Pentax K10D Battery advice needed

[Garno]

I have just dug up an old Pentax camera from the deepest realms of the cupboard underneath the stairs, we all have those cupboards it's where we put things so we don't forget where they are and as soon as the cupboard door is closed we forget all about it's contents.

It is a Pentax K10D and has been in the contents forgotten cupboard for over 10 years until I went in with safety line attached and did a daring rescue, I was like a fat version of Indiana Jones. So once rescued I went about searching for the battery (I did not go into the cupboard, far too scared to do that again) and eventually found it still inside the camera, it uses a D-Li50 rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery.

To my surprise it appears to have no leakage and I am wondering is it worth me getting a battery charger and charging it up or would it of lost so much power memory that I would be better off getting a new battery as well as a charger for it?

Thanks in advance

Garno

 

[MikeK]

I wouldn't bother with a ten-year old battery. However, for £22 plus shipping you can buy a USB charger and a battery for your camera.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DSTE-2300mAh-Battery-Charger-SLB-1674/dp/B07FYJ52M4/
It's been my experience that rechargeable lithium ion batteries last four to five years before they stop holding a full charge, even with daily use. I went through two sets of batteries for my Nikon D3S in the eight years I owned it, and I'm on the second set of batteries for my Sony A7 II. The batteries for the Nikon were expensive, but the batteries for the Sony are not.

 

[Garno]

Thanks @MikeK on the original battery it is 1620mAh/7.4V will it make a difference or harm the camera with the one in your link being 2300mAh?

Thanks
Gary

 

[MikeK]

Thanks @MikeK on the original battery it is 1620mAh/7.4V will it make a difference or harm the camera with the one in your link being 2300mAh?

Thanks
Gary

Not at all. The 2300mAh battery will take longer to charge than the 1620mAh battery because it has more capacity. It will work perfectly in your camera and will give you more time between charges.

 

[slavedata]

I would give the old battery a go it could perform better than you might expect. I recently helped out a local widow in her 80s with phones. She had an old Nokia emergency mobile that wouldn't charge. I looked in our dead phones cupboard and found the same model. Swopped batteries and dug out some old nokia chargers. ( Does anyone else have a plastic storage box of every conceivable charger just in case) Both batteries charged up fine, her old one giving off a bit of heat. Swopped the batteries back they are holding charge and the phone works fine. The old Nokia I dug out can't have been touched for 20 years.

 

[dickm]

Not at all. The 2300mAh battery will take longer to charge than the 1620mAh battery because it has more capacity. It will work perfectly in your camera and will give you more time between charges.

Interesting that my rebuilt K30 only has a 1050mAh battery as standard. It seems to last pretty well in use, so a 2300 one ought to be even better.
Glad to see there are other eccentrics out there still using Pentax kit!! My first Pentax must have joined me at least 50 years ago.

 

[J-G]

Glad to see there are other eccentrics out there still using Pentax kit!! My first Pentax must have joined me at least 50 years ago.

My second Pentax was the first Spotmatic to come into the country in about 1960 - I was gutted when I arrived home to find my front door open and all my photo kit, including long zoom lens, missing (mid 70's) - I do still have an SP500 and it is still a 'joy to hold'.

 

[Garno]

This is my first ever Pentax I purchased it new when it first came out, I also have a Tamron 18-250mm macro lens on it. I have downloaded a manual for the camera so will try and learn how to use it again

 

[Garno]

Interesting that my rebuilt K30 only has a 1050mAh battery as standard. It seems to last pretty well in use, so a 2300 one ought to be even better.
Glad to see there are other eccentrics out there still using Pentax kit!! My first Pentax must have joined me at least 50 years ago.

They used to churn out some really good cameras if memory serves me right.

 

[dickm]

My second Pentax was the first Spotmatic to come into the country in about 1960 - I was gutted when I arrived home to find my front door open and all my photo kit, including long zoom lens, missing (mid 70's) - I do still have an SP500 and it is still a 'joy to hold'.

Think my favourite Pentax was an MX, which I used quite a lot at work. Until some toerag spotted it when I'd left it in an unwise place and disappeared with it. Reported it to the polis, and then got accused by them of trespassing on my place of work, because they went to reception and asked for "Richard Morris" and the receptionist said there was noone of that name working there. Didn't seem to twig that it might be the guy always know as **** who had been there for 20 odd years!

 

[Garno]

I ordered this kit this morning and it's just arrived. £21 and free delivery with being Prime member can.t be bad. Got one on charge now

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00HK63LP8/

 

[paulrbarnard]

I ordered this kit this morning and it's just arrived. £21 and free delivery with being Prime member can.t be bad. Got one on charge now

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00HK63LP8/

I’ve got to ask. What’s the intended subject of your photographic reawakening?
Keen photographer here too but Minolta roots leading to Sony currently.

 

[Garno]

I’ve got to ask. What’s the intended subject of your photographic reawakening?
Keen photographer here too but Minolta roots leading to Sony currently.

Believe it or not it is because I have never owned a mobile phone and now want something something to take photo's of any pens and bowls I make to post them up here.

I have always had a fascination for up-close photography and decided to go/move onto macro photography, I was originally taking photographs of customers jewellery that they bought into the store we had for repair, by having photographs of what was required the customer could not bring the item back under the repair g/tee claiming it had failed ( you would be surprised at how many tried ) and I suppose it just grew from there.

About 12 years or so ago I had a massive breakdown and tried to keep the business and everything going through it all, needless to say I lost everything and to this day I am still receiving intense treatment. I am told I will never work again which is something I still struggle to come to terms with today.

A few months ago number 1 step son got me a second hand Canon digital IXUS 65 basically a point and shoot camera, the problem I found with that camera is that as soon as the battery starts ebbing the photo was blurred, it had 2 batteries with it and both were faulty. So I started to hunt down where my Pentax camera was and if it could be rescued after all this time. I will know over the next day or so.

My main starting point will be to take pics of the stuff I make and the hopefully get a "proper" macro lens. I thought the Tamron 18-250mm Macro lens was a dedicated macro lens but it turns out to be a zoom lens. If I manage to rekindle this hobby I will save up and get a proper dedicated macro lens and see where it takes me and in the meantime I will just get used to using a decent camera and relearn everything it can do.

Gary

 

[dickm]

There's an excellent Pentax forum on the web (can't remember the url, which is on my tablet somewhere) but that has reviews of most of the Pentax compatible (and unaffordable for a pensioner!!) macro lenses and everything else. That's where I found the instructions for replacing the Chinese carp solenoid on the K30.
Still using a really ancient *istDS which sits on a tripod facing the squirrel feeder, with a Tamron 70-300mm. Not the best lens, but got some acceptable shots of the squirrels and the pine martens.

 

[Garno]

There's an excellent Pentax forum on the web (can't remember the url, which is on my tablet somewhere) but that has reviews of most of the Pentax compatible (and unaffordable for a pensioner!!) macro lenses and everything else. That's where I found the instructions for replacing the Chinese carp solenoid on the K30.
Still using a really ancient *istDS which sits on a tripod facing the squirrel feeder, with a Tamron 70-300mm. Not the best lens, but got some acceptable shots of the squirrels and the pine martens.

I will have a look and see if I can find it on the web, until now I did not even know such a thing existed

On a different note my old battery seems to of accepted a full charge which has absolutely amazed me, how long it will keep it's charge is yet to be seen. I am going to put that battery and the 2 new one's under pressure this weekend to see how they last. I aim to fully charge each of them to top them up and then take a single photo of every tool I have, that should use the power up on all 3, I can then put them into excel and have a full catalogue with rough values of all my tools (Just in case)

Gary

 

[sploo]

A few months ago number 1 step son got me a second hand Canon digital IXUS 65 basically a point and shoot camera, the problem I found with that camera is that as soon as the battery starts ebbing the photo was blurred, it had 2 batteries with it and both were faulty. So I started to hunt down where my Pentax camera was and if it could be rescued after all this time. I will know over the next day or so.

That sounds odd. As far as I can tell, the IXUS 65 has no lens or sensor based stabilisation, so I can only guess that maybe a failing battery could result in the autofocus motor having insufficient power. Unless maybe the flash always fired for shots that were sharp (i.e. dark environment needing a longer exposure or flash, and if the battery is failing then no flash => longer exposure => blurred photo)?

It's worth noting that both the IXUS 65 and Pentax K10D are pretty dated in terms of digital camera sensor tech; so you'll find that modern equivalents are capable of much better image quality (especially in lower light). However, if you're mostly doing macro then that's the realm of tripods, long exposure times, and extra lighting; so I'd expect even those older models to produce good images with plenty of light.

If you have a 50mm prime lens (especially one with a manual aperture control) then getting a reversing ring can be a great way to do macro without the cost of a dedicated macro lens (basically - mounting the lens backwards on the body will allow close focus and high magnification). Another cheap option is extension tubes.

Fortunately though, macro lenses around the 100mm focal length range are well covered by OEM and third party manufacturers, and they're mostly always pretty good (so there's plenty of choice out there).

 

[Garno]

Unless maybe the flash always fired for shots that were sharp (i.e. dark environment needing a longer exposure or flash, and if the battery is failing then no flash => longer exposure => blurred photo)?

To be honest I don't think the flash has ever gone off, I have just had a look to see if it actually had one
Maybe the time is right that I actually got some new ones.

They are old cameras but will suffice for a good 6 months or so when I will start looking towards upgrading them to a newer model, the thing is though is that a canon camera costs and absolute fortune these days.

 

[sploo]

Yea, the modern DSLRs are not cheap. A used Canon 80D would be a great choice, but even that would likely still be £500+.

 

[paulrbarnard]

That sounds odd. As far as I can tell, the IXUS 65 has no lens or sensor based stabilisation, so I can only guess that maybe a failing battery could result in the autofocus motor having insufficient power. Unless maybe the flash always fired for shots that were sharp (i.e. dark environment needing a longer exposure or flash, and if the battery is failing then no flash => longer exposure => blurred photo)?

It's worth noting that both the IXUS 65 and Pentax K10D are pretty dated in terms of digital camera sensor tech; so you'll find that modern equivalents are capable of much better image quality (especially in lower light). However, if you're mostly doing macro then that's the realm of tripods, long exposure times, and extra lighting; so I'd expect even those older models to produce good images with plenty of light.

If you have a 50mm prime lens (especially one with a manual aperture control) then getting a reversing ring can be a great way to do macro without the cost of a dedicated macro lens (basically - mounting the lens backwards on the body will allow close focus and high magnification). Another cheap option is extension tubes.

Fortunately though, macro lenses around the 100mm focal length range are well covered by OEM and third party manufacturers, and they're mostly always pretty good (so there's plenty of choice out there).

Or a set of extension tubes. They are super cheap and convert any lens into a close focus lens. I have a set of three for my Sony which cost £20.

 

[Garno]

Or a set of extension tubes. They are super cheap and convert any lens into a close focus lens. I have a set of three for my Sony which cost £20.

I've never heard of those before, are they readily available? and how difficult and how difficult are they to use? They are certainly at the right price