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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-27-2012, 10:18 PM
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Thanks Les..
So I think the conclusion is no TTL in slow sync, but slow sync works in manual or automatic flash modes below sync speed...
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-27-2012, 05:16 PM
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uh oh, so, still some confusion in the responses! I wish there was some definitive answer...but it's looking like the LX for contrast control just won't fire the flash..
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-26-2012, 10:58 PM
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Hi,
I've read thru the threads here and I've seen mentioned two options to get slow sync on the LX -
1. Covering one of the pins on the hot shoe (I don't know which one though)
2. Buying the tall Pentax Grip which DOES have a switch on it to allow slow sync.
My question is, does the Pentax Grip really allow the LX in paricular to do slow sync? If so, it seems odd that the AF400T flash does NOT have this switch.
I also read that the LX will NOT fire a flash unless it detects greater than one stop underexposure of ambient light which would seem to mean that you could NEVER use the ttl flash mode for contrast control. For example if it is possible to move your shutter down to 1/4 second @ f11 for a particular scene while the flash was connected..then if that shutter/aperture combo was the "correct" exposure, the LX would STILL not fire the flash because no underexposure was detected. You would have to move the settings to 1/4 sec @ f16 in the same light, thereby underexposing a stop and then the LX would fire the flash, which would end up being dominant in the scene because the TTL would balance out overall exposure of which the flash would be the greatest contributor. Am I thinking of this correctly? So, is there no way just to lighten the shadows in a TTL mode on the LX even after jumping thru all of those hoops?
If all of the above is true, then what good would the "slow sync" switch on the Pentax Grip do for the LX really?
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-26-2012, 12:54 PM
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So, I ran a roll of test film thru my PZ1-p using the internal flash and shooting the same scenes with natural light, flash w/no compensation, -1 and -1.66. I ended up prefering the plain old TTL flash with no compensation for MOST of the pics. I'm really pleased with the way Pentax has programmed their flash on this camera. I also shot the same scenes side by side with my Nikon F4 and an SB-800 flash. The Nikon tended more towards a "flashy" look rather than a natural look. Different, not better or worse depending on what you want to achieve. The Nikon shots have a harder light to the subject looking a little bit more glamour like and the Pentax ones have the flash more subdued as related to the scene exposure.
Having said that, the popup on my PZ1-p BROKE after two days of owning the camera. I had to remove the top of the flash, drill out an area and epoxy the spring back in place. The plastic on this camera is very brittle...not sure how long it will last which may explain why you hardly ever see these around.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-18-2012, 03:40 PM
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Hey everyone forgot to say thanks. I completely missed that little icon next to those two buttons on the back...!
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-18-2012, 03:31 PM
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Hi All,
I just got a pz1-p and have set the flash exp comp to -1.66. I come from a Nikon TTL background and usually run at about this setting. I'm looking for suggestions as to how anyone with a PZ1-p does fill flash, in what situations and what settings? For example, let's just say you want to lighten shadows in a high contrast scene just slightly etc. Do you just turn the flash on and forget about compensation and fire away or do you use the exposure compensation?
As well as that, I'm interested in any information about slow sync settings and how you use it with this camera as well. I know technically "how" to set things, I'm just curious as to what values seem to work for everyone.
One other thing, I have a bunch of old Takumar lenses that I will use with an adapter on the camera and would the same fill flash settings work properly with these lenses?
And one last thing...since the PZ1 does NOT have flash exposure compensation, how useful have people with this camera found the on board flash?
Thanks for any input...
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-12-2012, 11:26 PM
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I just got one yesterday and the one ergonomic issue I have so far is that I find it difficult to read the small print on the top LCD in not so bright light. It is not back lit in any way. Does anyone know if there is supposed to be a back light that turns on from a custom function or something? Other than that quite like the camera. It doesn't feel nearly as solid as any of my other cameras, but it is lighter than many, so that's a decent trade off.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-11-2012, 10:48 PM
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This is interesting to me. When the meter is "summing" up the exposure, how does it handle reciprocity failure? The reason I ask is that on one of the LX's that I had shipped to me, I put the camera in auto at the end of the day in and took a shot of my bedroom...still end of day light coming from the outside but basically pretty dark. The camera held the shutter open for about 8 seconds or so and when I developed the film the shot was very underexposed. I thought that it was reciprocity failure and wondered just what "off the film" metering really means. Does this mean that with different films that have different tendencies that the meter, since metering off the film will AUTOMATICALLY handle reciprocity failure?
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-11-2012, 10:38 PM
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Glad to see this thread has grown! Lots of good points made by everyone. For a bit about my background (for film) I shoot with a Pentax 67 outfit (4 lenses), a Pentacon Six outfit (3 lenses), a Mamiya C330 (2 lenses) a Fuji GW690, Nikon FA, F100, F5, F4, FM2 and FE, a few spotmatics and sp II's. I have a moderately good selection of good glass in all lines, all primes, well except for one 35-70 2.8 Nikon. I scan the 35mm stuff on a Dimage Scan Dual IV, so it's pretty easy for me to see on flickr what is scanned on a flat bed vs. a film scanner..so I try to rule that out when doing generalized photo comparisons. Also, I don't use autofocus at all and prefer older lenses and am especially fond of the look of my old SMC Takumars. I also shoot most of the time on tripod, although my goal for a 35mm pentax is a small rig that i can use for snaps around town hand held.
As I get older my criteria in equipment has shifted. I'm not a run and gunner (can't be with medium format) so I tend to take my time. The two parts of a camera that I REALLY value are the tactile response of the shutter release, and the focusing screen clarity and brightness. Next to that, the ability to do longish exposures without resorting to bulb is fairly important. Some of the shooting I do is down in the 2-6 second range.
Since I'm trying to settle on a good Pentax film body I ordered an LX from one of the big online retailers, it was defective (sticky shutter), ordered a 2nd one from them, also defective, although not as bad as the first, and they have a third one on the way to me now. I happened to buy a PZ1-p in excellent shape from someone tonight.
My initial thoughts are that I could fall in love with an LX if I felt I could rely on it to work properly. The camera really has a great "feel" to it and the viewfinder is very very good. FWIW, the Nikon FA viewfinder is maybe just a tad better or a tad worse, not totally sure yet...they are that close. All the autofocus cameras (PZ-1p, F100, F5) have pretty crappy screens to manual focus with. The F4 is sort of in the middle for an autofocus camera..decent focusing screen, not as good as the FA, but not terrible. The F4 is just too darn heavy though! When I look to 35mm I'm looking for light weight. If I'm going to carry a lot of weight I'll just carry some of the medium format gear..:)
The PZ-1P is a really nice camera to hold. What I hate is that the shutter release has zero tactile response (just like the F5, F100 and F4). I do like its super fast mirror blackout. It feels like a performance camera, but what's turning me off to it is I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be using my old takumars on it..it's too difficult to focus. I thought that I could manually focus them with audible beep when in focus, but unless I'm doing something wrong, it doesn't work that way. So, if I were an autofocus guy with lots of autofocus lenses the PZ-1P would be an awesome buy...but it's looking like I'm going to have to pony up the $$ for an LX to be happy..:(
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-10-2012, 08:46 PM
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My concerns are that it seems pretty loud, but maybe that doesn't have much effect on shake. I just developed a test roll, will take a look tonight..
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-10-2012, 07:41 PM
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Yes, I have made myself familiar with the unique features of the LX in the last few days. Things like learning not to "test" the shutter speeds by dry firing since reflectivity of the plate is different from film etc. The IDM metering is what really interested me. There are two nikons that I'm aware of, the FA and the FE that have a closed loop exposure system, but I'm not sure how that differs (for better or worse) than the system in the LX.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-10-2012, 06:17 PM
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I've mostly been a nikon shooter, didn't know if Pentax did this...
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-10-2012, 05:34 PM
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Hi, The subject line says it all. If the meter determines that a perfect exposure is in between 250th and 500th sec in "auto" mode, will it adjust? Or will it just choose one or the other? If it adjusts, this might make it better to shoot in auto most of the time?
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-10-2012, 05:28 PM
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Todd was just responding to a question that he was asked. I read his points in the other thread about the MZ-S and was glad he took the time to detail his issues with the camera. As someone who is looking to possibly buy this or an LX or a PZ-1p AND is left eyed, I was glad to hear his comments. He hasn't dissuaded me from considering the MZ-S but he wasn't bashing the camera..just saying that for him it is flawed. One camera can't be perfect for everyone...right?
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-10-2012, 05:18 PM
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Hi all, I've got a spotmatic II but decided it was time to get a nicer body for a bunch of old takumars I've purchased. My choices are narrowed down to the LX, PZ-1p and MZ-S. While I use a tripod for some of the shooting I do, what's also very important to me is how easily I can hand hold slower shutter speeds on a particular body as I don't always have a tripod with me. Leaving aside the huge differences in features of these cameras I spent a few hours on flickr just looking at photos from each of these bodies and was surprised to see that the LX and MZ-S shots "look" better (I know that's subjective) overall, and the LX shots seem to lead the pack. I deliberately chose to look at shots that didn't seem to be taken on a tripod (street shots etc). I was very surprised that very few of the shots from the PZ-1p looked very good. I'm wondering how much of the "looking better" aspect of these photos is based on contrast and proper exposure rather than on pure sharpness and lack of camera shake. From using photoshop it's apparent that photos with good contrast and tonal range look much better than absolutely the sharpest photos so I'm wondering if that old meter in the LX really contributes here. I have two LX's here that I bought from an online vendor and both have mirror issues and are going back. I was ready to give up on the LX and just get a PZ1-p or MZ-s but when looking thru photos on flickr, the LX photos seem "better" more consistently. I did see a few posts with people stating that they can hand hold the mz-s to a slower shutter speed than any other camera they have used and this is the kind of information I'm seeking. From the feel of the LX the shutter is VERY loud and it seems to me that it would have shake..but the photos on flickr mostly look very very good compared to the other two.. Any thoughts appreciated...!
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