Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
10-05-2013, 05:29 AM
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Yey more lenses for beginners.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-03-2013, 01:05 PM
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Update to anyone who's interested: the adapter has a small piece of the inside thread chipped off which apparently is enough to make attaching lenses to it almost impossible. I just bought a 2€ chinese non-infinity focusable adapter to test it out and it screws on perfectly. Another genuine K-M42 adapter gone to the history books I guess...
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
08-30-2013, 12:04 AM
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One question, what's the spring clip?
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
08-28-2013, 10:42 PM
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I took a good look at the threads and they are indeed screwed up (pun intended) on the lens, so I won't be forcing the genuine adapter on it anymore. I just purchased a fake non-infinity screw-on mount adapter to force on it instead.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
08-28-2013, 02:16 PM
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I actually just got mine mounted and took some shots with it. I didn't get it deep enough to get infinity, but then again, this is hardly a landscape lens anyway. The shots wide open I did get were spectacularly sharp, atleast judging from the LCD. That said I took off and going to do a thorough cleaning of the threads tomorrow. It was so tight my knuckles went white when I attached it to the lens
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
08-28-2013, 01:44 PM
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I just used brute force and was able to get it almost all the way in, but it shouldn't be this stiff, should it? I'm gona try and clean the threads on both the adapter and lens tomorrow.
I knew this deal was too good to be true (good thing it was cheap) ;)
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
08-28-2013, 01:37 PM
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The adapter is a genuine Pentax M42 to K adapter with manuals and original sales packaging ("Pentax Japan"). I'm guessing someone else has ruined the lens then... Bummer.
Any more tips?
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
08-28-2013, 01:04 PM
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Here's a back and side view. Could it actually be a T-mount? Hadn't considered that at all.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
08-28-2013, 12:45 PM
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I just got my first Helios 44M and a geniune Pentax K to M42 adapter, but I can't get the Helios to fit in the adapter all the way. It screws in a couple of rounds but then gets stuck. Is this normal?
Of all the things I considered before getting the 44m, this was not something I had thought of.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
08-28-2013, 02:58 AM
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I have both the Pentax-A 28mm F2.8 and the M F3.5.
Some samples of the Pentax-A: Flickr Search: smcpentaxa28mmf28 (I paid about 70€ for it)
Some samples of the Pentax-M: Flickr Search: smcpentaxm28mmf35 (got it for 20€)
I prefer using the A-version because of the A-setting but, honestly, the M F3.5 is sharper and has a bigger impact. The A F2.8 is a bit "flat" though this can easily be fixed in post, but if you just like to shoot JPG, go for the M-version.
The one major drawback with the M F3.5, atleast on my copy, is is how everything falls apart at infinity. It's just not sharp but I suspect that this is just a flaw in my copy.
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Forum: Pentax K-30 & K-50
08-07-2013, 12:34 AM
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Just got a new body after my old one was replaced under warranty because of a broken aperture control unit.
This is the fourth shot I took with the replaced body with my A-series 50mm F1.4: Jump | Flickr - Photo Sharing! |
Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
08-06-2013, 07:02 AM
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Mine just came back from service. The whole body was replaced under warranty.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
08-06-2013, 07:01 AM
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Just to update to who ever might find this thread in the future. The problem was a faulty aperture control unit inside the body and the camera was replaced under warranty.
Also, now that I have the new body, I noticed that there is no longer a squealing grinding sound when taking pics. So if your camera is squealing then maybe it's time to take a look at it before it goes to hell.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
07-26-2013, 06:17 AM
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Oh wow this looks like an epidemic. I just sent my K-30 in for repairs for the exact same reason. It wasn't even a year old. So much for "rugged and reliable" Pentax...
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
06-13-2013, 01:17 PM
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Ok, what the hell?
I've used my K-30 for about a year now and a couple of months ago it started causing some under exposed images (about 20-40%) with my A-series 50mm F1.4. Ok, I thought, it's an old lens and maybe the aperture blades are sticky or something. Too bad.
Then it started to do the same with my A 28mm F2.8. Again, I thought, it's an old lens. Shame, but no reason to get it fixed since the repair would cost twice what the lens is worth.
Now though, I'm starting getting these random under exposed images with my 18-55mm WR kit lens, which basically hasn't been used since I bought the camera!
Some observations:
1. The problem (under exposed images) are MUCH likely to occur with the larger aperture 50mm F1.4
2. The problem occurs much more likely when shooting vertical.
3. It's usually the first image that turns out under exposed. For example, say I've set up a shot and press the shutter button. I do a quick check and see the picture is almost black. I take 3-5 more shots and they all turn our fine.
4. It does not occur at all, in any situation, when using my DA* 50-135mm.
My theory is that the lever inside the camera which controls the aperture control lever on the lens is getting stuck or sometimes doesn't have enough power to keep the aperture open at the correct setting, but instead ends up closing it completely. Either that or the lever is actually slipping for what ever reason.
I've tried cleaning the contacts (which is kind of a moot point since the problem started with the old manual lenses anyway), I've reseted the camera to default settings, I've formated the cards, I've switched cards. I've basically tried everything I can think of.
I'm about to send the camera in for repairs as it is under warranty, but before I do, just want to ask if anyone else has ever experienced anything like this?
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
05-02-2013, 09:30 AM
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Hmm, that would make sense. How did you fix it? I just checked the lever and it look to be pretty straight. I even compared it to my 28mm f2.8 and they look pretty much identical.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
05-02-2013, 02:34 AM
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Yeah that thought had occured to me, but if there were oil on the blades, then it shouldn't work any better in full manual aperture mode as it does now, right? Also, when pressing the aperture preview button at varying apertures the lens seems to work flawlessly and without delay.
Again, I might be wrong but it does seem that the error lies within the contact / pin.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
05-02-2013, 02:10 AM
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I have a Pentax-A 50mm f1.4 that has worked perfectly a couple of months now, but lately has been starting to underexpose pictures seemingly at random when using the "A"-setting on the lens.
At the time of writing, almost 50% of the pictures turn out underexposed even thought he setting are set to manual and taking shots of the same subject in the exact same position.
For example: say I take three images with f2.0, 1/125 sec and iso 100. Two of these images might turn out fine, but one - usually the first taken - turns out really dark, sometimes pitch black. This is reapeated regardless of the set aperture, suggesting that the camera fails to set the correct aperture because of a bad contact. It must be the contact because the lens works flawlessly when setting the aperture manually, aka using it in M-mode with the green button.
I've checked the aperture pin on the lens and it does pop out as is should when set to A-mode and the spring seems firm. It also retracts as it should when setting the aperture manually on the lens. I have tried cleaning the pin and the contact on the body using a microfiber cloth but it doesn't help. It also should be noted that I also own an A-series 28mm f2.8 which works just fine every time.
Anyone know what I could try next? I mean sure, I can use the 50mm as an M-series lens because every exposure works perfectly when setting the aperture manually, but the only reason I got this was the A-mode so it's kind of a bummer if it's screwed.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
03-20-2013, 02:14 PM
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Smashing that lens looks liberating! I think I'll do that to my F 35-80mm that I can't seem to be able to give away, let alone use. It has to be the worst lens ever made. I mean even a Holga takes interesting pictures. The 35-80mm just looks like crap and takes even worse looking images, plain and simple.
...Now where did I leave that hammer...
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
03-12-2013, 11:34 AM
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Whoa, that was sooner than expected. "Luckily" I'll have some more time to save up because It'll take a year or two before these find their way to Europe.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
08-29-2012, 11:34 AM
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I live in Helsinki and let me just say that there hasn't been a December with -25C here in over a century. In December the temperature is usually around zero degrees celsius with some snow, but mostly slush and rain. I'm sorry, but if you're expecting a winter wonderland, you'd be much better off coming here in late January or early Febuary, when temperatures usually drop close to -10 on cold nights.
Some tips:
- Get a car and get out in the countryside. You don't have to travel far out of the city reach the forrests, fields and sea. But don't waste time since it will be dark by about 4PM in December so start early.
- The Helsinki Tourist info has loads of maps and tips where to go outside the city. They have an office located smack bam in the middle of Helsinki.
Oh and btw, if you happen to need any equipment while you're here (tripods, batteries w/e), be sure to check out Verkkokauppa.com in Helsinki. It's a huge electronics store who have a fairly large photography section too. They also have a sightseeing terrace with gorgeous views over the sea and archipelago, so I'm sure you could fire off a few snapshots there. :)
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Forum: Pentax K-30 & K-50
08-27-2012, 11:14 PM
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The default settings are "High-ISO NR: Auto" and "Slow Shutter Speed NR: Auto". You can turn both of these off.
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Forum: Pentax K-30 & K-50
08-27-2012, 09:41 PM
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A day after someone posted this, my memory card slot door has started to creek and feel soft. Thanks for jinxing it :(
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Forum: Pentax K-30 & K-50
08-25-2012, 12:47 AM
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Here's a tip from the mobile smartphone world: dim the screen, ie. set the LCD brightness as low as possible (so that you're still able to see it, obviously).
In cloudy or darkly lit places the screen doesn't need to be very bright. It's only in direct sunlight or other very bright places that you might want to have more screen brightness.
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