Why No Love for the Pentax P3N?

24X36NOW · 03-06-2010, 10:31 AM

Originally posted by ChrisPlatt

AE exposure memory lock, used with substitute metering gives you all the control of manual, and in practice can actually be done faster.
My P3N has this feature; my LX does not.

Chris

I hear you; generally, however, I use a tripod, and the whole "point at one thing to meter, then recompose the shot and shoot" procedure would be a lot more cumbersome for me than my adopted practice of using a hand held incident light meter.

**ChrisPlatt** · 03-06-2010, 05:19 PM

Originally posted by 24X36NOW

I need a winder (or battery grip these days) to make the camera tolerable to hold. They're too small without it, and often don't have anything for your fingers to grab up front. Plus, I do shoot things that move, so a winder is preferred for multiple shots of moving subjects anyway.

As for the P3/P5 variants, who needs them? I've got two LX's

Originally posted by 24X36NOW

I hear you; generally, however, I use a tripod, and the whole "point at one thing to meter, then recompose the shot and shoot" procedure would be a lot more cumbersome for me than my adopted practice of using a hand held incident light meter.

You need a winder or battery grip to make your camera handholdable on a tripod?
You use a handheld incident meter when your LX is set to autoexposure?

Chris

24X36NOW · 03-08-2010, 07:39 PM

Originally posted by ChrisPlatt

You need a winder or battery grip to make your camera handholdable on a tripod?
You use a handheld incident meter when your LX is set to autoexposure?

Chris

Yes (I still "hold" it when taking a shot, mounted on a tripod or not), and no, I use manual exposure, since auto exposure usually disappoints. If I were going to use it, I'd use it with compensation, and I still wouldn't want to fiddle with recomposing a shot to use TTL metering (rather, just use enough compensation to make the exposure more accurate).

However, given the LX's stepless shutter speeds and metering off the film during the exposure, this is probably still going to lead to mistakes. An incident light reading always gets it right. BTW, that's probably why the LX didn't include AE Lock - what's the point of the fancy off-the-film metering and stepless shutter speeds if you lock in an exposure value before the shot?!

Steve Beswick · 03-18-2010, 07:04 PM

I was just thinking, can somebody whip up one of those "Proud Owner" banners for the P3n?

**ChrisPlatt** · 03-19-2010, 04:03 PM

You don't mention use of a specialized finder so I fail to see the advantage of employing a Pentax LX for your setup.

Chris

Sluggo · 03-19-2010, 06:29 PM

A quick observation about market value.

I just picked up a P30t body to replace the one I'd given away to my brother in law. It was advertised as not working, but when it got here, it only needed new batteries, as I'd expected. I went out and shot a test roll of Acros, mostly in metered manual mode, some in aperture-priority, some in program mode; everything came out nice.

The price was a dollar plus shipping - hence, "bang for the buck" is rather literal in this case. I was the only bidder.

There may be nothing altogether special about the P30n/t - but I find it reliable, a good shooter with easy loading, a simple interface and a good viewfinder -- better than the ZX-M's tiny one at least, which I noticed because that was the previous horse I'd had out of the stable.

And for somebody who bulk-rolls Acros, there's no problem with ISO100 being the fallback non-DX film speed. :-)

Portland Pete · 03-23-2010, 02:06 PM

Originally posted by Steve Beswick

I was just thinking, can somebody whip up one of those "Proud Owner" banners for the P3n?

+1 if anyone knows how to do that. Thanks in advance.

**ChrisPlatt** · 03-25-2010, 06:38 PM

Here's Matt Denton's page for the near-identical P30T: Matt's Classic Cameras: Pentax P30T

Chris

EyeSpy · 05-20-2010, 08:59 AM

My P3n quit. It will not allow me to press the button and get some action. It's not the batteries( LED lights still working). I thought perhaps the camera will not allow me to double expose a frame. The frame counter shows 20. The film roll is 24. It was working and then died. Any clue? Thanks!

titrisol · 05-20-2010, 01:08 PM

try fresh batteries... sometimes led works but not the shutter

Steve Beswick · 05-20-2010, 02:00 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by titrisol

try fresh batteries... sometimes led works but not the shutter

And if that won't work, try threading a cable release into the side and tripping the shutter that way. If that works, you know it is the button.

EyeSpy · 05-23-2010, 01:19 PM

Originally posted by titrisol

try fresh batteries... sometimes led works but not the shutter

Originally posted by Steve Beswick

And if that won't work, try threading a cable release into the side and tripping the shutter that way. If that works, you know it is the button.

Thank you. Tried both today, no luck. Searching internet led me back here...the cam quit in the middle of a shoot and it was due to stuck shutter curtain. Another internet search led to a discussion on possible mirror lock up. Either one means losing a few frames and rewind the film to have a look.

AndyJohnson · 05-24-2010, 08:10 AM

Seems you have to leave it like that and forget huh sorry for this

EyeSpy · 05-24-2010, 09:57 AM

I rewound the film, opened the back and the shutter curtain was frozen.
I pushed up the hinges with a q-tip and pushed down. Nothing would move. That is until I advanced the winder and the shutter fired. The shutter curtain is back in working order.

I'm now a bit uncomfortable using this camera. I've taken 2 and 3/4 rolls of film. Will it happen at a critcal moment? Seems likely.

Portland Pete · 05-24-2010, 01:17 PM

Don't give up on it just yet. I've been shooting mine for 18 years, and the only hangups took place with weak/dead batteries. It sounds like you changed the batteries in there as a troubleshooting step, is that right? I'm not sure why it would hang up with the shutter partially open like that, but one incident is hardly grounds to junk a camera. I vote for giving it another shot.

03-06-2010, 05:19 PM	#47
ChrisPlatt Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Rockaway Beach NYC Posts: 7,692	Originally posted by 24X36NOW I need a winder (or battery grip these days) to make the camera tolerable to hold. They're too small without it, and often don't have anything for your fingers to grab up front. Plus, I do shoot things that move, so a winder is preferred for multiple shots of moving subjects anyway. As for the P3/P5 variants, who needs them? I've got two LX's Originally posted by 24X36NOW I hear you; generally, however, I use a tripod, and the whole "point at one thing to meter, then recompose the shot and shoot" procedure would be a lot more cumbersome for me than my adopted practice of using a hand held incident light meter. You need a winder or battery grip to make your camera handholdable on a tripod? You use a handheld incident meter when your LX is set to autoexposure? Chris Last edited by ChrisPlatt; 03-06-2010 at 05:25 PM.

05-20-2010, 08:59 AM	#54
EyeSpy Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Arizona Photos: Albums Posts: 663	Shutter Release on P3n ? My P3n quit. It will not allow me to press the button and get some action. It's not the batteries( LED lights still working). I thought perhaps the camera will not allow me to double expose a frame. The frame counter shows 20. The film roll is 24. It was working and then died. Any clue? Thanks!

05-24-2010, 09:57 AM	#59
EyeSpy Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Arizona Photos: Albums Posts: 663	P3N Shutter Curtain I rewound the film, opened the back and the shutter curtain was frozen. I pushed up the hinges with a q-tip and pushed down. Nothing would move. That is until I advanced the winder and the shutter fired. The shutter curtain is back in working order. I'm now a bit uncomfortable using this camera. I've taken 2 and 3/4 rolls of film. Will it happen at a critcal moment? Seems likely.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Pentax P3N/P30N	Ole	Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras	2	11-29-2010 01:30 PM
What flash is best for Pentax P3N / P30N ?	spystyle	Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras	4	11-20-2009 07:17 PM
pentax p3n tri-x film	jadams360	Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras	9	03-13-2009 09:45 AM
Shots From My Pentax P3n 35mm....	PentaxFan	Post Your Photos!	4	04-22-2007 08:59 PM

03-06-2010, 10:31 AM	#46
24X36NOW Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: CT, USA Posts: 498	Originally posted by ChrisPlatt AE exposure memory lock, used with substitute metering gives you all the control of manual, and in practice can actually be done faster. My P3N has this feature; my LX does not. Chris I hear you; generally, however, I use a tripod, and the whole "point at one thing to meter, then recompose the shot and shoot" procedure would be a lot more cumbersome for me than my adopted practice of using a hand held incident light meter.

03-08-2010, 07:39 PM	#48
24X36NOW Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: CT, USA Posts: 498	Originally posted by ChrisPlatt You need a winder or battery grip to make your camera handholdable on a tripod? You use a handheld incident meter when your LX is set to autoexposure? Chris Yes (I still "hold" it when taking a shot, mounted on a tripod or not), and no, I use manual exposure, since auto exposure usually disappoints. If I were going to use it, I'd use it with compensation, and I still wouldn't want to fiddle with recomposing a shot to use TTL metering (rather, just use enough compensation to make the exposure more accurate). However, given the LX's stepless shutter speeds and metering off the film during the exposure, this is probably still going to lead to mistakes. An incident light reading always gets it right. BTW, that's probably why the LX didn't include AE Lock - what's the point of the fancy off-the-film metering and stepless shutter speeds if you lock in an exposure value before the shot?!

03-18-2010, 07:04 PM	#49
Steve Beswick Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Ontario, California Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,736	I was just thinking, can somebody whip up one of those "Proud Owner" banners for the P3n?

03-19-2010, 04:03 PM	#50
ChrisPlatt Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Rockaway Beach NYC Posts: 7,692	You don't mention use of a specialized finder so I fail to see the advantage of employing a Pentax LX for your setup. Chris

03-19-2010, 06:29 PM	#51
Sluggo Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Ames, Iowa Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 774	A quick observation about market value. I just picked up a P30t body to replace the one I'd given away to my brother in law. It was advertised as not working, but when it got here, it only needed new batteries, as I'd expected. I went out and shot a test roll of Acros, mostly in metered manual mode, some in aperture-priority, some in program mode; everything came out nice. The price was a dollar plus shipping - hence, "bang for the buck" is rather literal in this case. I was the only bidder. There may be nothing altogether special about the P30n/t - but I find it reliable, a good shooter with easy loading, a simple interface and a good viewfinder -- better than the ZX-M's tiny one at least, which I noticed because that was the previous horse I'd had out of the stable. And for somebody who bulk-rolls Acros, there's no problem with ISO100 being the fallback non-DX film speed. :-)

03-23-2010, 02:06 PM	#52
Portland Pete Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Oregon Photos: Albums Posts: 144	Originally posted by Steve Beswick I was just thinking, can somebody whip up one of those "Proud Owner" banners for the P3n? +1 if anyone knows how to do that. Thanks in advance.

03-25-2010, 06:38 PM	#53
ChrisPlatt Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Rockaway Beach NYC Posts: 7,692	Here's Matt Denton's page for the near-identical P30T: Matt's Classic Cameras: Pentax P30T Chris

05-20-2010, 01:08 PM	#55
titrisol Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: In the most populated state... state of denial Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,851	try fresh batteries... sometimes led works but not the shutter

05-20-2010, 02:00 PM - 1 Like	#56
Steve Beswick Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Ontario, California Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,736	Originally posted by titrisol try fresh batteries... sometimes led works but not the shutter And if that won't work, try threading a cable release into the side and tripping the shutter that way. If that works, you know it is the button.

05-23-2010, 01:19 PM	#57
EyeSpy Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Arizona Photos: Albums Posts: 663	Originally posted by titrisol try fresh batteries... sometimes led works but not the shutter Originally posted by Steve Beswick And if that won't work, try threading a cable release into the side and tripping the shutter that way. If that works, you know it is the button. Thank you. Tried both today, no luck. Searching internet led me back here...the cam quit in the middle of a shoot and it was due to stuck shutter curtain. Another internet search led to a discussion on possible mirror lock up. Either one means losing a few frames and rewind the film to have a look.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

05-24-2010, 08:10 AM	#58
AndyJohnson New Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: uk Posts: 6	Seems you have to leave it like that and forget huh sorry for this

05-24-2010, 01:17 PM	#60
Portland Pete Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Oregon Photos: Albums Posts: 144	Don't give up on it just yet. I've been shooting mine for 18 years, and the only hangups took place with weak/dead batteries. It sounds like you changed the batteries in there as a troubleshooting step, is that right? I'm not sure why it would hang up with the shutter partially open like that, but one incident is hardly grounds to junk a camera. I vote for giving it another shot.