Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
02-18-2017, 03:05 PM
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#8 with a close #14 - neither rely on the natural beauty of the scene. The photographer has worked his art.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-10-2013, 04:24 AM
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I realise that this is a very old thread but it seems pointless to start a new one when (a) the problem is still around (b) a Google search for "Pentax K-x Flash not working" brings this up as the first choice.
I have had the same trouble. I took my K-x down some caves. Obviously, once down there, it was completely black: no light at all. To conserve battery power, I switched on and off between shots. The first problem was that I couldn't get the flash to pop up automatically, so I pressed the button to put it up. The next was that once or twice the flash did work -> It first flashed to activate the autofocus and then flashed to take the photo. But the majority of times the flash would not work at all and, at the same time, the shutter button was disabled. I tried it in P, Sv, Tv, Av, Automatic, Portrait, Landscape and even Fast moving subject. I also tried various flash settings. Occasionally, but unpredictably, the flash would work. It seemed as if here was an interval of at least 5 minutes between each flash. This gave me the idea that a capacitor in the circuit was malfunctioning. I had considered the temperature in the caves, but that was ~10 deg C (~50F) and thus well within operational limits.
Another poster has remarked that, at all times, the battery meter on his camera was showing fully charged whilst the flash failed to work on demand. Mine did this too. I mention this as the set of batteries I have are about 2 years old and had been charged but unused for about 2 weeks.
I have now found this at http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/KX/KXFLASH.HTM: Quote: The Pentax K-x features a built-in, pop-up flash, which operates in either Auto, Flash On (forced flash), Auto + Red-eye reduction, Flash On + Red-eye reduction, Slow-sync, Slow-sync + Red-eye reduction, Trailing Curtain Sync, or Wireless mode. The flash can automatically pop-up as needed in Auto Picture, Portrait, Macro, Night Portrait, or several of the Scene modes (Surf & Snow, Food, Kids, and Pet). In Night Scene, Sunset, Stage Lighting, Candlelight, and Museum modes, the flash is disabled altogether. In other modes, the flash is released from its compartment by pressing the Flash Up button to the left of the viewfinder. Close it again by pushing the flash head back down. The same button is used to disable the flash when it has popped up automatically, but you prefer not to use it. I'm wondering if this is the problem. The Flash-Up button seems as if it switches the flash off if pressed when the flash is up.
I tried this out using the same batteries I had used in the caves a week earlier: they had not been recharged. Whilst the flash was in Manual mode and the camera on setting P, the flash worked with the lens cap on. However, when the flash was put in Automatic mode, the flash failed to pop up or work, neither would the shutter operate after the Flash-Up button had been pressed again.
On the other hand, in the manual (English .pdf version) at page 295 of the document it mentions four possible reasons for the shutter not working, of which
"The shutter cannot be released | The built-in flash is charging | Wait until charging is finished." seems to be the most likely and the cause is that the capacitor for the flash is very slow in charging.
The double function of the "flash up" button doubling as an on/off switch seems to be a pointless "feature" as there is a "no flash" setting on the mode dial.
The speed of the recharge may be affected by the state of the batteries (level of charge/temperature/age of batteries/etc.)
So, I recommend, as an experiment:
(i) 2 sets of good quality, new batteries are purchased and fully and freshly charged in accordance with their instructions. Put one set in the camera and carry the other - be ready to switch batteries if the flash/shutter fails.
(ii) Try pressing the flash up button again to toggle the flash to "On".
Having said all this, I am not fully convinced that the batteries or the toggling of the "flash up" button cures anything. Fiddling with the camera probably just creates some "busy time" to allow a slow capacitor to charge.
I will see how it goes.
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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
06-07-2013, 01:52 PM
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After taking advantage of your reviews, solutions and tips for free, my conscience has pricked me. I started with a Kodak 127 Brownie. Aged 11, on my birthday, I turned down a Leica for a Retinette 1A (which I still have). I moved to a Canon A1 (which I still have) and then to a Sony DSC 2 (which I still have.) A couple of years back, I moved to a Kx.
I did have a ½ Frame "Special Instantograph" c. 1885, all brass, leather and wood but I never got round to making my own plates, etc. So it had to go.
My subjects are mainly landscape, nature and wildlife. I reckon 1:10 of my photos are worth keeping and 1:10 of those are what I had hoped would come out; 1:10 of those are good enough for printing or a screensaver :D
My greatest error was taking about 20 shots of a Ptarmigan close up (the thing seemed unaware that I was so near that I could eat it) and then returning to find there had been no film in the camera. I know that this will happen again when Elvis steps out of the UFO.
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