Forum: Sold Items
11-01-2022, 12:09 PM
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Hi there
Wow, what a find. Would you be amenable to a ZAR deal?
Regards
Charles
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Forum: Site Suggestions and Help
10-30-2022, 11:46 AM
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Hi there
How do I cancel a recurring annual donation? There doesn't seem to be any option to do that.
Regards
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
11-09-2019, 01:34 AM
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Sooo, the dual 3V lithium 2CR5 batteries are becoming extremely expensive (ZAR 250) and hard to find, and I still love my PZ-1p. What to do?
Unfortunately the PZ-1p never had a battery grip so that limits the options of sorting out something using 5 1.2V rechargeables. I managed to find a small 6V lead-acid battery (ZAR 120) which I experimented with. Here is how I went about getting it to work with my PZ-1p. I am not a camera repair technician or an electronic engineer. Please don't complain or try to sue me if this does not work for you.
Step 1: break the cells out of the 2CR5 battery housing. Make sure to keep some of the attachment strips intact.
Step 2: Put the battery housing into the battery compartment, close the cover. and drill two holes through both so that they line up. I used a 3.5mm drill bit.
Step 3: Take the battery housing out and thread two cable through and solder them to the attachment point. You will need a soldering iron and solder. Make sure you get your colour coding right for the positive and negative contacts. I tried to drill a 1mm hole through the metal strips but this did not work.
Step 4: Put the battery housing back into the battery compartment and thread the cable through the holes in the battery compartment cover.
Step 5: Close the battery compartment cover.
Step 6: Strip the ends of the cables and do a quick check directly on the new 6V battery terminals. Try not to shock yourself etc.
Step 7: Make up a set of flyleads with shielded terminals. YOu will need cable, shielded connectors and a crimping tool. I made a set about 1m long so that I can keep the 6V battery in my pocket and still have enough length to shoot comfortably. The intermediate terminals are so that I can separate the camera body from the battery for storage, and also not waste cable if I ever have to repair the solder joints on the old battery housing.
Step 8: Connect it all up and test. You can see that the LCD display on the camera body is alive.
The photos show each of the steps. Hopefully they end up in order but I have named them in sequence.
The total cost of the job was about ZAR 200 (USD 13) which is less than the cost of one 2CR5 battery.
Again, this worked for me, it may not work for everyone.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
11-09-2019, 01:14 AM
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I still shoot film. Getting it developed is harder these days, but I have my own tanks and reels and I can still find chemicals. I scan the negatives on an Epson V750. I do shoot a lot of digital as well.
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Forum: Film Processing, Scanning, and Darkroom
09-17-2016, 10:33 PM
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I recently bought an Epson V750 Pro which came bundled with Silverfast. I got the upgrade to the top version and I have been very happy. It includes a batch scan facility where you mark your frames, do any adjustments you want and then push the button and walk away. I have been shooting film since 1984 and I'm not stopping until film and chemicals are no longer available.
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Forum: Sold Items
04-03-2016, 06:16 AM
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Forum: General Talk
12-26-2015, 12:44 AM
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I got a fish-eye adapter lens for a smartphone from my brother. Great fun!
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
08-06-2015, 11:43 PM
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For #1, I have one body where the LCD illumination light is very faint. That one is being kept for spares/
For #2, in AE mode, it only shows you the shutter speed, in M mode, it shows you the shutter speed and how far the exposure is from ideal (old equivalent of the modern bar graph). Google the manual, it shows you there what the display shows for the various modes.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
07-09-2015, 10:25 PM
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This is a very interesting as I have the exact same setup as you do. I have always felt that mine under-exposes a little but it is consistent and this can be corrected with the exposure compensation dial. It has never messed me around with exposure combinations (f-stop and shutter speed). Using a TTL flash has also worked well.
One issue that I have found on my LX's is that I need to either have the lens fully open or fully closed when I put it on the body or else the aperture-coupling lever does not engage properly and the issue you described does happen. MAybe give this a try and then put the lens on A once it is mounted?
I love the way the SuperA is built and what it can do for what it is and when it was made and how small it is.
I will try and replicate your issues and let you know what I find.
If you don't mind, would you let me know in a pm what you paid for the bundle as I was trying to sell two bodies, databack, winder, motor drive and cables and there were no takers.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
06-14-2015, 11:40 PM
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The standard rule of thumb for electrical discharge is 1 000 V for every 1mm of gap in still air. In moving air it will differ but it is still a guideline. For a 1cm gap between the end of the nozzle and the camera body, it should be about 10 000 V needed to jump that gap, similar to a low voltage electric fence. If someone has a vacuum cleaner and a multimeter.......
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
06-09-2015, 08:05 AM
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The shutter and/or film advance at random is not normal. It could be a contact issue between the body and the winder, or a loose wire inside either that sometimes does not make contact when the camera is horizontal.
The winder is noisy, very noisy. It is not refined at all. All of the winders from that era (Winder ME, MEII, MX, LX; Motor Drive A, MX, LX) are very noisy. The 645N winder is also noisy. They only started getting quieter with the built-in winders of the MZ-series.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
06-09-2015, 08:01 AM
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Velvia, Velvia, and again I say Velvia!!!!!!
Have a go at slide film for a change!!!
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
05-02-2015, 05:48 AM
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I have managed to make up some lens hood using Canon hoods as a base for the bayonet mounting. You can get cheap knock-offs which work quite well. Just be aware that you may have to file or cut off a portion of the one mounting ring on the hood to get it to work. I also added a modified knock-off Nikon hood to make a new hood for a Sigma 100-300 f4 after I contacted the local Sigma agents as was told that the old hood are no longer in stock as replacement parts.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-14-2015, 01:25 AM
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Congratulations on getting one of the best Pentax bodies ever made.
Even though they were built to be tough, it sounds like yours has really been in the wars.
The only way you will get replacement caps is to guy another body that is fit for parts. I would recommend keeping the winder on the body at all times. If you don't, you risk fogging any film you load.
Replacement viewfinders can be found, but they are expensive. Same with the trap lugs. Lots of parts were made specifically for the LX and no other bodies. Cheap LX's are often going to have bits missing or major dings. I have managed to find quite a lot of the accessories over the years, but they have hard to find.
Having said that, the LX system is extremely versatile. The automatic exposure mode with OTF metering is very accurate. I would recommend putting a lens on and run the aperture ring up and down and see if the shutter speed changes correspondingly. Also, always mouth a lens on the LX with the aperture fully closed down (or fully open). This is so that the aperture coupling mechanism engages properly. You will see if it hasn't if the shutter speed does not work as it should.
Otherwise, the viewfinder is the best I have seen on a 35mm body. I hope you have lots of fun with it!
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
04-14-2015, 12:56 AM
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I have the same older Sigma 70-200 f2.8 and I have never had any issues with it.
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Forum: Sold Items
11-14-2014, 12:59 PM
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Hi there I have a bundle of 2 bodies (on for spares), the winder and the motor drive with connecting cable available. Let me know if you are interested. Regards Charles
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-10-2014, 04:25 AM
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Hi Johan
If you want to play with a gimbal head I'll loan you mine until yours arrives. Do you have a decent heavy tripod? It would also be fun to see how the old K 135-600 compares to the FA600.
Regards
Charles
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
07-28-2014, 11:15 PM
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I have both the DA55-300 and the Sigma 170-500 at the moment.
The DA55-300 is great if you have to travel light (with the DA18-55 you are totally covered for most situations) but it is a kit lens. Having said that, the quality of shots from it is acceptable but it can be soft at 300mm if you are trying to see what that brown bird sitting on a brown log is. I have gotten some great shots, lots of decent shots and lots of not so good shots from it. You also need to think about the light when using it.
I haven't used the Sigma 170-500 as much (and this is the original version) as it is a bigger lens and you need to know that you will be carrying a big lens around. At 300mm it is definitely better than the DA55-300, but it also starts to get a bit soft at 500mm. Again, thinking about the light you can get good shots at 500mm, but don't try shooting something miles away (brown bird on brown log again). I personally think the Bigma (50-500mm, and again the original version) is better than the 170-500 (more consistent), but it is also double the price (or more). You may have to focus manually sometimes on the 170-500 especially if there are other objects in the foreground, but that has never been a problem for me. You can shoot hand-held with the 170-500 but be comfortable with working with big lenses. The 170-500 is a step up from the DA55-300 in performance and quality. You can get better, but it will start getting very expensive unless you can find good deals on second hand kit from people who don't know what they are selling.
The DA55-300 is a bit faster on focusing but then it does have less mass to turn. The DA55-300 may be better for action photography than the Sigma 170-500, but not much. Neither of these lenses are really for action stuff, a 100-300 f4 would be better for that. Both lenses struggle on little birds moving around rapidly (kingfishers etc).
Happy hunting!!!
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Forum: Sold Items
07-25-2014, 07:27 AM
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Hi there I'm in South Africa with an MZ7 (with grip) and an MZ-S looking for a home.
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
07-24-2014, 01:46 AM
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Thanks so much for sharing your pictures! We went to Chobe two years ago and it was an incredible experience. Your night sky pictures are really special!
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
07-16-2014, 10:55 PM
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Thanks for sharing! The Namib is a beautiful place to photograph. I must that the 645N out more!!!!
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
05-30-2014, 11:31 AM
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If you are coming to Africa to do the scenery and animals I'd bring the 25mm, the 120mm and the 300mm. The 45-85mm would probably be your best walkaround lens though.
Once your arms have fallen off from lugging all of that kit around, please drop the lenses off with me. I live in Johannesburg in South Africa and I'd love some more for my 645n.
Happy shooting, I'm sure you're going to get some awesome pictures!
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
02-18-2014, 11:21 PM
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Thanks! I'll give it a try. That seems to confirm that stopping down the lens should close the leaf shutter.
It worked! I find on my one I have to manually return the cocking ring to its original position before taking the shot and then the leaf shutter closes after. I tested all the speeds and it definitely speeds up going from 60 to 500 so it looks like I have a fully functioning lens.
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
02-18-2014, 02:57 AM
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Hi there, I hope someone can help.
I bought some 645 kit and I've been testing it and there seems to be an issue with the leaf shutter on the 135mm LS lens. Mounted on the 645n with the LS dial set on 0 it works normally, i.e. as I change the aperture the shutter speed changes and there don't seem to be any problems there. When I change the LS dial to one of the settings, the 645n shows LS as it should, but I can still see through the viewfinder. The lens manual is not clear on this but to me it says that the shutter is already cocked, and the shutter cocking ring also moves easily in either direction. Is there any way to manually un-cock the leaf shutter to check if it is faulty or do I have to take a picture to un-cock it. The lens manual mentions activating the DoF lever to do this but it hasn't worked.
If I have a dud leaf shutter I am not worried as I have a nice portrait lens, but I would like to be able to use the leaf shutter if I can. I got the kit for a very good price and everything is in good condition so I am not going to worry about asking the seller for a refund.
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Forum: Video Recording and Processing
02-04-2014, 12:17 AM
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Pet peeve! You have to "Like" something on social media to get it and if it turns out being a piece of cr$p you cant unlike it!
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