Remote shutter release Cable / IR remote

I have both a Pentax cable and also a so called compatible IR remote for my K10D. Neither suits my needs..

The Pentax cable is only about 2ft long so although good for slow shutter speeds and steadying my larger lense it is no good for setting up the camera for wildlife shots as I still have to be next to the camera, which obviously makes it a bit difficult for me ...

The so called compatible IR has a 30m range but does not auto focus so if using a larger aperture or slower speeds it is also no good..

Could someone point me in the direction of a remote release that suits my needs please.. It can either be Pentax or a compatible

I appreciate any help folk can give me .. thank you

Peter

Take your existing Pentax cable remote, buy some cable from your local Maplins (or similar), cut the cable on your remote and splice in as much as you like of the new stuff. I use a 10 metre length with no problems.

If you don't fancy the DIY approach you'll find several longer remotes that will work just fine on eBay - mostly from Far-Eastern sellers but I've found postage from Hong Kong can often be quicker than postage from other parts of the UK. Here's a 5 metre one as an example.

Welcome to the forum by the way

Or... (if you don't feel like performing surgery on your current cable, you could always make an extension (or two) whatever length you want...
All you need is some cable, a male 2.5mm stereo jack, and a female 2.5mm jack.

Thank you to both of you.. I was actually wondering If that could be done as the short one does come in handy for macro work wouldn't fancy wrestling with 10m of cable while trying to do close up stuff..

The next question is what type of cable do I use? Is it normal stereo cable or a special type .. or ... would they know in the shop..?

If you are interested in seeing some of my work have a nose on the site it is
link If you click on image gallery you will see several different albums..

I really appreciate your help and your welcome ..

Peter

Some nice pictures on there Peter, you should think about entering our weekly competitions (you don't actually win anything but it's good fun seeing how others' interpret the theme each week). As for the cable, nothing special is required and a normal stereo cable would do just fine - Jamie's idea about making up several extensions of varying lengths sounds like a good one to me!

I don't have a wired remote for my K10D yet* but I have done the same with many, many audio setups in the past. I have a collection of adapters - if it is industry standard, any standard, I can probably make it work with the adapters and cables I have...

* no real need as i have the Pentax F remote in my grip for the short range stuff (it's only good for up to 15 feet so, and an old 'universal' remote (think tv or stereo remote) that I had laying around lets me get up to about 40 feet away. kind of clunky - about the width and length of the grip and almost half as thick, and 28 buttons, of which about 5 or 6 of them actually fire the shutter... but it works well, and was free...

I'll have a look at the competitions .. They might give me some inspiration for another project.. I am working on HDR at the moment.. Not with a lot of success as yet but I am getting help from someone in another forum on that So hopefully I will get a bit more success at it than I am at the moment..

Thank you again for your help

*EDIT* TV remote .. I can see I am going to have to steal the one from the missus and experiment.. I never even thought of that

You can auto focus with an IR remote.

There is an option somewhere in the custom menus that you can toggle on and off. You don't have the half press to focus option though, just hit - focus - takes shot.

There are also wireless remotes available on eBay that act like a 100 foot cabled remote, they just replace the cable with a radio signal.

Ok without sounding ungrateful I rushed out this morning and bought the 2.5 jacks M & F.. Guys these are too big for the K10D socket.

I also tried the IR Remote again and turned the setting in custom settings to 2(on) and that didnt get the camera to focus so I shall no doubt stick with the short cable release and the one I bought on E-Bay list night.. Also I still have the option of splicing more cable in .. which i prefer not to do as the short one has its uses..

Unless (of course) anyone knows different

Thanks to all again

Pete

That's odd.

I've just measured the size of the jack on my cable release and it's definitely 2.5mm - are you sure the shop didn't fob you off with 3.5mm ones? They are a more common size so it's not beyond the realms of possibility...

I've never used a wireless remote with mine so can't offaer any suggestions there - sorry!

Weird, just tried my IR again now, and it definately works with 'AF in remote control' set to on, on both K10 & K20.

Obvious question, camera AF switch isn't on manual is it?!

I can confirm what hefty says – It definitely a 2.5mm stereo jack plug, I built my own remote switch using a 2.5mm jack plug.

Unlocker do you have a Pentax IR remote? They do allow AF but Peter has a third party remote which maybe why he can't use AF.

I haven't measured it but its the size that fits normal mp3 players etc so I guess its the 3.5 thay have given me ..
So I retract the doubts I had and apologise for being so gullible in the shop .. sorry guys.. I have now purchased a wireless remote on EBAY which was mentioned in another thread that covers up to 100mtrs. so that should shut me up ..lol..

I do have another question about IR though ... My IR on the camera shuts off after a short period I thought I changed it to stay on all of the time when selected.. Obviously again I may have to wait long periods for the creature to reappear after me tromping around. Could someone tell me how to keep this turned on please.

A huge thanks to all who took the time to answer my posts I have recommended this forum to a couple of my friends now..

Regards
Peter

Er, I think you can't?

When the camera auto powers off it cannot be brought back from 'sleep' mode with the IR remote, but can with a cabled one (which should include the radio one, as the camera detects is as cabled).