[bjake]

There are quite a few of us on the forum here. I have shot kid sports, and been published, with the first ever Asahi Pentax. It was a bit more complicated than the new cameras to operate. Here is the basic operating sequence.

1. Load film and advance four frames.
2. Put the end of the film box in your pocket, so that you could remember what you had put in the camera
3. If you have a hand held meter, Set ASA on meter
4. Aim meter at subject and transfer needle reading to dials
5. If you don't have a meter, read the paper from the film carton
6. From the available options, select a shutter speed and find the appropriate aperture, or
7. Select the aperture and find the appropriate shutter speed
8. Pick up the camera, and decide which of the two shutter speed dials on the camera has the speed you need
9. Make sure the other dial is set to 1/25 so as not to confuse the mechanism
10. Set the aperture on the aperture ring that clicks into place
11. Open the aperture with the other aperture ring
12. Wind film to cock the shutter
13. Frame
14. Focus
15. Just before releasing the shutter, stop down the lens with the free moving aperture ring
16. Press shutter button to take picture

And you think you have it difficult these days.

All that was easy back 40-50 years ago when brain was still young and working properly.My head still has that program working but can't always remember what mode or function the e dial or green button is in.
Jake

[Arn]

Welcome, and glad you found the forum, *Ltd.

[Canada_Rockies]

All that was easy back 40-50 years ago when brain was still young and working properly.My head still has that program working but can't always remember what mode or function the e dial or green button is in.
Jake

After nearly four years with the K10, I still expect the e-dials to be the other way around. Don't know why, but always I turn the front wheel when I want the back and vice versa.

[gofour3]

There are quite a few of us on the forum here. I have shot kid sports, and been published, with the first ever Asahi Pentax. It was a bit more complicated than the new cameras to operate. Here is the basic operating sequence.

1. Load film and advance four frames.
2. Put the end of the film box in your pocket, so that you could remember what you had put in the camera
3. If you have a hand held meter, Set ASA on meter
4. Aim meter at subject and transfer needle reading to dials
5. If you don't have a meter, read the paper from the film carton
6. From the available options, select a shutter speed and find the appropriate aperture, or
7. Select the aperture and find the appropriate shutter speed
8. Pick up the camera, and decide which of the two shutter speed dials on the camera has the speed you need
9. Make sure the other dial is set to 1/25 so as not to confuse the mechanism
10. Set the aperture on the aperture ring that clicks into place
11. Open the aperture with the other aperture ring
12. Wind film to cock the shutter
13. Frame
14. Focus
15. Just before releasing the shutter, stop down the lens with the free moving aperture ring
16. Press shutter button to take picture

And you think you have it difficult these days.

That’s exactly why I’ll never switch to digital. The time it takes to setup and compose a film shot puts me in a “zone”, where I can tune out the world. This is why I love photography, shear bliss! The experience is made even more enjoyable by using older Pentax manual film cameras and MF lenses!

Also waiting for your film to be processed, lets you rethink each shot and makes it even more rewarding when you get it back.

Phil.

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Last edited by gofour3; 11-19-2011 at 10:36 AM.

[Canada_Rockies]

Chacun son gout!

[*Ltd]

That’s exactly why I’ll never switch to digital. The time it takes to setup and compose a film shot puts me in a “zone”, where I can tune out the world. This is why I love photography, shear bliss! The experience is made even more enjoyable by using older Pentax manual film cameras and MF lenses!

Also waiting for your film to be processed, lets you rethink each shot and makes it even more rewarding when you get it back.

Phil.

I held out for a long time but finally succumbed to digital. I skipped the entire autofocus film era. Some of the most ugly and passionless cameras were made then in my opinion. Even though I'm shooting digital, I'm still in the habit of carefully setting up, thinking and composing. I totally get "The Zone" that takes a hold of you when you shoot this way. It is The Joy Of Photography. I don't think I can ever lose that.
Film habits die hard. The rare, rare time that I do put the camera on continuous fire, I cringe when it fires a shot more then I intended before I realize that a SD card holds holds hundreds of frames! It's not a winder! To me, the perfect image is still the one that I can download into my computer and don't have to do any manipulating. Just me, the lens and the light. Funny thing though, when I download my photos, I find that the number of shots I've taken often equals a multiple of 36!
Good on you for holding onto film. The images from a modern digital camera remind me of fine grain slide film. Even washes out like slide film. Prints like Cibachrome. They have yet to recreate the subtle, graduated, wide range feel of print film. For that reason, I will also continue to shoot film as well digital. Now I'm thinking they must have a Photoshop filter for that look, but I'm not interested..

[LegOverHead]

Welcome, and this is where ALL the Pentax users are!

[RioRico]

Welcome, and this is where ALL the Pentax users are!

This is almost true, unfortunately, although I *have* run into a couple who aren't members. We're still almost invisible in the outer world...

[JohnA]

After nearly four years with the K10, I still expect the e-dials to be the other way around. Don't know why, but always I turn the front wheel when I want the back and vice versa.

lol, so it's not just me! New to the K-5, I tried teaching my self that the front dial is for the shutter speed, since it's closest the shutter button. Next time I went shooting, I figured the front dial would be the aperature, since it's closest the lens! Only two ways to do it, but I always seem to start with the wrong one.

And of course, welcome *Ltd!

[Canada_Rockies]

I'll join this club. I started with a Pentax where the aperture controls (yeah, preset) was WAAAAYYYY out front and the shutter speed dials on the body. I went through the K10D menus to see if I could make them the "right" way round, but there are some points where the settings can't be done. They are the wrong way round.