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davidscott

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  1. Count me as an ME Super fan. For manual cameras with shutter speed dials, the Spotmatic is the "right size" -- so I never got on with the MX (too small to easily hold and adjust the shutter speed.) The ME Super handles perfectly because it's small but dispenses with the shutter speed dial. That said, it's the most comfortable with the ME/MEII winder, which adds a front grip. Compared to the MX, the ME Super also doubles the flash sync speed and top shutter speed, both of which are important to me. 1/125th and 1/2000th hit my preferred minimum spec for using a camera in daylight. The shutter and mirror mechanism is quiet and VERY well dampened. I have never seen any shutter shock or loss of sharpness at any speed. I compare the ME Super very favourably against the Nikon FE/FE2, with the benefit of being able to use those lovely Pentax lenses!
  2. Best of luck wogears, I look forward to seeing your results! I had a Moskva 5 in good condition, and was hopeful for good results. The lens was very sharp, and the general construction good, giving me hope. However, the shutter went off with a bang. Combined with a folding construction that was not really as rigid as a Zeiss Super Ikonta, the vibrations from the shutter robbed the image of critical sharpness. I have been much happier with the results from Super Ikonta's, which I have found to deliver negatives every bit as good as a similar-era Rolleiflex.
  3. You will worry less about Pentax today if you consider Pentax of the past. Pentax has never offered a limitless selection of lenses. Pentax seems more interested in offering a small set of equipment, built to the best standard they can make, and not overstretching their design or production capacity. I'm sure Nikon and Canon don't make much money from exotics like tilt-shift lenses. They feel a need to offer a comprehensive catalogue, even if some designs are rarely sold. The Pentax catalogue is a workmanlike selection of the most-used lenses at reasonable prices, across all formats (medium format, 24x36 and APS-C.) On the original topic -- I shoot a lot of medium format film, so 24x36 isn't "full frame" to me, it's "miniature format" just like in all those photography books from the 1950s and 60s :-)
  4. Agreed. 50mm lenses are the image-quality bargains, super good IQ at the lowest price. But 43mm is a unique focal length. There aren't many options nearby. 50mm is too long for me, and 35mm is too wide ... but I can crop a 35mm shot. If I had to shoot with one lens forever, it would be something close to 40mm. The rarity of the focal length means I am SUPER excited about the new Sigma 40mm. I also really like the Voigtlander Nokton 40mm 1.4 in M-mount.
  5. The 43mm may not meet your needs. But I don't think it was "hyped." Hyped could mean two different things: 1) talked about glowingly, or 2) overpriced for what it is. Yes the 43mm was talked about glowingly. Some people just really like this lens, for many reasons. Those are opinions, and you may not agree. No harm. As for price, the 43mm is actually a really well-priced lens. The price is definitely not "hyped." Out of curiosity I looked at some prices at BH (so U.S. prices, at a respected dealer.) The Pentax FA Limited 43mm in silver is going for 596.95. In black it's on sale for 496.96. The Samyang 35mm 1.4 in K mount (it's cheapest mount) is $419. But.... that lens only has manual focus. As good as it is, I would only spend that much money on an autofocus lens. Let's look at Nikon and Canon pricing: The Nikon 35mm 1.8 G is $526.06. If you want a half-stop faster, the Nikon 35mm 1.4 G is $1696.95. Canon is similar. The Canon EF 35mm f/2 is $599. The 35mm 1.4 is $1799. The new Sigma 40mm 1.4 for Canikon land is $1,399. Once you compare across systems, the Pentax 43mm is one of the lowest priced options in this range. The nice metal construction is a bonus. And if that's too expensive, go for the Pentax 35mm f/2 which is also well liked and only $346.95.
  6. Kodak Tri-X or Ilford FP4+ in 220 format. These are popular films, that would make good candidates for reviving a 220 coating and packaging line. 220 makes life so much easier for portrait work and for times you want to minimize reloads or back switching.
  7. Ha! Totally agree. I was careful to say that DC services pros (they offer a pro discount and you will see wedding and portrait guys come through.) But they aren't anything like a real "pro lab." To me that was defined by Silvano Color Labs -- truly industrial scale, with end-to-end commercial services right up to the final client albums. TIW always seemed more like a fine art lab, although that distinction could be because of it's genesis (Ed Burtynsky.)
  8. We pay a lovely 13% Goods and Services Tax (GST.)
  9. It's also a function of who is selling. The 13 CDN$ place is a locally owned big city camera dealer with a busy lab servicing pros, students and enthusiasts. They were one of the "last man standing" places for film, and in the last five years went from dismissive ("you still shooting that film stuff you dinosaur?") to embracing it, expanding their film lines, adding promotions like stamp cards to collect free processing, starting an analog film newsletter and membership list that gets discounts on Kodak product, etc, etc. The 23 CDN$ place is a more typical "high street chain" as the Brits would say. More akin to a store like Ritz Camera used to be in the USA. They have a stock of film, and a bit of chemistry, but they aren't promoting it, and as a specialty item they will always charge full list price (and maybe a bit extra.)
  10. Toronto Canada. I've found some at another dealer, but they will be charging me 23 bucks instead of 13 bucks -- I guess that's why they still have stock ;-)
  11. Look forward to see more results! I missed the email from my dealer on Monday night saying E100 was in stock. The dealer restricted everybody to ONE ROLL per customer, and they sold out by Thursday! Their next shipment won't be in until 2019.... Arg!
  12. The 43mm was hyped, but not unwarranted. It seems like the best exemplar of the Pentax ethos of excellent (even if not perfect) image quality, balanced with moderate aperture to make a small lens that performs well. (Honestly, the new 50mm 1.4 from Pentax seems like a refutation of this approach.) For me personally, the focal length is really important. I prefer a 40-ish field of view. No 50mm lens can replace the slightly-wider view for me, regardless of how expensive or how cheap. The 43mm Limited was worth the extra price over the 40mm for me. I tried out the Pentax-M 40mm and found the f/2.8 aperture limiting, when I wanted to have a bit of isolation for subjects in the middle distance of a landscape. With the 43mm, combine the slightly wide field of view, the shallower depth of field, the ability to hold reasonable detail wide open, and excellent micro-contrast, and you get a bit of that "3D" feel that is talked about. I shoot the 43mm almost exclusively on film, as I haven't jumped to a K-1 yet. I'm looking forward to trying the lens on a full frame digital.
  13. I had one FM2n but the advance lever came loose on it. I definitely had the feeling that the FM2n was fragile compared to other small SLRs I have owned (Pentax A and M series, Spotmatics, Contax 139.) It's a shame because I hoped the FM2n would replace my F3, bringing that fantastic sync speed.
  14. Welcome keirarae! You've come to the right place and received good advice, including access to Ricoh manuals from one of the legends of the camera world, Mike Butkus! There are lots of different Ricoh 500's and mine, like JDMvW's has a trigger winder on the bottom of the camera.
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