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06-14-2020, 12:07 AM   #1
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Digital noob, old school film shooter re-enters the camera world

Hi guys 'n gals

I first picked up a SLR in 1979, a Pentax Over the next decade I learned as much as I could. I bought a Mamiya 645. I built a custom wet darkroom with a Durst M605 and Vivitar Dichroic enlargers. I learned the E-6 development process by heart. If I wasn't in the darkroom I was out in all seasons taking images. Life happens and gets in the way and all my gear got stored away around the turn of the century.

I got the bug again in 2010 and bought my first DSLR, an Olympus E-410. While it was pretty good I wasn't thrilled with a lot of the editing software and the printers of that era. Using P&S cameras and letting Walmart do the printing was the most expedient thing for someone with an infant.

Fast forward to this spring. I moved and in the process found my DSLR. Curiousity got me wondering what the current models could do, the editing software must be improved and I saw Amazon sold larger format printers for what I consider ridiculously low prices. If you'd purchased a good enlarger and lens back in the day modern color printers are dirt cheap in comparison. Anyhow, I concluded that for the most part radical improvements in DSLRs took place a few years ago and everything sold since has for the most part, been incremental improvements.

I thought I'd take a chance and buy a used but more modern Olympus as I liked the idea of Panasonic entering the market with m43 products so I'd have more choices. So I bought an inexpensive Olympus BUT during my research I found that Pentax, now a Ricoh subsidiary was still in the fight. I liked the idea of their basic models being weather sealed, the ability to use any Pentax lens was really great and the lenses on the secondary market, new or old, are really inexpensive. Having a couple of old Pentax lenses helped the matter and when I saw a K-30 with a great price and low shutter count it was a easy decision to buy it.

Oh oh. I've turned this into a novel. My bad. Anyway, hello to all!

06-14-2020, 12:22 AM   #2
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QuoteOriginally posted by wallythacker Quote
Oh oh. I've turned this into a novel.
Excellent intro. Hi Wally, welcome from Australia.
06-14-2020, 12:53 AM   #3
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Welcome to the forum from the Highlands of Scotland.
06-14-2020, 11:28 AM   #4
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Hi Wally. Welcome from South Africa. Nice to know somewhat about your photography journey and know that you will enjoy what this forum has to offer!
Best.

06-14-2020, 07:33 PM   #5
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Welcome to the forum! I think you'll be pleasantly happy with your entry into to the present state of digital with Pentax.

It isn't perfect, but digital has progressed far enough to be capable of appreciating it. Near perfection would most likely be the Pentax sensor performance packaged into the basic operation of the Mamiya 645 body. At least that is my personal perspective having come from a similar situation- moving from the Hasselblad 645 film era... to a decade of little to almost no photography... followed by entry into digital via the Pentax K5. For subjects where I really want fine control... I find the electronic camera aspects (would apply to virtually any DSLR / SLR / modern camera) quite often requires more time in total getting the image I expect, relative to the decisive in-full-control from the get-go manual 645 experience- but overall I find the results are quite good to excellent when factoring in dynamic range capability, color etc. As a bonus- I've found that my two left over film era SLR lenses (in my case Zuiko) give excellent results on the Pentax sensor, in fact one of them easily surpassing what I was getting with film.
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