K7 Problems ?

I have no idea - you would have to ask IT in a report.

Strange comments from a lot of you considering Pentax themselves have released a PDF stating that all K7's suffer from a greenline when the CCD gets "hot" (27 degrees seems to be the temp to bring it on). Video or live view is intensive on the camera, so brings it out. As does very hot weather I guess!

Pentax really dropped a clanger with this one. When they should be trying to trump the other brands at a price point, they over-charged and under-tested.

Just IMHO of course.

The quote:

----------------------------

They have now issued a statement in their FAQ section, found here:
link
(it is the last question & answer, in German language)


For your conveniene, I provide my manual translation here:

Originally Posted by Pentax Europe GmbH

Q: After I used video or live view for an extended period of time, and subsequently take still images, I'll find a bright stripe in the middle of the image.

A: We are aware of the issue. The reason is sensor heat. Both, live view and video cause stress for the sensor (German: "setzen den Sensor dauerhaft unter Spannung") which produces heat. Morever, ambient conditions like summer sun may produce extensive heat on the sensor.
If now a still image is shot after a correspondingly extensive use and matching ambient temperatures, then thermal noise across the center of the image may emerge. The next step of the camera would be the automatic shut-off.
The "noise stripe" will disappear after the cool down of the sensor.

Treat the camera (implying the sensor) the same as you would treat film: "store cool and dry".

Re-reading, as always on forums - I hope that post does not come across the wrong way... I'm not trolling, and pretty disappointed to hear of the sensor problems as I usually use cameras in very hot countries.
I was set on a K7, however suspect of new models (teething problems) and then this!

Hi Warrick, your link doesn't work:

I'm interested because of that rather sweeping statement.

I did a pretty exhaustive test of mine for the green line issue when Chirpy had the problem with his K-7. And so far I can say without doubt mine doesn't do it.
Now that may change if the ambient temperature increases and I should be able to check that from next weekend when I disappear off 'en vacances', fingers crossed it will continue to be OK

Whoops. Link is
http://media.pentax.de/downloads/photo/de/17531/Fragen%20und%20Antworten.pdf


Hope your camera is ok - I hate this sort of thing. Then again, of all the companies I am sure Pentax is the one that would resolve without hesitiation - a good sign in my book that they admit to it.

Hi Greytop. I don't know your first name! Be sure and let me know if the problem occurs in the heat (somewhere nice I hope) as I want to get mine for a special holiday for my 50th. wedding anniversary in Jan when we are going on a cruise in the Caribbean which should be quite warm at that time of year. CHEERS Vic.

Agreed.

It would be very interesting to know when Pentax became aware of this issue and why they have chosen not do anything about it (the document is dated 21st July and it would presumably have been a simple matter to include a new setting in the firmware update of 29th July to reduce the available video time to ameliorate sensor overheating).

Nevertheless perhaps more interesting is the revelation that the board numbers several strict empiricists; of course this is a generally a laudable position that is typically the very essence of a scientific approach.

However, in the present circumstances the insistence that only the full manufacturer's data set on warranty claims can provide us with information about K7 defects is utterly perverse.

This data is not made publically available by any manufacturer. Therefore requiring it as a precondition of constructively speculating on the extent of the K7's design problems effectively serves to shut off all discussion.

This is in fact the antithesis of the scientific method, which requires a hypothesis to be formulated that can be tested for example experimentally or by the use of pure logic. Here the very formulation of such an a priori hypothesis has so far been quashed by what is in fact utterly spurious logic.

I don't read German, so have to take your translation as correct, and within that is nothing that states that all K-7s are affected by this issue.

However, if that's the reason for it, and all sensors in all K-7s are identical, then it could be assumed that all K-7s would be affected in the same way.

The fact that some (many?) K-7s are not affected, would imply that there are differences in components.

My immediate thought though is what's an 'extended period of time' when shooting video? 5 minutes? 20 minutes? One man's 'extended' could be another man's 'short clip'.

Dan

I had the green line in the sensor problem as I mentioned in a previous K-7 post and it was reproducible. I sent it back to SRS for an exchange and the new one is fine. From the anecdotal evidence that I've read so far, it only seems to have happened with a few of the first batch of cameras.

In fact the translation posted above is not entirely accurate. The question translated as:

"Q: After I used video or live view for an extended period of time. . .I'll find a bright stripe in the middle of the image."

should read something along the lines of

"Q: After I used video or live view for an extended period of time. . .***the quality of pictures is not as I would normally expect***"

To me this suggests the problem is more subtle and may be more widespread than suggested by the fairly obvious green line detection rates.

I believe that the recording time of video (or live view) is not that relevant here. It is sensor temp. When it pushes 27 degrees, the green line occurs. So this is relevant to external conditions, and lets be honest - so far the English "summer" has sucked...

The fact the Pentax released a "statement" to the effect, with no mention of batches, model numbers, or production runs indicates that they all may do this. But, your guess is as good (or much better seeing you own one) than mine. I just have one on order...

As Chirpy says - maybe it was only the first batch. Lets hope so!

Thanks Shaky on the translation - a fair cop - I speak only school-boy conversational German, and more to the point I did not do that translation - it was copied from pentaxforums.com.

Well, with a heavy heart my 2nd K-7 is going back for a refund.

Thing is the problem is so simple that I am surprised at not hearing anyone else on here mention it. Simply, when using the grip, the rear dial stops working, randomly it may come back, then go again etc. Had the grip replaced 2 weeks ago, tested fine in store, went ***s up next day at the zoo.

Took the whole damn lot in yesterday for complete exchange, out and about testing today in Bourton on the Water, and lo and behold if it didn't happen all over again, you just never knew if it would work or not. So ****ed off with it that, we left Bourton after less than an hour and came home. When we got home, tested again to make sure I wasn't being a numpty, then the front dial stopped working, and the rear one did!

Before anyone asks 'did you check...' , 'did you try...' the answer is yes I did! From cleaning the contacts to removing / reinserting batteries, to even buying a spare genuine battery to see if that was the issue, I tried the lot.

With 2x bodies and 3x grips (bodies from seperate batches we believe) I refuse to believe that it is an isolated incident, and I'm not going to compromise by going gripless either. After replacing and refunding the latest spec 17" MacBook Pro as well just a few short weeks ago, I don't think I will be an early adopter again in a hurry.

With the K-7 so under my skin as I'm sure most of you know, I am well and truly gutted.

There is already a happy band of us who let others iron out wrinkles in new hardware while we wait for prices to settle. We have secret handshakes and everything - I'll bring your membership application next week. But Ssssshhhhh! Don't give the game away!

Well after all that it seems you have all helped me make my mind up. It seems that I will be waiting until approx end Nov. early Dec. 'til both the camera and its prices have settled down a bit. CHEERS Vic.
The edit was only a spelling mistake. Vic

I bet you are I would be too, perhaps even p*****d off after paying loads of cash out, and all that work you put in with the pre-production body testing.
It does not look good when Pentax puts out kit like this, have they got a death wish or something?