Hello, The charity shop was't in Fareham by any chance was it ? I saw one in a
charity shop there today, it had no price on it I looked at the lenses and they
seemed a bit dodgy and the lense on the camera did'nt seem right whenI fired
the shutter, I did not investigate any further though.

John
To reply to me, please remove the word "trash" from my e-mail address

Hi Bernard,

Sorry to state the obvious but is always the best place to start:

1. Do the new batteries provide power? ie. can you see light in meter
through viewfinder or battery check?
2. Have you made sure battery contacts are clean and not corroded?
3. I expect you have removed film left in camera?
4. Is the rewind release button underneath depressed?

These were the standard things I checked when I used to work in a camera
store.

As to specifics if you have checked out all the above then try local repair
agent, they usually provide free estimates or even try the Pentax website
users group where I believe help can found or try getting hold of the Pentax
techies and maybe they'll assist over the phone?

Also go to the Pentax US website and you can probably download the manual
for free. Of course they charge in the UK for a printed version. That's how
I got one for my Pentax 67 and the MX I used to own and still miss (nudge,
nudge, wink, wink Santa).

Cheers,
Stephen

Have you tried firing the shutter in all the different modes? Switch it to
125X on the mode selector and fire the shutter - that's the mechanical
shutter speed for the camera, so should work even without batteries.

Chris.

Similar problem with mine. Got it repaired for about ?40 (at LCE),
Pentax wanted ?90.
Norm

[Bernard Peek wrote in uk.rec.photo.misc]

This is a bit of a long shot, and it's a little bit vague, for which
I am sorry, but this might be helpful.

What you describe happened to my Pentax K-1000 about two years ago.

I knew that the Photography department person at the Sheffield branch
of 'Cash Generator' was a bit of a Pentax man, so I asked him if he
knew anyone who could help.  He took the camera and passed it to a
local, retired Pentax enthusiast who sorted it, and gave it a full
service.  The camera was returned to me working better than ever before.

I wish I had some names for you, but I don't - the shop's number is :

  0114-267-7680