Hello all (+query)

Just thought I'd say hi.

I'm a K-r owner and it was both my first DSLR (or even SLR) and indeed first Pentax product and whilst I'm still a comparative newbie, I'm making leaps and bounds. I think a lot of that is down to what a great piece of kit it is for a beginner. I'm getting to the point where I think maybe I'll be upgrading soon (maybe K-5 or the newer variant) but I'll always be very fond of the K-r.

That does bring me on to my initial reason for joining this site. It's recently developed a fault which means I can no longer use my old manual lenses which I've been steadily amassing. This is gutting, as they form a large part of my kit and are such fun to use. My main question is does anyone have a ballpark idea what Pentax's standard repair costs might amount to? I appreciate it'll depend on what the problem is but some ideas of the kind of money I might be looking at would be useful. It's a question of whether it's worth getting it done or biting the bullet and upgrading now. I'll probably get it done eventually anyway as a spare/second/holiday body would be useful.

Any help would be appreciated. If this is the wrong place to ask, let me know and I'll repost in another forum section.

Cheers,

Nick

Cheers,

OK, I'll try and describe it.

When a manual lens is attached - and it seems worse with lower f-stops - the camera clicks multiple times as if it were shooting in a burst, only no image is taken. Alternatively, it it takes what sounds like a long exposure, regardless of the shutter speed, again without producing an image. This happens almost immediately below about f16 and after a few shots at any aperture. Also, the muti-click issue happens regardles of what button is pressed on the camera, not just with the shutter. This is with any manual lens, both old and modern (I have a Samyang fisheye).

Any ideas?

Nick

Thanks Steven!

That's really useful advice. I'm based in Guildford so Shepperton really isn't far for me to drop off and pick up.

I'll definitely look into that. I'd much rather chat it through with a real person anyway, than just send it off randomly.

Nick

Have you tried cleaning the contact pins on the camera and/or lenses, Nick? It sounds (from your description) possible that something is "bridging" between the pins, causing it to misbehave.

Hi Nick, and welcome.

Does your camera behave correctly with a more modern auto lens fitted?

When set to manual focus and manual exposure and no lens fitted, does it take and record an all white/grey image correctly?

I've wiped them with a dry cloth yes and they look pretty clean. I wasn't sure if there was a more thorough way to clean them as I'm obviously a little nervous of employing any kind of fluid. How would you recommend cleaning them?

Modern auto lenses are fine. I have the kit plus a long zoom and the DA 40mm Limited prime and they all work perfectly.

With no lens attached, it behaves similarly to with a manual lens attached. I.e. it doesn't work properly.

In the past I've applied one drop of WD40 to a dry cloth but I stopped doing that because others on here thought it a bad idea.

If you are using manual lenses, they have no contacts anyway, so cleaning isn't going to help. If the problem turns out to be a faulty contact, it'll be because it's protruding too far from the mount surface and the lens body is shorting it out electrically, so cleaning them will not help.

You could perhaps try insulating the body's electrical contacts from the lens body by using a very thin piece of paper, or perhaps cling film. Just to identify/eliminate the contacts as the cause of the problem.

Well it's good that it works with auto lenses, but it should also work properly with no lens fitted. I think a trip to the camera hospital is needed.

Two things you might try before packing it off for repair.

1: Reset the camera to factory defaults, then try it again.
2: Download the latest firmware and re-install it.

One or the other might just work.

Sounds like the flipping mirror problem - that's how my problem with my Kr started.

How long have you had the camera ?
Did you buy it new or second hand ?

Hello and welcome

Sorry I can't help with the camera issue but hello and welcome

Thanks for all the help everyone. I've tried most of the suggestions now and it's still playing up. Off to hospital I think. I can't really justify the expense to upgrade just yet and hopefully the K-5 will come down a little bit more in the next few months.

To answer your questions Charlotte, it's about 15 months old and was bought new.

I've heard of this flipping mirror problem. When did it first manifest with yours?