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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
06-20-2008, 08:48 PM
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"In May 1957 Asahi Optical introduced their first SLR with pentaprism to market, named just "Pentax". The rights to the name had been acquired from East German VEB Zeiss-Ikon/ Pentacon. The design was so successful (won a Japanese national prize) that later the whole company labeled themselves PENTAX after this camera model.
It was the first SLR with a film rewind crank and fast lever advance, and, like the Asahiflex-II, had instant return mirror. It was not the first SLR with a pentaprism (this honor is given to the East German Contax-D) but it had a much brighter finder due to its first fresnell-lens matt screen. So this was the smallest, lightest, best looking and comfortably operated camera on the market. It was the first Japanese SLR camera with M42 screw mount, for which more than 300 lenses existed on the market at that time.
The prism-finder of the Pentax was by far the brightest and best of all SLR cameras available in 1957. Plus the camera has a very attractive look, which became a world standard and was not changed for the next 20+ years. The original "Asahi-Pentax" had a production run of only ~19,600 units in just in one year.
Eventually up to 1/3 of them were sold without the AOCO logo in the US market as "Tower 26" or 29. Source: Cameras of my collection - the Original Asahi-Pentax
Here are some photos of my daily user Asahi Pentax. It is pictured with a standard Takumar 55mm f/2.2 pre-set lens. This lens is a nice sharp lens. Estimates are for 8,000-12,000 of these lenses produced.
woof!
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
01-06-2009, 06:30 PM
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OK, well, I am going to go through with this ... so... let's get the ball rolling...
First off, Steveopedia, PM me your shipping address please. It need not be a home address, just some place the mail will get to you.
I am going to ship USPS Priority with delivery receipt. No insurance. Not necessary.
However, what I would like to do is ask that all subsequent shipments be via USPS mail (Parcel Post minimum) with delivery confirmation so that we can at least track the item in the event of loss.
Other than that, let's figure out the ground rules as we go. I'll get the thing prepped and ready to send this weekend. Do either of you guys have a light meter? I'll include a Sekonic and will give instructions on how to use it.
felix68, you'll be next, and it will ship from Steveopedia... what do you guys think is a reasonable time frame to keep the camera before forwarding to the next user... two weeks? Let me know your thoughts about this.
Seaain
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Forum: Lens Sample Photo Archive
07-28-2011, 06:45 PM
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This series was done for Single in November, November 2010. All shot in the space of a month with a K10D and the F 28mm f/2.8. I might have a used a K20D for some of this. Do not recall. I know architecture is not everyone's bag, but some of these photos I think really showcase the capabilities of this lens. There is something a little extra and special in what this lens "gives."
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Forum: Lens Clubs
07-22-2011, 05:47 PM
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Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. This building contains the rare books and literary manuscripts of Yale University. One of the largest buildings in the world devoted entirely to rare books and manuscripts, the library has room in the central tower for 180,000 volumes and in the underground book stacks for over 600,000 volumes; it now contains about 500,000 volumes and several million manuscripts.
The building is constructed of Vermont marble and granite, bronze and glass, was designed by Gordon Bunshaft, of the firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. Work began on the building in 1960 and was completed in 1963.
The white, gray-veined marble panes of the exterior are one and one-quarter inches thick and are framed by shaped light gray Vermont Woodbury granite. These marble panels allow light to enter the interior of the building, but filter it such that rare materials can be displayed without damage.
The building is literally up on four of these granite footings , and each is carved from single blocks of the same granite that makes up the floor of the square. The two walls meet at the corner from which this was taken at a 90 degree angle.
Some straightening, PP, but overall, FOV as shot @ 8mm.
woof!
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Forum: General Talk
04-29-2010, 10:43 AM
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When speaking of a naval ship, the meaning of flagship is precise and is not the same as the usage as the word when NOT talking about naval ships. The common useage is derived from the more precise meaning, and bears a resemblance to the more precise meaning, as by analogy. The analogy, specifically, is more in line with the historical outward appearance of a flagship in the 18th/19th centuries.
A flagship is associated with a fleet or squadron commander. Usually this is a "flag" officer. There is a flag associated with the officer/commander and the flag can be transferred to another ship at which point that ship becomes the flagship.
So, for example: "When Yorktown was struck at Midway... Fletcher transferred his flag to the cruiser Astoria and placed Spruance tactically in charge."
It is, in its nature a temporary designation. The duration may be relatively long, but it is temporary as the flag follows the officer.
I think the senior flag officer in the USN is Chief of Naval Operations. Here is his flag:
Admiral Gary Roughead, USN is the 29th and current Chief of Naval Operations. I do not think he has a designated flagship, but I suppose that under certain circumstances once could be designated.
What would one look for in such a vessel? Putting aside the difficulties raised above, generally the criteria for flagships have evolved.
In the age of sailing ships, the flagship was typically a first-rate... First Rate was the designation used by the Royal Navy for its largest ships of the line. While the size and establishment of guns and men altered over the 250 years that the Rating system held sway, from the early Georgian period the First Rate comprised those ships mounting 100 guns or more on three gundecks.[1] In the Nelsonic period, First Rate vessels carried over 800 crew and displaced in excess of 2,000 tons. (cf: Wikipedia)
In the 20th century, ships became large enough that most types could accommodate commander and staff, and during World War II admirals would often prefer a faster ship over the largest one. Some larger ships may have a separate flag bridge for use by the admiral and his staff while the captain commanded from the main navigation bridge.
Because its primary function is to coordinate a fleet, flagships are not necessarily more heavily armed or fortified than other ships. Increasing communications and computing requirements have resulted in the design of specialized command and control ships to serve as flagship. (cf: Wikipedia)
On this latter point, see this article: USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
That smallish ship is the flag ship of the United States 7th Fleet. Not exactly what you would expect. Clearly there has been an evolution here...
woof
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Forum: Lens Sample Photo Archive
07-29-2011, 05:43 PM
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All the following at 16mm.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
07-12-2008, 01:18 PM
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Asahi AP with 1957 Takumar 55mm f/2.2. I just love the look of this photo.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
01-05-2009, 07:48 PM
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18-55 AL II
Perhaps not my best, but a favorite. At the same time I think it tends to show some of the issues this lens can have... I got a lot of chromatic aberrations that needed post processing here...
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Forum: General Photography
01-05-2009, 12:38 PM
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Not from movies, but Beatles anyway...
Based on the meter and coupling this looks like a later H3v/SV or an H1/S1 or H1a/S1a.
and another... If you look really close (Mike!) you'll see faintly that this looks to have the self-timer dial on the top deck... this can ONLY be an H3v/SV...
That puts Pentax in all but John's hands...
woof!
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
10-27-2012, 04:59 AM
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E-P3 with Lumix 7-14mm f/4 @ 7mm
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
07-29-2012, 05:53 AM
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First Congregational, aka Center Church as seen from North Church steeple window, New Haven Green, CT.
EPL-2 with Olympus 9-18mm @ 9mm
woof!
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Forum: Weekly Photo Challenges
12-15-2011, 01:45 PM
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Forum: General Talk
12-02-2011, 09:30 AM
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Merry Christmas to you. Here is the issue for me Mike.
I do not "believe" in antiqued myths. What I believe is that, setting aside some of the potentially ridiculous details associated with those myths, every culture has something by which we can set our moral and ethical compass. It is OK to say the bible is in essence a set of stories which tell us how we should behave and how we should live with and treat each other. In some fashion all of the "good book(s)" do just this. And much of that material is shared by Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. More than the practitioners care to recognize.
I was and remain interested in ancient cultures. Almost everyone has had some form of pantheon, some form of higher order. That is not for no reason.
When you look at faith in the face and say that it is worthless based on the more mythical aspects of it, I immediately have to assume that in some manner you eschew the underlying moral and ethical messages therein. At that point you are liability to me, my family, and my peaceful coexistence in this world and I will never, ever put myself in a position whereby you can compromise that. In short, this is a risk mitigation strategy. I know I will not be alone in this.
Now, there are plenty of supposedly god-fearing people that I do not trust either. Faith is not really an indicator of whether you can trust someone. But disdain for, and dismissal and ridicule of religion is a rather reductionist point of view and lends nothing to my opinion of a person's trustworthiness. So it is not so much that I trust others more because they have faith as that I have a slightly less of a reason initially to trust you. The fact that you wear this openly and decry the backlash only adds to the impression because it means you are incapable of understanding or tolerating my reasons for distrusting you.
I am sorry for this. It is blunt. But it is honest, and it does not mean I do not like you. Actually, it seems you struggle with this perhaps a little and may even be a bit angry. It is my hope that you will understand that this is not a "fringe" view of what you are saying. It probably puts words to what many might be thinking. And if you gain any small understanding of how it is that YOUR choices lead to the consequences that you are feeling, and perhaps that those consequences can and probably should be expected... and as a result you come to own those consequences instead of feeling persecuted, you might find some measure of peace with it in this, what is for some, a most hallowed season.
Kind regards and with respect,
Seaain
Senior IT Architect, Computer Scientist, and former educator and archaeologist
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Forum: Pentax Compact Cameras
11-09-2011, 06:32 PM
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Obviously, I won't judge this photo. Just have to add something. Stockton Street Tunnel, San Francisco. The colors really pretty much looked like this.
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Forum: Pentax Compact Cameras
10-07-2011, 10:32 PM
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Second entry... San Francisco this past week... Contemporary Jewish Museum on the right, St. Patrick Catholic Church on the left. Marriott in the center. I took it because I liked the juxtaposition of styles and shapes, as well as the juxtaposition of sacred and secular, not to mention the juxtaposition between the sacred. Panasonix LX-5 at 24mm...
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Forum: Pentax Compact Cameras
10-03-2011, 09:40 PM
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This is a beautiful work of nature juxtaposed against a not so beautiful work of man - in this case, San Francisco. Taken from the 14th floor of the Mark Hopkins, Nob Hill, October 3rd, sunrise.
Lumix LX-5 at 24mm, f/4.5 using Autostitch for two frame panorama.
woof!
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
09-05-2011, 07:41 PM
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Bare trees with moonrise
Location: Roxbury, CT
Pentax K10D with Pentax F 28mm f/2.8
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Forum: Winners' Showcase
08-23-2011, 04:31 PM
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Well done and well deserved!
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
07-31-2011, 04:12 AM
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Dwight Chapel, Yale University
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
07-28-2011, 04:55 PM
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I have the Benro at which you are looking. It's definitely a keeper for me and travels quite well. I previously had a Travel Angel that was about 19" folded WITH the ballhead, and I loved that tripod. However, this is much more versatile and so my former Benro has been relegated to "trunk detail." No regrets.
woof!
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Forum: Photographic Technique
07-25-2011, 07:14 AM
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FWIW...
Dad was a photojournalist, and he used to say, "find something you look at every day and then try to take an interesting photo of it."
If you can do that, you will have succeeded in some small way in stepping outside of your own self-defined limitations and conceptions and begun to "see."
I the following with Dad in mind. I don't know if it is interesting to others, but it is to me. I quite like it.
This is a parking garage. I worked at this location for eight years. I parked here all that time. Saw it every day. Hated the garage itself as the stairwells stank, the surface was peeling, the floors leaked and periodically covered my windshield with white material that would not come off easily, At one point I ruined a windshield trying to get it off. It was open and unheated in winter, the sun shone through on the front and so did not protect from heat in summer. Just awful.
Sharing that detail probably detracts from the photo, but there it is...
I do not believe there is nothing to photograph where you are. And while I think that you may actually be suffering an existential crisis, that aside, you need to stop complaining and open your eyes.
“The G-minor Symphony consists of eight remarkable measures surrounded by a half-hour of banality.” ~ Glenn Gould
Such is life. It is our job as photographers to find the remarkable, and even construct it. If you are not up for the task, and think that this stuff will walk up to you and give itself to you freely, then with all due respect your expectations need adjustment.
"Life owes you nothing but a hard time. Anything you get beyond that will be won with hard work and perseverance." ~ Dad
Edit: A friend of mine loves to quote this thing about everything worth photographing has been photographed before. What's the point of photographing things if it has been done better and to death.
Have a look here: The Yale Whale: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=yale+whale&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1...og&sa=N&tab=wi
Done to death. When taken, usually frontal or 3/4 of the front. Mine was taken at the back.
The two photos illustrate two different point about the funk you find yourself in. The truth is that they were taken either on the same day or one day apart. And that's the third point. You will never find anything of value to photograph if you do not go looking for it.
Regards,
woof!
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-01-2009, 05:41 PM
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I was fortunate enough to snag an early Spotmatic recently. I have been after and excellent copy for a long time and despite some recent hardship I managed to get an excellent copy for 59.00 shipped. It went unnoticed on eBay. I HAD to take it.
FWIW, there are subtle differences that give these early bodies away... differences include cosmetic differences in the self-timer lever, meter switch, top cover attachment method, and film counter height. There are also subtle differences in the focusing screen, lettering font, and even the strap triangle rings. The early part number was 231. The later model part number was 23102. Some appear to have these numbers on the baseplate, but not all. Serials can distinguish as well.... serials in the range 10..800 on are early, 20.1600 on are late.
The early Spotmatics were produced from July 1964 through 1965 sometime, as compared with from 1965 through 1973 for the "late" version. It is historically interesting to note that Asahi produced their millionth SLR in 1966, so the early Spotmatics belong to an earlier time frame in that regard as well.
So these are relatively rare Spotmatics, and easy to date. No later than 1965. At some point perhaps I'll post some pictures that will help those who are interested in identifying one of these...
What I am looking for is an original manual for an Early Spotmatic. There are a number of manuals and I am wondering if anyone can identify the right one for me. Never seen one. I have several later versions, but no early versions. It has to exist... Perhaps the easiest identifier is that the meter switch is half as wide as the later one. Any help would be appreciated...
woof!
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Forum: Weekly Photo Challenges
07-05-2011, 05:18 PM
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Adirondack Fastness... what makes this tree special... This photograph would not really have worked without it... assuming it works on some level that is... :lol:
woof!
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Forum: Monthly Photo Contests
07-01-2011, 07:17 PM
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Do you fancy your stuff to be so great as to support blurting THIS out in public?
This is not about you, and I, for one, frankly could care less what you are tired of seeing. This is an open contest. Your comments are not appropriate in that context.
Respectfully,
woof!
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
05-18-2011, 05:21 PM
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Modes and highlights... there may be some other small settings I am forgettin in these recipes, but you get the picture.
Sports - adjusted per this months recommendations in Outdoor Photographer for speedy AF - no SR, release priority, Tv, etc. Also, I prefer using the AF button when shooting sports, so have that enabled and half press disabled. Playing with this to optimize. Release priority is working better than I thought. I am not getting quite as many OOF as I thought I would (kid's baseball is the testbed here)
Handheld Bracket - Av, Bracket of three, no timer/SR engaged, 1 push bracket release
Tripod Bracket - Av, Bracket of five, timer/no SR engaged, 1 push bracket release
Theater - AF assist off, LCD off, status off, beep off, various other stealthy tweaks for those situations where people do not like hearing or seeing so much of you.
Utility Program - Standard program mode with tweaks; more or less a placeholder for playing with settings to come up with the next great user mode.
That sounds good. Will try that for sure.
woof
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