[vonBaloney]

Looks like you have a great start. I doubt you will get enough from the sale of the LX body to finance the purchase of a digital body. The old film camera bodies don't fetch much these days.

But LXs more than most -- $200 or more, depending on options (viewfinders, screens, etc). Not enough for a new body, but a good start...

[Racer X 69]

But LXs more than most -- $200 or more, depending on options (viewfinders, screens, etc). Not enough for a new body, but a good start...

Good point! And although there is still film available, the digital age is upon us, right? Don't look back!

[LFLee]

Well over to the interesting stuff (for me atleast), the lenses. My father said they were more special than the common lenses with the same names that looked the same, I have no idea though. Just listing them quickly here and trying to get some pictures too: f/3.5 35-105mm, f/3.5 18mm, f/1.2 50mm, f/2.5 135mm and a 4/17 fish-eye. As you can tell I don't even know what to call the lenses.

Anyway, the lenses are in perfect condition, camera I think is perfect to. My question (I think) goes as following: I want to switch the old slr into a new dslr, because I need the pictures on my computer. I understand that the house itself is worth a bit, and I got a lot of stuff for it to. Do I did some research and figured out that I can use the lenses I have on a new dslr camera. No problem? So any suggestions on a dslr "beginners" camera (I understand that this equipment isn't for a learner like me, but what the hell, its not like its falling out of the sky for me!) that I can get for about the same price as I can get for the old LX? Was looking at the K-30.

Gladly share any thought on this one And also Im interested in learning, feel a bit bad using this equipment when I dont know much, so please tell me anything

- Eirik

I would not sell the LX and the lenses until you get to know more about PENTAX and cameras. Buy a DSLR like K-30 (pretty cheap now) and get yourself started. If you catch on the passion, sooner or later you would want to try shooting film... and the LX is the flagship model of PENTAX SLR. Those lens are pretty rare too, 18mm 3.5, 50mm 1.2! Keep them!

[pero]

Wow. I'm drooling... For god's sake keep the stuff if you're not desperate for money. The lenses are gems and the Lx was Pentax's top of the line film body (and unique among 35mm film cameras since you can change viewfinders). And get back in that basement now and start digging!

I only have one of these lenses, the 35-105 zoom. It's one of the few older zooms with a good reputation. It's got tons of personality and can be tricky to use, but I find it to be huge fun. And when you get it right the pics look great. (Don't worry if it's a bit rattly, common with this lens). The others are rare and desirable stuff, not least the 50/1.2. You can check them out in the _lens reviews_ on this site, you often find great tips and info there.

I'm guessing you could have lots of fun with the 135/2.5 too. I have a later (and more common) 135/3.5 and it's a great focal length, very useful.

I don't know how much you want to spend on a digital camera. I'm sure the K-30 will be a great choice, or if you can spend a bit more consider the K-5ii (I have the K-5, an older version, and it's great). Personally I wouldn't go for the K-01 since it doesn't have an optical viewfinder. One of the drawbacks with that is that you have to hold the camera away from your body to look at the screen when taking pictures. This is less stable than holding the camera against your face, and might give blurry pictures sometimes. With an optical viewfinder you'll get support from three points: right hand, camera against face, and left hand holding lens, both elbows pressed against your body. But it's probably best if you can find a store that has different cameras so you can feel them and find what's best for you.

[carrrlangas]

DONT SELL ANYTHING!!
Now that I´ve got your attention: You will certainly regret selling them once you learn the value of this kit. Not only monetary, but optically capable.
If I were you, this is what I would do:
1st - Learn how to prevent fungus on the lens and learn how to store them properly. If any of the lenses have fungus, have them cleaned by a professional.
2nd - Store the kit in the appropiate way.
3rd - Buy digital camera: Either K-30 or K-5 are a steal right now. Get to handle both of them to see which one you prefer. Personally, I prefer the K-5 because of the upper LCD, All magnesium alloy body, bigger battery. But these are minor differences. Get to hold the cameras to see which one do you like better. Also, take advantage of the opportunity to buy a modern lens. DA18-55WR, DA18-135, DA35 or DA50 are all great options.
4th - Learn the basics of photography and become familiar with the controls on your camera. Should take about 3 to 6 months.
5th - Take the old kit out of storage and see what you can do with it...

Then decide whether to sell the old lenses, some of them, keep them all, etc.

[richardwong]

+1,000,000

If you keep the lenses in a Rubbermaid container after checking for fungus you can learn which lenses you want to use in certain moods or environments you like. As what everyone I'm sure will tell you is that when you begin learning photography the more you shoot the more you'll learn how you like the lenses behave and where and when to use them to your own artistic flavour.

You definitely have a treasure chest of lenses which are worth quite a bit on the open market so under the good advice of several people already keep them, use them, have fun with them and after a year you can start deciding which ones you don't really like the focal length of and sell them one by one. Harder for seller's remorse then!

Cheers,
Richard

DONT SELL ANYTHING!!
Now that I´ve got your attention: You will certainly regret selling them once you learn the value of this kit. Not only monetary, but optically capable.
If I were you, this is what I would do:
1st - Learn how to prevent fungus on the lens and learn how to store them properly. If any of the lenses have fungus, have them cleaned by a professional.
2nd - Store the kit in the appropiate way.
3rd - Buy digital camera: Either K-30 or K-5 are a steal right now. Get to handle both of them to see which one you prefer. Personally, I prefer the K-5 because of the upper LCD, All magnesium alloy body, bigger battery. But these are minor differences. Get to hold the cameras to see which one do you like better. Also, take advantage of the opportunity to buy a modern lens. DA18-55WR, DA18-135, DA35 or DA50 are all great options.
4th - Learn the basics of photography and become familiar with the controls on your camera. Should take about 3 to 6 months.
5th - Take the old kit out of storage and see what you can do with it...

Then decide whether to sell the old lenses, some of them, keep them all, etc.

[monochrome]

Sooner or later someone is going to post the following, do it might as well be me:

Sorry to inform you the photography gear is old and outmoded, but if you send it to me I promise I will give it a good home.

Seriously, everyting, including the LX, is top-of-the-line. The LX might need a cleaning, which isn't inexpensive, but it will be good for 15 or 20 years if you do that.

[p38arover]

Yes, all the lenses will work on a digital Pentax body, with one caveat - they are manual, which means you will have to manual focus and set the aperture, which is no big deal.

The 35-105 is an auto aperture lens (the A after the Pentax tells us that) so that will work admirably with Pentax DSLRs albeit with manual focusing (the camera will, however, beep when the image is focussed). You set the aperture dial to the A position and the camera will work with that.

[eirik95]

Been some time, and I have come to find A LOT more photo related stuff, especially Pentax. So here is a small list of some of the things I found: Two large boxes full of equipment to be specific:
A lot of things here I dont know what is, see for yourself. Laid out what I thought was importand in the pictures.

Well, A full Pentax auto 110 set (camerahouse is missing for some reason.. So I am unsure if its a super or a normal one).
The Pentax LX box pluss stuff, bag etc.
Another lens (1:1.8/55)
A lot of tripods, one really small, one medium, one large and one made out of wood. Probably almost 100years old.
Tons of old Pentax brochures.
Pentax photo annual, full I believe?
Pentax calender 1980.
Some more Pentax related to, look at photos (not even showing all)
Rolleiflex 2.8F in great condition + brochures etc.
Carl Zeiss Ikon of some sort, can't seem to find which model this is..
Some other old cameras
A lot of accessories

And.. Tons of old Pentax stickers with bags!

Tell me what you think and if you know what some of it is worth (mostly the old cameras) it would be great. And model of the Zeiss camera.

[savoche]

The Tak 55/1.8 should be nice, if not worth a whole lot. The Rolleiflex I believe could be worth quite a bit, but I'm sure others will know! The other cameras look nice, but I no idea what they are...

"Den store nisseboken"... Glimrende!

[TaoMaas]

Looks like you've got a Pentax bellows unit in there, too. It's near the top of your next to last picture. It can be used to shoot close-ups of things...flowers, insects, etc... It looks like it has a bellows lens already on it, but you can also use some of the other lenses you've found with it. Basically, it acts as a variable spacer between the lens and the camera body and that allows the lens to focus closer. To the left of the bellows is an attachment that would have screwed onto the end of the bellows and would be used for copying slides. There's also a double cable release that's part of that whole set-up. One end attaches to the shutter release of the camera and the other end screws into a little hole near the end of the bellows where the lens attaches. It's a means of activating the lens' aperture when using the bellows. You can use the bellows with a digital camera, but the cable release will be of limited use because I don't think any DSLRs use the old style cable releases any more. They all use electronic ones. Still, I'd hang onto that double cable release simply because it goes with the bellows.

[eirik95]

Looks like you've got a Pentax bellows unit in there, too. It's near the top of your next to last picture. It can be used to shoot close-ups of things...flowers, insects, etc... It looks like it has a bellows lens already on it, but you can also use some of the other lenses you've found with it. Basically, it acts as a variable spacer between the lens and the camera body and that allows the lens to focus closer. To the left of the bellows is an attachment that would have screwed onto the end of the bellows and would be used for copying slides. There's also a double cable release that's part of that whole set-up. One end attaches to the shutter release of the camera and the other end screws into a little hole near the end of the bellows where the lens attaches. It's a means of activating the lens' aperture when using the bellows. You can use the bellows with a digital camera, but the cable release will be of limited use because I don't think any DSLRs use the old style cable releases any more. They all use electronic ones. Still, I'd hang onto that double cable release simply because it goes with the bellows.

Thanks for the reply I learn something new everyday haha. Will definitely not sell the bellow

[eirik95]

The Tak 55/1.8 should be nice, if not worth a whole lot. The Rolleiflex I believe could be worth quite a bit, but I'm sure others will know! The other cameras look nice, but I no idea what they are...

"Den store nisseboken"... Glimrende!

hehe great seeing norwegians here (I guess)

[eirik95]

Hey, think the Rollei is a 2.8E, not an F unfortunately.

[ivanvernon]

In my opinion, the lowest price way to get started is to buy a Pentax K-01, $300 or less without lens. It is great for manual focus lens, and gives excellent image quality. New or used K-7 or K-30 would be the next step up, not for improved image quality, but for different and improved controls. Any way you choose to go, it will be lots of fun trying out all these legacy lens with DSLR body. I hope you will keep this thread going to share your lens-using experience with us.

Lots of luck!