[pepitajack]

I develop and print bw film my self with a durst m670.
I use a opticfilm 8100 to choose which one is with to print.

For colors i sent the rolls to the lab then i digitize them myself.

[dionhouston]

Hello all!

So I got my pictures today... I haven't gone through them completely but I have some initial thoughts anyway. Below are two images, the first is with my 40-150mm/f4 at 66mm. The second is a scan of a photo from my P30t with 135mm f/2.8, just under 4"x6". Even scanning at 600 dpi was far less than the resolution of a K-1, so I went ahead and used PhotoShop to upsize it. The print was a little over-exposed, so I modified the levels a little bit.

Here are my initial impressions:

- Digital cameras are going to get me FAR more resolution than I can get in any normal process. A K-1 is basically equivalent to a 12"x8" scanned at 600 DPI!
- $26 for two rolls developing and prints makes a K-1 quite economical pretty quick
- I'm quite happy with the lenses! The Olympus has significant advantages over my film camera (1/8000 shutter speed! And autofocus) But the Pentax lenses are smaller, lighter, and faster.
- I think the Pentax lenses are _quite_ competitive on image quality and colors. I just need to figure out focusing better

I will check out negative scanning machines, but right now, K-1 (or a full-frame mirrorless) is looking quite nice...

[nickthetasmaniac]

Yep, a K1 is going to give you far, far more resolution (and file flexibility generally) than anything on 35mm. If that’s your primary motivation, you’re going to be disappointed with film.

That said, scanning 6x4” lab prints is a terrible way of digitising your film.

[dionhouston]

Yep, a K1 is going to give you far, far more resolution (and file flexibility generally) than anything on 35mm. If that’s your primary motivation, you’re going to be disappointed with film.

That said, scanning 6x4” lab prints is a terrible way of digitising your film.

Yeah, I didn't realize how much of a difference it was -- because that doesn't apply to just these, but hundreds of photos I have sitting in boxes too

I wish I could easily define my motivation. Right now I'm pretty much at "effectively use these lenses my Dad gave me" without defining what "effectively" means.

Pretty much what I've discarded:

- Adapting these lenses on M43: Except for maybe the Macro and larger telephoto, it just captures differently from what the lenses are meant for.
- Paper: it is comparatively really expensive and time-consuming
- Darkroom: Definitely less expensive in the long run, but don't have the space nor the time unfortunately

That's it. I'm happy with how the P30t performed, although I do need to get better with manual focusing. So one thing I'm considering is investing in a good negative scanner (the PlusTek's look interesting). ~$500 seems pretty reasonable. Another plus - it's fiim, so you (I'm sure to a degree) still get a unique look from digital sensors. The downside is $500 makes the difference between that and a $1000 K-1 very, very small.

The other is a full-frame camera. That is likely the least expensive option in the even not so long term. Full-frame gets me the picture the lenses intended. A K-1 gets me into the modern Pentax family, a mirrorless gets me focusing aids and other things I'm used to from my Olympus.

The downsides I see for either are feature creep - knowing myself, having a new platform will mean "oh what a steal, that lens is only $500... How nice that would be to have on full-frame!" And then, any cost-benefit is gone...

Sigh...

[UncleVanya]

Yeah, I didn't realize how much of a difference it was -- because that doesn't apply to just these, but hundreds of photos I have sitting in boxes too

I wish I could easily define my motivation. Right now I'm pretty much at "effectively use these lenses my Dad gave me" without defining what "effectively" means.

Pretty much what I've discarded:

- Adapting these lenses on M43: Except for maybe the Macro and larger telephoto, it just captures differently from what the lenses are meant for.
- Paper: it is comparatively really expensive and time-consuming
- Darkroom: Definitely less expensive in the long run, but don't have the space nor the time unfortunately

That's it. I'm happy with how the P30t performed, although I do need to get better with manual focusing. So one thing I'm considering is investing in a good negative scanner (the PlusTek's look interesting). ~$500 seems pretty reasonable. Another plus - it's fiim, so you (I'm sure to a degree) still get a unique look from digital sensors. The downside is $500 makes the difference between that and a $1000 K-1 very, very small.

The other is a full-frame camera. That is likely the least expensive option in the even not so long term. Full-frame gets me the picture the lenses intended. A K-1 gets me into the modern Pentax family, a mirrorless gets me focusing aids and other things I'm used to from my Olympus.

The downsides I see for either are feature creep - knowing myself, having a new platform will mean "oh what a steal, that lens is only $500... How nice that would be to have on full-frame!" And then, any cost-benefit is gone...

Sigh...

I feel your pain.

[dionhouston]

Got new stuff today, and this is why I am so impressed with Pentax! Got a slider for my tripod to let me focus a little better with macro.

This shot is a "try out the new stuff" shot -- not the best conditions, cloudy and windy, but even in those conditions - these shots are on a nearly 40-year-old lens! 70mm Macro mode of the 70-210mm/f4. Shot on my Olympus, which admittedly the 2x crop is very good for macro and telephoto.

Good stuff

[redrockcoulee]

I am shooting film with different system then Pentax (M39 screwdrive, and not Leica ) so I cannot say anything about lenses. I use only DA lenses on my K-3/3 so not an issue for me.

As for above questions, I am fully old school as you said. When I use film, I use it to make prints and prints only. If I resolve b&w by myself then it is big baryte prints, if I use C41 film (color or b&w) then of course I send it for resolving and printing, as I am too lazy to do it myself. But I never do digital copies, I do not see reason to use analog medium just to have it displayed on digital one. I can as well use fully digital from start. On same page I rarely print digital, only when I really like something and hang it on the wall or want to test new gear.


May sound snobbish, probably is, but I try to keep both media separated from each other.

Similar to you, film printed in the darkroom and digital printed on digital printer.

May start makjng digital negatives for alternative processes.

[dionhouston]

I am really interested in making digital negatives. I may get a scanner regardless of what I end up doing with lenses. Mostly because even if I get a K-1, I'll still have the film cameras, and if I just get negatives only, it's relatively easy to scan and print...

[Jonathan Mac]

Wow, you've got some very nice lenses there. Some of them are quite hard to come by. The M 35mm f/2 is my favourite manual lens ever, based mostly on using it on APS-C digital.

As for using them, just do whatever you like and enjoy.

I shoot my old lenses on film and have also used them on APS-C digital for many years. I just got my first full-frame camera but went with a Lumix S5 mirrorless rather than a K-1 for various reasons, but one of them was the better ability for using old manual lenses.

[dionhouston]

Hi all,

Just wanted to do a follow-up. After much thought, I found on another site a used K-1 in excellent condition at a very fair price, so I went ahead and got that. I really look forward to shooting with it.

What led to my decision - even on my Olympus, when I use a teleconverter to get some extra reach, the quality just isn't as good as actual glass. So I realized, a focal reducer will be the same. A mirrorless is tempting, but it feels like I'm taking one step in the ecosystem, but keeping one out. Same with any conversion mounts.

The K-1 is a bit heavier than I would like, but the lenses are light, so I think it'll be a wash compared to my E-M1.2 with Pro lenses. I will probably get an autofocus lens in the future, but I'm thinking perhaps I can just go with maybe a ~50mm prime? Anyway, my Dad strongly supports Pentax as a company, and so will I.

Thanks for all the tips! I'll post some pictures when I get the equipment (probably in a month - the military postal system is SO slow). I may still pick up a negative scanner.

Pretty excited

[PWhite214]

I scan all my film with a Sony A65, amazon led light table and a MD Magnicon 100 mm lens. I removed the glass in the adapter because I do not care about infinity focus. The copy stand is an old 35 mm enlarger base and column that I bought many years ago. I uses a glass cover to keep the film flat, set the white balence and move the light table to position the negatives. It works faster than scanning.

[dionhouston]

I scan all my film with a Sony A65, amazon led light table and a MD Magnicon 100 mm lens. I removed the glass in the adapter because I do not care about infinity focus. The copy stand is an old 35 mm enlarger base and column that I bought many years ago. I uses a glass cover to keep the film flat, set the white balence and move the light table to position the negatives. It works faster than scanning.

I will have to give something like that a try -- it's kind of meta to use a Pentax K-1 to "scan" Pentax K1000 photos . Thanks for the tip...

[gatorguy]

I will have to give something like that a try -- it's kind of meta to use a Pentax K-1 to "scan" Pentax K1000 photos . Thanks for the tip...

A vaguely recall a thread suggesting the 50 Macro on the K1 suspended above photos to be copied. I suppose I could have looked to see if anyone else already brought it up. but just heading out the door.

[dionhouston]

Well, K-1 came in today... Wow! I definitely made the right call as to an effective means to use these lenses. First shots - First K-1 Pics

The magpie was shot with the Pentax-A 70-210mm f/4. Frankly, I'm happy with the result - I know that the early zooms were not comparable to today's. The other bird I shot with the Pentax-A 135mm f/2.8; and this guy will probably be my go-to for things I like to shoot. I am _super_ happy with the color, and the amount of detail - this is cropped quite a bit.

Got a bunch more lenses to try out -- I'm excited