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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
10-04-2021, 04:23 PM
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The K200D is still my most used body. Here are some recent shots from around Jinji Lake Suzhou with the K200 and DA L 55-300.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
09-18-2021, 04:14 PM
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Red one is a scarlet skimmer I believe, no idea as to the rest I’m afraid. All were shot in Suzhou, China
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
02-26-2021, 06:34 PM
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I still have the K-x I bought in 2009. While I have newer and ostensibly better cameras, I still like using the K-x due to its small size and light weight (lighter than the K-s1).
The K-m would also be a good choice, as ChristianRock has suggested. That 10MP CCD sensor is great, but then the K200D might be a better option - a little bigger but still uses AAs and gives you weather sealing and focus point indicators.
Really you can't go wrong with any of the suggestions though. If you buy a K-m/x/r it won't cost a great deal and even if it dies, these bodies should have at least one white solenoid which you can then harvest to either recoup some money or keep to fix a future K-s1/2, etc.
As to the e-dials failing, generally they just need cleaning. Photogem has posted a tutorial on how to take the cover off and get to the dials: they just need a little deoxit or similar. If you're not brave enough to disassemble the camera you could also try a drop or two on a needle applicator.
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Forum: Pentax Mirrorless Cameras
09-21-2020, 06:21 PM
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The DFA 85 1.4 is a new lens. I suspect the K-01 being a much older body won't be fully compatible. Even if you can get the lens to focus manually, presumably it won't stop down as I believe the K-01 does not support electronic aperture control (KAF4).
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
06-23-2018, 04:16 PM
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I Use an Op/tech neoprene cover when taking my camera in my work bag. It's not the prettiest solution but it works very well. There's no lens hole but it's very quick to pop the cover off (basically just turn it inside out) and you can tether the cover to the tripod socket or strap so you don't have to waste time putting it away when shooting quickly.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
08-24-2019, 06:01 PM
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Is your lens the 18-250 or 18-270 (title says 270 but post mentions 250)?
What I do know is that the 18-250 can get stuck at 18mm when an internal part gets loose: there's a small screw which is accessible via a hole in the zoom barrel under the rubber grip. If the screw loosens it can protrude into this hole and lock up the lens.This makes the lens feel like the zoom lock is applied even when said zoom lock switch is working normally.
My advice would be to peel back the rubber grip, inspect any access holes and make sure any visible screws are nipped up tight. If you're lucky this will solve the problem.
Edited to add: seems I'm not the only one to have fixed this problem. A quick search found a post here describing a similar problem and detailing the repair steps: the offending screw and collar can clearly be seen in the pic: http://usefulbulk.com/pentaxlens/
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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
05-22-2019, 09:03 PM
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Welcome Neal,
Tough I'm now mostly based in China, I grew up on the Wirral (West Kirby). Looking forward to seeing your work with the Q.
Best wishes,
Steven
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
10-28-2018, 09:38 PM
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I think returning it is the best course of action. The alternative would be to send it in to Tamron for service assuming it's covered by warranty. However, I had similar problems with my first copy of the 17-50 and two trips to the service centre did not fix it. I ended up selling that one for spares/ repair. I later got another which was bundled with a K-5 I bid on. That one was assembled in China rather than Vietnam or Japan and it works much better -- noticeably sharper in the corners and able to hit infinity at the wide end using AF (the old one would backfocus so much that it went beyond infinity meaning nothing was sharp within the frame). It is worth noting though that even the best copies seem to have some focus shift when you stop down so you may never get it dialed in precisely for all apertures and working distances.
If you need the 2.8 aperture though I might suggest avoiding this lens. While my good copy of the Tamron is usable wide open, it doesn't really excel until about f3.5. I also think the transmission (T-stop) isn't great. Nowadays for low light indoors I usually use my plastic fantastic DA 35 2.4 -- much lighter than the zoom and impressively sharp from wide open. To be honest, I still prefer my old 16-45 to the Tamron. while it's a nominally a stop slower, the Pentax lens is great wide open (above ~19mm: below this it's soft in the corners unless stopped down) and it is noticeably lighter, wider, has less distortion and vignetting -- and better colours.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
06-15-2017, 06:27 PM
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You can examine/ adjust the aperture lever assembly on this lens without taking off the rear mount as, on this lens, it comes out along with the rear element and baffle: you just need to undo the three tiny screws around the edge of the mount, then it lifts out. This is handy as it means you needn't fiddle with the contacts every time.
Inside the baffle, surrounding the rear element, is a ring which transfers the motion of the aperture lever to the longer lever which goes down into the aperture mech. in the lens. It's held in by I think 5 or six screws and a strip of what looks like copper shim stock. If you unhook the spring and take out the screws and metal strip, then you can lift the ring out. Make sure it's clean and not binding anywhere. Also make sure that the lever that goes down into the lens is straight, and that the brass follower inside the aperture ring on the lens body is correctly positioned. If these steps don't resolve the problem, then it may be that the mechanism has been calibrated incorrectly during a previous repair. The mechanism can be adjusted as you can loosen the screws holding the aperture lever to the ring and adjust its position, but it's quite fiddly and will take some trial and error (reassembling & shooting a gray card) to get the exposure right. You also might need to use acetone or similar to remove the old lacquer on the screw heads.
Before putting the baffle back into the lens, set the lens to 35mm as this brings the internals towards the back, making it easier to align the long lever with the slot on the lens' aperture mechanism.
Edit: Having re-read your original post and seen the difference between wide open at 35mm and 70mm, I think the most likely problem is that the long lever which goes down into the lens to move the aperture is bent -- this would explain the change in aperture size as you zoom. Make sure it's square on to the ring, and, if not, you could try to apply a little gentle force to get it back into shape.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
05-28-2017, 06:20 PM
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I think the Z-20 is basically the same as the Z-50. If so, it doesn't need conventional light seals and, as BigDave said, the felt may be stopping the back from closing tightly. There's just a couple of very tiny strips of foam, about 1/4 of an inch long, in the corners by the hinge, and the usual foam around the film canister window.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
06-02-2017, 01:30 PM
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Hi Judith,
The hood from the 18-135 wont fit. However, the18-250 is essentially a rebadged Tamron. The Tamron hood will therefore fit: the only difference (apart from the logo) is that the tamron hood has different exterior finish (slightly textured rather than smooth and shiny), but it fits perfectly.
There's also a third party option: I had a JJC copy, no. LH-DA18, on my first copy of the lens. This was pretty much indistinguishable from the Tamron version and clipped on securely.
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Forum: Pentax K-S1 & K-S2
05-11-2017, 07:02 PM
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I had what appears to be the same problem on my first K-r. It seemed the motor which drives the mirror/ aperture assembly was a bit weak. This then resulted in the cycle not completing after the shutter fired when certain lenses were mounted. It seems that the aperture lever in the lens makes the difference. Lenses where there was a strong spring and longer travel would push the actuator in the camera up to the top of its travel enough to let it complete the cycle whereas lenses with a shorter aperture lever movement or weaker spring (i.e. my Tamron 10-24 and Pentax F35-70) would not give it enough of a kick, thus leading it to stick (it seems the controller has to go all the way up to the top of its travel before it can come back down again to complete the cycle successfully). It makes no difference what aperture you shoot at as even when working wide open, the controller goes through its full travel up and down after the shutter has fired. The symptoms could vary: sometimes the camera would cycle twice, but more often than not the mirror would fall but not completely, thus resulting in a dark viewfinder and no AF.
I found I could replicate the problem by restricting the movement of the controller with my finger when firing the camera with no lens attached. Depending on how far it gets in the cycle, this could result in the mirror getting stuck completely up, or falling back but not re-seating fully. The latter case would also sometimes trigger mirror flap as the camera cycled to try to re-seat the mirror. Usually with no lens attached the camera cycles perfectly, but any slight sideways force on the plastic block of the controller (e.g. from the lens' aperture lever as it travels through its arc) could cause sticking and trigger the fault.
Latterly the problem became more frequent. I tried cleaning the little rail that the aperture controller in the camera runs on. This seemed to help for a short while but the problem came back with a vengeance. According to a local repair shop the camera needs a mirror box replacement. If your camera is still under warranty, I'd suggest sending it in for repair sooner rather than later.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
03-25-2017, 08:46 PM
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Forum: Photographic Technique
03-18-2017, 09:26 PM
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Opalescent glass tends to look good on a dark background. I've shot a lot on a simple tabletop setup using two desk lights and just sheets of black card or construction paper as a backdrop. You might also want to mix in some back-lit shots to show the glowing oranges and reds you get when opalescent glass transmits light too.
In terms of exposure I'd spot meter off the object then adjust accordingly. For lenses I'd think the DA 35 2.8 macro Ltd or DFA 50 2.8 macro would be ideal though with good lighting you can get by with less ambitious choices. I started out with a Fuji point and shoot but now use a DSLR often with either my trusty DA 16-45 of F35-70.
Having worked in the antiques trade, and still having a big collection I'm slowly cataloguing, I have photographed a lot of opalescent glass over the years. Most has been French or French style stuff from the 1920s-30s but the same techniques also apply to Victorian heat-struck opals. You can see some of my shots here: Opalescent Glass | Flickr. Most were shot using the techniques above but lately I've also taken some quick shots lit by natural light through the window (e.g. All sizes | Pair of Jobling 2594 Flat Leaf Pattern Candlesticks | Flickr - Photo Sharing!). This obviously gives you much less control but with care you can get results that are good enough for sales or cataloguing purposes. Opalescent glass is a great subject to shoot due to the way it changes appearance depending on the direction of light so have fun and experiment.
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
02-28-2017, 09:18 PM
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Pentax AF200T is fairly compact and has 4 manual power levels but I think the lowest it goes to is 1/8th. Still it's a reliable little unit and can be picked up for next to nothing so might be worth experimenting with.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
10-02-2016, 12:20 AM
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It's probably from the e-dial: there's a small ball bearing on top of a spring underneath the dial. If it's this that's fallen out the dial will turn more freely and won't have clearly defined clicks.
It's fairly easy to put back: you'll need to take of the top LCD then undo the screws which hold the dial assembly in place. With the wheel off you should see a little tube on the lower half of the assembly. Hopefully the spring will still be in place so all you'll need to do is pop the ball in the top of the tube, put the wheel back then screw the assembly back together.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
06-21-2016, 10:53 PM
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Despite the appearance it might not be fungus. I had a similar haze on both my copies of the DA L 18-55. When I opened them up for cleaning I found it was actually excess lubricant that had migrated -- more specifically it seemed to have condensed on the front surface of the second group.
If it is the same issue it's easy to clean. Once you pop the trim ring off (held on by a few strips of double-sided tape) you can access the screws that hold in the front group. With this off you can get at the affected element but note that it's in the assembly that moves when zooming. IPA on a cotton bud followed by a few passes with lens tissue cleaned it up nicely.
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Forum: Pentax K-r
05-06-2014, 08:09 PM
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Take the lens off and have a look at the position of the aperture actuator (the little block that slides on a vertical rail just inside the lens mount). If it's stuck at the top of its range of travel, give it a gentle nudge to see if you can get it to return to its usual resting position.
I had a similar problem with my K-r about 6 months ago. It turned out that one of my lenses had a slightly bent aperture lever which was causing the actuator in the camera to get stuck. When stuck the camera would power on and the screen display was normal but pressing any button would result in the mirror flipping and the screen blinking. After sliding the mechanism in the camera back down and straightening the lever on the back of the problem lens, the problem has never come back.
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