Pentax 645 Auto quirkiness

I just bought a used Pentax 645 and a Pentax 75mm SMC A lens (not the
leaf shutter lens). Although purchased from the same place they were
separate items and not part of a package.

When moving the aperture ring to the A position the camera does not
always go into Auto mode. Fiddling with the aperture ring a bit will
get the camera into Auto mode.

I installed a new set of AA alkaline batteries on receiving the
camera. The manual mentions a lithium battery with a five year life
and suggests that if the battery is depleted the mode setting may not
work correctly. The manual says the camera is supposed to be sent to
a Pentax repair facility to replace the battery.

Should I assume the lithium battery needs replacing? Is there
anything else I can do other than making sure the lens and body
contacts are clean?

Assuming it isn't the lithium battery, is this likely to be a body
problem or a lens problem?

The camera is still within its return period, and there's a warranty
from the store, but shipping it back and forth for repairs could get
to be more trouble than its worth.

--
Brian Reynolds | "But in the new approach, as you know,
| the important thing is to understand
http://www.panix.com/~reynolds/ | what you're doing rather than to get
NAR# 54438 | the right answer." -- Tom Lehrer

On 24 Aug 2004 18:19:05 -0400, (Brian Reynolds)
wrote:

The camera is still within its return period, and there's a warranty
from the store, but shipping it back and forth for repairs could get
to be more trouble than its worth.

What you describe sounds like a problem with dirty contacts or a loose
connection rather than a battery issue. So I'd return it to the
store. Let the store try replacing the battery if it wants.

Incidentially, the lithium battery is a standard CR1220, which is
readily available for a couple of bucks. You need a spanner wrench to
access the lithium battery chamber on the bottom of the camera. That
costs considerably more. I picked mine up in a tavern from a famous
New York baseball manager. Oh say, you can see it's a Bar Stengled
Spanner...

--
Michael Benveniste --
Spam and UCE professionally evaluated for $419. Use this email
address only to submit mail for evaluation.

On 24 Aug 2004 18:19:05 -0400, (Brian Reynolds)
wrote:

The camera is still within its return period, and there's a warranty
from the store, but shipping it back and forth for repairs could get
to be more trouble than its worth.

What you describe sounds like a problem with dirty contacts or a loose
connection rather than a battery issue. So I'd return it to the
store. Let the store try replacing the battery if it wants.

Incidentially, the lithium battery is a standard CR1220, which is
readily available for a couple of bucks. You need a spanner wrench to
access the lithium battery chamber on the bottom of the camera. That
costs considerably more. I picked mine up in a tavern from a famous
New York baseball manager. Oh say, you can see it's a Bar Stengled
Spanner...

--
Michael Benveniste --
Spam and UCE professionally evaluated for $419. Use this email
address only to submit mail for evaluation.

Brian Reynolds wrote:

I just bought a used Pentax 645 and a Pentax 75mm SMC A lens (not the
leaf shutter lens). Although purchased from the same place they were
separate items and not part of a package.

When moving the aperture ring to the A position the camera does not
always go into Auto mode. Fiddling with the aperture ring a bit will
get the camera into Auto mode.

If this was a 35mm Kmount I'd wonder if the lens was really on the camera
right? The fiddling might be shifting it enough to fully seat it. But I
don't have enough expierence with the 645 camera.


I installed a new set of AA alkaline batteries on receiving the
camera. The manual mentions a lithium battery with a five year life
and suggests that if the battery is depleted the mode setting may not
work correctly. The manual says the camera is supposed to be sent to
a Pentax repair facility to replace the battery.

Should I assume the lithium battery needs replacing? Is there
anything else I can do other than making sure the lens and body
contacts are clean?

I thought the battery only maintains info when you remove the AA
batteries. If the camera is able to maintain settings when you remove the
AAs then I think the battery is good. If I'm wrong hope somebody corrects
me. I bought five batteries off an Ebay seller for very little money. The
problem was making a tool to remove the battery lid. There is an old posting
in the google archives that mentions using a large paper clip. So I bought a
package of large paper clips. Unfolded it and used the grinder to put a
point on both ends. This works great for unscrewing the battery cover. But I
don't think my battery needs changing yet.


Nick

In article ,
Brian Reynolds wrote:
When moving the aperture ring to the A position the camera does not
always go into Auto mode. Fiddling with the aperture ring a bit will
get the camera into Auto mode.

It looks like I had dirty contacts. Wiping both the lens and body
contacts with an alcohol pad has cleared up the problem.

Thanks for the suggestions.

--
Brian Reynolds | "But in the new approach, as you know,
| the important thing is to understand
http://www.panix.com/~reynolds/ | what you're doing rather than to get
NAR# 54438 | the right answer." -- Tom Lehrer