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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
03-17-2022, 02:31 PM
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I heard a little about this camera many years ago and nothing since so I googled it. It was announced in 1971 with lenses from 40mm to 400mm including that 80mm f/2. It used a mechanical focal plane shutter with 1-1/500 sec plus B. It uses a breech lock bayonet type mount with a flange distance of 68.2mm compared to the P645 with 70.87mm. I suspect an adapter attempt would not be practical since with the 2.67mm difference the 80 f/2 would need to be further back than the P645 mount allows for to obtain infinity focus.
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Forum: Photographic Industry and Professionals
03-11-2022, 07:53 AM
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Well said. I'm "guilty" of LBA and don't actually shoot much....and I enjoy it!
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-23-2022, 06:25 PM
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Be aware that older flash units often have a relatively high trigger voltage that has been said to ruin modern DSLRs. If you look up discussions about the issue here on the PF and consult information after a google search you will learn some relevant facts. The safe voltage for individual modern cameras is circulating and I have seen charts and info about it. As long as your camera and any older flash have compatible safe voltage you can probably use them together if they can be connected. Fully manual flash is really not that complicated if you are using a fairly simple setup as you indicated. Manual camera settings are set according to flash power, flash to subject distance, aperture, and little arithmetic based on the inverse square law of light intensity. Have fun.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
11-19-2021, 12:08 PM
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My first impression was that this was intended for 35mm film and I was about to give another shout out for the LX. But then I saw the Hasselblad post and I'm torn between that LX and the Pentax 645NII.
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Forum: Vintage Cameras and Equipment
10-26-2021, 05:00 PM
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Good technique then is still relevant to good technique now. The basics of camera handling have never changed much. A lot of people can benefit from seeing old publications and I think we would all very much appreciate your sharing this.
Thanks
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Forum: Photographic Industry and Professionals
07-05-2021, 04:20 PM
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At that time I also found the XR-Rikenon 35/2.8 to be virtually identical to the SMCPM 35/2.8. I bought it new from my camera store employer at the time but after a very short while it was returned. The diaphragm lagged and would stick partially closed most of the time and curiously the same problem has been reported for the Pentax model more often than other M lenses of the era. Whose design was it? Is it possible that Ricoh was making some of the M lenses for Pentax rather than the opposite?
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
03-19-2021, 09:08 PM
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A very informative narrative with inspiring photos. I feel motivated to take out my seldom used SMCP 17 fisheye. Couldn't resist buying it and several other K and M lenses back in '85 when clear-out prices were making way for an almost all A lens lineup. This was the first lens I bought knowing it was more a collector's item for me rather than a practical user. With full-blown GAS I have a lot of others now.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
12-23-2020, 04:39 PM
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I'm also a fan of this one. When it was a new model in the late '70s it was rather expensive, seemed a little heavy, and was rare to even see at most local camera stores. It was in stock where I worked but we couldn't get much interest in it. I think it was ahead of its time since 35mm shooters got a fast, very small, and sharp 50mm with their new, small M cameras and were just not much interested in "standard" zooms yet. It wasn't until a few years later when the "standard" zoom was often smaller and lighter with some even having a longer zoom range that people began to buy them. Although the M35-70 had a larger max aperture than most, people weren't ready for the concept until, I think, better fast film and more easily useable flash units changed habits. Likewise, the M40-80 seemed to have the same fate. IMHO
I bought my own 35-70 copy a few years ago for barely 100 bucks in perfect condition and really like the image quality.
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
12-22-2020, 06:05 PM
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I don't have the smaller digital format so my picks relate to the 645 and 645NII. The A35/3.5 and A120/4 are indispensable.
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Forum: General Photography
12-17-2020, 09:20 AM
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Okay I'll join in here, but keep in mind this is ebay's fault. I CAN control the GAS.
Pentax - 2 MX, 2 ME Super, 2 Super Program, 2 P645
Ricoh - 2 XR2s, 2 XR7
Minolta - 3 SRT101, 2 XE7
Sometimes an extra body comes along with that must have lens you've talked yourself into needing.
My REAL intention is to unload these extras and buy more copies of the cameras it makes more sense to have like a second LX and a second P645NII. I really need them.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
10-08-2020, 11:45 AM
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Another push for the M35-70 f2.8-3.5 from me. When it first appeared about 40 years ago, its large aperture seemed offset by the extra weight and bulk, if you can believe that. Compared to lots of faster autofocus lenses it now looks very compact. Inexpensive indeed, last year mine was $89 in beautiful condition.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
10-08-2020, 10:16 AM
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Oh yes, some of us poor, needy lens-buying addicts still have a few gaps in our dusty collections even after many years of amassing gear. I feel unfulfilled, how sad.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-14-2020, 09:20 AM
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I haven't put my equipment on open display anywhere and only really show it indoors among friends. However if I am out carrying a bag of gear then someone sees a lens when I use it. The one that has been getting comment for decades is the SMC Pentax K 15/3.5. The very large bulbous front element is a curiosity to most people. I guess that one and a few other solid metal and glasses oldies could be used in self-defense if absolutely necessary.
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Forum: General Photography
10-24-2019, 11:30 PM
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I still have a 500 Tokina from decades ago that I rarely take out. Agreed that they are less expensive and easier to carry than regular refractive lenses. These require some experience and patience to use well as out of focus areas can look confusing to ridiculous. You have done very well taming most of the mirror lens quirks in these photos. Well done!
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
07-15-2020, 04:07 PM
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Okay, okay, I admit, I did just cave in and lost the will to resist. Bought a ESII on ebay today.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
07-15-2020, 03:33 PM
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Lens aberrations, and curvature of field in particular, can be much exaggerated at higher than normal magnifications while focussing closer than the helicoid allows for in most consumer camera lenses. Average lenses are usually corrected to about 1/10 lifesize, that is, a minimum focus of about 10 times the lens' focal length. These modern lenses often have a larger entrance pupil (front element) than exit pupil (rear element). When reversed the optical configuration allows the rear of the lens designed to best focus on a flat field (your sensor or film plane) to face the subject and the relative distances of much smaller rear element to focal plane distance compared to a greater subject to front element distance is restored. At higher magnification the Some lenses will result in a marked improvement used this way. Older style optics, macros, and adapted enlarger lenses may not show a difference because they are usually using a symmetrical design where the elements are configured the same back to front as front to back.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
07-11-2020, 01:27 PM
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I've spent about all I can justify on cameras for now. I will admire from afar.
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
05-09-2020, 04:22 PM
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Great shot Mike. Again you have captured a unique, imaginative view of a typical subject.
...and I also wonder if inmates are enjoying their privileged opportunity.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
05-04-2020, 10:36 PM
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Monday's and Fridays Phil? Regular 4-day weekends?
I'm in the wrong business!
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-30-2020, 06:51 PM
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Thanks for posting that link c.a.m.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
04-27-2020, 05:07 PM
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Great practical advice above photoptimist.
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
04-17-2020, 02:04 PM
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Love this one Mike. The composition and colors are wonderful. I enjoy the pastels that can come up behind soft clouds like this in the early morning and late evening.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
11-28-2019, 01:58 AM
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I have found that while there are some wonderful specimens available in lots of yards and gardens the settings are often not conducive to making a pleasing photograph. It's not unusual to find flowers in front of an unsightly fence or gaudily coloured ornaments of some kind that make it difficult to simulate a natural setting. Also, I almost always hate the artsy salon look of flash illuminated nature subjects in front of a distant pitch black background. A simple DIY solution is to obtain magazine page sized pieces of thick card stock to hold glued on images of various coloured foliage as backgrounds. Several with different shades of colour can be made. I'm assuming tripod and cable release use after careful composition and focus. If images are too shiny then fresh leaves or other actual plant material can be attached in various ways. Whichever is used, it becomes a simple device to hold behind the subject at slightly out of focus range to provide a setting. I also use it for indoor house plants as a way to control background colour and texture. These cards are easy to stow at the back of any camera bag that is at least that big.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
02-24-2020, 03:50 AM
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Lots of good info here for someone who is new to bellows extension and macro in general. Just a gentle correction needed for the above quote though. Determining effective aperture (EA) depends on a factor of (m + 1) squared. "m" is magnification of image size on the film or sensor relative to actual subject size. So that exposure factor at 1:1 is (m + 1)(m +1). 2 X 2 = 4. A factor of 4X is two stops so that f/2 on the lens is effectively f/4. As mentioned, depth of field barely increases at higher magnifications but EA is important to know for exposure and understanding limitations due to diffraction. Very tiny EAs can be reached with short lenses and even moderate magnification so that sharpness of details in an image are easily muddied. As above, best results will probably come from using enlarger lenses or reversed camera lenses. Keep demands moderate with camera lenses on a bellows along with quite cheap adapters and enjoy.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
02-21-2020, 12:47 AM
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The calculations involved in determining extension and magnification are not very difficult to make. Focal length of a lens can be defined as the distance from lens optical center to the plane of first sharp focus (Infinity). Also focal length is 1/2 the distance from optical center to the plane of an image measuring the same size as subject (lifesize). The flange distance to focal plane for Pentax K and M42 is fixed at 45.46 mm. The necessary distance for any focal length lens to focus at infinity is that focal length as measured from the optical center to focal plane. Enlarging lenses normally have a predictable symmetrical design so the optical center would predictably be at or near the physical center of the lens. Simply, to focus at infinity, your lens with no helicoid will require 105 - 45.46 = 59.54 mm of extension. So at lifesize macro (1:1 magnification) your will need 105mm more (164.54) to total 210mm at which the subject to lens center distance will also be 210mm.
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