[monochrome]

Parts not available?! Mine is only three years old and it's already obsolete? Discouraging.

More likely the cost of labour. They sent it to a cheap labour country where the business strategy is ship the parts and the work.


Long gone are the days when one talks to the technician on htand over to describe the problem, and demonstrate, and that become knowledge impacting the repair.

More likely Precision does / did not stock the part, but Ricoh Japan repair does. Better for Precision to ship one lens to Japan than buy a whole box of a seldom-used part to fix one lens.

[WPRESTO]

Cameras, SFAIK, have not gotten to the point of cars where you plug in a computer and it locates many (not quite all) of the trouble spots.

[timw4mail]

• Asahi Pentax KX
• K 55/1.8 lens

[Marcus Rowland]

Eh, if the 35-70 lens fails, I'll just fall back to the 50/1.7 I've got.

Seems like the real thing to watch out for are old Sigma/Promaster lenses:

• The coating of the barrel might degrade into a sticky mess
• A strip of tape could be whats keeping the helical in place for an AF lens
• A ring of string in the zoom mechanism could degrade, putting sticky stuff all over the zoom barrel, and make it much more difficult to zoom the lens.

Don't get me started about the ***** older Sigma lenses - I won't buy them any more, they get more faults than everything else put together. Seriously, if I see a job lot that is mostly Sigma lenses I just don't buy it, regardless of what the seller claims about the condition. Apart from mechanical and optical problems, you get things like their attempts to back-engineer lens electronics that went horribly wrong.

[monochrome]

• Asahi Pentax KX
• K 55/1.8 lens

Dude!

[timw4mail]

Dude!

To somewhat balance things, I am planning on selling/donating several cameras and lenses tomorrow, including the K1000.

I know I have a problem

[pepperberry farm]

O-ME53 Eyecup came with three more Altura lens bags, I blame Dave of Pepperberry!
Nah I just wanted a magnifier so it is easier to focus with the manual lenses I own. Especially the new Takumar.
Weather is nicer so I should be able to play with my new acquisitions soon.

yeah, yeah... I've found that I'm getting a higher keeper rate with the O-ME53...

[Transit]

I picked up something called an FA43 ltd mij black...apparently quite good :-)

[Arjay Bee]

Crumpler neck strap for a small camera set up. It uses strings instead of rings at the ends and the strap can be taken off leaving the strings attached. Probably will use on black bodied ME Super.
Roll of TMax 100. Just loaded it into the MX for some experimenting while on hols.

Saw a Super Takumar 135 3.5 in a second hand shop but didn't get to check it out very well. aperture blades seemed good a/m switch seemed good, no caps hood or case. Thought about it over night went back next morning. Different sales clerk, she suggested I take it into the brighter light near the sales counter. Used the better light to check lens state and it was fungus and mouldy on several of the internal surfaces. Said no thanks and went home and washed my hands. Good handy man project but not for me.

[cyberjunkie]

I wanted one chrome-nosed 6-elements f/2 50/55mm. Ended up winning two of them, a Mamiya Sekor Auto 2/50mm and a Yashinon-DX 2/50mm.
The acquisition is a bit redundant, i know At least i will find out if the two lenses are actually the same... I suspect they are, just with a slightly different livery.
It my suspects are confirmed, even this rather early chrome based/chrome nosed Auto Mamiya Sekor lens will reveal its Tomioka parentage. I'll see and report, this question has been asked a number of times, in different forums.
It will take quite long though, all my US acquisition will be delivered by my wife a few months from now

The real reason to write this post is a strange Ebay story.
Just got a nice Helios 44-2 made in 1971 in the Valdai factory of the Soviet Union.
Tested it and found it's a great performer (one shot is already posted on "Lovin' on Helios 44..." thread).
When i tried to give the feedback i found it was not possible.
I already expected it cause the seller contacted me via email and wrote that he had been kicked out of Ebay for.... too low prices!!
Actually the poor fellow sold his soviet lenses at Ukraine prices, not at the over inflated prices most other vendors from the same part of world sell their merchandise. It seems that the matchless brains who decide about Ebay's policies pay no attention to what's really important, namely if the item is as advertised, if it's actually shipped, if the vendors plays tricks and fails to honor a closed sale, etc etc. If a vendor doesn't respect these basics, then it's a good reason to kick him/her out, but i guess there are more important parameters.
What's paramount is that you have to sell at the same inflated prices other vendors ask.
The result is that an honest seller is kicked out, and i can't even express my gratitude for a great purchase because i'm not allowed to give a feedback for a past (valid) sale. I paid via PayPal, he got the money, everything is fine, but i have no practical way to inform Ebay that the seller is everything but a scammer!
Of course big vendors who give Ebay/PayPal lots of money have nothing to fear. Even when they play dirty tricks Ebay is very reluctant to take some action. Three times i've been told that a lens broke after the end of the auction. Of course the final price wasn't of their liking.... but it seems that Ebay always turns a blind eye in similar situations.
I'm starting to believe that Ebay has a double standard, one for "pro vendors" and one for casual sellers.

This is the first time a nice purchase leaves me with a sour mouth

cheers

Paolo

[ivanvernon]

I wanted one chrome-nosed 6-elements f/2 50/55mm. Ended up winning two of them, a Mamiya Sekor Auto 2/50mm and a Yashinon-DX 2/50mm.
The acquisition is a bit redundant, i know At least i will find out if the two lenses are actually the same... I suspect they are, just with a slightly different livery.
It my suspects are confirmed, even this rather early chrome based/chrome nosed Auto Mamiya Sekor lens will reveal its Tomioka parentage. I'll see and report, this question has been asked a number of times, in different forums.
It will take quite long though, all my US acquisition will be delivered by my wife a few months from now

The real reason to write this post is a strange Ebay story.
Just got a nice Helios 44-2 made in 1971 in the Valdai factory of the Soviet Union.
Tested it and found it's a great performer (one shot is already posted on "Lovin' on Helios 44..." thread).
When i tried to give the feedback i found it was not possible.
I already expected it cause the seller contacted me via email and wrote that he had been kicked out of Ebay for.... too low prices!!
Actually the poor fellow sold his soviet lenses at Ukraine prices, not at the over inflated prices most other vendors from the same part of world sell their merchandise. It seems that the matchless brains who decide about Ebay's policies pay no attention to what's really important, namely if the item is as advertised, if it's actually shipped, if the vendors plays tricks and fails to honor a closed sale, etc etc. If a vendor doesn't respect these basics, then it's a good reason to kick him/her out, but i guess there are more important parameters.
What's paramount is that you have to sell at the same inflated prices other vendors ask.
The result is that an honest seller is kicked out, and i can't even express my gratitude for a great purchase because i'm not allowed to give a feedback for a past (valid) sale. I paid via PayPal, he got the money, everything is fine, but i have no practical way to inform Ebay that the seller is everything but a scammer!
Of course big vendors who give Ebay/PayPal lots of money have nothing to fear. Even when they play dirty tricks Ebay is very reluctant to take some action. Three times i've been told that a lens broke after the end of the auction. Of course the final price wasn't of their liking.... but it seems that Ebay always turns a blind eye in similar situations.
I'm starting to believe that Ebay has a double standard, one for "pro vendors" and one for casual sellers.

This is the first time a nice purchase leaves me with a sour mouth

cheers

Paolo

Similar things have happened to me on eBay. Thanks for bringing this to our attention, even though there is nothing any of us can do except to be aware of the possibilities.

ivan

[Canada_Rockies]

An example of the people who sell things on eBay:
I was given a non-working Dual 1210 turntable with no cartridge and no base. Audiophile suggests prices should be between $200 and $400 for a working one. There are two on eBay: C$1,667.92+139.62 shipping, C$1540.80+46.37 shipping. On Amazon I found someone who sells parts, including a new base for C$56 shipped. I bought the base, and the turntable is now mounted in it (10 minutes to figure out the mounting screws). I just have to find a compatible cartridge and needle, and wire up the power, check the lubrication and refit a plastic handle for the Start/Stop lever (handle came with it, but not mounted).

I use Amazon, Prime when available. The free shipping and the support blows eBay out of the water. I don't miss the bidding process at all, and I sure don't miss not having to eliminate the ripoff artists from searches.

[RoxnDox]

My latest (combined birthday/Xmas gift to myself), so I can paddle and fish regardless of Pugetropolis weather conditions:


Men's GORE-TEX® Meridian Dry Suit | Kokatat Inc.

[IgorZ]

I picked up something called an FA43 ltd mij black...apparently quite good :-)

Congratulations! I picked up something like that a couple of months ago. Nice lens... And I had thought "Who needs 43mm?" Apparently, I do. It's been sitting on my camera...

[SSGGeezer]

yeah, yeah... I've found that I'm getting a higher keeper rate with the O-ME53...

I haven't had a chance to use it other than to focus it. I should not have been surprised by how sharp the optics are, (since Pentax makes sharp lenses,) but I was. Hope this helps my old eyes.
Went to Hunt's Camera up in Portland Maine, bought a V4 leather camera strap for 100.00 off and played with their K-1. Amazing piece of equipment! Heavy though, and the DFA 28-105 looks really nice through the viewfinder.