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05-05-2008, 04:06 PM   #16
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It turns out my wife has poor vision only of close objects - like camera controls, for instance.
She can see the finder indicators, focus and compose fine, since these appear at some distance.

Chris

05-05-2008, 07:05 PM   #17
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QuoteOriginally posted by ChrisPlatt Quote
It turns out my wife has poor vision only of close objects - like camera controls, for instance.
...
Chris
Reading glasses should work for her.
05-05-2008, 11:26 PM   #18
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Chris

Your wife can use a simple pocket magnifier to read . Or try this :

The "mode changer" when lines up with the "Auto-Pict" is pointing directly , straight , at the hotshoe . From there one click counter-clockwise is the "Normal " , two-click is "Portrait" ...Take a little use to get it but she can do it .

On the other hand , one click clockwise from "Auto-Pict" is "Tv" mode ... so on .

So she just click it away to the mode she wants without even looking at the dial .

Don't worry about the LCD . It's P&S . She won't needs any info on that LCD , IMHO .

Tran
05-06-2008, 11:57 AM   #19
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Wht not a PZ-1

While controls are not like a K1000, this camera does it all. you can put it in green mode and have a P&S with autofocus, or, once you get tired of that, you can put it in any one of a bunch of different modes, and it can yse every lens pentax has ever made except for the new HSM lenses.

Note if you have a pentax K10, K20- or *istD, you will feel at home with the dual thumbwheel controls etc,

It is possibly one of the best cameras they ever made

05-06-2008, 06:11 PM   #20
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My wife wears reading glasses but won't use them for photography.
And she won't carry a pocket magnifier - she's 47, not 67.
She'd sooner give up photography. That's just the way it is. This is one battle I won't fight.

If she had her druthers, she would continue to use her trusty old K1000.
She has no desire to learn how to program a newfangled electronic gadget, capable though it may be.
The P3n is similar enough that she may actually want to use it. Let's see...

Chris

Last edited by ChrisPlatt; 05-07-2008 at 07:17 AM.
05-06-2008, 10:12 PM   #21
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Has she tried dual-focus reading glasses? The upper part does not have any power while the lower part has power for reading - checking camera settings.

The glasses can be made quite stylish and some people wear them most of time.
05-07-2008, 04:58 AM   #22
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QuoteOriginally posted by ChrisPlatt Quote

If she had her druthers, she would continue to use her trusty old K1000.
Forgive my impertinence, but is there some reason she can't have her druthers?

If she's happy manually focusing but just wants a bit of automation for exposure, how about an ME?

05-07-2008, 05:29 AM   #23
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I agree with the ME, the only other camera I can think of that might fit her needs is the K2 because it featured Av (Automatic) but that would be quite expensive and hard to find. where as the the ME is only Av. so it makes it much easier to use in her situation while retaining the overall simplicity of the K1000.
05-07-2008, 06:56 AM   #24
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My wife wears glasses to read only and will not wear them out.
It's not so much a matter of vanity, but more one of inconvenience.
This may change with time, but for now that's the way it is.

Using the ME or K2 one must set the aperture.
She can't read the numbers on the aperture ring.

The P3n will at least be useful to her in the program mode.

Chris
05-07-2008, 07:06 AM   #25
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I have a Pentax ZX-50 body, which I will sell for $40.00. For another $40.00 I will add a Pentax SMC 80-200 (1:4.7-5.6 )
05-07-2008, 10:39 AM   #26
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One doesn't need to see the numbers on the aperture ring. One merely needs to know the aperture range of the lens and count clicks. Alternately (with the ME), one merely needs to spin the aperture dial until the shutter speed indicator light is at an acceptable position.
05-07-2008, 01:29 PM   #27
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My wife will never just "count clicks" on the aperture ring.

Furthermore, I fail to see how "spin(ning) the aperture ring until the shutter speed indicator light
is at an acceptable position" on a Pentax ME is any better than using the P3n in Program mode.

What's wrong with the P3n? It has the P mode (as well as aperture priority and manual),
exposure lock, conventional controls, and it's a Pentax. I think it's a natural...

Chris
05-07-2008, 04:30 PM   #28
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No aperture display in the viewfinder.

And for my hands, the control spacing was just a bit off. This is completely subjective and I can't give any specific dimensions, but it just never felt comfortable. I have used other Pentax, Ricoh and Chinon cameras with the same basic size/shape that felt much more comfortable.
05-07-2008, 04:47 PM   #29
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The only non-AF Pentax camera mentioned in this thread with both conventional controls
and in-finder aperture display is the MX, a model my wife has already turned down.

Now I'm anxious to get the P3n, just to see why no one likes it!

Chris
05-07-2008, 04:51 PM   #30
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QuoteOriginally posted by ChrisPlatt Quote
We will try a P3/P3n?P30/P30t, which will have familiar controls
I still have my P3N. With DA lenses, you cannot even put it into manual mode which means it is always in AE, not even possible to set shutter and aperture manually. May be ok in this case, though.
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