Oh Bugger...

I just seem to have managed to add 870 phantom actuations to my brand new K5ii body

On receipt from SRS I fitted my trusty 35mm Limited macro and slipped in an SD card from my K-r body thinking it was already formatted and good to go. I pressed the shutter release to do a quick test shot and voila - my new K5ii thinks it's on actuation number 871 after only ONE shot (my K-r had counted to 870)

Is there any way I can reset things? I'd have imagined the counter would base itself on physical actuations rather than external data from an SD card. I'll be bloody annoyed if I can't reset it to what it ought to be, and I can't see any info in the manual. There is mention of formatting a card, but nowhere does it warn of this potential outcome.

HELP!!

Its the card not the camera mate. What you see isn't actual camera actuations its reading that number from the memory card, worry not!

Errr - well, I just fitted a new virgin fresh out the packet SD card, formatted it and pressed the shutter release and my camera screen tells me I'm on shot 872

That's because your new cameras memory is following on from the last count, gimmie a min to get my cam mate....

Cool - thanks for the help on this

Hi spaceman. One way to be sure is to use a free bit of software called photome. Point it to a jpeg you've taken, and in and amongst the plethora of data it can tell you about the jpeg in question, it will also tell you how many actuation's up until that point the camera had done.

Worth a bash perhaps.

memory settings on menu 5 then on the 2nd screen of settings bottom to playback info display and file number should be both ticked AFTER a memory card format, or it may be a format while unticked, then ticked, and it will all be as you want.

Forgive me, Its late and the beer is a flowin'

Thanks for the suggestions guys!

@ bettyswollocks - I did what you suggested but it makes no diff, still counting upwards!!! Like you say it's late and I'll try again tomorrow. Could do with a beer myself instead of this hassle

Bob, thanks for the tip - will investigate that in the morning

The file number isn't an accurate record of the shutter actuations, e.g. when you get to IMGP9999 the next file number is IMGP0001 not IMGP10000. Check the full exif data using photome or something similiar if you want to know the exact number of actuations.

There seems to be a fairly serious bug in the Pentax software...... why am I surprised no ones noticed it (unless it's part of the SDHC specification)..... You tick a box in the menu for it to remember the file no. and it does until you put in a card that has a higher file number and even if the prefix letters are different (something like Nikon1001.jpg) it will go 1 number higher, but with the Pentax prefix. It's a pain if your using two cameras and even worse with an Eye-Fi Card which you can't reformat, because it contains programs used by Eye-Fi.

I've got some files on my PC where the same numbers have been used about 4 times

What I do now is start again from 0001.jpg preceded by a letter A B C D E etc which is preceded by the camera name _K5 so the new file will start _K5B0001.JPG I then try to keep other files off that card. My next sequence will start with _K5C0001.JPG

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It's not just Pentax and not just SDHC, happened when I replaced my Canon 50D with the 7D and they use CF cards.

Easily rectified though.

Always format a card in the camera it's to be used in before you start to use it. This will avoid problems.

Format the card on a pc.
un tick both playback info display and file number in memory, take a shot.
Put the card in the camera, tick playback info display and file number, format the card in the camera.
That should reset to 0001, but as stated, that number isn't the actual shutter count.

It seems that although it isn't mandatory they are following
a recommendation in the DCF Specification and duplicates
are allowed. I would have preferred that they didn't

"4.2.2 File number

The rules for recording file numbers are as follows.

If there is no DCF file name among the files in the DCF
directory where a file is to be stored, any initial file
number may be used.

· If a DCF file name already exists in the DCF directory
where a file is to be stored, it is recommended that the
file number be assigned as the largest existing number + 1.

· Within the same DCF directory, the file numbers of DCF
basic files shall not be duplicated. DCF basic files in
different DCF directories may have the same file
number."

========================================
So it's not a bug as such unless it
uses a file that it in a different directory
to base the numbers on.... in which case it
is a bug


Not if you've a few thousand files all with the same
numbers it isn't

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quickest way is format card take one shot.
on pc rename to imgp0000.jpg (or any other number you want.

slip back in camera take one image, format card and voila your back at 0002