USING A K30 WITH APERTURE BLOCK FAILURE

I dug out the K30 which I have not used for a long time since getting a K5 and then K3. Needless to say, it shows black frames and aperture block failure. I like the design of the K30 and am thinking of using it permanently with the M42 adapter and some Takumar lenses or for pinhole photography. Is anyone using one of these older bodies for these purposes or something similar. Is there anything to beware of?

I made a pinhole lens using an M42 adapter and screw on body cap. It's terrible... but that's the point!

I had it sat on a K-30 camera for a while and it just works as you would expect, a decent way to keep using these cameras when they go bad.

Use the AA battery adapter...

Not sure I follow.

I am currently using a K-30 which has the dreaded block. I use the AA adapter (DBH-109) and it works quite normally

Thank you, I will try this! I have one of the adapters from an old KR.

Yeah I use my K30 as a permanant M42 camera, love my Taks

Sadly I don't have any Taks, but happy to receive donations
IMO Pentax should have owned up about the issue and dealt with it appropriately

Agreed. My K30 has fewer than 1.000 clicks.

I gather this has also afflicted the K50 and the K70. Which given the issue was widely know about BEFORE the K70 was launch is pretty poor.

have had no problem with the K70 so far
it is probably the best entry level, serious amateur camera, and can produce a photograph that professional photographers would have died for not that long ago
it is a fantastic DSLR and do not hesitate

I think the percentage of defective cameras is low or in line with other manufacturers, but when they do go wrong, you tend to hear about it on the Internet forums. I like the K30 and using it as effectively a digital back is not the end of the world as it is well suited with a good viewfinder and focus peaking on live view. Just very frustrating when it is so well sorted in other ways.

The issue was sadly very common with this model, and customers were not particularly well supported if outside the warranty period.
In this particular model case, more could definitely have been done.

So far on my K30 there is the aperture problem, it will not retaim time and date when I change batteries.baterries drain when it is switched off. and the battery retaining clip has snapped.
All can be worked around though.

Wow! How many clicks?