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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
3 Days Ago
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I am not sure if this has already been posted here, if it has, sorry for the repeat. I just felt it was a great hack :)
MX ever ready cases are as rare as hens teeth. We have the option of new leather half cases, which are nice, but expensive. There is a cheaper alternative. The Olympus OM1/10 case fits perfectly and there are loads on eBay around the £10 mark. They fix on the straplugs so there are no issues lining anything up and there is plenty of room for the self timer. I think it looks rather swish :)
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
04-03-2024, 06:12 AM
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That is the nice one. I had one but sold it in a purge. Big mistake
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Forum: Repairs and Warranty Service
04-03-2024, 06:09 AM
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I don't think he does. He said to me that he doesn't need recommendations per se because he is busy enough :) Based on what he charges I don't think it's his main source of income. Either that or he doesn't subscribe to chasing the dollar :) either way he did an exceptional job on my MX
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Forum: Repairs and Warranty Service
04-01-2024, 09:35 AM
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@Adam can you add sales@vintagecamerasgalore.com to the UK section please. He serviced my MX and did a lovely job. He also services LXs
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-01-2024, 06:59 AM
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I had my MX serviced by Rob sales@vintagecamerasgalore.com and He did a beautiful job on it. I know he services LX cameras so must be worth a shout. He's based in Plymouth UK
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-01-2024, 06:51 AM
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I think you are 100% on the money. The job Rob did was what I would have expected from a £135 service. In truth, he went beyond even that. He said he can do an MX service in 5½-6hrs. Given the job he does, £20ph would not be excessive & actually cheaper than your average plumber! I have another good engineer who also charges a similar price. He serviced my Minoltina, Yashica Mat, Kodak Retina iic and sp1000 and did a lovely job on each. Sadly Dave is 70 and will be retiring later this year. There are two reasons why I didn't add rob's details to my post are 1) he honestly reported his findings on a camera that had been in the hands of another engineer and i didn't want to start engineer wars & 2) he is busy with contract work so didn't need recommendations per se. He is still taking work on though, hence DMing me for details :)
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-01-2024, 01:20 AM
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When I started my film journey I was shooting with a spotmatic but dreamed of an MX. Thanks to eBay, that dream soon became a reality as I handed over my £43 and took delivery of a really nice silver model. All seemed fine bar the fact that it hated the cold and wouldn't shoot when the temperature dropped below 5°c.So I did my research and selected an engineer with great Pentax credentials. £135 for a service seemed a lot but it is what it is. When the camera came back it wasn't noticeably different but to be fair, it was pretty good when it went away. The cold issues persisted so it went back. It was never resolved but I just assumed it was one of those things. Twelve months later it started capping! I contacted the engineer who said it wasn't part of the service and would cost a further £75 so it got dispatched to the back of a cupboard in disgrace and was replaced buy a very good KX that I paid £25 for. Twelve months down the line, I now had several nice cameras, but it still annoyed me that my most expensive one was unusable. I decided to bite the bullet, then I saw an advert on eBay of all places for an MX service for £67.99. I contacted the guy and told him what had gone before. He said he replaces all foam and resets the camera, including the shutter as part of the service. I had fallen out of love with the camera so didn't see it as much of a gamble so I sent it off. A couple of days later he called me to tell me that in his opinion it looked like nothing had been done to the camera for years. The foam inside was sludge, and there was grease and detritus in the camera. As for the shutter, it was a mile out!
 IMG_20240116_114257_resized_20240122_083641360 by Peter Kay, on Flickr
 IMG_20240116_115038_resized_20240322_114445264 by Peter Kay, on Flickr
I couldn't believe the engineer was going into such detail and taking such care, given how little he was charging. As we talked I was more and more impressed. He loves Olympus but works on all makes and is especially fond of the MX. He also is one of the few engineers that is happy to work on an LX. The MX came home last week and is absolutely beautiful. When I got it back from the first engineer I couldn't see a difference but I really can this time. While I can't prove what engineer #1 did or didn't do, I am delighted with the work of engineer #2. The MX is just fabulous and I feel supremely confident that it will now outlive me. As for the good engineer, he has faith in his work, gives a twelve month warranty and gets really angry with people who have a different opinion as to what constitutes a service! I have deliberately avoided naming names because I cannot prove what was or wasn't done by engineer #1 for my £135, but am more than happy to pass on details for the good engineer if you send me a DM
 PKKP2724 by Peter Kay, on Flickr
 PKKP2725 by Peter Kay, on Flickr
UN54+ in 510pyro
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
03-26-2024, 10:43 AM
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Lancaster sunshine.
Program A, adaptall 35-70mm cf @35mm
The adaptall mount was playing up and not opening the lens to focus and meter so every shot was over exposed by a couple of stops. I decided to try a new developing method, 510Pyro 1:200 for 20mins. Yeah, that was a fail. It under developed by a couple of stops and quite a few frames had bromide drag. Luckily, as the film was over exposed by the same amount that the dev under developed, I ended up with nice negatives :) This is Jessops Pan 400s which expired in 2004. That film is a complete mystery so I had to find times by trial and error.
 PKKP2686 by Peter Kay, on Flickr
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
03-26-2024, 10:35 AM
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Now that is a thing of beauty
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
03-26-2024, 10:33 AM
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That's how it feels to me. There was a protracted build up to the k3iii release but we have heard nothing new so I feel they have filled their shelves and are pausing production while they manufacture other stuff, I.e. the film camera.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
03-25-2024, 04:47 PM
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That's the one. All this name switching is confusing. Anyway, £15 for a mint program A with a Pentax-a 50mm f1.7 is a bargain, whichever side of the pond we are on :) and its still a nice camera :)
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
03-25-2024, 05:11 AM
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I have the KX, which I absolutely love. It is as reliable and well built as a spotmatic but with K mount and match needle metering and lots of other nice touches. I also have an MX which is due back from a good service tomorrow. That is a beauty. The only issue I have is with the traffic light metering. I also recently picked up a program A (super program) which only has the 1/1000 shutter speed but it is pristine and cost me £15. I like the LED metering and the option to go auto or aperture priority. If it dies I won't worry because it wasn't expensive. The LX however is so expensive that I would be gutted if the electrics failed. It is a stunning camera and beautiful to use but I don't have the money to gamble on one. We shot one side by side with a Nikon F3. The Nikon felt like a tool, albeit a very nice one, but the Pentax actually made us smile.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
03-21-2024, 01:27 AM
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Exactly :) I shoot a lot of expired film which looks nasty on my laptop and fabulous on my phone :) I don't shoot it to print, I shoot it for fun, so looking great on a phone is all I need :)
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
03-21-2024, 01:01 AM
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If it led to Pentax branded film I would be having some of that. Hopefully it would be good stuff like Orwo UN54. We can but hope :)
Regarding the half frame argument, I tended to blow it up to replicate full frame. Consequently the images were grainy. However, if the frame is viewed on a phone, half frame should be sufficient if not stellar.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
03-20-2024, 02:15 AM
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I voted for $200-300 but I expect it to be higher. I doubt I will buy one for several reasons
1) I have 10 serviced and lovely 35mm film cameras
ii) Half frame doesn't attract me that much. The image quality is OK but it would get tiresome scanning 72 small images
c) I don't have the money, and if I did I would be more likely to spend it on a used Leica iii or Canon 7
The project is exciting because it will encourage more investment in film but this camera isn't for me
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
03-14-2024, 01:56 AM
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@tonyzoc @twouptons @orchidjulie
I found I had sticking problems in summer with Paterson. The warm air made my hands clammy in the bag. Paterson stuff is brilliant, not to mention AP reels for 120 film, I just prefer the steel. My steel spools have the hooks to catch the sprocket holes. When I first got them I practiced a lot. Now I can load steel faster than plastic. My steel 120 has a clip, that's a bit of a faff. As for volume, the 1 spool tank takes 220ml so you have to watch your dilutions. HC110 needs 6ml per film so 1:31 & 1:39 are OK. Rodinal 1:25 is fine but 1:50 just sneaks in (well, technically it doesn't:) ). FX:39 @ 1:9 & 510pyro @ 1:100 aren't a problem. Re. HC110, I find the listed times for ilfotec HC to be more reliable than Kodak ones. When Kodak changed the recipe they said the times were the same. I had some thin negatives early doors. Changing the agitation scheme helped. When I use HC I do 5secs every 30secs. It's as if the HC in contact with the film exhausts really quickly. All other devs get standard Ilford 10secs per min. I use water stop bath, Adofix for 5mins then Ilford method to wash (5/10/20 inversions, each in fresh water) then a drop of liquid soap in a final rinse as a rinse aid.
Dev it is a really good app. If you are shooting obscure film it has times which don't appear on MDC. I paid for the Massive Dev app. It has all the current times but not the archived obsolete ones. The timer is really good as you can customise times for everything, including agitation. The app also allows you to customise existing dev times and save them for next time. It is my film journal.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
03-13-2024, 02:04 PM
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Dark bag for me too :) I use liquid developers, Rodinal, FX-39, 510 Pyro & HC110, pretty much in that order preference wise. I love ID-11 (D76) but hate the way it just stops working. I also love dabbling with Caffenol :) FX-39 is sharp like rodinal but doesnt enhance the grain, 510 pyro gives you lovely tonal variations and smooth grain whereas HC110 tones down the extremes. I loved the Bellini Euro HC but dont like the Kodak very much.
what I love about steel is I find the spools easy to load (once you have practiced a lot) whereas the plastic ones sometimes stick. The tanks use less liquid and you can do the agitation in one hand :) I still have my Patterson stuff but only as a back up.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
03-13-2024, 12:18 PM
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That's where the fun comes together :)
Fozz, steel tanks or plastic? I moved onto steel when I had a 36 exposure film to load and dev, and I haven't looked back :)
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Forum: Film Processing, Scanning, and Darkroom
03-13-2024, 12:15 PM
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Ooh, that's a good idea :)
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
03-13-2024, 01:53 AM
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I put the 85mm on mine and weighed it. Was over 2½lbs :) I love the feel of it though. It may be over engineered, but it is so precise.
As for non working cameras or those that just aren't sharp, the pretty ones get added to my son's camera display shelf
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Forum: Film Processing, Scanning, and Darkroom
03-13-2024, 01:48 AM
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I crop the scan, click B&W, then flip it using the tones histogram. I click on the left end of the diagonal line (no idea what these are called, lol), lift it to the top and across so that it lines up with the beginning of the histogram, I then do the reverse with the right hand point, bringing it left and down. I sometimes move the midpoint too, but mostly do that with the sliders. I do find i need to scan it slightly over exposed so that the tones histogram sits in the middle of its window.
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Forum: Film Processing, Scanning, and Darkroom
03-12-2024, 02:01 PM
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Another slice of genius :)
---------- Post added 12-03-24 at 09:05 PM ----------
I use my tripod, KP (it has peaking :) ), a vivitar series 1 105mm f2.5 macro, a Pixl-latr with Forster film guides https://www.pixl-latr.com/ and an old ipad as a light source :) itsclumsy but it works. Negative lab pro is said to be superb but I have lightroom, so use that.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
03-12-2024, 01:54 PM
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If you fancy something cheap to go with the MX, the Tokina RMC 28mm f2.8 is nice as is the Miranda (cosina) 24mm f2.8 macro. Going the other way, the M 135mm f3.5 is a cheap & nice lens. Then there are the adaptalls. I got a 35-70mm f3.5 cf for £20 and that's a lovely zoom. I also got a mint, cased 28mm f2.5 for the same price. If you want adaptall mounts it's often cheaper to buy an 80-210mm with a mount on. I got one of those for £3, and, as it turns out, it's a really nice lens :). The MX is a gorgeous camera. Mine was a disaster (I got ripped off by a so called engineer) but it is due back from a proper service any time and I can't wait. Re the 50s, the 1.7mm edges it because it is slightly faster, but they are both superb performers.
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Forum: Vintage Cameras and Equipment
03-11-2024, 01:54 AM
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The contina ii is such a beautiful thing. There was a Contina (viewfinder version) in a thrift shop but it was not working and a bit expensive. So small and perfectly formed though. I have a beautiful Kodak Retina iic so the Contina ii sits atop my wish rather than need list. Gorgeous camera
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