[Marcus Rowland]

Well, noticed a job lot of Praktica bayonet gear on eBay last night and was the only bidder this morning, got a Praktica BC1, 50mm lens, motor drive, teleconverter, flash and camera bag for £12.89 including postage. May all be crap, of course, but the seller says it's in good working order and I think it was worth a shot. We'll see when it arrives.

[monochrome]

I have not reported it here yet, but a few months ago I bought a K-1 and a new camera transportation utility, a Tesla model S P85. During the winter I will take and show you photos of it under the northern lights.

I was behind a Tesla Red edition of one of these at a stoplight this morning. I thought, “Beautiful car. Shame it doesn’t come with an ICE.”

[jeallen01]

Well, noticed a job lot of Praktica bayonet gear on eBay last night and was the only bidder this morning, got a Praktica BC1, 50mm lens, motor drive, teleconverter, flash and camera bag for £12.89 including postage. May all be crap, of course, but the seller says it's in good working order and I think it was worth a shot. We'll see when it arrives.

As an ex-longterm Praktika/Practica M42 & BC user, I would say that a BC1 (I had one, either at home or at work - can't remember!) was pretty good for its era, if naturally "noisy" in operation, and I later went on to the later BX10 & BX20 (still got those, with motor drives, in the cupboard). The lenses & TC's vary - CZJ from Germany (but not Japan) are generally very good, but Practicar ones are variable, according to which factory they came from. For more info I think you will find dedicated Practica threads somewhere else on PF.

Unfortunately, they have very little "residual value" nowadays because they were never "valuable legends" and there are so many still around (somewhere???) - that's why I never sold the BX10 and BX20 (and the M42 MTL5, also in the cupboard) as the nett return was hardly worthwhile.

[Simen1]

I was behind a Tesla Red edition of one of these at a stoplight this morning. I thought, “Beautiful car. Shame it doesn’t come with an ICE.”

Why?

Let me guess? You havent tried one. It is as beautiful to drive as it looks. No hassle, no gas stations or expensive gas. It doesnt stink and no noise - just beautiful crystal clear music - loud.

[monochrome]

Why?

Let me guess? You havent tried one. It is as beautiful to drive as it looks. No hassle, no gas stations or expensive gas. It doesnt stink and no noise - just beautiful crystal clear music - loud.

It is electric. Duh. CO2 net positive emitter vs. gasoline.

[Simen1]

Higher CO2 emissions at production - lower in use. With US electric power its break even after 18 000 miles compared to average US gasoline cars. Even in Poland (worst coal power country in Europe) its net CO2 negative to drive electric compared to average polish gasoline cars. I live in Norway and use 98% hydroelectric power.

However its not that simple. Environment is about more then just CO2. The worst points about electric cars are about mining cobolt, lithium and nickel. All with severe impact on local environment and the use of child labor (Cobolt). However Tesla does better then the competition to avoid the worst companies. They also does better then the competition to minimize CO2 emissions from battery production by using renewable energy.

Having said the worst things about electric cars, its time to bring forward the worst from ICE cars. Gasoline has to be produced and that doesnt happen without CO2 emissions or environmental impact. Far from. Actually you can multiply the CO2 emissions by 3 to get the real numbers including extraction, refining and transportation. Then there is the poor energy efficiency in ICE, NOx emissions, particles (diesel gate), and shorter life span due to failing mechanical parts, lots of them ratteling around in that frunk without storage space.

Its also time saving to be able to fill the battery over night at home. I laugh every time I see a gas station price sign and all the cars that stops there. They even stand out in the cold manually holding their "charging cables" for 3-4 minutes in the freezing wind. When I drive more then 3 hours I usually just plug in and go to the toilet and then buy some food. After that I go to plug out and drive. I'm so happy my time with ICE is over. I will never again step in someones gasoline spill and take those smelly shoes into the car, stinking for hours. Not to mention the fresh air in the garage after warming up the car there.

And I havent even started on how it feels to drive.. Its almost undescribable. My advice: try! (Even if the X90DL is a little faster, my P85 isnt a turtle)

[monochrome]

The crossover point in net CO2 Emissions including manufacturing of the vehicle, producing the therms + consuming the therms (oil vs. electric vehicle) is highly dependent on the coal/oil/gas/hydro/nuclear mix of each region in grid electric power production. Canada and northern EU are at the ‘clean’ end - an ICE is cleaner above 70mpg. USA is in the middle - ICE is cleaner above 35mpg. China is really dirty - ICE is cleaner above 20 mpg.

Then there is the rare earth and nuclear fuel mining and disposal cost, the sight pollution of windmills and solar panel arrays, the various drawbacks of hydro - at the end of the day consumption is bad; what has changed is the weights we place on each bad element.

None of that takes into account the cost to society of obsoleting the capital and labor invested in current energy industries such as coal mining and transportation. Those costs are real, existential and a larger current global threat than extant environmental costs.

The driving experience is highly subjective, of course. I can’t abide the damned things.

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Last edited by monochrome; 12-12-2017 at 06:02 PM.

[Nakedgun]

Rape the Environment!

That's my motto.

[timw4mail]

I just acquired a Rolleiflex:

Not a TLR, an SL35 E, and matching Rollei Planar 1,8/50 lens.

[gaweidert]

1800 Lumens of portable goodness. Got it a BJ's Wholesale Club for $24.99. Runs on 9AA batteries.

[pepperberry farm]

working on photos of this, but the missus' Christmas present arrived yesterday:

30" x 25" of granite, cut and polished to be used by her for all of her baking projects....

[timw4mail]

Rounding out my list of autofocus Pentax cameras, I now have an MZ-S.

[SSGGeezer]

working on photos of this, but the missus' Christmas present arrived yesterday:

30" x 25" of granite, cut and polished to be used by her for all of her baking projects....

Pretty! And even more radioactive than an old Takumar! Is it from Minnesota or New Hampshire?

[Jonathan Mac]

working on photos of this, but the missus' Christmas present arrived yesterday:

30" x 25" of granite, cut and polished to be used by her for all of her baking projects....

I find flour and sugar work better in my baking recipes Unless of course it's for rock cakes...

I was looking at new stock on a used camera gear website and spotted a Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 HSM with unspecified mount and was surprised when I checked the photos that it appeared to be a Pentax mount. I already have the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 but the in-lens focus motor and superior build quality tempted me, so I went and bought it yesterday.

I have to say I'm very impressed with the build quality - it's much, much more solid than the Tamron (heavier too) and from the few test shots I've taken it's at least as sharp in the centre, which is saying a lot. Focus doesn't seem to be very reliable but I need to play around with the AF adjustment as when focused in live view it's extremely sharp.

[MikeyBugs95]

I recently received a Lowepro Flipside 400 AW that I bought for $53. Unfortunately I think it's missing a few dividers though.