Did you try a hot object in a darkened room?

Steve

I've got cameras that can run for a long time with only one or even zero bars in the battery monitor. Probably due to how the battery voltage changes during use. If it drops quickly then stabilises, there can still be a lot of life in the battery but the monitor thinks there isn't. And the voltage characteristics can vary with brand of battery as well as the type of battery.

I've also got two camera traps for wildlife monitoring. Same brand, same product line, one about 3 years and a couple of versions younger than the other. The older one says it doesn't take rechargeables, the newer one says it does take rechargeables. But in fact both will run on rechargeables and give about the same useage. The big difference is that with freshly charged batteries the older one's battery monitor says about 60% charge, the newer one says 100%. I suspect it's just the battery monitor that has changed to reflect the voltage characteristics of rechargeables.

Enjoy trying to flatten the batteries - and you're welcome to post some pictures on this forum.

Steve

Just a thought - does a low or zero battery icon actually stop it taking shots? If battery monitoring is faulty but is only for informing the user, you should be able to keep shooting until the batteries really die. Just carry some spares because you won't know when they will die. I once got scary low oil pressure warnings in a car while a long way from home, drove home slowly and carefully, took it to be fixed and it turned out to be a faulty old pressure sensor - I could have ignored it and carried on driving as normal.

For what it's worth, the user manual is available from the Ricoh (Japan) website. It specifies alkaline, lithium, Ni-MH or nickel manganese batteries. It also says:
"If the batteries have been removed from the camera for a long time, when they are reinserted and the camera is turned on, the message [Battery depleted] may appear. This can also happen when using the camera for the first time; however this is not a malfunction. Turn the camera off, wait a minute and then turn the camera on again to reset the camera. The date and time may also be reset."
This sounds like there is a capacitor which needs charging.

Steve

Another excellent photo of the strange and hairy world of tiny things that lurk unnoticed in plain sight. Composition, lighting, detail are all superb.

And you've provided an answer to a question I've been pondering - what to add to the garden to give some more colour at this time of the year. Thank you!

Steve

I've got a Cosina 24mm f2.8 from film days. It fits snugly on my K20D as well as film cameras but resisted so much when trying to mount it on the K3 that I haven't dared try to force it all the way. Tolerances have to be tight for a lens mount. I assumed that Cosina had slightly wider manufacturing tolerances than Pentax, most of the time there would be no problem but if you had a lens at the extreme end of their tolerances and a camera at the opposite end of Pentax's tolerances you'd be out of luck.

Steve

Another interesting set. I've restrained an urge to comment on previous sets because it seemed sensible to see and comment on the full collection of 'When the fun stops'. So have you finished yet :wink??

Just a thought, though, re the photo that has upset someone of FB. It clearly isn't slander in the legal sense and, for the reasons you give, it's legally OK to have taken the photo. However, businesses (and seaside resorts - I used to live in one) work hard to create a brand image (illusion??) that brings people in. Anything that runs counter to that could have a detrimental effect. There is always the scruffy place 'round the back', or the out of hours or out of season side of things, but no business wants that advertised widely - which is what putting it on FB etc. for all to see does. And if the owner is struggling to keep the business afloat, anything that might just put even a few people off could be disastrous for them. Indeed, one possible interpretation of the discarded sign and chairs is that the business has closed for good. So probably best to be careful with what goes onto social media, out of care and courtesy for people who might be affected, not for legal reasons. You've got enough superb work to choose from!

Steve

Fascinating! That's a pretty good result from an almost 100 year old lens and for all your effort in bringing it back to life.

But it raises a big question: why was there a peacock feather buried at the back of your desk when most of us have dead spiders...??

Steve

A perfectly capable kit for a stroll. Sounds like a big step in the right direction. Now promise us that you'll resist the temptation to overdo it...

Steve

Lovely, peaceful, relaxing and, above all, real. It brings back memories from years ago of slow trips along a river in a friends boat, him at the helm, me with camera.

Photoshop fakes? Yes, lots of them, too many. But 'straight'? Don't developing, printing and scanning all involve subjective decisions which can be used to make the final image look like what you want it to be? Surely Ansel Adams wasn't producing 'darkroom fakes' when he carefully crafted prints to reflect his visualisation of a scene... . [15 all, Mr Elgar to serve... ]

Steve

Just a month or so before the start of the poinsettia and Christmas cactus season...

Steve