Opinions about the P50

PaulF · 09-13-2007, 07:23 AM

A week ago I got a good bargain on a P50 (with the SMC-A 35-70 F3.5-4.5) and a Pentax AF240Z.

It arrived yesterday. Spend the whole evening playing around with the flash and the 35-70 lens on my K10D. The flash is really nice, and btw. my first flash, so plenty to learn. The 35-70 seems a bit difficult to focus -- even when mounted on the P50. But I guess it's a matter of practice. We're spoiled in these auto focus days!

However, I haven't had the opportunity to shoot with the P50 yet. Played a bit around with it without any film in it, and it seems like a rather nice camera. Just wondering what opinions people have about it?

montecarlo · 09-13-2007, 03:42 PM

Hello,

Congratulations. I'm too in search after a P30 or P50 Pentax, being the less expensive Pentax film SLR, these days.
As an opinion, looking the specs, I would say that , except the imposibility to override the ISO (it is set by the camera, which reads the DX code on the film barell) it must be a good camera.
I found instead a manual: http://www.milan-dvorak.net/files/ma...pentax_p50.pdf if don't have one already.

PaulF · 09-14-2007, 01:44 AM

Yeah, it's both cheap to get your hands on, and I actually like the looks of it. I'm completely new to SLRs (digital or analog), so everything is new to me, but I really like the little plastic grip they've added to the right of the camera. Makes it more comfortable to hold.

I wondered about the ISO settings as well, but does one want to override it? The only thing I can think of is in situations where the film does not have the DX markings.

Unfortunately, I won't have time to try it out before next weekend :-(

montecarlo · 09-14-2007, 03:17 AM

Hello,

Some links about DX codes:

DX encoding - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

DX coding on film cassettes

oinkely · 09-20-2007, 07:48 AM

Hey folks,
i have had a P50 for a few years now, bought it second hand with a 50mm A lens and used it a lot for b&w shooting. It's a great camera, very robust and the auto options are a nice feature to have at times. can't remember how much i paid for it but it wasn't much. the only problem i've had is the battery wore out, can't complain at that!
enjoy your new toy