[excanonfd]

I don't think you would want it. The hole that the body pin goes into is elongated. There lens rotates on the body slightly. Any movement of the body disconnects a pin losing the aperture readings. It has been cleaned and mounted as directed, I've been using it for months without issue until a short while ago.

One of the pins, the one in the middle seems wrong. The insulation is slightly recessed into the mount. It has a spring loaded ball. I suspect that it isn't making reliable contact.

I'm facing the decision whether to fiddle with this one, spend another $100 for another one that may last who knows how long, or using what I have to get a working setup. Bending a pin that I have bent back into place a few times already seems a reasonable alternative.I use this stuff alot, mostly outside. The lenses are very nice, the camera body is fine. The weak spot seems to be the adapter.

You've already cleaned and mounted as directed but it's still not working? Your description of the adapter that you have seem normal to me, perhaps you should post a picture of your mount so we can see if anything is glaringly abnormal about the adapter. I have one apart right now that I suspect was dropped straight down on to the lens mount with the lens cap on warping the adapter because I was able to insert feeler gauges in between the lens and the camera body, meaning there was no contact at all. In your case the lens is showing F-- intermittently which means the lens is making contact with the body. I am still looking for the proper diameter cylinder that I can use to hammer out the caved-in lens mount.

If you don't mind shooting in stop down metering mode like an M42 lens, I'd recommend that you order a few of the Chinese Adaptall PK mounts to use. PK/M mount lets you adjust aperture via aperture ring, meter with the green button but at least the viewfinder stays bright except at the moment the shutter is released. You are right of course, the weakest link in the chain has always been the PK/A mount, that's why I don't like moving the adapter from lens to lens.

[littledrawe]

I opened my 22A and things looked good inside, though I don't know exactly what good is supposed to look like, there just weren't any obvious problems I could see. I tried to tighten the screws and none of them would go any tighter by hand. I did see an accumulation of the white silicon grease on some of the edges so maybe my copy was over lubricated??

According with Pacerr, I think one or more screws may need to be tightened and barrels and grooves lubed with light silicon grease

This is the case with the 22A and possibly other adaptalls as I did have to mark the position of the bottom part of the barrel that pulls away to reveal the screws or the distances marked there would not have aligned properly when i put it back together.

if you don't mark the relative position of the parts, you may to have to reallign the ring of the distances ( but I'm not sure the lens was this one or one of the others one I've opened...).

Unfortunately this did not solve my problem of the zoom creep so if there are other suggestions I am open to them.

[pacerr]

I am still looking for the proper diameter cylinder that I can use to hammer out the caved-in lens mount.

Depending on the condition of your adapter, this is were some of those old cheap off-brand adapters can come in useful for donor parts. Being a universal mount there's many common parts.

But I suspect your problem is with the PK-part though. Try a ring cut from 2" ID Schedule 40 heavy plastic plumbing pipe and squeeze the sandwich in a vise rather than hammerin' it.

the weakest link in the chain has always been the PK/A mount

And when you're dealin' with top-end SP glass for the long term I feel it pays to acquire the necessary extra adapters to avoid frequent swaps.

H2

[wolfiegirl]

*SQUEEEE*

60-300 just arrived. looks in mint condition!!

BUT.... there's zoom creep. just holding onto the focus bit the lens slides around. booooooooooo.....

[pacerr]

problem of the zoom creep so if there are other suggestions

Go to your friendly tire and brake shop and beg a match-head dab of the stiffest high-temp lithium bearing grease they've got. Open the lens up again and apply that stiff grease to the sleeves you can see creeping very sparingly until you get a "creep you can live with".

H2

You too, Wolfiegal

[wolfiegirl]

Go to your friendly tire and brake shop and beg a match-head dab of the stiffest high-temp bearing grease they've got. Open the lens up again and apply that stiff grease to the sleeves you can see creeping very sparingly until you get a "creep you can live with".

H2

is grease good for the cam though? it won't leak into the interior?

[pacerr]

The hole that the body pin goes into is elongated. There lens rotates on the body slightly.

Figure out which side of the latch hole you should use for best results.

Find a drill bit that matches the pin.

Fill the hole with a hard epoxy paste.

Re-drill the hole to take up the slop.

Not a forever-fix but it'll last a loong time.

If you make a mistake, clean out the hole and start over.

I've found it actually pays to slightly enlarge the latch hole on those adapters that need a bit of clockwise twist to show the aperture readout. You may still need to torque the lens occasionally but at least it's latched.

Incidentally, sometimes problem adapters work reliably on older PZ/ZX-class film bodies from the older era which suggests the newer mounts may have slight dimensional quirks that don't match the earlier specification in some ways.

Also check the spring-loaded data pins for free play and that they protruded noticeably above the surface of the mount. If the insulating bushing gets dirty or gummed up it can prevent the data pin from reliably engaging the body contact. Lighter fluid/naptha makes a good contact cleaner.

H2

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Last edited by pacerr; 12-19-2011 at 09:46 PM.

[excanonfd]

*SQUEEEE*

60-300 just arrived. looks in mint condition!!

BUT.... there's zoom creep. just holding onto the focus bit the lens slides around. booooooooooo.....

That doesn't mean anything. Zoom creep is when the lens is mounted on the camera, point the lens up or down about 30 to 45 degrees from horizontal. If the zoom ring slides up or down when the camera is pointed up or down, that's zoom creep. I don't think there's any one touch zoom that can support the lens' weight when held near vertically, except maybe some plastic wonders.

[wolfiegirl]

That doesn't mean anything. Zoom creep is when the lens is mounted on the camera, point the lens up or down about 30 to 45 degrees from horizontal. If the zoom ring slides up or down when the camera is pointed up or down, that's zoom creep. I don't think there's any one touch zoom that can support the lens' weight when held near vertically, except maybe some plastic wonders.

oh ok...

*puts camera into all sorts of funny positions*

zoom ring not sliding!! *thumbs up!*

what would i do without experts like you excanonfd?

[excanonfd]

Depending on the condition of your adapter, this is were some of those old cheap off-brand adapters can come in useful for donor parts. Being a universal mount there's many common parts.

But I suspect your problem is with the PK-part though. Try a ring cut from 2" ID Schedule 40 heavy plastic plumbing pipe and squeeze the sandwich in a vise rather than hammerin' it.

I finally got around to measuring it, 2" ID ABS drain pipe should do it as the press and anvil. My other problem is that I happen to pull off one of the cable soldered to the tiny circuit board inside the adapter. In all my work experience, I have never soldered anything that small and precise. I'll have to give it shot, it will be great if I could get this 15.00 adapter working as PK/A adapter once again. Now, if only I could get my hands on a 63B...

And when you're dealin' with top-end SP glass for the long term I feel it pays to acquire the necessary extra adapters to avoid frequent swaps.

H2

Et tu H2, me too! I am basically lazy and it's pita swapping adapters.

[excanonfd]

oh ok...

*puts camera into all sorts of funny positions*

zoom ring not sliding!! *thumbs up!*

what would i do without experts like you excanonfd?

Buy more junk? Sorry, couldn't resist.

You should have seen my Pentax A 70-200/4.0 zoom lens, when the camera is pointed up or down about 30 degrees the zoom ring would start sliding down. Hold it vertically, the zoom ring practically races down. I don't think I have seen an Adaptall lens with zoom creep problem, my 65A would start sliding down when the lens is pointed 75 degrees or more but that's pretty extreme shooting position anyways.

[wolfiegirl]

Buy more junk? Sorry, couldn't resist.

BWAHAHAHAHA... so so so true!!

none of my lenses zoom creep i think - so I wasn't really sure what I was looking for. I may need to dig out the 70-300 miranda to be sure though. i think that zoom barrel was a bit loosey goosey.

most of my adaptalls are nice and tight - that or i've just gotten way too used to my botched 103a 80-210. so going from that to this 23a 60-300 is a bit of a stretchy curve atm.

[wolfiegirl]

Ok! Took the 60-300 out for a spin this evening.

Initial thoughts are that at 300mm open wide it can be a touch soft. Stop it down and it gets pretty sharp. Rendering is smooth like butter. And crops show lovely sharpness. Lovely Sharpness - Is that an oxymoron?

Here are some examples. All shots taken on the kx at 400 ISO.

Buttery rendering:



The colours render like paintings!!



Sharpness. This was taken from the passenger side of a moving car, and I had to up the contrast and levels to show the tree trunks. Yet the rendering on the car and the detail in the trunks.... that car is GLOWING.



And the leaves and lettering! Tack sharp!



Here's a crop, albeit not a big crop. I LOVE that you can see the details in the rubber tyres. I don't know about you, but I can almost feel that tread under my fingers...



And last but not least... check it out!! Stars!!!



I finally did it! Got a piccie of light and got the star streaky thingies!

I started off thinking 'meh' nice but nothing special when I took the lens out for a test run. In low light all my puppy pics had to be ditched. All blur Even at 3.8 the shutter just isn't fast enough in gloaming light. But going through the pics that I took earlier in the piece, the more I look the more I'm falling in love with it. Keeper rate atm is pretty low but with a bit more practice I'm hoping this will be a keeper.

click on images for exif data

[pacerr]

Stop it down and it gets pretty sharp.

A top-end zoom that stays sharp at max FL is a gem but many begin to soften noticeably about 10-20% shy of max FL. For instance, two of the three DA 50-200's I've used aren't worth a hoot above about 150mm but OK otherwise.

Spend a little time finding the 'sweet spot' for your practical use and then put a "zoom limiter" on the sleeve -- you'll be a lot happier if you give up a bit of FL to avoid frequent disappointment over those "almost" good images that looked so good in the field.

A limiter can be as simple as a heavy rubber band around the barrel to remind you you've gone far enough. I once used a small drop of silicone sealer to limit sleeve travel -- it can be remove later with a sharp blade if necessary. I frequently use an aftermarket tripod clamp just to set a specific, repeatable FL on a Tammy 63B.

Somewhere along the slippery slope to using zooms I learned I was a lot happier if I considered the long zooms as a limited collection of primes with sweet spots at various apertures and FL's wrapped up in a single package rather than a trombone slide of infinite variety.

The advantage then becomes the convenience of carrying a single, mounted lens without the PITA of changing primes. And using the econ tele-zooms only on their very best behavior makes 'em look a lot better -- sometimes you can snag a real winner that way.

H2

[hinman]

*SQUEEEE*

60-300 just arrived. looks in mint condition!!

BUT.... there's zoom creep. just holding onto the focus bit the lens slides around. booooooooooo.....

I have this zoom for a short time. And out of some LBA hard lessons, I later sell all the adaptall-2 zoom lens in 70-210 f/3.5, 75-250mm and 60-300 and settle for the AF alternatives as in Tamron 70-300mm Di LD f/4.0-5.6 and the more expensive one as in Pentax DA (or DAL) 55-300mm f/4.0-5.8.

I prefer the 19AH in 70-210mm more than the 60-300 as I don't recall zoom creep in the former one and 19AH stands out in use, but in the end I find the lighter AF equivalent zoom fitting my occasional needs in longer range better. Just another thought ...

Cheers,
Hin