paddy_macmahon1

If you want the 6 by 6 format, why not consider a TLR? An excellent Rolleicord Vb can be had for a couple of hundred dollars, and even a Rolleiflex 2.8 E or F can be had for much less than the Hasselblad 500CM.

What is this 'digital' stuff you're all talking about? Is it another one of those passing fads, like 'colour photography'? It'll never catch on.

How about waiting for the new Carl Zeiss 100m f2? Likely to pretty good, I imagine, but eye-wateringly expensive (GBP960 here in rip-off Britain).

 

A cheaper alternative would be to keep a look-out on ebay for a K or M 100/4 macro. Around GBP70 and very sharp, nice to use. Gives 1:1 with extension tubes, but more often I use it without them.

The Olympus Trip 35. Cheap as chips (less than GBP10 on ebay), great lens, no batteries, meter round lens automatically compensates for filters. I was climbing in (very wet) Snowdonia last month and didn't care if the camera got a bit wet or banged on rocks. I now have two of them (2nd for my daughter officially for her to learn a bit about photography) and take one loaded with HP5 to most places I go. On longer trips my MX with 28mm, 50mm and 85mm and Gossen Digisix gives all the flexibilty I need, but I've recently picked up an Olympus 35SP (fixed lens rangefinder), which is such a joy to use that it may well sideline the MX for a while. Digital, of course, does not get a look-in.

I've seen an old (70s?) Vivitar 28mm f2 in a K mount for sale and wondered if

anyone had any experience with this lens. I'm looking for a fast wide angle

and this might do the trick, but it has to perform well wide open (I have the

SMC 28/3.5 and am delighted with its performance, but want that extra stop and

a half). I need something to tide me over until I can afford to choose

between the 31mm f1.8 limited and the new Zeiss 28mm Distagon...

 

 

Paddy

Has anyone out there used a new ZK lens? Are they even available yet in any

shops?

 

I've only ever used Pentax lenses, but I'm sorely tempted by the 28mm f2

Distagon. I've been keeping a lookout for an SMC K, M or A 28mm f2, but

nothing has appeared on ebay. The other option for a fast wide angle is a new

31mm 1.8 limited. The results I've seen from this lens seem excellent, but my

main concern (other than the price, which presumably will be astronomical for

the Zeiss, too) is how it feels in manual focus. I find myself using my MZ-5n

less and less these days in favour of my MX. What do people think of the 31mm

limited as a manual focus lens? Does it have a better feel than the 43mm

limited, which is a little 'loose' for my liking when compared with manual

lenses (though better than other FA lenses)?

 

Finally, anyone need to get rid of a mint SMC K 28mm f2, preferably in the

London area? That would save me worrying about the above.

 

Paddy

Try silverprint.co.uk based in London.

We needn't worry too much about global warming - if sea levels start to rise, we can simply lower them again by catching lots of whales and taking them to dry land. We could even use all that blubber as fuel. Nice eating, too - the more I think about it, the better this idea gets. Bring back whalebone corsets!

Super stuff - Steve Pike's Chavez portrait is something else.

"I recommend staying with Pentax AF lenses (F, FA, D-FA and DA series) to obtain the fullest functionality of your camera."

 

But then you miss out on some of the superb Pentax-A and A* manual focus lenses.

Your camera will take all pentax autofocus (AF) lenses and many manual focus lenses too. KAF is the specific name given to the mount, AF is a more general abbreviation. Your *ist will also take K mount, KA mount, M series, A series, F series, FA series, FA-J series and D-FA lenses, and if it's the *ist D, DS or DL, also the DA series lenses.

Uncle Goose - it's an announcement about a new photo-lab in Clermont-Ferrand, a city in mid-France and a website for traditional B&W techniques, which is itself in French.

 

I reckon at least 80% of those interested in the post will be pretty fluent French speakers.

Don't know this particular lens, but I very much doubt it matches the performance of Pentax's own SMC Pentax-M 1:1.7 50mm, which is a superb lens and can also be picked up for next to nothing.

And what with house prices soaring they'll be a financial burden for many years to come. Perhaps when they all get jobs you should drop plenty of hints about digital SLRs in the weeks leading up to your birthday...

And you think Brown or Cameron will make life better for the public sector? We made our capitalist bed when we elected Thatcher - someday we'll realise that true socialism is the answer to our woes.

 

Anyway, in the meantime, take advantage of the cheap flights capitalism has brought us and go to New York for your next holiday, and buy your D200 there. In the self-centred society we've made, you won't feel any need to declare it for tax purposes. Put the amount you've saved in a child trust fund to help with those university tuition fees.

Send it back to KEH.

Markku - what tosh! The M series cameras are excellent and rugged, and all the examples I've had my hands on are working well. The MX is pretty indestructable, and any problems are easily fixed by any competent camera engineer.

The AF lenses are early autofocus lenses compatible with the ME F autofocus camera (there's only one model, a 35-70 f2.8 zoom). They do not have an automatic aperture setting, and so have most in common with 'M' lenses, which also cannot be used with the cheaper ZX/MZ cameras. They only provide autofocus with the ME F body, I believe.

Ignore autofocus - go for one of the pentax A series secondhand. Dream buy for insects (especially ones you don't want to have to immobilise with a pin) would be the SMC-A* 200mm f4 macro (although this seems as rare as hens' teeth), but otherwise try to get hold of the SMC-A 100mm f 2.8 macro.

 

Also get an off-camera flash adapter - i have a manfrotto bracket that allows two TTL flashes to be used on either side of the lens.

Does anyone know whether the old Pentax flashes, particularly the AF500FTZ,

are compatible with the new K110D or K10D bodies? The instruction manuals

seem only to refer to the new generation of flashes.

 

Also, does anyone have any information about K and M series lenses used with

the new bodies? Can one meter and shoot with the old lenses (i.e. one without

an A setting)?

 

Thanks.

 

Paddy

I use an MX and an MZ-5n and would recommend either, though they're very different in terms of automation.

 

It IS possible to use lenses without an aperture ring with the MZ-5n; with cunning use of exposure compensation and exposure lock in shutter priority I've been able to use any combination of speed and aperture desired (except on the bulb setting, where the smallest aperture is automatic). They are, however, impossible to use with the MX, unless you're always happy with the smallest aperture.

31mm f1.8 Limited. Fast and excellent. And beautiful with your K10D if you can get hold of the black version. Then add more primes when you can afford them.

I use an MX with a handheld meter - the camera does seem to drain batteries quickly, although this may be because it's possible to engage the meter even when the lock is on.

 

It's a great, reliable camera, and the easily available SMC-M lenses pair up very nicely with it. The K1000 is too bulky for my liking.

A comprehensive (I think!) database of Pentax lenses can be found at

 

http://www.bdimitrov.de/kmp/

 

No P3 macro...

MX wins every time for me - reliable, rugged, well featured and needs no batteries. Smaller and lighter than the K1000 too.