I have about $500 to spend

(My first post... hello to all.) I welcome all comments and suggestions.

Photography is a much-loved hobby for me, not my profession. I've had my

Pentax K-1000 for decades. I love it. I like to shoot close-ups of nature and

portraits, i.e. kids, friends, pets and I also like to use B&W film. I have

two lenses, a 1:17 50mm lens and a Sears 1:28 f=135mm lens. I have an old Dell

notebook, 128MB with dial-up. (Stop laughing...) Since I have two compatible

lenses, should I make the move to digital and get a Pentax K100D body and use

CVS, Costco, a Kodak kiosk, etc. to create the prints OR should I get a brand

new, more sophisticated film SLR, e.g. a Canon Rebel T2 and stick wih film? I

have about $500 to spend. Thanks to all-- Ms. Dale Colston

I believe you should get a digital, and $500 should do fine these days. Get AT LEAST an 8mp camera with a zoom lense,

Get the DSLR with kit lens. You can get that for $500 dollars. If you want to do black and white it might present a problem as digital doesn't do black and white as well as film.

I would go with a Mamiya RB67 and some extension tubes. You can get all that and a lens for under 500 if you shop around. This way you'll have medium format for portraits and the tubes for macro. The RB67 is a wonderful system.

Of course only you can decide, but I feel like you haven't given us enough information. Do you currently process your own film and make your own prints?

 

Since you love your K1000, why do you want something else? Maybe a new lens of a type you don't have would be an interesting choice?

 

Or, if you want to post your images on the net, a 35mm film scanner perhaps? This would let you digitize your current images as well.

 

Otherwise, at this point, between a more sophisticated film body and a digital SLR, I would choose the digital SLR. You already have a film body that you like.

 

Since you have a couple of pentax lenses, one of the pentax digital slrs would be a good choice for you. Check with the folks in the Pentax forum here.

 

Be aware that your 50mm lens will become equivalent to a 75mm lens on the digital camera due to the crop factor, so at some point you may want to get a wider lens to get the normal perspective you're used to.

 

Also, most digital viewfinders are not nearly so big and bright as film slr viewfinders, so if at all possible, check out the camera before you buy it.

Wait a bit, and some stupid car or home repair will pop up and eat that $500 without even a burp. At least that's what always happens to me. Seriously, the smartest way to buy equipment is to reach the point where you say, "gee, I want to shoot [insert impossible shot here]; what would it take to do that?" At that point you have an idea of what you need, without finances entering into it. Then you can see what's available- what's the best, what's acceptable, what kind of deals are available new, and what's available used. Once I started thinking that way, my expenditures started giving me much better return in terms of photos taken, rather than dreamed about.

Gotta agree with those who asked why bother if you are happy with your K-1000. Unless it needs some repair that costs moer then picking up another used one why not keep shooting with it?

 

Then again, sometimes we just outgrow our current tools and need to explore others. The nice thing about Pentax is how they kept their lenses backward compatible. If really pressed I'd say stick with film and look into a medium format camera. Prices are fairly cheap (at least compared to new) these days and your $500 might get you a nice 645 or maybe a 6x6 TLR.

Hello, I think the K1000 is a very fine camera that produces some excellent results. Unless there is something it can't do that you want it to do, I would be inclined to get digital output but getting your films processed onto CD. Something else you could consider is a scanner of some kind, probably a flatbed, that you can scan your prints.

 

But be aware, digital images eat computer memory and you may find you fill your notebook very fast. So I'd buy lots of CDs too.

 

Pete

If you love your K-1000 and it's working well, give yourself a new perspective on the world by buying a Pentax 28mm lens for it.

You make the photographs, not the camera - if you know and like what you have already, why introduce a new learning curve? I would spend the money on lenses, certainly at least one of them being a macro if you like closeups and nature-type photography, and a wide angle (28mm would be a good start). Perhaps some extension tubes and a good tripod as well, all of which should be well within your stated budget.

 

I would also suggest that you pick up a two-reel daylight tank, a couple of reels, and a changing bag while your at it and do your own black and white developing. It is far, far easier than you might think based on some of the things people say online, and the level of control over the results is exponentially greater than what you get from a drugstore lab processing your black and white film.

 

- Randy

Do-it-yourself black and white processing is easy (and cheap) and if you have a changing bag you don't need a darkroom. But if you want to print your negs, it's either a darkroom set-up or a film scanner/computer/desktop photo printer. Either of these may well exceed your budget.