[Aussie Matt]

Hi all: As a late 30's something year old, I think my journey is similar to most my age.

A couple of 35mm point and shoots.
Then my first digital point and shoot... which dies
Then a second point and shoot...
Then a bridge type camera with zoom... and an awesome panoramic feature.

Then smart phones....
I had an Asus Zenfone 2, wasn't 'the' greatest camera at all, but for me, ok: and it had a great panoramic mode... Software updates for that stalled, so I updated to the Zenfone Max Pro M1, one of those fancy dual lense things... Well, the camera app is ordinary at best...

I like panoramic pics.... I've since leant how to stitch my phone pics together on my desktop.... I learned that smart phones work crap in stormy low light :/
But the one I made from my back yard on a sunny day is damn near spectacular. It's like 50MP lol.

Anyways... a family friend owns a camera store.... And end up with an Olympus OMD EM5 II, mirrorless, with a killer prime and a neat zoom. Man, what that thing can't do! I will never put it through it's paces.

So I'm looking at dads old Mz50: Old in time, I doubt it had more than 5 rolls of film go through it..... I'd looked at getting a pentax DSL body years ago, but never pulled the trigger.
So this time, after scouring YouTube, learning about the crop issue... and Snapppy's 6 MP video... I went in search...

I missed out on a couple of ebay deals, and even a nice local gumtree.com.au one... I just know I needed the 170-500mmm for some reason (actually, I hate going to a zoo or something not filling a picture)... So this Z1-P popped up with 3 lenses... I won by less than $2!!! Guess I got the going rate.
So that batch of gear appears to have had very little use: Compared to some of the 170-500mm's that come up for sale, this thing is immaculate: Sure the lenses are filthy, and on the "bigma" a dis-heartening amount of fungus in it: After watching videos, it appears it doesn't effect IQ as much as you'd expect: So I will clean the front and rear, and do some shooting: If I need to strip it, I'm not that scared, I'm quite handy like that.

Then a few weeks later I missed out on a *ist of some sort (plain D L IIRC)... so back on ebay I jump, and some dude had just posted a *ist DL2, for a buy it now price less than the auction I just missed: So I pull the trigger....

About 15mins later I get a message: "I put batteries in it, nothing really happens: Do you still want me to send it?".... Now I'd read some of these older pentax's are grumpy with batteries, so I told him to leave it on for a bit, then turn it off and on again.. then he sent pics of it all working

So the DL2 arrived the other day: I check the firmware, still on 1.00 (oh, it's in really, really nice condition, the lens and filter not so much).... So the hunt for a 2gb memory card.... Oh my, no one local selling anything that small!... dig through the draw, found a micro SD card I used in my raspberry pi, that got corrupted: I format it, put it in a sd adaptor, put it in the camera (which is now running energizer rechargables, starts everytime no problems), format it again: Then (I'm a linux guy) I had to work out how to extract the Pentax update, then put it on the sd card... and put the card back in the DL2...

Then I wonder if I'm doing the right thing.... I only see one or two complaints of failed updates.... but... I still don't trust it fully....
Yeah, the batteries read as charged.... Ok, I pull the trigger.... and a bit later: 'complete'..

Yay: So the DL2 has the last firmware....

The viewfinder was dark as hell.... after a bit of head scratching, I worked out it was a polarizing filter: remove that.. much better, but the lens seems 'foggy'... Oh well.

I take a snap, google how to read exif data in linux... and check the shutter count: 5,552.... so the equivalent of 160 rolls of 36 film.... Sounds a lot to me... but then I read shutter counts in the hundreds of thousands... and for AU$80 inc. the lens and freight.... who can complain?

And this is where I'm at now:
A: I need to get a bigger SD card... 2gb holds 180 pics by the looks, which these 'digital days' is only a week end away really.
B: Sit all the lenses in the sun to stunt any fungus
C: Set it all in a dry box: I have a sealed crate here, and a hygrometer and reuseable silica is on it's way.

I think all my lenses, other than the one that came with the DL2 are full frame, so I'll have to sit down and work out what their 'equivalent' specs are... I suspect that's why the 170-500mm doesn't get great reviews... at 500mm on a cropped sensor we're talking 750mm or more... and that is tripod only territory for a shaky old hand like me.

I don't believe the DL2 has any image stabilization... so that will be good to force me to think about shots more... That Olympus OMD really spoils us with crazy IBIS.

..... And I shouldn't have learned about astrotracer..... I can see a K1 in my future at some stage :/

[PJ1]

That was some intro! Enjoy all your new gear. And welcome to the Forums from Mosquito Creek, Queensland.

[Unregistered User 8]

Hi Matt, welcome from Melbourne mate.

[Serkevan]

Welcome from Germany!

Long telephotos are indeed best shot from tripod - I have a 400mm old Sigma that I can't for the life of me shoot with the shutter speed under 1/1000... And that's with a camera with good IBIS.

Speaking of camera: Do *not* think about the K-1 too much, or you will end up like me, buying one and never looking back, despite the previous camera not having any faults . The DL2 makes perfectly beautiful photos, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

[Sandy Hancock]

Hi Matt. Welcome aboard the Good Ship Pentax Forums.
Quite a few of us here already know how good Adelaide is

[Kerrowdown]

Welcome aboard, great intro, enjoy all the forum has to offer you.

[Aussie Matt]

@ P1J Thanks: Queensland ay. I was brissy born. Would love to move back, but I think the humidity, floods and cyclones would do me in: That said, I love Caloundra.....


@pjv Thanks: Went to the F1 in 2015 IIRC, haven't got many 'good' pics sadly; we were there to experience it, and wife and I were really aware of loosing focus why were there ie. experience it, not record it.



@Serkeven: Thanks, it's interesting to watch people going 'wait, those old CCD's did something different'. While I know 6 MP is far from cutting edge, there's something there the new stuff can't do either. I may have to look at another tripod, as I'm sure the wife will still want to use it on the OMD. Good to know that I'm not alone in having issues with long lenses.


@Sandy: Thanks: Ah, I wont tell if you don't. I love Adelaide for lots of reasons. We really live in one of the luckiest, and greatest places on earth.



@Kerrowdown: Thanks, I hope to. I've spent hours trawling the lens section, the 6mp thread, and learning about the *ist D's history and benefits (and issues eg. fussy on batteries).


I hope as the weather clears, and I get more capable with a camera, I can get stuck in and make some real art.


I love panoramics: I'm lucky enough to have a view from my back yard across the Adelaide plains out to sea. I want to create a spectacular panoramic and print it for our living area, so we can be reminded what's outside. I also have grand dreams of capturing the lightning storms that we see here from time to time. Then there's the national park over the road... up the road.. down the road... you get the picture.