pretty much look only at upgrades to what they own, and Pentax simply doesn't have anything between the $1,000 K-3 and the $7,000 645D. Their current gear is smack in between those. If they've got something gnawing at them they want to upgrade from they're so used to, and rightly so, either looking at the next up in their own format or the equivalent in the other.
I can see that someone looking at a 2013 DSLR and thinking it's a film camera is pretty dumb, but seriously, Pentax is less than a blip on the sports and wedding scenes (and, sadly, pretty much anything else here in the USA) due to their own choices so I don't blame Canikons when Pentax isn't on their radar. Plus, there really is a whole world of creative people out there who find their tool of choice and use it, and are never inclined to go to forums to find out what the scoop is.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
10-05-2014, 08:41 AM
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I don't know : ) I'm sure that they're doing what works for them based on their capacity and finances. It's just not what makes their American fans happy.
Also, Costco settles on only very few models from a very small number of manufacturers in any category and purchases a great deal of stock of these. You can see all the cameras they carry in 30 seconds but they sell a ton of cameras. I don't doubt it's highly competitive to get that space both in store and online and that if something doesn't move, or a manufacturer's stuff doesn't move, Costco gives that opening to someone else. Probably requires something (clout, $$$ concessions, future deals,) that Pentax/Ricoh can't provide.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
10-05-2014, 08:28 AM
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That's the million dollar question : ) It is puzzling that if their presence in the wild is so minuscule here in the USA why they keep releasing products here and not marketing them, although as noted in the post quoted that the dismantling of the distribution and dealer network has been happening gradually for many years.
The K-S1 is looking like a great camera for its niche to own. I think the way it goes with this camera here will tell us what to expect from Ricoh in the future. In other words, if it doesn't make a concerted and obvious attempt at gaining a few share points here this season it never will.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
10-04-2014, 09:50 PM
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But that's one of their huge marketing mistakes and one they've been making for too long. First of all, if it's not designed to sell in the US don't sell it here. It just looks weak when no one buys it anyway due to non-existent marketing and presence in *any* retail stores much less the big chains.
Second, Costco currently (and always does) sells a handful of worthwhile Canon and Nikon DSLR bundles aimed at the same user the K-S1 is, and the bundles, off the top of my head, are at any given time this year from around $700 to $1,300, which is the K-S1's range. I go to Costco for other things but mill around those displays and they sell a lot of cameras and plenty of DSLRs. If the K-S1 is a very good camera, and it's bundle is $800, where should they be selling it if not the stores people go to? What will happen is that the only stores that stock it within 300 miles of NYC will be Adorama and B & H (where the single Pentax side of a kiosk, where everything is displayed, always has the feel if a ghost town, but that's another story). It will be 95% internet sales. If the $800 bundle buyer can't feel it in their hands they will, for most part, buy one they can. So it's another good Pentax camera that takes great pictures for a reasonable price that no one will buy.
And this does affect the ranges above and below that in the US, because the entire brand stops being on anyone's radar except for the long time users. Whatever design, marketing and pricing strategy they have it didn't improve anything in the US in 2013 or 2014, so maybe they should rethink it. Either make a real push on the K-S1 that will reach new users or don't go through the expense of releasing it here at all. Just don't do the same thing yet again: release a model, don't put it in any stores, and don't make salespeople enthusiastic about selling them, but do make 10 different flashy colored models.
If they really just don't care about getting their $800 camera bundles into Best Buy or Costco then they still don't have a marketing strategy at all.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
09-29-2014, 11:34 AM
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I've taken a few videos on my K5 over the years. All accidentally.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-14-2014, 12:12 AM
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She's a newscaster in the U.S. who has had a long, successful career. When her show went high def a few years ago, after the first segments aired viewers couldn't help but notice the network started shooting her with soft focus lenses to minimize seeing her wrinkles, not uncommon when shooting mature actresses. But it was so weird suddenly seeing her with this maximum effect gauzy blur that it became all you could think about while watching her, and worse it backfired because it became the first topic that came up in conversations about her.
So the Ken Burns effect in video is a still image that slowly travels around and using an excessively soft focus lens is now the Diane Sawyer effect.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-13-2014, 12:24 PM
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You know your lens isn't sharp when it's your birthday and your six gifts from friends and family are all sharpening plugins, some the Extra Pro Extended Miracle versions.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
01-07-2013, 08:28 PM
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Add me to the list of happy Lenmar users. My K5 (and my old K10D) use the original battery and two Lenmars without hiccup or any difference in performance.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
12-02-2012, 09:50 PM
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Hi Adam : ) Now that you have jogged my memory, I can clarify that. The regular adjustments *seem* to not be bringing me close enough to as good a result as I'm assuming I can get. And my attempt at the debug mode last year probably resulted in my not actually making any changes, afraid to do more harm than good. And then I became Windows-less by the time I garnered the nerve to try again.
BTW, I have now seen that the General Technical Troubleshooting may have been a more appropriate place for this. Don't know how I missed that. Feel free to move this there if you want.
Thanks! : )
David
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
12-02-2012, 09:27 PM
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Sorry if this isn't the best place to post this, but I'm trying specifically to sniff out the K-5 users in my area for a little help. Perhaps this inquiry could start a trend : )
I'm looking for someone (a user not a shop) in the NYC/Brooklyn area who is experienced with adjusting the K-5 focusing in debug mode to help me do mine. I did it myself a long time ago for the three lenses I basically use (Pentax 18-135, Tamron 28-75 and Pentax 50), however I no longer have a Windows computer around for PK Tether (and don't currently have any Windows on my Macs) and frankly I wasn't sure I was getting optimal results from my adjustments. I have not been happy for the past few months with the focusing, so this route occurred to me to try before I shipped it off.
What I'd like to do is to pay someone who is intimately familiar with this drill make the debug adjustments while I watch, so that I can have an "aha" moment or two, with these three lenses. If I can arrange that with someone it would be preferable to me to borrowing a PC and doing it myself again, perhaps not optimally.
I'm in Park Slope and anywhere the subway goes is worth it for me. Please drop me a PM.
Thanks!
David
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
10-15-2012, 07:59 PM
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Was at Comic Con in NYC on Saturday. Never been to such a packed event at the Javitts Center. Cameras? Among DSLRs it was 70% Canon and a surprising 30% Nikon. Saw several Fuji and Sony advanced compacts. I was there from 10 AM to 7 PM and saw constant cameras all day long and didn't see a single Pentax.
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Forum: General Talk
01-23-2012, 06:59 PM
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Knife porn!! I love (kitchen) knives! I just got me the one I've been yearning for: a big ol' cleaver! Weighs a ton! Got it at my favorite store here aside from B & H, which would be Zabar's!
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
01-23-2012, 06:49 PM
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I used to shoot PEF but one too many app that didn't recognize them and I switched and haven't looked back. Years ago, to a Pentax shooter, I would have said PEF. Maybe a year and a half I'd have said use whichever your software likes, but as of last year I stopped even thinking about PEFs. I can't think of any advantage through the disadvantages.
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Forum: General Talk
01-23-2012, 05:19 PM
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