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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
15 Hours Ago
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And that is why I buy shirts that have pockets :)
Most of my cameras won't go easily in a pocket. Even the ones that will I don't usually have cases for...
I only carry a dedicated camera when I am being intentional about my photography.
I do carry one when traveling usually, but it will be in a bag, typically...
And I'll take my digital compact when I need a long lens and there's plenty of light...
-Eric
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
20 Hours Ago
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If they really want the vintage look with maximized functionality, they’d do a variant of the SuperProgram, with full usability with modern lenses and a vintage look (especially to the folks who weren’t born in 1983…)
But that’s “Camera 4” on the list, I think, so it’s likely to be a while…
-Eric
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
22 Hours Ago
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We'd all be super excited until we realized it cost $1,000 and wouldn't work with our modern lenses :)
But yeah, I hope they get around to the film SLRs...
-Eric
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
1 Day Ago
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I figured they’d use Kodak Series V drop-in filters :p
- Eric
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Forum: Vintage Cameras and Equipment
2 Days Ago
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I've had a couple of bad ones, but usually they were abused by either being dropped or something like that.
I'm actually less fond of the construction of the first-gen F autofocus lenses; it's like they hadn't figured out the plastics yet... The Pentax F 35-70 is optically superb, but it feels fragile in the hand, for example.
And the Takumar-A zooms have always struck me as poorly built compared to the older stuff (or the newer stuff, for that matter).
But if you want clunky, let me introduce you to my Nikon 80-200 f4.5... completely loose and sloppy zoom and focus... and it weighs a ton compared to the Pentax M 80-200.
My Nikkor 43-86 is pretty sketchy, too... though to be fair, I have a Nikkor 135 prime that's also pretty sloppy to focus. But they are work well enough optically...
It's not just Pentax... a lot of zooms in that range of that vintage are mechanically suspect.
Sorry you got some rotten ones...
-Eric
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
2 Days Ago
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I was just thinking about what sorts of interesting things Pentax might want to sell with their new half-frame camera.
There will obviously be things like cases, but what other things should they do to make sure their new project is a success?
I have a couple of ideas...
A black and white filter kit... orange, yellow, green, red filters... to go with black and white film
Special effects filters... like some of the old Cokin ones... multi-image, spot in focus, color grads...
A tele and wide accessory lens set, like all the old rangefinders used to have... though this would be trickier with zone focusing...
A closeup filter with focusing string... put on the filter, then focus as far as the string pulls out... maybe a revised Copipod to go with? :p
A copy attachment, like the Nikon ES-1, only with a negative holder/mask, that fits onto the Pentax DFA50mm lens (or any other company's 50mm macro) and gives a nearly perfect "scan" of the half-frame image on an APS-C camera. Bonus points for a solution to do that on a K1 or with the DFA 100 macro :)
What other cool things should they make to go with the new camera?
-Eric
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
4 Days Ago
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While I don't disagree, it depends on whose survey responses they listen to... :)
Though the cynical part of my brain reads that as "it depends on whose survey responses are most aligned with their pre-existing plans..." :p
-Eric
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
4 Days Ago
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That's funny... I was thinking it was notable he also said they were working on things for people who were long-time fans :)
But of the four cameras, the first has explicitly been aimed at "the youth", while the other three, not so much has been said of the target markets...
I think we've gone 'round in another thread how Pentax could split the difference between the simple, half-frame "Camera 1" and a film GR (which they have said the second camera will not be), or if they will head in a different direction entirely (Espio 928 with manual advance?).
The first SLR does seem likely to work like a ZX-series, else why would there be such a contrast between it and "fully mechanical" for the fourth... but we won't know until they say something...
-Eric
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
5 Days Ago
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Thanks again for keeping us updated with these.
I'm glad he confirmed both the 4-camera plan we've heard before and that Pentax has not abandoned digital.
I'm curious to see how his statements will now be completely twisted into "PENTAX is DOOMED!" :p
-Eric
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
6 Days Ago
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So first roll of Fuji 200 is done... a couple of things I noticed...
The lens is not as good as the one in my Canon Dial 35, and it is noticeably worse wide open, but the Industar has an old-school look to it I like.
The stiff focus action messed me up more than once... dangit... and the viewfinder is not very representative, but I didn't chop things off because it is narrower than the lens.
The film transport isn't perfect, so the gaps between frames are uneven, messing with the machine that did the scanning, so not all the frames were equally wide.
The scanning sometimes went awry if the two frames in the machine were differently exposed, but this wasn't as bad as I expected, frankly.
More experimenting to come, but it seems like a fun little thing...
-Eric
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
6 Days Ago
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I finally got the first roll done from the Chaika...
72 photos on Fuji 200, developed and scanned at the local lab as diptychs, so 6Mp per pair...
Things to know about the Chaika...
Wide open it is not great... but stopped down a bit, it's not bad... my Canon Dial 35 has a better lens
Focus is really important... and hard to determine... are Soviet meters the same as the regular ones?
When it is set properly, it does quite well, and that lens gives that "old postcard" look..
Other fun facts... the rewind knob is easy to turn the wrong way :hmm:
-Eric
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-12-2024, 03:49 AM
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And that balancing act is not kind to waiting... If that Pentax SLR is delayed two years because of the affordability of that part, the camera will be two years older everywhere else...
The original K1 was criticized a bit when it came out for including some older tech, for example.
Hopefully, the Pentax folks have a way to update other things as time passes...
I've heard several key components of the K1 are no longer made, so the criticality of that particular replacement cycle will increase as stocks run low... but I don't think that's the case with the K3iii...
I think the K3iii is something else...
-Eric
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-09-2024, 11:43 AM
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Are you implying that the new Pentax half-frame is going to be “Da bomb”? :p
I am curious to see how they implement the specifics of how it works: shutter, viewfinder, focus and wind action (and the associated price) before I drop money on it.
I am finding the various half-frame experiments interesting as well and hope people keep them up (even if it needs to be in other threads…)
-Eric
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-09-2024, 06:27 AM
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I’ve heard they can be adjusted to work on a regular M39 LTM mount, but that doesn’t fix the image circle issue…
-Eric
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-08-2024, 03:41 PM
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The Tych looks like it makes a nice old-school look.
It's a bit weird to me for it to not have an aperture control, though, and f8 is pretty slow.
I guess I prefer a little more depth of field control...
I do like that they've done a full range of shutter speeds, though.
Between this one, the Rollei/Mint, and the Pentax, I wonder how many shutter manufacturers there are...
And what's the deal with the flash? Tinkering and soldering? ugh... sounds like a pain :p
Makes me want to get my roll out of the Chaika to see how bad those are...
-Eric
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-07-2024, 09:46 AM
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Here are a couple of vintage full-frame compacts next to the Chaika for a size comparison.
As soon as Pentax sends me one of the new half-frames, I'll throw it in here with the rest :p
Clockwise from upper left...
Olympus XA, which is a aperture-priority only rangefinder and includes optional flash. Has shutter speed/meter and parallax correction in the viewfinder, thumbwheel advance. The standard (in my opinion) for tiny full frame compacts.
Yashica 35MC, aperture-priority zone focuser with focus zones and parallax marks in the viewfinder. Lever advance, cold shoe with pc socket. Better than I expected.
Petri Color 35, full manual zone focuser with a K-1000-style match-needle meter. Viewfinder shows focus distance, parallax marks, and meter. Hotshoe on top, lever advance. Budget Rollei 35.
Chaika I half-frame. Full manual zone focuser. Viewfinder only shows the view :) . Lever advance, no meter, fully mechanical, no shoe but has pc socket for flash.
-Eric
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-07-2024, 09:01 AM
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I'm about halfway through a 36 exposure roll of Fuji 200 in my new (to me) LOMO Chaika, so I can't say anything about the lens yet.
The availability of auto exposure will be a handy thing on the new Pentax, and I hope it has parallax correction and a focus indicator in the viewfinder, as missing those has been annoying.
The Chaika is not "tiny", but it isn't large... I'm hoping the Pentax is smaller, though... but the Chaika's manual advance is nice, so I expect good things from the Pentax...
-Eric
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-06-2024, 11:21 AM
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With all the talk about the coming Pentax half-frame, I decided to go ahead and get one of these to play with in the meantime...
The LOMO Chaika (Seagull), named after the call sign of the first woman in space.
This is the first model, without the removable lens. Later models have the same Industar 28mm f2.8 lens mounted on a M39 thread with a slightly different registration distance than the regular LTM.
These are cheaper than the later models since the lens doesn't come off, but I don't need another 28mm M39 lens unless it will cover full frame on my FED :)
It's a zone focuser with a limited range of shutter speeds (1/30-1/250 plus bulb), no batteries, no meter.
Shutter is a focal plane leaf shutter.
Aperture control on the lens is very fiddly and small but covers f2.8-f16, so I can sunny-16 up to ISO400 without overexposing much.
It does have a PC socket for flash but no accessory shoe.
Viewfinder is bright but really simple...
I have a roll of Fuji 200 in it now, but I have already ruined a bunch of photos forgetting to refocus the lens... sigh... that will take some getting used to.
The focus action is very stiff, and the whole thing smells like axle grease.
A couple of my zone-focusers have an indicator in the viewfinder of where I've focused. I miss that...
We'll see how it goes...
And the pin was a "bonus" that came with it when it was shipped from Ukraine... I have no idea what it says or was for...
-Eric
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-05-2024, 04:47 AM
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The issue isn’t the overall size/weight of the lens but the size/weight of the lens elements used for focusing. So while the 16-50 is a big chunk, the internal elements doing the focusing are fairly small.
And another advantage of focusing with a fast lens while shooting at a smaller aperture is that depth of field helps. If you barely miss focus at f2.8 but shoot at f4, the depth of field hides the error… Rollei used this on their TLRs, with a f2.8 viewing lens and f3.5 shooting lens…
-Eric
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-02-2024, 03:21 PM
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Yes. Don’t step on the parts when barefoot :D
I’ve also got the Saturn V. That was a fun one, assembled with my then-six-year-old daughter.
-Eric
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-02-2024, 06:59 AM
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The viewfinder is hilarious. It’s the thing that looks like a Judas window. And while it’s very clear, there are reflections from neighboring bricks. Worse than the Holga.
But yes, you should get one. :)
-Eric
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-01-2024, 12:21 PM
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I don't see a flippy screen :D
-Eric
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-01-2024, 11:09 AM
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My newest film camera... received for my birthday...
Square format, shoots transparencies on a roll a little smaller than 35mm... but only 3 frames per roll...
It came with two rolls (one is in it) and even included a wrist strap...
More cameras should come as build-it-yourself kits; it's very therapeutic :)
-Eric
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
03-31-2024, 12:05 PM
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From the yard sale Holga.
The lens is awful, but that's basically the point... and three different exposure options (plus bulb) is not really enough...
I think I'm going to shoot black and white with the Pearl next week and see the difference...
1/100s f8 with Lomography 100 color
-Eric
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
03-31-2024, 11:39 AM
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But it's the internet!!!1!!1! We have to complain about something :p
There are so many options it could be that aren't the end of Pentax, but yet we focus on the doom...
It's too bad nobody has come up with a thread about how doomed Pentax is (kidding!)
I think the "silver for color, black for monochrome" answer is the most interesting, but it seems unlikely...
-Eric
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