dennis_oregan1

<p>The XK has a +/- 2 stop exposure override. Is that set properly to "0." Compare your camera's meter accuracy to other cameras known to be accurate and also see how it compares to the sunny 16 rule. You might be able to use the exposure override to compensate for an inaccurate meter.<br>

The XK also heavily weights the the exposure of the foreground which often results in over exposure of a brightly lit background or sky. It takes some getting used to. Minolta calls this contrast light compensation or "CLC" which was used in the SRT and XE/XK series of the 1970's.<br>

As others note, the meter is not the strong point of the XE/XK series. They can become very erratic.</p>

<p>Some Soligor equipment was very good, some not so good. As folks here have correctly pointed out, Soligor was a brand under the Allied Impex Corporation (AIC Photo) corporate structure. Tokina made a lot of the Soligor lenses, as it did for vivitar. A lot of the specs between the two brands are identical. If a lens is a Tx or T4 mount, it is a Tokina.<br>

Soligor came out with its C/D lens line to compete with Vivitar's Series 1 line. I have a Soligor 80-200mm f1:3.5 C/D two-touch zoom and it is a good performer. I cannot say for sure, but I think a number of lenses in the C/D line were made by Kino Precision Optical, which also made some of the better Vivitar lenses. I have a Vivitar 28mm f1:2.5 in Minolta mount and it beats any of the Minolta 28mm glass. Not as good as the Super Multi-coated M42 Takumar, but good nonetheless. The S/N starts wit 22.<br>

Don't be conned by people selling old Soligor lenses and describing them as "designed in Germany, built in Japan." Aside from the Tx/T4 mounts and some of the Soligor C/D lenses, it is very dificult to determine the provenance of Soligor lenses.</p>

I buy #675 zinc/air 1.4V hearing aid batteries and put a #83 rubber "O"-ring around them. The O-ring can be

purchased at any major hardware store. The hearing aid batteries are also widely available in a four pack,

usually for about US $5 or less.

I'm told that the zinc-air WeinCells are actually 1.35V and not 1.4 volt. If the chemistry is the same, I'm

believing the voltage is the same.

Cheers

P42 should mean the Pentax universal thread. I am surprised it doesn't fit. I have a Makinon 200mm f3.3 sitting in front of me (it is going to be sitting on ebay later today) that is marked P42 and just screwed it onto a Spotmatic. Fits fine. Are the threads on the lens damaged?

Dennis

I have the Pressmaster 800 with the camera bracket, AC adapter, and sync cord, if anyone is interested it it. It works

fine on AC. I'm clueless about any batteries. I noticed the handle warms up when I'm using it, which would suggest

there are batteries in the handle? The head of the unit has a compartment for batteries, but as someone wrote

above, there are no contacts. Too bad.

I'm selling a bunch of camera gear that I have collected over the years and just came across the Pressmaster in a

box tonight. Forgot I had it and came to Photonet to find some specs on it. It's a neat unit. Anyone know the guide

number? I still have a Vivitar 292 that needs to have its battery pack rebuilt. A real monster with a GN of 65 @ ISO

25. I hope Homeland Security does not make me give it up. :-)

Frankly, I'd go for all of the lenses in a package deal. Remember, if it is a shop, he probably paid pennies on the dollar. If you don't have a screwmount body, I'd go for the Spotmatic, especially if it is the Spotmatic F.

If you think the Fujinon lense is to soft, get a screwmount Takumar 1:1.4 or 1:1.8 on ebay for a few bucks. Mt experience with the Takumar glass is, across-the-board, it is second to none. One of my favorites is the 28/F3.5 in the multi-coated version. I even use it on my Minoltas.

Dennis