[Dewman]

There's a very interesting story that's connected to the lens give-away I had a few weeks ago that I thought you all might like to know about.


Mark Jerling, a member her on PF mentioned that a young lady he knew, young Miss May K would like some of the lenses.


He lives in New Zealand.


She lives in Missouri.


I sent her four or five of the lenses.


I live in Idaho.


But, the young lady didn't have a camera to go with the lenses, so I found a Pentax *istD L on a Craig's List ad .....


.....in San Diego.


The woman who sold it to me lives in Lebanon.


She had taken the camera to The Democratic Republic of the Congo during a Peace Corps. stint.


When I got the camera, it didn't have a memory card and I couldn't find a 2 GB card for it. BigDavePhoto, a member here on PF heard of our plight and graciously sent one to me.


He lives in Indiana.


It arrived today. I slipped it into the camera along with some AA batteries and BINGO! The camera works like a charm!.


So, tomorrow, I'm going to get it packaged up and sent off to young Miss May K, so she can begin her photography quest and post some photos for us!


Wow! What an around-the-world adventure this has been!

[sergysergy]

A lot of international pieces to complete the puzzle

[Unregistered User 8]

A very positive " domino effect " in this global forum. And you were the 1st domino Dewman. Well done indeed !!

[smf]

Well done, Dewman!

[rod_grant]

Isn't this Forum special! (I mean the membership, of course)
Well done Dewman. You rate!

[gordon_l34]

Hi,
Here in Brisbane, Australia we have had a request in Cameraholics for a digital SLR. We have had a D200, yes I know it is not a Pentax, donated from a deceased estate. At our next monthly meeting it will be put to the members to donate this so that this person can do a photography course. We need to add a battery, charger and memory card to get him on his way, so hopefully everyone is agreeable.
Apparently the proposed recipient of this request which came from his mother has been the target of bullying, so if this takes place hopefully it will help restore his faith in humanity.
Regards.

[Dewman]

Isn't this Forum special! (I mean the membership, of course)
Well done Dewman. You rate!

Thanks, but there were a lot more fingers in the pie than mine! This was a combined effort, even including the woman who sold the *istD L for a ridiculously low price when she heard what a worthy cause it was. A very nice, compassionate woman.

[hoanpham]

Well done. Best story in 2016 so far :-)

[bertwert]

Great job Dewman!
I presume the *istD L has a line on it like the K-7?

Good to hear it is working out!

[BrianR]

"I love it when a plan comes together," Hannibal

[csa]

Around the world with love!

Dewman, all the pieces of the puzzle came together from all over the world, with one goal in mind; helping someone in photography!

Well done to everyone in this chain of events!

[Dewman]

I presume the *istD L has a line on it like the K-7?

Good to hear it is working out!

As a matter fact, NO! It doesn't have the line across the top of the scene like the K-7! Attached is a test shot taken with the little *istD L and the 18-55mm AL lens that came with it.. Nary a sign of a line. I think this will serve Miss May K very well. It has only 3,700 shutter actuations and considering that it spent some time in The Democratic Republic of the Congo, it looks in remarkably good condition! It has a little dust in the view finder, but.... nothing that's too awfully bad.


I gave the whole rig a good cleaning with alcohol, used a rocket blower to blow out the innards, cleaned the front and rear elements of the lens and put a skylight filter on it, just for the protection it affords for the youngster. It can't hurt.


I'm gonna' pack it up and get it sent off to Missouri tomorrow, then it will have arrived at it's final destination! This has been more fun than a barrel of monkeys!


Oh yeah.... about the K-7. I took a very bright "Cop flashlight" and shined up inside the body and you can see the line across the mirror. It actually looks more like a crack than a scratch. Also, the dust removal feature doesn't work. I used a rocket blower to clean the inside, but man oh man, does the sensor have a lot of junk on it! It also seems to drain a fully charged battery extremely fast. It came with two batteries and it does the same thing.... regardless of which battery I try. So.... I'm not sure this one will work out like we had planned. I'll see what I can manage with it and go from there.

[bertwert]

Good to hear there is no scratch.

I guess you could convert the K-7 to an IR camera just for fun, that's what I'd do if I had it.

[Dewman]

Good to hear there is no scratch.

I guess you could convert the K-7 to an IR camera just for fun, that's what I'd do if I had it.

O.K..... I'll bite. How would one do such a thing?

[bertwert]

Here's a quick google result:
How to turn your DSLR into a full spectrum ‘super camera’ | ExtremeTech
If I were you I'd do a 'full spectrum' conversion and DIY. I've always wanted to do it but I can't get a camera to do it with, I've had someone offer me an ancient Nikon DSLR but it had no lens so I'd need to get a lens. If you decide to do it, have fun! The scratch is probably on the IR filter so when you convert it to IR the scratch will be gone.

PS If you decide to sell it cheaply because of the sensor scratch, let me know I'd love to get it for trying IR conversion and photography.