[vk4akp]

Hi Guys,

I was very surprised to find a box of Pentax bits at a local Ham Fest the other day.

I have never seen any lens's etc for sale anywhere second hand before and was shocked to see this box of stuff on a Ham Radio guys junk sale table.

The guy said make an offer, it all has to go. I said well, I could not even come close to offering you what this would be worth.
He said you'd be surprised. Have a go. So I said $20 expecting him to laugh. He said $25 and it's yours.
I couldn't get my wallet out fast enough!. LOL

This is what I got in the box of bits.

ASAHI Pentax KX SLR Camera
Pentax MZ-10 SLR Camera
METZ 45 CL-1 Hammer head Flash. With Bracket, Hot Shoe cable, & 2x batteries. (one is Alkaline dummy case).
ASAHI SMC Pentax-M 1:1.4 50mm Lens
SUN-ZOOM 1:4.5 85-210mm Lens. With cap's, case, and manual.
SUNACTINON MC AutoZoom 28-80mm 1:3.5-4.5
SIGMA ZOOM 28-80mm 1:3.5-5.6
Telescope mount.
A funny plunger cord thingie. ???
A180 Polar France Filter.

All lens's are "K" mount and all bar the Sigma have Japan filters on the front.

Now here are my questions.

What out of this can I use on my Pentax K200D ?

As specially can I use the flash? I don't have an external flash yet so I was wrapped to get this one.
Can I simply piggy back the hot shoe connector on to the top of the K200D?

All bar the Sigma lens don't have those funny little ball bearing data connectors on the mounts. The lens's fit but when I depress the shutter button on the K200D it doesn't take a picture. How come? Do I have to set something somewhere?

Sadly the 50mm lens has a germinated spore on what looks to be the inside of the outer front lens.
I'm pretty handy with stuff, can I pull the lens apart myself and clean this off?
If so what tools will I need. Where can I buy them? And what cleaning agents should I buy and from where?
Or if there is someone local to me that is into this sort of thing and can help out I'd be wrapped!

Lastly can anyone explain the benefits of the different lens's to me?

Here is a link to pictures I took today of my Ham Fest score.

http://shazam.zapto.org/igal/pentax-1/





.-.-.

[Adam]

All those lenses can be used on your DSLR no problem, just follow the manual metering instructions for all but the sigma lens. Same with the flash- you can probably use it in auto mode and meter manually on the camera.

I'd get rid of the 50mm, though, as it's possible for the fungus to spread to other lenses. On the other hand, you could try opening it up and cleaning it, but be sure you do it somewhere away from other photo stuff - outdoors perhaps?

[VisualDarkness]

Without the fungus your 50mm would be worth at least 50€ but with it not much and you never know if it's repairable. Bad spot right in the middle.
I'm just a really fresh beginner so I can't help you.

[KungPOW]

Assuming the KX works, that was the score of your buy.

Old flashes use higher voltages that modern cameras can handle. I would not try that flash on your K200D, it might kill it. There is a way to test for the voltage, I don't remember how. I'm sure someone here can fill you in.

The lenses will all work on you camera. You need to change a setting to "use aperture ring". i don't know where that is in a K200D, check your manual.

The 50mm with the fungus can be cleaned out. Do a Google search, someone will have explained how the lens comes apart. I have seen a blog about it before. Personally, I wouldn't bother, I would look at getting a lens that is clean to start with, or just use it as is. There is a school of thought that an infected lens can infect the rest of your gear.

Oh, and the plunger thingy is a remote release for the KX. it screws into the shutter release.

[VisualDarkness]

The guys at mflenses seem to have loads of experience with fungus on lenses and almost laughed at me when mentioning "spreading to other lenses". Wen thinking about it a second time I agree with them as fungus spores are everywhere, especially on us, and what matters is that the environment prevents it from evolving.

Fungus on lens

[vk4akp]

Oops! I've already had the lens's on the camera.

I hope I haven't given my K200D the clap!

I worked out how to set the camera to take pictures from a Googled link.
It's quiet cool how the green button works with the manual lens's.

I assume the settings revert back when I put the digital lens back on?

I would think that if the 50mm lens was completely disassembled and treated surly the single spore inside would be killed off and safe to use wouldn't it?

And perhaps the flash voltage issue could be got around with some sort of adapter or trigger?
It would be good to be able to use this flash as I don't have and have wanted for some time an external flash for night shots.

Could it be set up to remotely trigger or something with some sort of receiver?

Here's the pic's I took.

Put-Cat

ASAHI SMC Pentax-M 1:1.4 50mm Lens

My Car

SUN-ZOOM 1:4.5 85-210mm Lens.

.-.-.

[sterretje]

A funny plunger cord thingie. ???

That's a cable release; screws somewhere in a camera and activates the shutter. Yours does not seem to have a little screw that can hold it in position for bulb mode.
Does NOT work on a dSLR unless you make a bracket that will hold it above the shutter release of the camera.

[sterretje]

With regards to the trigger voltage of the 45 CL-1. I will NOT hesitate to use it on my Pentax dSLRs. I can not find it back on the Metz website, but below a quote from Flash trigger voltage converter that, if I recall correctly, correctly quotes the Metz website

Can the mecablitz 45 CT-1 also be used with the new autofocus or digital cameras?
Regretfully, the Metz mecablitz 45 CT-1 does not yet have the connecting capabilities of the Metz SCA adapter system. Consequently, no corresponding adapter is available for combination with autofocus cameras. The Metz mecablitz 45 CT-1 can therefore only be connected to such cameras with a standard synchronisation cable.
Furthermore, it is necessary to note that Metz mecablitz 45 CT-1 units featuring a model number that is smaller than 534 000 are fitted with a so-called high voltage ignition circuit. These flash units must not be directly connected to modern cameras as this could even damage the camera.
All other flash units of the Metz mecablitz 45 CT and 45 CL series feature a low-voltage ignition circuit in keeping with the current standard.

So it should be safe and as said, I will not hesitate to use a the 45 CL-1 (I've used the 45 CT-1 with no issues on a K10D and K100D and I'm going to try it soon on a K5).

[vk4akp]

Thanks Sterrettje!

I tried the flash on the camera and it did in fact work and trigger when I pressed the shutter button.

I have no idea how to use it yet but it did work and I did manage to get a couple of pictures that were viewable. And a lot that were very over exposed too!. LOL

I noticed on Auto the camera seemed to set the exposure time much longer then the in camera flash would.

Also I could not get the shutter to trigger in complete darkness. The camera would just try and hunt for focus.

The hot shoe adapter has the cable connector on one side so it blocks the in camera flash from pooping up when fitted.

I also think I made a mistake sliding the hot shoe adapter off the camera while the camera was still on.
I noticed that there are multiple connections on it and was a little concerned that the ball bearing might have shorted across a couple while sliding across. But hopefully it is designed to avoid this?

This has been a lot of fun so far. I've waited years to finally have a few lenses and a flash to play with.

.-.-.

So it should be safe and as said, I will not hesitate to use a the 45 CL-1 (I've used the 45 CT-1 with no issues on a K10D and K100D and I'm going to try it soon on a K5).

[sterretje]

Your camera is not aware of the flash, so it will attempt to expose based on available light. Set your camera to manual mode and use a shutter speed of 1/180 or slower. Set aperture and ISO on the flash so it matches those of the camera. The shutterspeed (and aperture but that is a given based on the distance; see below) will determine how much available light will be part of the picture allowing you to get more or less of 'the mood of a scene' in the picture.

There will be an indication on the big dial of the flash indicating the maximum flash distance that you can achieve (you can also calculate it using max. distance is equal to guide number divided by aperture; this is described in e.g. the user manual of your camera). E.g. ISO 100 and f/4 will result in a max flash distance of 11 meters. The flash will basically take care of the rest; if your subject is at 11 meters, it will be properly exposed, if it's closer it will also be properly exposed. Just be aware that there is also a minimum flash distance; this has to do with the electronics (it can not create a infinite short flash duration); a safe start is about 10% of the maximum flash distance and a subject closer than that will be overexposed.

Bouncing will basically shorten the max distance as your light diffuses and has lost part of its intensity by the time it 'hits' your subject. Estimate the distance that the light has to travel to do your calculations; the manual states that you should use "light distance * 2" because a wall or ceiling will also absorb some of the light.

And yes, the reason why I bought an AF540 was that the adapter that I needed (similar to your one) prevented the internal flash from popping up preventing AF assist on my K10D and K100D There is a Pentax cable that allows the flash to pop up while it is connected; you might have to be a bit creative to use it in combination with the adaptor that you have; that Pentax cable might be expensive and you might want to look for a thrid party alternative. Pop up the internal flash, focus and push the internal flash down before you take the shot is the idea, but I have not used it.

If you don't have a user manual for the flash, you can download it from the following link: mecablitz: Metz

One last thing; there is a wide angle attachment that should have come with the flash (part number is in the user manual); it spreads the light more so you can use it with lenses wider than 35mm (on film, so I guess 24mm on your Pentax dSLR (but I have not done the maths exactly)). If you don't use it, vignetting will be the result (outside of the pictures will be darker).

Oh yeah, and enjoy.

[VisualDarkness]

Also I could not get the shutter to trigger in complete darkness. The camera would just try and hunt for focus.
.

You have to lock the focus somehow and on my K-7 the simplest way is actually to just set focusing mode to manual with the switch on the side of the lens mount.

[RKKS08]

@ sterretje

I would be careful with the Metz 45 CT-1.
Up to S/N 534000 the voltage may exceed 240V.
Later serial numbers and the Metz 45 CL-1 are ok for Pentax DSLRs (8-10V).

See
Blitzgeräte-Zündspannungen | plainpix.com

Unfortuntely German only, but the table should be self-explaining.

Edit: Sorry sterretje, I was to quick in reading your posting carefully, you already said it all. But maybe my link may help others.

[sterretje]

Edit: Sorry sterretje, I was to quick in reading your posting carefully, you already said it all. But maybe my link may help others.

Don't worry, happens to all of us. But you made me reread my post as I got worried that that important part was missing. So as you can see, I missed the second part of your post initially

[Nowhere Matt]

My encouragement:

Feel the Sun shine

[vk4akp]

Thanks Sterretje, Very good information on how to use the flash. Most helpful!
.-.-.