[little laker]

Just for fun I decided to photograph my new B&W setup, and break down the prices. I should mention that I'll probably be adding additional lenses in the future, so my costs will go up.

Sorry that some of these pic's are BAD

Here's the full package.

including this K1000 I got last week for $15.00 at Value Village.






I got this Hanimar 35mm f3.5 lens, along with this Listar 2x TC for $5.00 about 2 months ago. I've never tried either with another camera, however they seem fine for B&W work.

A pawn shop actually gave me 1 of my 2 screwmount adapters, so lets say this one was a freebee.


I bought this 28mm f2.8 Eyemik last year for $10.00. I used it once with digital, although the images were decent I wasn't all that fond of the colours. It'll be perfect for B&W work.


I got this Vivitar flash in a box full of old flashes for $25.00. I won't use it with my digital, however it's perfect for the K1000


This timer was at the lab where I work for $5.00, I believe used although it didn't say.


freebee's


film, usually around $9 - $10 per roll here in Canada for decent stuff.


Super Tak 300mm f4.0 lens.

I payed $75.00 for it. It gives me too much CA to use on my present digital, however it's perfect for film.

old camera bag, I got for $3.00 about 9 months ago, from a thrift store.





as you can see it's almost perfect for this setup.


Here's everything together.


So grabbing out the calculator I see that I have spent a total of $128, for a pretty decent package. Most of my expense was in the 300mm lens. This is far less than I'd have to spend on a decent point and shoot, and capable of better results.
Not to mention this system will outlast any point and shoot being made today.

If I can put together a film package like this for less than $150, then anyone should be able to. You just have to watch for deals.

[geauxpez]

Nice. I saw your thread title and though "pfft -- I'll send you a roll."

Random thoughts:

Are you planning to do the same type of shooting that you do with your digital camera or take on a different style? I find that with digital, I shoot color portraits, flower macros, and family photos (I need AF for my toddler). For the occasions when I diverge to film, I tend to shoot B&W, street style, shapes & textures, architecture & "gritty" portraits. I will typically use 35mm to 90mm lenses and have no real use for anything longer.

I was just in New York for a couple of days and did the carry-on thing. No room for my DSLR & zoom, so I packed my LX with an M50/1.7. That's it. It was a fun throwback. I was kicking myself for selling my ME Super and Pancake 40, though for the sake of size.

I think you will like your K1000. I just sent one to my brother after I replaced the seals. I loved the smooth satisfying "thunk" of the shutter & mirror in that camera. The LX has a seemingly hard mirror slap and a "sproing" sound to it, though the advance is the slickest of any film camera I have shot.

Good luck and happy shooting. Oh yeah -- POST 'EM UP!

[GeneV]

Nice. I saw your thread title and though "pfft -- I'll send you a roll."

Random thoughts:

Are you planning to do the same type of shooting that you do with your digital camera or take on a different style? I find that with digital, I shoot color portraits, flower macros, and family photos (I need AF for my toddler). For the occasions when I diverge to film, I tend to shoot B&W, street style, shapes & textures, architecture & "gritty" portraits. I will typically use 35mm to 90mm lenses and have no real use for anything longer.

I was just in New York for a couple of days and did the carry-on thing. No room for my DSLR & zoom, so I packed my LX with an M50/1.7. That's it. It was a fun throwback. I was kicking myself for selling my ME Super and Pancake 40, though for the sake of size.

I think you will like your K1000. I just sent one to my brother after I replaced the seals. I loved the smooth satisfying "thunk" of the shutter & mirror in that camera. The LX has a seemingly hard mirror slap and a "sproing" sound to it, though the advance is the slickest of any film camera I have shot.

Good luck and happy shooting. Oh yeah -- POST 'EM UP!

I find I'm doing the same thing. I don't find the noise or the size of the LX a problem, though I am looking forward to getting my little MX back from the CLA.

On the other hand, the used winder I bought for the LX is the screechiest, noisiest thing I've ever used. Luckily, I only bought it (cheap) for the electronic shutter release so I could use a wireless remote.

[tuco]

If you acquire some SMC Pentax-A lenses, you could use them on your DSLR more effectively too. But if you already have your focal lengths covered in digital lenses, that would be a moot point.

[little laker]

Nice. I saw your thread title and though "pfft -- I'll send you a roll."

I've seen peoples eyes pop when they look in my fridges crisper, seeing boxes upon boxes of film just waiting there. Most of it is consumer grade, but there's the odd treasure in there

Random thoughts:

Are you planning to do the same type of shooting that you do with your digital camera or take on a different style? I find that with digital, I shoot color portraits, flower macros, and family photos (I need AF for my toddler). For the occasions when I diverge to film, I tend to shoot B&W, street style, shapes & textures, architecture & "gritty" portraits. I will typically use 35mm to 90mm lenses and have no real use for anything longer.

Although I do still use it for the odd fine art shot I tend to use my digital mostly for setting up shots now. Usually trying to nail difficult exposures, especially when working with flash
I'm often working with snots, creating beams as narrow as 1/4" , so proper placement is critical for the shot.
However it's always nice having the DSLR for days like today, when the GF and myself are just going out for some fun.

I use my PZ-20 and MZ-6 for most of my colour photography these days. I'd sure do things differently if I didn't work in a lab, and had to pay full price for developing

I was just in New York for a couple of days and did the carry-on thing. No room for my DSLR & zoom, so I packed my LX with an M50/1.7. That's it. It was a fun throwback. I was kicking myself for selling my ME Super and Pancake 40, though for the sake of size.

Regardless of the camera, I hope that you had a good trip.

I think you will like your K1000. I just sent one to my brother after I replaced the seals. I loved the smooth satisfying "thunk" of the shutter & mirror in that camera. The LX has a seemingly hard mirror slap and a "sproing" sound to it, though the advance is the slickest of any film camera I have shot.

I already love it.
You sure have a lucky brother.

Good luck and happy shooting. Oh yeah -- POST 'EM UP!

Thank you, and the same to you

[geauxpez]

I'm often working with snots, creating beams as narrow as 1/4"

I'm not sure what that is in Canada, but here it comes out of your nose.

[Ratmagiclady]

Be careful with that blower-brush, by the way, they're pretty notorious for picking up oils and grit. There's a reason we use 'rocket blowers' now.

[ziggy7]

You can build a nice collection of used Pentax MF lenses for a lot less than new AF lenses would cost. I have two very nice Nikon film cameras: F4 and N90S. But I have not tried to build a big collection of Nikon lenses because even the old Ai (Auto Indexing) Nikon MF lenses are too expensive for me.

Sure, with film you must pay for the film & developing. But you can shoot a lot of film for the money you save compared to even a lower end digital SLR. I also appreciate the better build quality of the old stuff.

Here is a web site I enjoy visiting to see people carrying classic cameras:
tokyo camera style

[little laker]

I'm not sure what that is in Canada, but here it comes out of your nose.

That was a typo, I meant to say Snoot. I got a phone call from my girlfriend while I was typing it out and suddenly became rushed to see her

Be careful with that blower-brush, by the way, they're pretty notorious for picking up oils and grit. There's a reason we use 'rocket blowers' now.

Thanks Ratmagic,
I do have a small rocket blower I'll have to exchange for it.

You can build a nice collection of used Pentax MF lenses for a lot less than new AF lenses would cost. I have two very nice Nikon film cameras: F4 and N90S. But I have not tried to build a big collection of Nikon lenses because even the old Ai (Auto Indexing) Nikon MF lenses are too expensive for me.

Sure, with film you must pay for the film & developing. But you can shoot a lot of film for the money you save compared to even a lower end digital SLR. I also appreciate the better build quality of the old stuff.

Here is a web site I enjoy visiting to see people carrying classic cameras:
tokyo camera style

Thanks for the link.
I actually have a fair amount of quality screwmounts, however I tried keeping them with the cameras dedicated to colour photography.
That didn't last long, I have a 200mm Zeiss on this tiny littly K1000 at the moment. That lens is bigger than the camera

[Ratmagiclady]

Thanks Ratmagic,
I do have a small rocket blower I'll have to exchange for it.

They can still be useful, (if they aren't made of a kind of hair that carries its own oils, anyway: it's hard to tell by appearance: *everything* looked like that for decades, you see. ) I just wouldn't use em on your nice lenses. They pretty inevitably pick stuff up, especially in the field or hanging around your bag, and once they get greasy will be making lens cleaning harder than not, even if you aren't trying to make things look pristine. (The idea was basically to have people not grinding grit into lens coatings and all, when they got to the tissue.)

Still make a nice piece of nostalgia for photos with all the old stuff, there. Can be handy for negatives, too, if it's a decent one. But it just goes to show, not *everything* old is 'better.'