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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
05-15-2014, 10:38 PM
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kind of a strange coincidence this thread popping up now (it was started almost a year ago).. I bought a vivitar pk mount adapter a couple of days ago. In hind site, its probably not worth trying to build one unless you really like tinkering. ts quite problematic getting everything together within a short enough distance to work, especially without things protruding where it hits the lens. I tried with some decent 1 1|4 inch parts but never got it working. I wound up spending as much as a really good one would cost or more. If you were to try, I would recommend a 20mm eye piece. The 10mm I used just jacked the magnification up too much and gave too small of an image to view comfortably. I kind of gather 20mm is about what the commercial ones are. I'm guessing the tamron one you are looking for would be better, but if for whatever reason, if you have a hard time finding on, the vivitar one seems common enough. I won the one I got used on ebay for about 44$. I actually have the m42 version already and while it seems a little cheap and plasticy, it works well enough I suppose (for the money). Ther was a store in canada that was selling them new for $50 but I couldn't find them again. of course there is always the pentax one but I'm guessing thwy are going to tend to be quite expensive if you find one.
Good luck with whatever you find.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
01-31-2014, 06:07 PM
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I had the same thing happen with my ds. So much for sony batteries being good. Actually I have seen energizer and Duracell do that too. One of them (I can not recall which will replace a product damaged by their batteries (they did on a $15 item for me anyway and I think they have a.written warranty that says they will) They leed me to believe it was likely caused by improper storage before I bought them. What kind of batteries were they?
I got lucky on my ds. It only got on the contacts attached to the door that pops open so it wasn't too hard to clean. It has been working fine since. good luck....
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
01-31-2014, 05:41 PM
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I see. on the fungus thing about the only thing I have heard short of tearing it apart is using uvc light to kill the fungus. It won,t kill every thing in there but it will kill what the light can reach slowing the spread of it. Of course proper storage is important beyond that. I have heard of people leaving the lens in bright sunlight for several days to try and attempt this (in a window sill I assume). That wouldn't work too well where I'm at right now due to weather though. I recently read many cfl light bulbs emit a decent amount of uvc. They are not supposed to. The phosphorus coating on the inside is supposed to block harmful uvc light but apparently when they twist the glass it causes cracks in the coating which allows plenty of uvc light through. Yes that means they can contribute to skin cancer like the sun does. I would assume that it would also mean if you placed the lens near one in a lamp (close but not so close that it would heat up the lens) I'm guessing it might kill it too.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
01-29-2014, 07:46 AM
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Did you cut the lugs back or did you replace the mount? I assume if you are not getting infinity you replaced the mount. To get infinity you need to move the lens closer to the camera so you need to thin the new mount. If you still have the original mount, you could put it in place and measure from any point on the lens to the original lens mount face. You are going to have to be at that same point with the new mounts face (actually it can be 0.5mm longer as om is 46mm and pentax is 45.46mm but if you get the mount a little too thin, it should go past infinity and you will loose a little macro range which is usable).
Its important to keep the mount the same thickness all the way around. If you don't have a machine shop (I don't) the only way I know to do it is with a file and sand paper with a flat surface (put the sand paper on the flat surface and slide the mount around on the sand paper to level things, measure often and work the high spots with the file). I have heard of some doing it with just sand paper but I could see that taking quite a while. If you are certain about your measurements and there is a lot to remove, you could alternate taking a little bulk off with a dremel and then use sandpaper/file to true things up and correct thickness.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
12-08-2013, 05:56 AM
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Personally I would go a little cheaper than that. You probably could have gotten that easy a year ago but prices have dropped. There are too many new cameras coming out and ones that are newer than the ds with shake reduction and more sensitive sensors are dropping in price. Keh is selling them for $100 in ex condition, $110 in ex+ condition and several have sold recently under $100 on ebay. Seems the ones on ebay in the $100-150 range (that actually sold) are sold with one or more lenses, camera bag etc. OF course if its in really pristine condition and or has a really low shutter count, you might get a little more.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
11-07-2013, 04:07 AM
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What Just1MoreDave said is right but something to be aware of. The internal flash will fire at full power if it is away from A or its a manual lens with no A setting, but with an external ttl flash, it will meter correctly away from A and on manual lenses. ttl is the old metering system for flashes and would meter stopped down, so the camera didn't have to know the aperture. The main point being you could use full manual lenses with no A setting and the flash would meter correctly. This generation was the last generation of pentax's that had a ttl sensor. The ist-d is fully functional with ttl and can use both the internal flash and external flashes with manual lenses. With the ist-ds, ttl on the internal flash was disabled (to the best of my knowledge, nobody knows why as it could use the sensor and work with manual lenses). It does work with external flashes though.
Basically this just means that you can use and old external ttl flash (they can be gotten pretty cheap) and they will work fine with any lenses, auto or manual. It also means you can use an external flash with manual lenses (you can not with newer cameras unless you use a thyristor model or something). They are of lower value, because they can not be used on any cameras newer than these (unless you are using a slave trigger or something). Just beware of the trigger voltage as some old ones were high voltage and it can damage your camera.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
11-06-2013, 01:40 AM
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If you are lucky it might just be a setting (the firmware update probably reset all the settings to default). Check the aperture ring on the lenses and make sure they are set to A. If they are set to a specific setting, and the camera is set to not allow use of the aperture ring, it will behave just like yours is with no auto focus and shutter wont fire, unless you remove the lens and then the shutter will fire (just checked it on mine). Se one of the lenses to the A setting and try again to see if that fixes it. If it does. push the menu button, go to the last page of options, about half way down through the options there should be an option to allow use of there aperture ring (be aware the options scroll so there are more than what you first see on the screen). I think there is also a setting that will not let it fire unless focus is detected but that would not stop auto focus. I would check the manual for other things that would stop it from firing if a certain condition isn't present (no other ones come to mind right now but I haven't used the ds in a while).
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
09-25-2013, 09:39 AM
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Thanks for the info. I actually have a couple of tiltall ones in my watch list. Do you by chance know if they also made lighter duty ones (where I might accidentally get one by mistake if I'm not careful about the exact model), or were they all heavy duty like that?
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
09-25-2013, 01:53 AM
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I'm not sure if you are kidding or serious but I'm not looking for something stationary that will always be left in the same spot like in the back yard. Perhaps I exaggerated saying as heavy as a truck, as if its going to be something stationary left in a backyard or something it could be quite heavy. I meant it won't be something that will have to be carrier around for long times, but I would like something that can be moved or put away. If 2 people can carry it, that would be fine though it would be nice if I could lift it myself (could be as heavy as 50 lbs but a lighter would be nice).
That does give me an idea about building one though. There is no reason I have to go with the tripod design. It could be more like a rigid stand reasonable wide at the top. That might help it be more stiff. Using steel pipe is still sticking in my head as an idea (more of a frame than a tripod perhaps).
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
09-23-2013, 03:10 PM
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There are other problems than weight. My current tripod can support the lenses that I have now weight wise, but probably not some I am looking at. With the current lenses, the tripods I have now are not stiff enough and movement/vibration is terrible when trying to manually focus a long lens (not just long as in focal length, long i focal length as well as long in the physical length of the lens). I'm wanting something very heavy duty, stiff due to heavier build etc. I'm also going to work on some lens supports. I'll try to find one to buy that is heavier duty but can be transported short distances easy enough. I'm also going to try and build something incredibly stiff, perhaps even with a 2 point attachment designed to mate with a custom lens support and or to a lens with a second tripod mount ring added.
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
09-22-2013, 06:34 PM
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Thanks. I'll check out that brand and or model, and see if they are available in the US. I've been keeping an eye out on ebay too and see some possible candidates. I think I have decided to buy something sturdier than I have, but I am also going to start (at my leisure), building an extra heavy duty one (very heavy, very sturdy, with some sort of vibration dampening built in). I may just build the tripod and buy a head though (well see how involved I get). It will be a long term project though.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-16-2013, 06:18 AM
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It would be helpful if you could post a pic of the problem but yes that sounds very much like fungus. You can also google lens fungus and click images, to get many examples. Then you can see if any look like what you have. Depending on where the fungus is and how bad it is, you are more likely to have a loss of contrast and sharpness than to have something visible on the image. I have cleaned fungus out of a hand full of lenses and was not really happy with the results. You will end up with a functioning lens but the image quality may be degraded. The fungus can produce acid that etches the glass. Of course it depends on how bad the fungus is. I have heard of others cleaning it and getting a lens they were happy with.
This tells a little about the teleconverter
http://www.adaptall-2.com/brochures/SP_500mmF8/SP_500mmF8_page2.jpg |
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
09-15-2013, 01:20 PM
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I'm thinking with the tripods I have the larger part of the problem is in the head. I don't really care if the head is quick and easy to operate as long as it is solid. Taking my hands on and off are the problem too. With timer or remote, the tripods I have can hold the equipment and take the picture just fine. Touching the end of a long lens to manually focus is where I am having the most trouble. I would like a setup that is so heavy/stiff that the lens isn't going to vibrate when touched (or at least minimized to the point that I can tell when it is in focus). If I build something, I'm thinking of incorporating a lens support too to avoid vibration in the lens itself too. Even If I buy something I'll build some lens supports.
The majestic tripods I have been looking at for instance are designed for full size professional video cameras if I am not mistaken. They often have a 6-7" metal mounting plate if that gives you any idea.
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
09-15-2013, 01:06 PM
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I was thinking shaped 2x4's if that gives you an idea how little I care about it being heavy. Steel pipe sounds like a good idea too. The basic tripod seems like it would be easy enough to build (I'm good at such things). Having an adjustable height column might be a bit harder (something that clamps might be easy enough, something geared, very hard). The head is much more of an issue. If I had access to a machine shop it would be east but by hand, not so easy (maybe doable though depending on how its designed). If I could find a good sturdy head I could always just build the tripod.
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
09-15-2013, 12:40 PM
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While I have no objection to wood, I was thinking a heavy metal one. Search majestic tripod on ebay and you will see what I'm kind of hoping for were I to buy one.
On a side note, is anyone familiar with the majestic tripods? Are they as heavy as they look? I'm still kicking myself as I had to work late, and missed one for about $70 shipped. It was a little rough but fully functional.
On the surveyors tripod, do they have similar mounting to a camera tripod (or something not too terribly hard to adapt)?
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
09-15-2013, 12:32 PM
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One of those recently went for $60 on ebay (well within my budget). How solid would you say it is? I'm looking for something rock solid (I'm trying to eliminate movement/vibration when turning the focus ring on the end of a long lens).
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
09-15-2013, 10:49 AM
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I have general purpose tripods that work just fine. I need something to use with long lenses. The vibration is so bad I can not even focus with my current ones (I can adjust, remove my hand, adjust again and so for the but do not seem to get good focus that way). I don't have a lot of money to spend and even if I did, I can not justify spending it on this as it would not get a lot of use.
Weight is of no consequence. I could care less if it weighs at much as a truck (big and heavy sounds good). I would think a heavy tripod would absorb vibration anyway. It would be good if it can handle very heavy large lenses too.
So does anyone have any advice? I was thinking old vintage all metal tripods on ebay. They don't have to be in perfect condition. I can clean it up, rebuild/re-grease etc. The problem is its really hard to tell which ones are big heavy tripods as it seems most of the companies that make them also make light duty tripods that look heavy (hard to tell from pics). I already bought a quickset tripod that looked heavy duty that turned out being very lightweight with lots of vibration. Its a nice general purpose tripod so no big deal but of course I can not keep buying tripods to try them out. It seems very hard to find information when trying to check out ones on ebay too.
Gear head would be find, in fact it would be preferable.
I'm almost tempted to make one. Is the mount between the tripod and a head standard or do different brands vary? Perhaps I could buy a head and make a tripod (doesn't have to collapse really short and weight is no issue). I do have metal working skills though no machine equipment (though you would be surprised what I can make by hand).
Any thoughts?
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-13-2013, 01:11 AM
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Something else to be aware of with these lenses that came as a shock to me. They are internally focusing. I was checking out my pentax f 100-300mm and compared it at 200mm to the tamron in a bedroom so distances were under maybe 12 feet. The pentax lens had a lot more magnification. This is apparently normal for internally focusing lenses. At closer ranges, you loose a lot of magnification. The longer distance you are shooting, the more magnification you get till you reach the actual 200mm. I'm not really sure at what distance you get the actual 200mm but close up the lens is not actually 200mm when set to 200mm. I'm thinking at very close ranges it was more like 140mm but can not recall for sure.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-13-2013, 12:59 AM
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Think of it this way. You have your lens at 28mm and point it at a car. The whole car fills the frame. You zoom to 200mm and only get the wheel. you are getting a smaller image and the longer focal length.
Ok so you have a full frame lens and a full frame camera. At 28mm, the car fills the frame. The lens is putting through the image of the whole car. The full frame sensor captures the image of the whole car. You use that full frame lens on a apsc sensor that is smaller. The sensor only captures a smaller image out of the center of the full frame image that the lens is putting through. It doesn't capture the whole car. Its a smaller image compared to what the full frame sensor captured. The smaller sensor is only capturing what the full frame sensor would at 133mm. The only time there is a difference is when you are comparing what a full frame sensor camera will capture compared to a smaller sensor camera.
Ok so you have the full frame lens on an apsc camera, and it is only taking part of the image out of the center. The extra image the lens sends through around the edge is unused/wasted. You are getting part of the car. With a lens designed for apsc like the 18-200mm, you are removing that unused glass making the glass smaller, basically removing the glass that was unused anyway so it has no effect. 200mm is 200mm.
Here is another way of looking at it. You have a 60x magnification telescope. Lets say the glass on the eye piece is 1/2". You see a particular size image. You then take a piece of paper that has a 1/3 inch hole in it and place it over the eye piece. You are seeing a smaller image as if you had more magnification, but you don't have more magnification. The telescope is still 60x, you are just looking at a smaller portion of what the telescope is putting through so you see a smaller image. That extra image the telescope is putting through, that is being blocked by the 1/3" hole in the paper is being wasted/blocked. The 1/2" eye piece telescope is like a full frame lens, and putting the 1/3" hole paper over it is like using a crop sensor camera. You then take a telescope that is 60x but has smaller diameter glass. The eye piece is only 1/3" to start with. It is still 60x so you get the same magnification. If the telescope is 60x, it is 60 x. If the lens is 200mm (the magnification), it is 200mm. You see the same image on the larger telescope with the 1/3" hole paper, as you see with the smaller telescope with a native 1/3" hole. They are both 60x magnification.
Does that make any sense?
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-12-2013, 01:19 PM
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That sound about like what I remember. The newer version was sharper but the older one seemed like the contrast or color or something was a little better. It was a while ago so I do not recall for sure.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-12-2013, 09:57 AM
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I'm pretty sure the promaster is a tamron as stated in my other post I just made. It is probably the same tamron xr (if) that I have two of. The 72mm version I had almost seems to have a better image in some ways, but not in others (more contrast but maybe a bit less sharp, but I only briefly used it). How would you compare the 72mm version that you had to your daughters 62mm version?
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-12-2013, 09:53 AM
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I kind of wonder if the full frame ones would have better edge sharpness on a crop sensor as you are shooting through the middle of the glass?
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-12-2013, 09:52 AM
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It does look like the tamron 18-200mm will be a $100 or a bit under lens now. Amazon price tracker shows it selling new for $300 new for 5+ years but in the earlier part of this year it dropped to $200 and stayed there. B&h has them for $200 + $20 rebate. If you can get one new with warrenty, caps, hood etc. from a reputable dealer for $180, I can certainly see used ones going for under $100. There are a handful of recent ended auctions on ebay where the sold in the $100 or just under range (used). That includes bin from actual camera shops like pacific rim.
I did some research on the different models a while back. There are at least 3 different 72mm models plus an adaptall model. I can try and find some more info if anyone likes as I am going off memory (I could probably find some info on some of my old posts here).
The first had poor macro capability and had a factory macro filter available. The second had improved macro ability and the pentax brand 28-200mm is this one. The promaster is available in this one. I have not found conclusively if the third is better than the second, but both are supposed to be better than the first. The promaster is avalabe in the third (not sure if there are pentax brand versions of the third). I think the second and third may have been branded super and super 2. There are diffrent model numbers for silver or black (those are not additional versions, just different color). The second and third look very different (one is more square, one more rounded but I can not recall which is which). They all have different model numbers but the looks might help tell the pentax/promaster branded ones apart.
The first 62mm version is the xr (if). I think I like these better due to the reduced size, weight and lighter, easier feeling handling. I do not know personally if they are better optically than the older ones. Compared to the ones I used, they are as good but different, maybe better but not by a huge margin but then again, I had very little use with the older version. Its almost like the new had a cleaner image a bit (maybe sharper a little), but the older one had a warmer, more contrasty image that had its own merits.
The second 62mm version is the xr di. Going off memory, it is similar if not identical to the xr (if) in size, weight, design, optical formula etc (don't quote me on that) except it has coatings optimized for digital sensors. It is a current model lens.
All of the above are full frame lenses. All are 28-200mm. The promaster 28-200mm with a 62mm very much seems to be a tamron just like the older promasters are. The one in the lens database here is even pictured with a tamron ad03 lens hood (with the tamron part number on it). There is no 18-200mm full frame xr or xr di.
The xr di 2 is an apsc size lens designed for crop sensor digital cameras. If I'm not mistaken, the full frame ones retailer for about $400 while the xr di 2 retailed for about $300 (and it seems now, possibly $200, at least thats what they are selling for). I gather they are cheaper as they have smaller cheaper glass not being full frame. I have no idea how they compare to the full frame ones.
There is also an xr di 3, that is optimized for mirrorless cameras. I don't really know anything about those.
I hope some of that is helpful.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-12-2013, 04:48 AM
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This is kind of an old thread. That lens became my white whale for a little while. I bid low and lost. I bid medium and lost. I got mad and bid high and lost. I think at one point I was bidding closer to $100 and still lost. Keh seemed to always have some version of it (including now) except when I had the money to buy. I finally caught it when keh had a few promaster versions and if I recall, they were pretty cheap (maybe $45-55). I got paid the next day, and of course, the next day they were gone. Didn't see another at keh for a month or two.
I finally won one and won it cheap. Wouldn't you know, it was broken. What was even more annoying is I do not think it was shipped broken. It was shipped in a box just big enough for it with no padding (found a piece of plastic broken off, presumably from inside the lens in the box and it didn't have infinity focus the full range). The return dragged out forever (took the seller a week each time to respond working out the details for return with problem after problem). He refunded and kept telling me he would send a shipping label for return but never did (its still sitting in a box ready to ship back somewhere, I'm not even sure where its at anymore). It was one of the older 72mm versions. From what I recall (I only briefly used it before realizing it was broken as I suspected from the piece of plastic), optically it was decent. I was happy with the image quality it produced which made it even more irritating it was broken.
I basically said, I'm buying one now no mater what it costs. I found an auction for the xr version (newer 62mm version), a pentax f 100-300mm and a film camera. I put in a really high bid and won it for $120. Thats not bad as the f 100-300mm is probably worth as much as the tamron but I already had a couple of decent enough af 300mm zooms. I really had no need for the 100-300mm (and still use my sigma 75-300mm more).
The tamron 28-200mm xr has basically become my carry lens and I use it all the time (more than any other lens I own). If I'm not lugging around a bag with extra lenses, then I'm probably using the tamron. I liked it enough I eventually bought another one for the kids (that one was the 62mm xr version too). I got it cheap (maybe $40-50). It was not in as near good of shape (much lower serial number, older lens and looked fairly heavily used and worn though fully functional). Sure you can get something better and or more versatile if you want to spend a lot more money but for the cost, these are very nice lenses (the version I have anyway). Being a budget lens hasn't stopped it from getting me many good shots and I'm very happy with the image quality for what it is (a budget lens).
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-11-2013, 07:00 PM
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I was serious about it being lost. I have done an investigation with the post office and they don't know where it is. They suggested I contact the sender as it showed leaving a sort center 3 weeks ago and then nothing. I suggested to the seller that he inquire about it and or try to file an insurance claim if it was insured as that might get them looking for it, wherever its hiding. The seller said they wouldn't let them file a claim yet (I assume an insurance claim) as they do not consider it lost yet so hopefully it will turn up. I had a package get lost and then get delivered after over 2 months once so who knows.
I'm still not sure what I will get, but at this point, my guess is it is an even older version than the adaptamatic pz-150au. It certainly seems to be the old adaptamatic one but according to adaptall2.org, the pz-150au has rubber grips. They claim there is an older version that they have never seen before (they only know of its existence due to tamron product brochures) which has metal grips. This one seems to have metal grips so it very well may be that older version.
As far as what I'm expecting (hoping for), It is said some of these adaptamatic lenses were very well built. The pz-150au converted from yen to usd was $600-700, which adjusted for inflation equates to about $3500. I know that without computer design or multicoating (I think these may not be coated at all, not even single coat or possibly only some internal elements single coat), you just can not compete with modern lenses. I'm hoping for a very well built lens, with optical/image quality characteristic of the technology of that era. It was designed to eliminate the typical purple fringing (rather it can have red fringing). It was optimized for nature photography in this regard. I actually kind of like that aspect of it if that is the way it is (if I get it).
Also, its nikon mount. Adaptamatic m42 mounts seem a bit hard to come by (I have seen lenses with the mount but no mount). I have seen a couple of places selling them in europe, but by the time the currency is converted and I pay for international shipping it would cost as much as the lens (might be cheaper to get a lens with the mount). The pics I have seen have been very poor, but it looks like adaptamatic has a lock ring to hold the mount down. If so, I may be making a mount for now (I have m42/k adapters as well as a couple of donor k mounts) if that looks feasible, till I can find an adapter for a decent price. In all honesty, If I can make a good working k mount for it, and it functions properly, I see no reason to not just use that.
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