[GeneV]

Anyone recommend it and a few lenses? Saw it's only $300 with a 75 2.8 lens - seems like a nice deal (what I like about film, as expensive as film is, at least you don't have to worry about having the best sensor...all the work is done in the emulsion).

Heard on photorumors.com the K-7 is supposed to, via adapter, support 645 lenses and as well the new lenses for the rumored Pentax DSLR MF camera (if they come out with it).

I paid that for the body plus 55mm + 75mm + 150mm a while back. It wasn't pretty, but hopefully it works. There are all kinds of deals.

[D W]

One should test a newly acquire camera for proper operation using fresh film and a lab who is trusted to do the processing properly to eliminate the film variable.

[GeneV]

One should test a newly acquire camera for proper operation using fresh film and a lab who is trusted to do the processing properly to eliminate the film variable.

Agreed. That is why I'm not doing any of the B&W processing on those rolls myself. It's been a few years.

[tuco]

Agreed. That is why I'm not doing any of the B&W processing on those rolls myself. It's been a few years.

That would leave me in doubt too with BW. What developer is the lab using? Some BW developers slow your film down. But we can guess the lab is not using anything exotic. And to really nail down the combination of your light meter, camera's shutter and exposure index, you need to measure your negatives with a densitometer in tests.

With some experience acquired under your belt, you can beat a lab with better BW results doing it yourself, IMHO. And that is more true today than ever before.

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Last edited by tuco; 02-10-2010 at 10:54 AM.

[GeneV]

That would leave me in doubt too with BW. What developer is the lab using? Some BW developers slow your film down. But we can guess the lab is not using anything exotic. And to really nail down the combination of your light meter, camera's shutter and exposure index, you need to measure your negatives with a densitometer in tests.

With some experience acquired under your belt, you can beat a lab with better BW results doing it yourself, IMHO. And that is more true today than ever before.

I'm sure I will get back to that point. I was processing my own B&W film from the time I was 13 to the time I was 35 (when I moved away from my third darkroom). However, 35 was almost 20 years ago, and I needed a sure thing to test out the basic functionality of the camera. The lab is using D-76. As you say, nothing exotic. Before I get too far down that road, I want to know that the shutter works, there are no light leaks, etc.

Once I get past these first shots, I may spend some time shooting the gray card. However, the first rolls look like the exposure is very close and everything works.