[Kiwigeezer]

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K1000's are still highly desirable.. See them going on ebay with the 50mm f2 on them for NZ$235+ Heck there was one sold recently on ebay with a 50mm f1.7 that went for nearly $400!!!!!

They are, but that partic one wasn't in great shape -a dented pentaprism housing like it had is indicative of a hard life. My circa '70s MX still looks like new despite extensive use. The F2 50 I had didn't perform anywhere near as well as my 50 1.7 at comparable F-settings even when stopped right down, but could have been a poor example I guess?

[zkarj]

Try it for none macro shots, it's incredibly sharp corner to corner.

Will do. I just took a look at it and indeed it is the same model. I assume the 7 digit number is a serial number – my example starts 685, so that's a lot of lenses produced if they're contiguous!

[Kiwi645hauler]

Will do. I just took a look at it and indeed it is the same model. I assume the 7 digit number is a serial number – my example starts 685, so that's a lot of lenses produced if they're contiguous!

Pentax serial numbers are generally not that contiguous, many manufacturers use different codings and ways to identify various production runs. Some manufacturers are really pedantic about the serial numbers and keep records of each camera/lens/accessory for production dates etc, others not so great.
Say x brand produced a batch of 100mm lenses with serial numbers ranging from 12345 to 34567 they maybe able to give you a production window of when they were produced, say between May and November 1994
Some companies like Linhoff for example, by the serial number can show down to what month of a particular year a lens is produced, or Leica will be able to tell you the year, month, day a body or lens was completed and released to warehousing, and then to where it was shipped. (Kiwi's for example buy more Leica per head of capita than anywhere else in the world... When Leica first released the Digital M8, there were over 100 on backorder at one point 3 months after shipments began... at $12k a pop!)

[NZ_Ross]

Kiwi's for example buy more Leica per head of capita than anywhere else in the world

Interesting information there Hayden, I did not know that...

[awa355]

Infra Red photography,, what is it for? Has anyone here used an infra red camera? I see the odd one on trade me which has been converted.

[Kiwizinho]

Threw mine in the bag on a recent trip into French Pass & Durville. It's seldom the first lens I reach for but am slowly starting to appreciate it more. Softer than my belly wide-open it sharpens up stopped down a bit. If anybody's up our way the drive into French Pass is a worthy detour (just be prepared to spend the next week cleaning dust out of your vehicle).

Not sure if it's further from your side of the Wangamoas or mine. It's certainly a long drive either way. I think it's the strongest tidal flow in NZ out there. Not sure, but I think it might make the flow through the Manapouri power scheme look like a kitchen tap in comparison.

---------- Post added 12-09-17 at 11:20 AM ----------

Interesting information there Hayden, I did not know that...

That makes the K-1 look cheap. There's a young guy in the local camera club with a Leica. Personally, I'd be more than happy with a K-1 for a considerably smaller investment.

[NZ_Ross]

That makes the K-1 look cheap. There's a young guy in the local camera club with a Leica. Personally, I'd be more than happy with a K-1 for a considerably smaller investment.

Part of the reason I ended up with Pentax gear is I did that analysis on Leica.

I really like their lenses - but when I worked out a Leica digital camera and 3 good quality, newish Leica M primes would cost about $20,000 and what could be obtained in Pentax or Nikon for the same amount, then the decision was pretty obvious.

I will also take the K-1 as a more than viable alternative - both in image quality and features.

In fact if I hadn't brought the 250-600mm lens earlier this year, I would already have a K-1. Now planned for 2018

We have made very good progress on fixing the 250-600mm and have now identified the broken part - which is part of the aperture mechanism. We are currently trying to source that part, and if we can't then it will be a one-off 3D print. Either way, it is just time now, and the lens will be fixed and fully operational.

[Kiwi645hauler]

Part of the reason I ended up with Pentax gear is I did that analysis on Leica.

I really like their lenses - but when I worked out a Leica digital camera and 3 good quality, newish Leica M primes would cost about $20,000 and what could be obtained in Pentax or Nikon for the same amount, then the decision was pretty obvious.

I will also take the K-1 as a more than viable alternative - both in image quality and features.

In fact if I hadn't brought the 250-600mm lens earlier this year, I would already have a K-1. Now planned for 2018

We have made very good progress on fixing the 250-600mm and have now identified the broken part - which is part of the aperture mechanism. We are currently trying to source that part, and if we can't then it will be a one-off 3D print. Either way, it is just time now, and the lens will be fixed and fully operational.

The K-1 is fantastic, and all the customers we have supplied are more than happy with their purchases and the results they are getting. A funny story re Pentax & Leica.. One of my old Pentax reps shoots mountain biking images predominantly, but he never used a DSLR, he had Nikon & Pentax gear, but 95% of his work was done on a Leica M8.2 or M9, with a tri-elmar or 90mm elmarit lens. this included many shoots of Pro mountain bikers in forests or on tracks in action. I havent spoken to him for ages, but i do know he still shoots the Leica, but not sure if he has changed up to one of the newer M bodies.

[sqrrl]

Infra Red photography,, what is it for? Has anyone here used an infra red camera? I see the odd one on trade me which has been converted.

Yeah, I've been converting cameras to near-Infrared, ultraviolet, both with no visible spectrum in between and to full spectrum for about ten years now.

The infrared version is near infrared, it doesn't pick up much on heat (it'll see a hot element, but not a person in darkness)

Typically they are numbered with a NM rating, which is where the camera can see, for example a 650NM filter can see 650 nanometers and up to the limit of what the sensor can see (typically 1000NM or so).

A camera sensor can see a far greater spectral range than the human eye can, like 400-1000NM (depends on the sensor), where the human eye can see more like 480-680 or so. In order to get the camera to see the range that the human eye can they put a filter over the sensor which blocks the light spectrum below and above what people can see, That's called the 'hot mirror'.

To convert a camera to Infrared the hot mirror is removed from the sensor and is replaced with a filter of choice, for instance the aforementioned 650NM which will allow the light spectrum from the edge of human vision and above through.

I've mainly used them because the images look cool in black and white, but they also have a range of scientific and security uses. Plants tend to reflect infrared very strongly depending on the health of the plant - so they are often used to check crop health, as for security, they are often used in cctv cameras using a ring of IR diodes to see in darkness without floodlighting the place to the visible eye.

I've attached a couple of infrared shots, one has been desaturated, I was also experimenting with rebuilding the lenses at the time - I like fuzzy photographs.

The other shot with the blue and yellow is a UV & IR shot with the visible spectrum filtered out (the opposite of a hot mirror)

[awa355]

- I like fuzzy photographs.

You would love mine then Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I understand the concept a lot better now.

[photo_monkey]

Infra Red photography,, what is it for? Has anyone here used an infra red camera? I see the odd one on trade me which has been converted.

I've taken an interest in infrared photography so much so that I've just taken possession of and am experimenting with an infrared filter at the moment. I really like the fine art quality to some of the images I've seen.

I suspect my unmodified K50 isn't the best for the purpose although I did the remote control test and could see a red light. I need to experiment with the filter more to see what I can get. If anyone has any tips, it'd be great to hear them

Sqrrl, do you convert cameras as a hobby or a living? I have been considering buying another camera and having that converted; is there anywhere in NZ who does it or would it be best to buy a second hand camera in the States then send it to somewhere like Kolari for conversion before having it sent to NZ? The other option is that I upgrade from the K50 and convert that...

[sqrrl]

Strictly as a hobby/for my own business. I definitely don't work on other peoples cameras.

You could possibly get someone like C W Services Limited to consider it if they aren't too busy - for a decent camera technician it's not super difficult.

For the K50 it's not great shakes at Infrared, you can get there with long exposures or high ISO's, but for freezing movement it's pretty insensitive to that spectrum (I had a k50 till early this year - they have a good hot mirror, which isn't what you want for IR). The K50 is actually a pretty decent camera so it seems like a risky proposition to convert - In fact Pentax cameras in general are tricky, I would have converted my K10 but for the fact I'd have to desolder several boards.

You'd be better looking at an older camera in the 6-10mp range - Many of the very early ones like the canon300d have pretty poor hot mirrors, the Nikon D70 and Sigma cameras have a reputations for being easy to convert, On cameras without live view you want the IR filter on the sensor instead of the lens, With live view it's less important (it's practically impossible to focus an slr with an IR filter on the front when using the optical viewfinder).

Honestly it's worth just keeping an eye on TM for already converted cameras - they tend to be pretty cheap. I picked up a full spectrum Panny GX1 for about $300 last year. Paying for a conversion from a reliable supplier is liable to be pretty expensive, getting it done cheaply apparently isn't really worth it as the QC is often miles off. (I've only ever brought one which I suspect was a bitzer put together by a camera tech from spare parts as the casing is two tone, my others I've just converted myself)

If you want to try doing a conversion yourself then look at older cheap bulkier P&S cameras to start with, ideally ones with fixed lenses, and expect to kill one or two of them. They're less fiddly to put back together than DSLR's typically as they tend to just be a couple of boards with a few ribbon cables and take far less calibration than larger sensors (external viewfinders are also very useful). I tend to buy $5 cameras from op-shops for experimental purposes.

[GUB]

The Soligor is on the way to you Gub. Hope you like it.

It is going to be a hard beasty to luv!!. My Soligor 21mm 3.8 M42 (ie much older) blows it away in anything but these closeups. It is great how you do get a reasonable insight into a lens from the lens reviews. They were saying the closeup bokeh effect was its only redeeming factor. It handles highlights/flare quite well.

[GUB]

And Ross - your old 17mm Tokina got a run on Friday on Ruapehu. A total white out all day - I tried to turn it to my advantage.

[NZ_Ross]

And Ross - your old 17mm Tokina got a run on Friday on Ruapehu. A total white out all day - I tried to turn it to my advantage.

Nice, I am pleased you are finding uses for the Tokina