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Forum: Pentax K-r
04-11-2015, 12:30 PM
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Thank you Dragon Lord, a stuck aperture lever on my k-r was my problem too! Much obliged to all who posted.
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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
01-12-2015, 04:03 AM
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Thanks!
---------- Post added 01-12-15 at 06:04 AM ----------
Thanks for the info YucatanPentax. I will take a look.
---------- Post added 01-12-15 at 06:06 AM ----------
See my reply to giklab above.
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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
01-10-2015, 06:33 AM
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Thanks! I plan to chimp away. I was thinking of hooking the camera to a tripod and a computer and trying out all the bells and whistles and seeing the effect of different changes. And I want to see what my lenses will do.
But when I am taking real photos I will take your advice and avoid chimping.
---------- Post added 01-10-15 at 08:36 AM ----------
Thanks! I am not going to get into the repair business, but would be glad to offer any advice, realizing I am still a nube with DSLRs.
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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
01-10-2015, 06:28 AM
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I bought the istDL last October on ebay auction for about $35 including shipping. The seller noted that the battery symbol displayed on the top lcd, but the camera would not turn on. When I got it, I put fresh alkalines in it, got it to turn on and noticed the date was not set, so I set it. Looked around the menu, took a picture. Turned it off. Turned it on and got a batt symbol on the top lcd and nothing else. Put some charged NiMh batteries in, it turned on, and I noticed the date was not set again. I took a few pictures and it died.
I discovered that Pentax uses a super cap ( a large capacitor) to maintain the date, instead of a battery. Very cool. A capacitor is like a rechargeable battery that wants to charge up instantaneously, and can deliver a lot of power instantaneously. Super caps are a fairly new technology, and can hold a big charge. My theory: The camera was left in an off state for a long period, and the super cap drained. And now the super cap was charging as fast as it could and eating batteries. So I kept putting charged batteries in. I also think the on board program was too sensitive to transient voltage changes. So as soon as the camera stopped eating batteries, I upgraded to the latest firmware hoping that got fixed.
And now it works well, with little effort on my part. I bought a DA 18-55mm for about $50 including shipping and a DA 50-200mm that will not autofocus for about $20 and a FA 75-300mm for about $50. I also have 50mm f1.7 and 28mm f2.4 (great lenses) from my ME days.
Last November I bought two broken 100Ds: one with a broken shutter for about $20 and one several things wrong with it including a manual/auto focus button that did not work, but would take pictures for about $50. The latter one was missing most of its screws, a spring that held a door shut, the hinge for the battery compartment, and the nut that a tripod screws into. I took parts off of the broken shutter camera and used them to fix the other and it now works well. I found a site that provides a pdf of a Pentax manual on how to take both cameras apart, and that was very helpful.
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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
01-09-2015, 05:53 AM
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Hi,
I bought my first Pentax in 1979 when my daughter was born. It was a Pentax ME, which I still own, and still works well.
I later bought a point and shoot 35mm, which my wife could operate, and Pentax Optios. Recently I have bought an *ist Dl and a 100D that were broken and which I have fixed. So I am now back to SLR land which I loved, and even better, it's digital which means you can experiment and see the results without delay. What is better than that? And the lenses for my ME work on my DSLRs! Bonus!
I am an engineer who has always been curious about how things work. And I have been a learning machine all my life which means I have a wide background of knowledge in technical things. I have also have an artistic bent, which means I sketch, paint, and like photography.
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