The dreaded K30 aperture motor failure strikes again
Posted 17/06/2018 - 19:10
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There's a K-30 going for £120 at the Guildford CeX branch. Might be worth a shout, you can sell your K-30 to make it even lighter on the pocket.
https://uk.webuy.com/product-detail?id=sdslrpenpenk3009b&categoryName=cameras%20...
https://uk.webuy.com/product-detail?id=sdslrpenpenk3009b&categoryName=cameras%20...
All the gear with no idea
Posted 17/06/2018 - 19:59
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[quote:3496ace15f="HarisF1"]There's a K-30 going for £120 at the Guildford CeX branch. Might be worth a shout, you can sell your K-30 to make it even lighter on the pocket.
]https://uk.webuy.com/product-detail?id=sdslrpenpenk3009b&categoryName=cameras%20...
Read that ad carefully - I think you'll find it's Out of Stock!
Very happy with my repaired K-30 - a lot cheaper than many solutions.
PS: it's now running the hacked K-50 firmware that makes the K-30 think it's now also a K-50 - so I can use my recently acquired 55-300 PLM, and that's very nice
]https://uk.webuy.com/product-detail?id=sdslrpenpenk3009b&categoryName=cameras%20...
Read that ad carefully - I think you'll find it's Out of Stock!
Very happy with my repaired K-30 - a lot cheaper than many solutions.
PS: it's now running the hacked K-50 firmware that makes the K-30 think it's now also a K-50 - so I can use my recently acquired 55-300 PLM, and that's very nice
K-3 II, K-3 and a K-70 from SRS (having now relegated the K-30 /"K-50" to a backup body), & some Sigma and Pentax lenses (and a lot of old 35mm gear!)
Posted 17/06/2018 - 21:36
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jeallen01 wrote:
[quote:3496ace15f="HarisF1"]There's a K-30 going for £120 at the Guildford CeX branch. Might be worth a shout, you can sell your K-30 to make it even lighter on the pocket.
]https://uk.webuy.com/product-detail?id=sdslrpenpenk3009b&categoryName=cameras%20...
Read that ad carefully - I think you'll find it's Out of Stock!
Very happy with my repaired K-30 - a lot cheaper than many solutions.
PS: it's now running the hacked K-50 firmware that makes the K-30 think it's now also a K-50 - so I can use my recently acquired 55-300 PLM, and that's very nice
I selected the option to show me 'in stock' items only so I believe the 'out of stock' label only applies since the item isn't listed as available to buy online. Worth a call though!
[quote:3496ace15f="HarisF1"]There's a K-30 going for £120 at the Guildford CeX branch. Might be worth a shout, you can sell your K-30 to make it even lighter on the pocket.
]https://uk.webuy.com/product-detail?id=sdslrpenpenk3009b&categoryName=cameras%20...
Read that ad carefully - I think you'll find it's Out of Stock!
Very happy with my repaired K-30 - a lot cheaper than many solutions.
PS: it's now running the hacked K-50 firmware that makes the K-30 think it's now also a K-50 - so I can use my recently acquired 55-300 PLM, and that's very nice
All the gear with no idea
Posted 17/06/2018 - 22:40
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Personally (and as one who got my K-30 "fixed" before it actually failed in order to ensure that it wouldn't!) I think that buying a K-30 body of "unknown provenance" from anywhere is like buying a "pig in a poke" - you can never be sure if/when this particular, and very well-reported, fault might occur.
"You pays your money and you makes your choice", and I know on which choice I "paid my money" - and would do so again in the same circumstances.
"You pays your money and you makes your choice", and I know on which choice I "paid my money" - and would do so again in the same circumstances.
K-3 II, K-3 and a K-70 from SRS (having now relegated the K-30 /"K-50" to a backup body), & some Sigma and Pentax lenses (and a lot of old 35mm gear!)
Posted 17/06/2018 - 23:19
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Agree. The reality is that a large number of these cameras failed. Whilst there are a lot of "mine is still going fine" comments, there are also a lot of mine has failed/is failing comments as well. Personally I think deserved a recall and free fix, even some years after the 1 - 2 year warranty.
That said, the camera does still work, so if you're using with a manual aperture enabled lens, or shooting video with it, then it works perfectly well. It's not the end of the world if it happens to you, but it is the end of the 'autoness' associated with camera automatic aperture control.
That said, the camera does still work, so if you're using with a manual aperture enabled lens, or shooting video with it, then it works perfectly well. It's not the end of the world if it happens to you, but it is the end of the 'autoness' associated with camera automatic aperture control.
Posted 18/06/2018 - 08:09
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Mine failed when it was about 18months old so was lucky enough together it fixed under guarantee, its worked brilliantly ever since (3-4 years?). I think I would have paid for the repair if I had to.
Posted 18/06/2018 - 10:44
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Ohh!
It's very disturbing news.
It's very disturbing news.
Posted 18/06/2018 - 20:27
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DSP121 wrote:
Ohh!
It's very disturbing news.
Disturbing? Yes. Catastrophic? No - the problem and the solution have been identified. Ohh!
It's very disturbing news.
It's not "that cheap" but it is effective and proven many times over. If someone has a body (K-30, K50, K70?, KS1, KS2) that has failed/ is failing then replacement of the dubious "green" solenoid with the "white" one from an older body is the solution if you want to keep using the body with confidence, and, overall, that's cheaper than just buying another body.
However, best left to someone who has done the job before and can provide a guarantee that it will be effective in the longterm - check earlier in this thread (or the appropriate threads on the US forum) for the relevant people who can do that.
OTOH, it's a very great pity that Ricoh won't acknowledge the existence of the problem, and thus offer an F.O.C fix to all those affected.
K-3 II, K-3 and a K-70 from SRS (having now relegated the K-30 /"K-50" to a backup body), & some Sigma and Pentax lenses (and a lot of old 35mm gear!)
Posted 21/07/2018 - 15:30
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I'm glad I got mine fixed. I like the K30 and I have by no means exhausted it's capabilities. I do intend (this weekend) to apply the K50 hack as I bought the 55-300 with that in mind
I should say, that when I went to SRS and handed it in, on of the chaps there said that they are starting to see a lot of K30s with that issue.
I should say, that when I went to SRS and handed it in, on of the chaps there said that they are starting to see a lot of K30s with that issue.
Posted 01/08/2018 - 17:46
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OldTaffy wrote:
My K-S2 is just starting to show symptoms of aperture solenoid failure
I have just bought a DA 16-85mm f 3.5-5.6 from our friends at SRS and went to try it out. Dismayed to get a couple of blank (actually v. v. underex) frames before it started to take photos. I was cursing the lens, thinking it faulty, but then found that another lens (a 35mm macro limited) very occasionally did the same. All symptoms point to aperture block failure, as they clear after a couple of 3-shot bracketing bursts. It seems, at this stage, to be lens-dependent, as my other K-mount lenses seem to work OK. Maybe the diaphragm lever is a bit stiffer on some than on others?
I wonder what the chances are of a free or discounted repair? I bought the K-S2 from SRS just over two years ago, so technically their warranty has expired.
An update: the diaphragm was failing to open properly more and more often. I sent the body to SRS with a request - could they arrange a cut-price repair, as it was only a few weeks out of warranty. Those splendid people at SRS have managed to get the faulty mechanism replaced, plus a general clean and overhaul, under warranty!My K-S2 is just starting to show symptoms of aperture solenoid failure
I have just bought a DA 16-85mm f 3.5-5.6 from our friends at SRS and went to try it out. Dismayed to get a couple of blank (actually v. v. underex) frames before it started to take photos. I was cursing the lens, thinking it faulty, but then found that another lens (a 35mm macro limited) very occasionally did the same. All symptoms point to aperture block failure, as they clear after a couple of 3-shot bracketing bursts. It seems, at this stage, to be lens-dependent, as my other K-mount lenses seem to work OK. Maybe the diaphragm lever is a bit stiffer on some than on others?
I wonder what the chances are of a free or discounted repair? I bought the K-S2 from SRS just over two years ago, so technically their warranty has expired.
Ricoh may attract criticisms for indifference to sales and customers, but the crew at SRS have once again proved to be 'tops' for helping us Pentax users. Thanks, guys!
Martin
A few of my photographs in flickr.
Lizars 1910 "Challenge" quarter-plate camera; and some more recent stuff.
Lizars 1910 "Challenge" quarter-plate camera; and some more recent stuff.
Posted 01/08/2018 - 23:22
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Great feedback. Well done SRS
Posted 05/09/2018 - 06:18
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I have just got a used Pentax K30. I didn't find any issues until now. Hope the previous owner would have fixed this issue, if it was there, fingers crossed.
Posted 06/09/2018 - 20:13
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photographyaxis wrote:
I have just got a used Pentax K30. I didn't find any issues until now. Hope the previous owner would have fixed this issue, if it was there, fingers crossed.
What issue?
I have just got a used Pentax K30. I didn't find any issues until now. Hope the previous owner would have fixed this issue, if it was there, fingers crossed.
John K
Posted 06/09/2018 - 20:49
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JAK wrote:
What issue?
"Aperture Block Failure" - have you NOT heard of that with the K-30/K-50/KS-2 (and possibly "etc"!) ?photographyaxis wrote:
I have just got a used Pentax K30. I didn't find any issues until now. Hope the previous owner would have fixed this issue, if it was there, fingers crossed.
?I have just got a used Pentax K30. I didn't find any issues until now. Hope the previous owner would have fixed this issue, if it was there, fingers crossed.
What issue?
Amazing - probably the MOST reported failure of ANY type with those models !
K-3 II, K-3 and a K-70 from SRS (having now relegated the K-30 /"K-50" to a backup body), & some Sigma and Pentax lenses (and a lot of old 35mm gear!)
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