[OrangeKx]

I know, we all say it.

[EarlVonTapia]

Got a nice score through the local Craigslist listings today.

Pentax MZ-S
Pentax FA 28-200
Pentax FA 17-28 Fisheye

All working

$200

I managed to snipe this while browsing the listings at work. Got an immediate reply, met up with him a couple of hours later.

We actually sat down and had a good chat for a while. The seller is now a Canon shooter. He knows the value of the items, but he was just looking to offload them quick with no hassles since he's leaving this Friday with his girlfriend to go teach in South Korea, possibly forever. I told him about my journey into photography through Pentax, and he was happy that the lenses and camera are going to a good home.

The camera was purchased by him back in 2004 for $1200. It works, according to him, but since I lack batteries and I have no experience with film cameras I have no way of knowing. It is super clean inside the film compartment. The mirror has some dust, and I'm unsure what the sensor looks like since I have no way of powering this on and making the mirror flip up. I will consult the film camera sub-forum to see the best way I can get this camera cleaned and tested.

The lenses are in good shape. Zooming could be smoother, but AF is smooth and accurate and the glass is clean.

The 28-200 is fairly mush at all apertures and focal lengths, but still serviceable. I'm probably going to just give this away. One thing in its favor though is that AF is lightning fast on my K30, seemingly faster than my current fastest focusing lens (DA 70). Not sure why it's the case, but that might make it decent for some sort of action use.

The 17-28 fisheye is super fun. I recently got a Sigma 10-20, so I don't know how this lens will fit into my lineup. It will probably live with me for the summer, and then we'll see after that.

(picture looks like crap because it's from my phone)

[arnold]

I have several Retinette 1A models, but the 1B is a first for me. It differs by having a hot shoe, light meter and a different shutter, with speeds 1/15 to 1/500. The Rodenstock lens is a first for me, as these Retinettes mostly sported the Schneider Reomar lens.This ebay purchase is like new. These Retinettes were the easiest to use, good quality cameras that I think stood out from their contemporarys. I had my first one in 1961 with the 50mm f3.5 Schneider lens, and it's quality was more than enough to satisfy all but the most fanatical. An example below taken in 1962. One learned to guess range and exposure as routine.

[Racer X 69]

I scored one of these the other day:



As I was heading out on my current lap of North America I stopped at the grocery store for provisions. As I was headed back out to my truck there was a guy walking toward the store with his arms loaded with stuff, including this reflector, all snug in its storage pouch. While putting my grub in the fridge I realized I had forgotten a few things, so back into the store. As I went in I noticed this thing on top of a trash bin just outside the door.

When I came out it was still there, so I grabbed it.

I thought at first it was a set of collapsible sun shades for a car.

Since I needed to get rolling and cover some miles that day I simply tossed it behind the passenger seat. A couple days later I was looking for something that fell behind the seat and re-discovered it, and opened it up. That is when I found it was a photography reflector, not an automotive sunshade!

Woot!

Woot!

[aurele]

scored a Zenith EM with Helios 44M ... shame that i have more to pay from the shipping fees than for the body and the lens ... that evilbay is baaaaad !

[ryan s]

Finally bought a decent polarizing filter. This one is 67mm for the DA 17-70 and the FA* 300. Now I just need a 49, 58, and 77 and everything else is covered For the price, it was impossible to resist--especially since Marumi filters have gone up like 20-25% in the last couple months. Why not buy a Kaesemann for a little less?



My next acquisition (on the way) is a bit less...well...cheap/responsible. It may or may not be another item that starts with a letter of the alphabet which might be G and definitely could possibly be made out of carbon fiber.

Next acquisition: some cash in my hand or in my Paypal

[Jean Poitiers]

scored a Zenith EM with Helios 44M ... shame that i have more to pay from the shipping fees than for the body and the lens ... that evilbay is baaaaad !

Congrats ... J

[aurele]

Congrats ... J

thank you can't wait to do some swirly portraits

the very bad thing is that i discover primoplan lenses recently, like other Meyer Gorlitz, and its triplet lens have very nice bokeh .... Baaaaaad !

[Docrwm]

Used Adorama cash back to buy LR5 so out of pocket was minimal. I'm upgrading from LR3 so the benefits seem significant.

[manntax]

An example below taken in 1962. One learned to guess range and exposure as routine.

This picture is magical! I love how she looks so immersed in a book. Beautiful...

[ryan s]

Ahh, a tall-enough tripod at last I've never had one that I could use without raising the center column. This one I only need to raise about 5-6" if I'm going to use the camera in portrait orientation (the downside of low-center ballheads).

Also legit that I can raise it higher than my head for shooting!

[magkelly]

I just celebrated my 4000th post (and 3 years) by splurging a little on a lens that I have been thinking about for just about that long. I've been wanting a good AF lens in this range for a long, long time. I still would rather have the 18- 135 WR but this will do me too and will make a nice back up lens for that when I get it for my second body when shooting. I really need an AF lens at this point for portrait range. As much as I love my 105mm Tak my eyes are just not so great lately. MF is getting harder.

The lenses I have are pretty good otherwise, but not that great in the 80-100mm range and that's what I like to shoot portraits with. The reviews I've seen all say this one is a bargain lens for the $$$ but I've never actually seen it listed low enough to be what I considered a real bargain till now. Talk about serendipity. I just posted my 4000th post and then promptly snagged a copy for the princely sum of $25! The review here says $55 is ballpark but I've actually been seeing it much closer to $100 when I've looked unless the copy was really crappy for some reason. I do think people have actually caught onto the fact that it's a good lens in this range. It's not that cheap most of the time. Still $25? I did GOOD. :P

28-105 F3.8-5.6 SIGMA UC III

Sigma 28-105mm F3.8-5.6 UC III Lens Reviews - Sigma Lenses - Pentax Lens Review Database

PS: Reviews elsewhere are better actually. A lot of people like this lens apparently and feel it's highly underrated. I hope so, but for $25 I can't quibble too much. That's nothing for an AF lens. I don't really understand why it's an "8" given most of the marks say 9 or 10? I would think 9 would be more accurate. It's only an 8 on bokeh. The rest is all 9, 10. Looks like it's worth $25 to me!

[CP140]

I just celebrated my 4000th post (and 3 years) by splurging a little on a lens that I have been thinking about for just about that long. I've been wanting a good AF lens in this range for a long, long time. I still would rather have the 18- 135 WR but this will do me too and will make a nice back up lens for that when I get it for my second body when shooting. The reviews I've seen all say this one is a bargain lens for the $$$ but I've never actually seen it listed low enough to be what I considered a real bargain till now. Talk about serendipity. I just posted my 4000th post and then promptly snagged a copy for the princely sum of $25! The review here says $55 is ballpark but I've actually been seeing it much closer to $100 when I've looked unless the copy was really crappy for some reason. I do think people have actually caught onto the fact that it's a good lens in this range. It's not that cheap most of the time. Still $25? I did GOOD. :P

28-105 F3.8-5.6 SIGMA UC III

Sigma 28-105mm F3.8-5.6 UC III Lens Reviews - Sigma Lenses - Pentax Lens Review Database

PS: Reviews elsewhere are better actually. A lot of people like this lens apparently and feel it's highly underrated. I hope so, but for $25 I can't quibble too much. That's nothing for an AF lens. I don't really understand why it's an "8" given most of the marks say 9 or 10? I would think 9 would be more accurate. It's only an 8 on bokeh. The rest is all 9, 10. Looks like it's worth $25 to me!

Well... there's nothing in the thread that says it has to be photography related... so my most recent acquisition is a tri-band mobile antenna and mount/cable kit. Time to get rid of the mag-mount!

[Canada_Rockies]

My recent acquisition cost me nothing but about three hours of initially very frustrating work. I finally successfully cleaned my sensor with a cleaning kits I bought last year (Copper Hill Sensor Swipe). The sensor was actually filthy.

I did two hours one night and succeeded in moving the dust bunnies around a bunch, but not much else, and gave up for the night. Yesterday morning, I got it. Yeeeaaaayyyy. At last a clean sensor. Some of us are slower than others.

[stormtech]

My recent acquisition cost me nothing but about three hours of initially very frustrating work. I finally successfully cleaned my sensor with a cleaning kits I bought last year (Copper Hill Sensor Swipe). The sensor was actually filthy.

I did two hours one night and succeeded in moving the dust bunnies around a bunch, but not much else, and gave up for the night. Yesterday morning, I got it. Yeeeaaaayyyy. At last a clean sensor. Some of us are slower than others.

Some of the most satisfying acquisitions are just like you say - free but takes some detailed work. Congrats on your like-new sensor!