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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-07-2016, 11:21 AM
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I started serious photography in the 80's with an ME Super - wonderful camera & I still use it. It has a phenomenal winder, the ME II which easily balances some heavy lenses. However, I have also shot many hundreds of rolls with the K1000. Once, in nowhere Africa, my battery died yet I still shot 20 plus rolls with just my judgement of settings. Even the slides came out amazing. It's a great "keep it simple stupid" camera. I learned everything about basic photography from my K1000. It taught me to become an intuitive photographer ... Fast forward, 30 years later, I am now back overseas w my MX (awesome viewfinder, it's immense) and my LX (great dust / weather gaskets/ exp comp and aperture priority). If my battery dies the LX is still useable. Both cameras are wonderful, rugged and proven; however, with my aging eyes, it's getting harder to pickup their viewfinder lights. Not so with the K1000 needle, very easy to know your exposure. My wife is using the K1000 while I'm deployed IOT get back to basics with her skills. I know soon enough manual focusing will be a challange for my eyes, and so it will be AF and digital, but for now there is still something magical about mechanical cameras to me. I've taken 30 years of memories with those and many others. The K1000 allows you to focus on the essentials without the distraction of lights, aperture priority or motor drives. They are also cheap to repair and maintain, and will last for many years. A trio of primes and you are back to basics. Good luck
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
01-09-2016, 11:55 AM
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Two different systems with two different purposes for me. When I travel, vacation or just want a quick grab, I take my X-Pro and a few primes to save all the hassles of size and weight. If I want to go really light my X-a1 and the 27 is like a point and shoot. Frequently I have one and my wife, the other. IQ and JPEG is fabulous and easy. Also the Zeiss Touits are awesome. I don't like the zooms on my Fujis. At home, my K20d is always on the ready on the counter for a shot with a zoom lens or big glass. The DSLR balances larger lenses better and my options with flashes, tripods, etc are plenty. I think differently with either system and I play with both systems for different reasons. I still enjoy my manual cameras with old SMC glass or my FA's with my PZ-1p. It depends upon my mood and the situation. For that matter, in my garage I have way more than one set or brand of wrenches as well. Craftsman or SK, Crescent or Vice grips, Pentax or Fuji, X100 vs GR. Different great tools for different jobs. I've held off upgrading my DSLR for years under the promise of "FF next year" and truly I'm glad I've beat up my K20d in the meantime (although the K30/K5/K3 track almost got me). I don't "justify the investment", I enjoy my hobby, both the process and the results. Good luck and have fun.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
01-08-2016, 11:39 AM
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Don't forget to customize your menu settings, (see prior posts) in order to maximize the settings available with the K20 and manual glass. Then indeed Green button and Go. Good luck.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
01-08-2016, 11:30 AM
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Dan, I still have my K20 and it gets all my DSLR use. My only digital zoom is the kit 18-55ii which is nice for chasing the kids but I greatly prefer prime lenses and I am much more at ease with my older manual and auto focus Pentax glass. (I as well still shoot a lot of film and am comfortable with some of those lenses for 30+ years now). I'll second "ChristianRock"'s suggestion - Personally, 28mm is a perfect normal focal length for APS-c as a standard lens and a fast 50mm for a portrait type lens are great inexpensive starting points. The camera is still a fine camera to this day with a decent sensor. Where it lags is with modern digital processing upgrades that the newer models have. Like my film bodies or my X-Pro, it's a tool that is very capable of pleasantly capturing light. Enjoy.
Another caveat, dull days often puts me into Black and White / 400 TX mode allowing fun with filters and film. Don't forget about your B&W options (contrast and texture vs color) with digital as well.
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