Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
8 Hours Ago
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They could also sell a film holder to fit the filter ring of a Pentax macro lens and a set of color mappings for the films they sell in the Pentax store, for use by DSLR owners who do not own film scanners…
Or standalone film processing machines and chemical packs for one roll at a time…
Really, there are a number of options if this is successful, but I think they need to get through one thing at a time…
-Eric
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
11 Hours Ago
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I will freely admit that their half frame idea is nowhere near as ridiculous as I initially thought :)
-Eric
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12 Hours Ago
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My experience with Soviet camera gear from the 1960s-1980s has been that when it works it works well, but that it is crude when compared to Japanese or German gear of similar vintage.
That also means it sometimes does not work :) and failures are more likely to be things like "cheap grease has dried after 50 years" than mechanical issues...
I have a FED-2 that is excellent, for example... a "budget Leica". Half the quality for a tenth the price :p
I don't expect a Chaika to be as good (in terms of quantifiable aspects of image quality) or reliable a photographic instrument as the new Pentax film camera.
But if it was just about quantifiable image quality and reliability I would not be shopping for a half-frame film camera at all... :)
-Eric
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
17 Hours Ago
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As an obliquely related topic, what was the 36x36mm format you could shoot with some 120 cameras? Super Slides?
Or was that on 127?
Will 35mm film scanners do those?
Seems to have predicted modern “crop sensor medium format” by about 60 years or so…
Though I can’t imagine anyone bringing back that format…
-Eric
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
18 Hours Ago
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I remember the Samurai. What a weird thing…
As always, though, thanks for the update!
-Eric
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
19 Hours Ago
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I was poking around the internet over the weekend, as one does :)
I was reminded of the Soviet Chaika half-frame camera from the 60s-70s. It seems to tick most of the same boxes as the coming Pentax compact (except for being new and having auto exposure).
One thing I’m particularly interested in is the Chaika’s triplet 28mm f2.8. Obviously, there’s an expectation that a new Pentax lens will be a bit better (in line with the Espio Mini connection mentioned by TKO) than a 60 year old Soviet design.
Does anyone have any experience with the Chaika?
-Eric
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Forum: Film Processing, Scanning, and Darkroom
22 Hours Ago
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Yeah, I did that once... mixed up a batch of Dektol, put it in the D76 bottle... don't do that :)
I'm not sure if crunchy is the perfect word, but it took a lot of work to get something printable out of that mess...
-Eric
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
1 Day Ago
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I've had generally good experiences as well.
I will note that KEH knows what their "BGN" items are, and they have a view of the market that is more optimistic than mine, so you should not expect a "nearly new" Leica M6 for $50 :) and last time I looked, their Pentax A35mm 2.8 lenses were almost the same price as the FA35mm f2...
That said, there are some things I've wanted that had really low prices, and quality has never disappointed.
I did have a shipping bobble last year (they sent me a Takumar lens hood instead of a Tamron zoom lens), but once I got the right folks on the phone they handled it without any grief (and let me keep the hood).
-Eric
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
2 Days Ago
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The SF-1 is significantly higher end than the SF-10.
The SF-10 is “feature crippled” in several ways, but it’s not a bad machine. You can see the details in the link provided above.
You’ll have a nice pair of film cameras at the end of it all, hopefully…
-Eric
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Forum: General Talk
3 Days Ago
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This is what happens on the Fords... the inner parts rust and swell up the outer parts...
Replacement sets that are not made that way and not made by Ford are inexpensive and readily available.
I'll note that if you have the plastic wheel covers (like my mother) you need nuts with a slightly larger lip to hold on the covers.
If you catch the problem early, the nuts remain somewhat flexible, so you can pound on the 19mm socket to get them off one last time... you don't have to ask how I know :p
-Eric
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
3 Days Ago
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Tracking is going to be largely dependent on the body, but according to the review here: HD Pentax-D FA* 70-200mm F2.8 ED DC AW Review - Focusing | PentaxForums.com Reviews
The DFA* 70-200 f2.8 autofocus is "almost silent... accurate... responsive... speed is impressive"
I'd say it does pretty well...
The big issue I think is weight/size... if it weighed the same as the 50-135, I don't think there would be as much desire for the 50-135...
-Eric
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
4 Days Ago
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I had never heard of this, wow... interesting...
Not my thing, I think, with a focus-free lens, especially not for 500 Britbucks (I can't remember how to type a pound symbol).
Still, it uses USB-C :D
-Eric
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
4 Days Ago
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The pre-PLR 55-300 lens does a decent job on film bodies that don’t require an aperture ring. It even auto focuses on cameras that do that. It does vignette at certain apertures and focal lengths, but not horribly.
-Eric
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Forum: Pentax Medium Format
4 Days Ago
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Since 645 is already a half-frame 6x9, would this be a quarter frame? :p
-Eric
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
5 Days Ago
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And the important point includes the sub-point that water likes to get into the little crevices around the ball bearing and places like that, so "dry" isn't enough... they need to be DRY.
The big advantage of the steel tanks is they use less chemistry per batch. The big disadvantage is they are generally hard to load if you don't do it often.
And there was one brand of metal reels that was super easy to load because it had little arms from the inner spiral to grab the sprocket holes, not a clip in the middle...
-Eric
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
5 Days Ago
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Polaroid used to sell a 35mm film that came with a chemical pack you used in a small developing machine.
The results were "lo-fi", and it wasn't inexpensive, but it was really neat...
My niece and her friends use caffeinol... developing with instant coffee... cheap and readily available...
And I think I'm with Tony Z. Under $250 with a good lens and the right controls and I'll likely bite...
-Eric
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
5 Days Ago
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There is only one DFA Limited, the 21mm f2.4.
It is the first full-frame compatible Limited since the original three released for film cameras ~25 years ago (counting the HD versions as basically the same lenses as the original SMC ones).
It is a KAF4 lens, with electronic aperture control and focus (not screwdrive), but it is meant, like the FA and DA Limiteds, to offer something unique in how is makes images compared to "normal" modern lenses. In this case, if I recall properly, the "special ability" was how it shows close subjects against the background.
That is in contrast to the DFA* lenses, the 50mm and 85mm, which are meant to be "perfect" in their representation of reality, with minimized aberrations and distortion.
Originally, the D-FA designation referred to being "optimized for digital", which I think mostly just meant more attention to reflections off the rear elements, as digital sensors tend to reflect light, which can then be reflected back onto the sensor again by shiny things in the back of the lens (like a poorly coated rear element or shiny chrome). That's historically less of a problem with film, especially slow film.
I think the absence of an aperture ring is in line with Pentax' other lens updates when they've been substantial.
The HD updates to the FA Limiteds were not big, but the updated DFA 100 mm f2.8 in 2009 lost its aperture ring, for example.
And none of the DFA zooms have aperture rings.
-Eric
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
5 Days Ago
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If we assume that’s a bright sunny-16 kind of day, then it should have been great.
Even if the lens was stopping all the way down, doesn’t the Takumar Bayonet only go to f16? Between that and the shutter speed you couldn’t have gotten more than two stops underexposed if you tried.
I think that’s got to be the film or the processing. Not the camera or lens.
-Eric
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
6 Days Ago
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He said "brand new"... the M6 is 40 years old :p
-Eric
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Forum: Vintage Cameras and Equipment
6 Days Ago
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I think it's a pressure issue with your rollers...
The radiograph material seems to be describing polaroid films (or something similar), which are particularly sensitive to pressure (I used to use a stylus to manipulate SX-70 film back in the day...)
But I've seen weird dark lines happen from bending film when loading it onto a developing reel, so I think that's happening here, but in the camera...
-Eric
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
6 Days Ago
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If your lens was stopping down more than it should, that would be really hard to do...
If the lens had a sticky/slow aperture, it would tend to overexpose, not underexpose...
So I don't think it's the lens...
It is possible your shutter is going faster than you think...
There are ways to see if that's the case... I think even using a cell phone shooting slow motion video of the shutter.
For a photo on a bright sunny day, use Sunny 16 to sanity-check the meter.
On that bright sunny day, with 400 speed film, you should get something like 1/1000 and f8-f11 showing as correct.
And if you shoot at 1/1000 and f8, it should not be underexposed (even if the shutter is not adjusting, 1/1000 is as fast as it will go). Adjust the aperture down for slower films.
The streakiness on the images, though, looks like an issue with processing.
And there are things on the images that look like tiny bubbles or pebbles... that doesn't look right, either... worn out chemistry, perhaps?
This, for example, is a horribly expired and horribly treated piece of Fuji 800... camera was fine, processing was fine... but it shares the lousy color and washed-out nature of yours... and the negatives are really thin...
-Eric
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
6 Days Ago
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I would (and have) totally use TMAX 100 on half-frame. It looks very good.
I'll also probably use Ektar 100... Film costs matter less when I double the number of exposures on the roll...
And maybe some XP2 or HP5 on a foggy day...
-Eric
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
03-11-2024, 01:29 PM
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It's an interesting comparison, and it will be interesting to see what the prices and other specs look like...
I wish they had shown the top plate of the Rollei, for example, and maybe the "all on" of the top LCD.
I wonder if the Rollei and the Pentax will end up sharing a shutter and aperture assembly. There can't be too many companies making those...
I'm not terribly worried about a triplet vs. 5-element lens in this case.
If it uses aspherical elements, a triplet can get the same corrections managed I think, and with a smaller image circle, the whole thing will be smaller.
Price will be a big deal, too... if the Pentax is $300 and the Rollei $800, that's one equation... if the Pentax is $500, that's another...
I think I'll also wait a bit... and frankly, the Rollei would have to seriously rock to get me to buy it... I have too many compacts/rangefinders now...
-Eric
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
03-10-2024, 10:53 AM
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They do look underexposed. You can look at the negatives to tell for sure.
If there are just faint traces of image against the orange film base, that's underexposure, and that will make any processing weirdness (like the liquid you describe) more obvious.
If the film base is greenish, it's heat damage or age...
But yes, a K1000 should do fine with colors :)
I will note film often has less contrast than digital and needs a bit of a boost, especially if underexposed...
-Eric
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
03-09-2024, 01:28 PM
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Hello All!
At the beginning of March, 2024, Pentax hinted at the future release of a new, half-frame compact film camera.
There has been some active discussion on other parts of the forum, and I realized we don't have an easy place to share photos we may have done with half-frame (Pentax or otherwise) cameras.
So, with a view toward eventually highlighting some new Pentax film work once the new camera is on the market, here are a few of my half-frame photos.
These were taken a few years ago with my Bell and Howell (Canon) Dial 35 (the second model) on TMAX 100. Commercially scanned.
-Eric
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