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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-04-2024, 12:48 PM
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Hello, Forum
My MZ-S port covers have finally succumbed to rubber reversion and become little more than goo. To keep the contacts on the bottom plate covered I'd resorted to leaving the grip attached all the time. Of course, this eliminates one of my favorite physical qualities of the camera - its compactness.
My partner copied/designed some replacements for 3D printing the grip contacts port, grip latch port, and remote shutter port. After several many attempts with both resin and filament TPU filament seems to have the best combination of flexibility and durability.
Attachment 631664Attachment 631665Attachment 631666
 
The portions of the pieces not shown are more or less the original shapes since that's what keeps them in place.
Attachment 631663
The round cap in the photo is an earlier version of resin that had poor durability.
Link to Thingiverse: Pentax MZ-S Rubber Plug Replacements by mhubbard38 - Thingiverse |
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Forum: Photographic Industry and Professionals
03-23-2024, 06:28 AM
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Paul recently brought John back from the dead so that he could finally finish a song from 50 years ago.
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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
03-23-2024, 09:29 PM
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I bought a Pentax K20D on Ebay, I know it's from 2008 but for around 150USD it was a good deal, I've always wanted a DSLR camera but they are really expensive, now I can finally start learning more about photography, I'm a little confused on how to change manually settings like ISO, Aperture, Shutter speed and so on but I downloaded the manual I hope I can find the anwers I need there.
The lenses that came with the camera are:
-Promaster 28-80mm f3.5-5.6
Fully functional and clean (no caps/hoods)
-Promaster 70-300mm f4-5.6 (with 1:2 tele-macro)
fully functional and comes with caps and hoods.
I would like to hear some general advise about photography or suggestions if I want to buy better lenses in the future, thanks in advance, I hope to see you around.
P.D: Here are some pictures I took today:
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Forum: Maintenance and Repair Articles
03-16-2024, 10:31 AM
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Well done!
I lost my cover for my K-5 in a blizzard this past winter. I've been thinking about making a replacement as well.
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Forum: Maintenance and Repair Articles
03-16-2024, 10:15 AM
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Well done!!! If I wouldn't know better I'd say it is original...
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
02-28-2024, 07:16 PM
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Pentax film camera? I’d buy that for a dollar… :D
-Eric
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
02-24-2024, 09:23 PM
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So as I mentioned, I attended the GR Live event on Friday. I was hoping to get some inspiration, because despite loving the GR III, I have not been using it a lot recently. I wanted to see what kind of work more experienced photographers and what I should aspire to myself.
The event was very well attended. I think there must have been at least 200 people there. There were a few non-Japanese like me, but I assume they are residents who speak Japanese. There was quite a nice cross-section of ages and more women that at most typical photography events. They have done this kind of event before, but this specific “Live” event was last done a couple of years ago.
The program consisted of some music, presentations from photographers and the amateur “fan” presentations. I won’t go into the fan presentations, but they were actually quite well done. Some of them were really humorous in the way they presented. Most of these fans were chosen after attending one of the GR Meet events around the country.
The pro photographers were as follows. They each spoke for about 10 minutes. I personally liked Suzuki-san’s, Ohwada-san’s and Adachi-san’s best.
Kyosuke Hamao ?GRist?Vol.63 Kyosuke Hamao | GR official | RICOH official community site
A former actor who quit to pursue design as a career.
Tatsuo Suzuki tatsuosuzuki – VoidTokyo
A street photographer, who shares some ground with Daido Moriyama, but his work contains more of an element of portraiture.
Ryo Ohwada ? ???
Seems to have a lot of snap photography in his portfolio, but this time he was showing mainly snow landscapes taken with the GR IIIx.
Robert Adachi Robert Adachi Official Website
Seems to do abstract, still life, cityscapes and landscapes. He is also a musician and was the MC and DJ for the event.
Yusuke Okawa YUSUKE OKAWA - Portfolio
A Youtuber who uses a GR III for stills.
Takahiko Nakafuji TAKEHIKO NAKAFUJI | photographer
A seasoned street photographer. This time he was presenting images of a rock band which seems to be where his career started.
After that there was a discussion between photographer Satoru Watanabe and two other people who work related to the animation house Studio Ghibli. One of them worked with the famous anime director Hayao Miyazaki on his latest film “The Boy and the Heron”. He had used the GR to take candid shots of Miyazaki-san at work during production, some of which he showed.
In addition to this, at various points, there were comments from Ricoh staff. It does seem that the cameras are genuinely very popular at the moment, and the main challenge is just meeting demand. They were quite clear that no new products would be release at the event.
One interesting part was the global marketing guy who showed the scale of events being done outside Japan. In particular, they have tons of events in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea. They also showed photos of well-attended events in the US and Europe.
It seems that the way they decide where to hold events based on the number of GR photos tagged with the specified city hashtag. That would be (for example) #shootGR_Helsinki . So if you are interested in having Ricoh events in your city, that is a way to register your interest in a way Ricoh will notice.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
02-15-2024, 04:54 PM
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Fake/doctored images are not a new problem... as long as there have been images, there have been fakes/exaggerations...
There are probably cave drawings where the animal being hunted wasn't nearly as large as the painting suggests :)
I would suggest the only difference is that the new ones have grown more sophisticated just as we have... and the technologies we trusted will eventually be replaced by others...
More specifically, I thought blockchain being used to authenticate a photo was actually a very good use of the technology... an anti-spoofing technology does not have to be perfect; it just has to be good enough to make overcoming it more expensive/troublesome than it's worth. If all I have to do is type into an app "make me a photo of Taylor Swift eating soup", that isn't very hard, so we'll need something better :)
-Eric
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-01-2024, 03:40 PM
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Best post ever!
---------- Post added 02-01-24 at 05:41 PM ----------
Excellent advise.
---------- Post added 02-01-24 at 05:55 PM ----------
You can use software like Topaz or DXO to make high iso shots look good. But they aren't in your price range if you have to buy a lens too.
You can always clean up the shots later or ask for help from others. If you take RAW photos it will be easier to deal with the noise and darker shadow details.
I’m very sorry to hear that. That is commendable as a goal. Just remember to enjoy the event as much as capture it. I have had people tell me their best wedding memories were captured by people who weren't the photographer. Consider asking guests to take photos and contribute to a common set of files that the couple can look at and decide which ones to keep. This crowd sourcing will mainly get cellphone shots but they will get more emotion and context than the pro would get because they know the people involved. You can then concentrate only on getting the shots you need for you.
IN THIS CASE - I suggest that your existing lenses are great. You don't need more - but the 17-50 mentioned earlier is a good choice. You may not have read this article. DA* 16-50mm vs. Sigma and Tamron 17-50mm F2.8 Comparison Review - Introduction | PentaxForums.com Reviews The DA* 16-50 that you mentioned was dead last in this group. It was a close run between 2nd and 3rd - and the Tamron was 2nd. You could do a lot worse.
But I caution you. If the full frame z6 plus f2.8 lens and flash wasn't enough to get the quality you wanted - either the photog failed at his job (including post processing) or your venue is far too dark for good images. Use higher ISO if needed but understand the APSC sensor will be about a full stop less good in light handling. So f2.8 on FF is more like f2 on APSC. This is arguable but let's just take it as roughly accurate for now. That suggests that your 50/1.8 is going to be close to the same light handling and better processing and better shooting is required to get better images. Do you have any you can share?
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
11-26-2023, 05:25 AM
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Interesting theory. I can't say I've consciously tried to keep that as minimal as possible, or always look for the SR icon and hexagon before taking a shot, other than my usual shooting technique. The thing is, I don't see it happening with other lenses in wide focal lengths, be it the Sigma 8-16, Sigma 10-20, Pentax 16-45 or Sigma 17-50.
Though I will try and go out and take a few shots really consciously taking this into account, and perhaps do some tripod shooting as well and see how the pictures turn out.
Here's two more showing the right hand side not holding up (those have been developed in DxO):
Spree from Moltkebrücke
Humboldt Forum |
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Forum: General Photography
11-08-2023, 09:03 PM
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Right choice, indeed! Smart phone for such applications would be absolutely useless.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
08-19-2023, 04:44 AM
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Hi,
My name is Tony, and I can understand and sympathise with your feelings. It is something I have encountered personally in the past, and I have friends with similar issues.
First and foremost (and don't think I am being dismissive, please) - 90% of the people you encounter will have little or no interest in you, or what you are doing ! Their minds will be fully taken up with their own lives - if they even notice you, it will only be a fleeting impression of just one other person amongst so many.
That being said, there may be others interested enough to enquire what you find interesting enough to photograph - a lot of people find it difficult to understand anyone taking photos where humans are not the principle subject, so photographing anything else (plants, insects, patterns in tree bark etc) may be seen as unusual. If this happens to me, and I am asked, then I explain briefly what and why I am photographing.
I am in my seventies - for more years than I care to recall, I avoided going into pubs or cafes on my own, as I am sure everyone was looking at me. I was then helped to realise that, even if I was being looked at, it was fleeting interest in the newcomer, and nothing more than that.
A lot of my photography is done on Nature Reserves, where etiquette requires minimal conversation - sometimes other people will talk with me briefly.
I hope these suggestions have been helpful - please feel free to PM me if you want a less public discussion of matters.
And don't forget - even though you are unique, you are not alone.
Cheers
Tony
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Forum: Vintage Cameras and Equipment
07-28-2023, 04:28 AM
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ISO 100 is general purpose daylight film. It gives you 1/125 at f/16 in full sunlight, but it's too slow for any sort of low light shooting.
ISO 200 is kinda neither here nor there. It's a stop faster so you've got a bit more room to work with in low light, but that's about it. I've honestly never really seen the point of ISO 200 film, but it's more common than ISO 100 stock nowadays so we're stuck with it.
Once upon a time ISO 400 film was the limit unless you push processed it to go higher. It lets you shoot in quite low light but of course there's an increase in grain over the slower films. The reason things like 50mm/1.2 lenses existed was to give us a way of shooting in very low light with films like Tri-X.
Over ISO 400 you start paying a heavy price in grain in exchange for being able to shoot in very low light.
Rule Number One with colour negative film is DON'T underexpose it. Just don't, as the results are horrible. You can get away with four stops of overexposure, but even half a stop of underexposure causes a drop in quality. In fact I always shoot colour negatives at half box speed just to be safe -- so I meter ISO 200 film as ISO 100.
As with everything to do with photographic exposure, the best place to start is to learn the Sunny 16 rule.:) Sunny 16 rule - Wikipedia |
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
06-22-2023, 07:24 PM
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Da 18-135mm is also a great inexpensive option, there is a thread here on PF showing how good its images are. I used one almost exclusively while traveling for 6 months, I recommend it.
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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
03-22-2023, 06:23 PM
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Hi
I'm a long time Pentax user of nearly 40 years, firstly film SLRs then DSLR. Mainly shoot landscapes, seascapes, architecture, urban environments and nature (but not wildlife).....basically anything that catches my eye and which stays still long enough for me to focus on it :)
In addition to my K3iii, I also enjoy infrared photography with a converted K3.
I've mainly posted on DPReview in the past .......but the title says it all
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Forum: Repairs and Warranty Service
03-17-2023, 08:18 AM
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Forum: General Photography
03-14-2023, 10:39 AM
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In a photograph, the object was noticed by a photographer for some particular quality, and is being presented for your consideration, whereas in real life it is just part of the background. Plus the photograph has been composed, which may present it better than your normal angle of viewing it.
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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
03-07-2023, 02:40 AM
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As a passionate photographer, I'm excited to join this community of Pentax enthusiasts and share my experience and knowledge with all of you. I hope to learn from everyone and enrich my own photographic practice with the collective wisdom of this community.
Looking forward to getting to know you all and seeing your impressive photographic work!
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Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF
02-13-2023, 08:42 PM
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I don't know if having it plugged into the computer is a good idea. I'm sure that's not in the firmware update instructions.
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Forum: Photographic Industry and Professionals
02-03-2023, 10:25 PM
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This post is not directly about cameras, but might be interesting to those with an interest in Japan, Ricoh or architecture.
Ricoh announced last week that they would be rebuilding the San’ai building in Ginza.
The “San’ai Dream Centre”
This is a property owned by Ricoh that is right on the main crossing of Ginza in Tokyo. Tokyo has a number of very busy commercial districts, and Ginza is considered to be the most prestigious of these. It’s home to some of the oldest department stores and flagship stores of global fashion and jewellery brands, each of which compete with each other to have the most attention-getting architecture. On the other corners of the main crossing are the Wako department store, the Mitsukoshi department store and a Nissan showroom.
The San’ai building itself is a small, cylindrical glass structure, which used to have a Ricoh Imaging showroom and gallery on the top two floors, known as “RingCube”. This closed a few years ago. The other floors have some cafes and in recent years a tacky second hand clothing store called "Brand Off", aimed at the crowds of tourists that come through this area. On the exterior of the building is a huge, illuminated Ricoh sign at the top and two large billboards that flank the building, advertising Pentax, Theta or GR products. It has always struck me as ironic that even with the minimal advertising Ricoh/Pentax does, the only place where they have billboards is one of the most expensive places on Earth.
Here is a link to Google Street View - hope it works!
Google Maps
The building’s history
I always thought this building must be from the 80s, because of the way to looks, and the fact that so much was built in that era. But the announcement from Ricoh the other day mentioned it dates from 1963. So I looked into the history a bit.
That time was when Japan was really focusing on being a technological power in the run-up to the 1964 Olympics. Around that time, Tokyo Tower was made not long before and the bullet trains came into service the year after. It seems that the San’ai building was considered a much-loved symbol of that era, which might explain why it escaped demolition for so long. It must have seemed very futuristic at the time.
Looking at images, it went through a number of incarnations, from having a Mitsubishi sign, through Vodafone and eventually to Ricoh. I do remember seeing the Vodafone sign in my early years in Japan. I also realized how much the impact of the building has been diminished by being boxed in by adjacent buildings. The 1960s photo makes it look really cool!
What is really interesting is that the founder of the San'ai fashion brand, responsible for building it in the first place, was Kiyoshi Ichimura. Who is also known for being . . . wait for it . . .the founder of Ricoh! So Ricoh is not just the owner of this building, but also has a deep sentimental attachment to it.
There is an article about Kiyoshi Ichimura here.
The man who built the San-Ai building | GINZA OFFICIAL
The redevelopment
When the Ricoh showroom closed, I was pretty sure the building would be demolished. Buildings over 40 years old in Japan are normally targeted for redevelopment. One big concern is that they are not built to modern earthquake resistant standards. In the case of the San’ai building, there is also the issue that it contains so little usable space. Each floor was an awkward doughnut shape. No matter where you were inside, it felt like you were in a curving corridor.
Having said that and not knowing the history, I was kind of expecting that Ricoh would sell the real estate to another developer and it would turn out to be something completely new - like a Vuitton shop or something like that. Instead, it seems that Ricoh will do this themselves and basically build a new San’ai building on the same site.
Ricoh’s press release (Japanese) is here.
??????????????????????????? | ??????? ???IR | ???
They explain the safety reasons and their intention to maintain the legacy of the building in the new design. Also, Ricoh intends to preserve the memory of the old structure, by recording it using their Theta technology.
The new building
The reconstruction will start from this March, and last for two years.
The task of designing the new building has gone to Tetsuo Kobori Architects. I hadn’t heard of them before, but looking at their website, it seems that they have worked on a range of projects, large and small. They seem to like incorporating wood into their designs, which has been a trend for the last decade or so.
The architect said that he intends to keep a circular motif in the new building. You can see some of his works here. Works | Tetsuo Kobori Architects – ???????????
The architecture on that site seems quite tasteful and low-key, but I personally hop it is not too low-key. I think something like the old building on a larger scale and with modern materials would be great. Locations like this need to keep that bright Tokyo city feel that we expect at big intersections. They talk about making it a "New landmark", so I think it will be an eye-catching design, but I think they'll also try to show their sustainability credentials by making it with wood instead of steel.
I would say the chances of having a Ricoh or Pentax showroom in the new building are a bit low. Pentax already has another new location in Tokyo. It seems that Ricoh wants to highlight their digital work solutions, However, I do think it is good that the Ricoh name will stay at that location. And they may have billboards or screens outside that can be used to promote their camera products.
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Forum: Pentax K-70 & KF
12-21-2022, 09:49 AM
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Why must there be a "worst" camera and a "best" camera?
- Craig
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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
12-21-2022, 08:15 PM
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Hello, there.
I once beheld a Pentax K-3, until it was stolen at a friends homecoming party.
It has been about 5 years since the incident... today, I humbly announce to the internet of people that I have just purchased a Pentax K-5 with an 18-55mm lens from a gentleman on eBay for about $250. I now await it's arrival in due time.
I come here to be a part of the online Pentax community. Thank you all... and happy shooting.
Best,
Mason James Berube
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-19-2022, 09:34 PM
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When you look back, I think it’s clear that they have had this idea for a while.
When they announced their philosophy a few years ago, the wording was “Pentax believes in the future of SLR cameras”, notably not excluding film in the scope of the statement.
This year they have started a few things related to film.
- They had an SLR event, that specifically invited film camera users.
- They started selling used cameras in their store, including some refurbished film models.
- They have a service where you can borrow a film camera for a while, choosing from a few legacy models, from Espio to 67.
- They have released some modernized lenses, but when they did, they retained the FA designation, rather than rebranding as DFA.
All this makes me think that the idea of making a modern film camera has been floating around for some time in Pentax.
My guess is that the next step will be to have another fan event and gather some feedback on what kind of camera people want.
As for whether a film camera would be attractive to me, one thing that bothers me about using my MZ5 is getting the CR2 batteries. Having a film camera that uses modern rechargeable packs would be fantastic in itself.
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Forum: General Talk
10-03-2022, 02:45 PM
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This is just a little story I'm going to tell you. I wrote it out on FB so I am just going to copy from there.
It's finally over.
I know most of you will not know of what I am talking about, but let me tell you of a story that is finally solved.
It started one morning 14 years ago, when I was at Walmart and I find a memory card in the parking lot. I asked at the service desk and in electronics but nobody has reported a lost memory card. So I bring it home.
I put it in my computer to see what was on it. The card had photos and a short video of a new born in a hospital in Icu. I knew the parents would be sad at loosing these photos. I started my search.
Jump to 2015. I was looking through my memory cards to see what was on them. So I looked through this card again. That is when I realized in 2 of the photos, there was a dry wipe board with a name on it. A full name. I had a clue to work with and the baby was a girl.
I found nothing at first.
Then I had a thought. And I was hopping I would find nothing, but I checked for an obituary. Sadly, I found one. I ended up contacting the funeral home but in the end they were not much of help. So that fizzled out.
Ended up putting the memory card away. Everything went into storage.
Jump to October 1st 2022. Me and my youngest son Kyle Edington went over to storage in the afternoon to try and find some things. We found the bookcase I was look for. In the process of looking on the bookcase, I find the memory card. I happen to say to Kyle, "I would like to solve this". Kyle is on a page here on FB that is called The Greenfield Gabber. Kyle found and posted my post from 2015 to the Greenfield Gabber. Now this shows how good FB can be. Within 2 hours of posting my old post, Kyle was texting with the parents of the little girl.
At about 12:30 today, October 2ed, I was able to give the memory card of photos of their little girl that had passed away back to the parents.
I'm not trying to toot my own horn or anything. Just telling the story of a set of photos I found and how I was able to get them back to the parents.
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