Shutter lens won't go in

Assuming you are familiar with the setting of your camera and have used it without issues in the past, the camera should be professionally cleaned & serviced by Pentax or reputable camera repair shop.

It is likely that dirt or oil has begun to interfere with proper shutter operation, or that the end of shutter's life is approaching. If under warranty still, be sure to have only Pentax or one of their authorized agents perform this work or risk voiding the warranty. Regardless of warranty state, this is a replaceable part (if cleaning does not solve the problem) on most dSLR cameras, but may be expensive. Be sure to specify that an estimate is provided before work is commenced - or provide a dollar amount that you are willing to pay.

You can arrange for service by Pentax on this page.

I hope this helps and good luck!

Hi Noodle
One of Pentax's strengths is that that you can use lenses from the late 1960s on them (via an adaptor). However, I'm assuming that you have a bayonet fitting lens - but as you say 'my manual pentax' could it be that they are not autofocus lenses?
If autofocus is switched on and you have a manual focus lens, you have to have something in focus in order for the shutter to fire. (with no lens fitted it doesn't seem to matter). Switch the camera to manual focus (where you can shoot out-of-focus stuff) and see if the problem is still there.
If it is then it spounds as though there is something amiss with the camera to lens coupling.

The Nikon D40 in Auto Focus mode will only allow the shutter to operate when the image is in focus. When looking through the viewfinder, the bottom edge provides information relative to what you are looking at. See the image below:



Item 2 is the focus indicator. It must be illuminated to allow the shutter to release. If it is not illuminated, the lens has not been able to determine the correct focus. This can happen when attempting to take a picture in low light conditions. Make sure that the front facing "focus assist lamp" on the camera (between the shutter release and lens) has not been blocked or disabled (Settings Menu # 09) and try again. Many times, you will see and or hear the lens "hunt" for proper focus - the lens will travel from one end of its focus range to the other trying to find focus. When it can't, it stops and prevents the shutter from releasing. You can get around this "unable to focus" issue by changing the position of the switch on the lens to "Manual Focus" mode, detailed below:

If a lens has an "A - M" switch, move it to "M" to manually focus. If the switch says "M/A - M " then leave on M/A (unless you're going to be taking several or more in manual mode), as these lenses may be focused manually at any time in either position. As soon as you tap the shutter button in M/A you return to autofocus.

More advanced lenses, like the 18-200mm, 70-300mm VR and 18-135mm, and any lens with an M/A position, may be focused manually at any time without moving any switches. Leave them in their A or A/M positions.

I hope this helps and good luck!

When you mention "the shutter" I presume that you really mean the lens cover. If you really do mean the shutter then your camera is already a write off and beyond economic repair.

Assuming you did mean the lens cover then your camera most likely has a lens error, this is such a common fault that I hope you don't mind me pasting my stock generic answer below. No point in reinventing the wheel!

Stuck lenses are probably the most common reason that compact digital cameras get thrown away, but there's a fair chance of recovering use of your camera again

The fault is commonly caused by dirt or grit blocking the mechanism, or due to it having suffered a recent fall. Another common cause is that the camera was in a pocket or bag and the power button accidentally activated and tried to open the lens against resistance. The mechanism may have simply become dislodged or there may be parts which have broken.

If your camera is still under warranty (yours has long expired) and has definitely not been subject to misuse then contact the Pentax service department in your country to find out about a free repair. If the warranty has expired though a professional repair will far exceed the cost of replacing your camera. You will therefore have nothing to lose by trying to fix this yourself.

Please click here and you will be taken to an excellent article provided by the Camera Repair website, although it mentions Canon a few times the repair methods are fully valid for any camera with a lens error. For the most part, you'll be guided on how to physically manipulate your camera to try and clear the fault.

If the link doesn't work then cut and paste the following address into your browser:-

http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/12/fixing-lens-error-on-digital-camera.html

Good luck, I hope you manage to use this information to fix your camera. Please take a moment to rate the free answer I have provided for you and any testimonial which you might wish to add is always welcome!

Although your lens is an older manually operated K mount and will physically fit onto your camera, there are incompatibilities which limit the level to which it is compatible with your *ist DS.

Ignoring the really obvious difference that your lens is totally incapable of autofocus, the first real incompatibility is that your camera body has one of the "crippled" versions of the KAF (autofocus) mount. This means that it lacks the mechanical stop-down coupler/indicator used on the original K mount. The result is that your camera body does not sense which aperture the lens is set to and will not stop the lens down to the selected aperture when you press the shutter release. The full specification KAF mount maintains these old mechanical legacy couplings, but as most owners don't use older lenses any more the crippled KAF isn't an issue to most users and significantly reduces manufacturing costs. Crippled KAF lenses can still use some manual K lenses, but only the ones which have the A setting on the aperture ring and your lens pre-dates this development.

Your only realistic fixes for this are to either replace the camera body with a model supporting the full KAF mount (expensive) or to use later K lenses with the description SMC Pentax A instead of earlier SMC Pentax M. You'll still lack autofocus but as long as the lens aperture ring is set to the A position then it will work when the body is set to shutter priority and Automatic modes. There are far more Pentax A lenses remaining in good condition than Pentax M so you should have no trouble finding them, but because of their compatibility with later mounts you'll find that prices are somewhat higher.

Note that there is no adaptor which will allow you to improve compatibility between your present camera and the lens you have asked about.

I hope that I've answered your question, if so please take a moment to rate my reply. If not, perhaps you should add a comment to further explain in which way your camera doesn't work with your lens and I'll then try to assist you further.

If your lens fails to extend or retract, try cleaning it with a lint-free cloth and some lens solution. If it still won't move, try resetting it. Many cameras have reset buttons that restore the camera to the default factory settings.

this is a very general help i can provide you.

hope this helps you

The Penta K110D has a 1.5X crop factor so a 17mm lense would be the equivalent to 25.5mm (in 35mm standard), therefore may not give you a 103 angle view. You would not really notice that much difference between 17 and 18mm.

The shutter gears may be jamming or locking, i wont suggest you to open the camera if you have not done it before.

Greetings...

Here is the information on the lens system for the Pentax...

The Sliding Lens system is a proprietary PENTAX lens system that offsets the central lens groups from the optical lens axis and retracts the lens in two steps in the cylinder for minimized overall body depth.

I think from what you have stated, the lens system is off track, hense the noise and the blurry image...

Hope this is helpful...

Ed

I've had similar problems with my Pentax Super-A on an intermittent basis. If you haven't replaced the batteries I suggest you try that first. Not sure why, but that has sorted my problem out quite a few times (even when the existing batteries still have a fair amount of juice left in them).