Read more..
Visit Camera Enthusiast!As someone who has always liked to take pictures (sometimes even some good ones by accident), it wasn't until the purchase of my first DSLR that I learned that I never knew anything about photography. As a 27 year old, I grew up as film died and digital photography took off, so perhaps it's fitting that the most influential item in my photography was purchased by a young, 23 year old me; the M42 screwmounted Super Takumar 50mm f1.4 attached to my digital Pentax K100D.
Simply put, without this item, I would be one of those people you see walking around with a DSLR in fully automatic mode hoping to get a decent picture to show off my "skills". Before I even bought this lens it was teaching me. I would look around at beautiful portraits and wonder, how on earth did they do that? I have a sweet camera too! That's when I started to actually learn the theory behind photography, and I had to have a fast lens.
But alas, I was a poor student, and remembered the only reason I settled on a Pentax was the salesman at a small camera shop pushing the old model Pentax K100D on me, saying they could basically use any lens Pentax ever made. "A-ha!" I thought to myself, "to eBay I go." Two weeks later, my $80, 40+ year old lens (and to a student who thought $80 was a lot on a lens, the outrageously priced $40 genuine Pentax adapter!) arrived. The very first thing I did once I finally figured out how it attached was to set it at F1.4 and take this picture of my cat only feet from the stove.
I was instantaneously hooked on what this lens could do. This old lens took fantastic photos from my meager knowledge.
Nevertheless, this 40 year old lens had limitations for someone like me. Before taking that picture, I was wondering why it wasn't focusing when I pushed the shutter button. "How do I zoom?!" was my next thought after snapping that first photo.
Luckily for me, it's limitations were what made it so influential to myself. It forced me to learn the fundamentals of photography almost on its on by making me use manual controls. With it's fixed focal length, it started me on the path of thinking about composure by moving my feet and discovering new angles and new lighting while I searched for adequate distances from my subject.
However, as influential as all of that was, by taking beautiful photos I was proud of, it made me WANT to take my camera out in poor conditions and busy places and learn about the craft. And really, isn't that desire the most important part?
- Codazzle
Rating:
Thanks for sharing. Nice article. I have a K01 and have a blast composing shots using focus peaking.
It's nice to see people discovering the joy of manual prime lenses. I've had a bunch of Super-Takumars for a number of years now to use with my K10D - 28/3.5, 35/3.5, 50/1.4, 55/1.8, 85/1.9, 105/2.8, 135/2.5, SMC 135/3.5 and 200/4. I love the smooth focus rings and the photos they can produce. I recently took a different tact and got one of the most popular 'M' lenses, the M-50mm f/1.7. It does not require the adapter. It's a neat lens and I'm eager to spend some quality time with it.
Thank you Ivanernon for the manual focus tip. I too have a problem getting focus some of the times, this method worked really well.
Good short article. I have really gone back to Manual lenses, especially M42 mount ones. My *istDS is a wonder with them, the K10D and K20D less so. However, with my K-5 I have found my joy of using manual lenses again. The Takumars work wonderfully with the K-5, as do my SMC-K55mm f1.8 and SMC-M50mm F1.7. Even some old russian and CZJena lenses are fantastic to use. Keep it up, as old primes are perfect even now.
I love my Pentax 50mm M 2.0 and 58 mm 44/4 Helios 2.0. Neither have autofocus, but both have a focus ring. Turn the focus ring until the image looks clear, and then carefully watch the bottom of the viewfinder. Begin adjusting the focus ring very gradually, while watching the bottom of the viewfinder. When the camera is at max focus, a green image, looks like a pentagon, pops up. You are now in focus. Take the picture.This works great inside and on days when the sun is not extremely bright, but the green image may be hard to see under bright focussing conditions. I do not know how I used this camera for three years before discovering the focus image, but there you have it. I mention this in case there are some other slow learners out there like myself!
I've got 2 manual primes from my K1000. I haven't used them much with my k20d yet, because my eyesight makes it hard to focus them without a split prism viewfinder like the k1000's. Have any of you changed out your focusing glass to a split prism?
I've looked into doing it and its not rocket science to do the switch. I'm just wondering if it makes a difference.
Thanks,
I had a similar experience with my first Pentax (K-x) and the Pentax-M 50 f/1.4. I bought it for $67 and was just astounded by the difference between it and my only other lens - the kit 18-55. And I really learned how to use all of the manual functions because of it.
Personally, I'm going to agree, I find it quite irritating when I see people purchase a Canon T1, and then throw a hissy fit when they don't get good quality shots using auto mode. I usually offer some basic explanation to them, and they always give me an answer similar to : I didn't get this to have to learn, it's supposed to take better pictures, this lens doesn't even zoom 30x like my old one!
In regard to the story, I'm going to agree, the most influential piece of gear for me was a Helios 44M I got for $3.
I agree, and advice all newbies (like me, I've only been in this race for a year), to get a manual focus prime. My first one was the Pentax-A 50mm f2, that I bought some months after I got my K-r, and that was really a WOW experience for me, since then my composition learning curve accelerated way up in a very short time, and I more or less automatically learned about EI, f-stops and the relation between iso and aperture/shutter time, coz I had to! Way to go!
Nowadays I use 95% only manual focus primes on my film houses (I don't even have a pentax digital anymore), and the only AF I use regularly, is the built in lens on my Lumix/Leica LX7 digital compact.
I fail to see what it is about someone using a DSLR in fully automatic mode that makes them worthy of abusive name-calling. I wish we could find ways to celebrate what we enjoy doing without it having to be at the expense of someone else doing what they like.
So instead of being "one of those a-holes you see walking around with a DSLR in fully automatic mode hoping to get a decent picture to show off my "skills," now you are one of those condescending a-holes who lords it over beginners because they don't understand how to take a picture manually?
I'd hope you would realize that there is room in this hobby for people of all skill levels, and as long as they get enjoyment and satisfaction out of what they are doing, that it is a good thing. That's the most important part.