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Forum: General Talk
1 Day Ago
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Sunpak Auto Zoom 3600 Thyristor
Adding to my Sunpak flash collection, this one cost £2 on Ebay. This is possibly the most commonly found hammerhead on Ebay, and has a GN of 36 metres, a tilt and swivel head and numerous Auto and Manual power levels. I guess it was being made around 1980 when having a thyristor was still something to brag about.
Despite the name, it does not zoom. Perhaps they meant you could get "telephoto" and wide angle adaptors for it.
The jack socket for the sync cable is loose on this one (seller declared it) and I bought it because I felt sorry for it. No-one else bid. What I really wanted was its accessories (common to most Sunpak hammerheads of that time) especially the coiled sync lead - as Sunpak used a slightly non-standard jack and they are like gold dust especially if someone has not stretched the guts out of them. As for the loose socket, I think its bracket has broken off inside and I might get round to dismantling and repairing it.
I won't be connecting it to my K-1 because I have just measured the trigger voltage at a worryingly high 66 volts. I did already know it was high, although reports vary a lot Vintage Flashgun Voltages # Sunpak .
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Forum: General Talk
5 Days Ago
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I guess they don't send the requests by email  . Nonsense like that relies on most people having no idea how computer systems work or having any sense of proportion. Getting OT I know  |
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Forum: General Talk
04-09-2024, 08:41 AM
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It is not clear if the words mean your lifetime or the item's lifetime. The item's lifetime lasts from when you buy it to when it fails, which could be next day. It is the second meaning that makers are inclined to take, although with some discretion.
There are many similar phrases that are used by advertisers and others that sound much better than they really are. I remember my boss asking someone in another department to do something that was urgent to us "as soon as possible". When nothing happened for a couple of days he pursued the matter and was told they were doing it as soon as possible, but it would not be possible for another four weeks.
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Forum: General Talk
03-27-2024, 11:45 AM
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SIGMA EX 12-24mm F/4.5-5.6 DG
From Ebay and Japan, this arrived today. It seems to be a rare lens in K-mount*, although there are plenty in Nikon and Canon mounts so those sell for half the price  . At 12mm it is one of the widest rectlinear FF lenses ever made for K-mount, the angle of view is insane. The nearest Pentax themselves made were 15mm primes back in the K and A series and the current D FA 15-30mm.
It is in better condition than it looked in the Ebay pictures (one below), looks mint in fact. The seller said there was slight fungus in the rear element, and I was planning to dismantle the back end to clean it, but it is hard to see any so I shall leave it for now.
Shortly after receiving it there was a violent thunder and hailstorm here, so my first photo, from my front door, is of the hailstones still lying.
* Noticed one has just come up in the PF marketplace.
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Forum: General Talk
10-13-2023, 04:22 PM
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I haven't got a Pentax 110, but a bit like this? The K-1 with its bean can 24-70mm lens is not far off the 6x7.
LX, K10-D, K-1, 6x7
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Forum: General Talk
07-13-2023, 04:30 PM
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Another dealer. However, they would not pay twenty times the amount they might sell one for. They might eventually sell two out of the twenty, for $5 each, so they might buy the lot for $5 for an eventual $5 profit. Or they might decide it is not worth the faff.
Most of these old film accessories will never be sold or used again, Ebay is drowning in them.
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Forum: General Talk
07-12-2023, 10:53 AM
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Can you see anything through it?
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Forum: General Talk
06-26-2023, 12:31 PM
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Sigma 70-300mm F:4-5.6 APO Macro Super
Sigma made several versions of this lens over a number of years. Two months ago I bought the non-APO version and was a bit disappointed in its chromatic aberation compared with my Pentax FA 100-300mm. Sigma AF DL Macro Super 70-300mm F4-5.6 Lens Reviews - Sigma Lenses - Pentax Lens Review Database
Then I learned about the APO versions and read reports of their noticable superiority. This one cost over twice as much as my non-APO version (£80 vs £30), but it is mint, and gold band Pentax versions are not very common. "Super" in the name means it has the revised optics from year 2000, and the gold band shows it is the final APO version. The pre-2000 APOs have a red band and the non-APOs have no colour band.
I like the fact that it is heavy and solid, 40% heavier than the wobbly and plasticky FA 100-300, although not necessarily better optically - I shall do some testing and a review.
PS: I have learned that some later 1990's APO versions did have a gold band rather than red, even before the design change that came with the "Super" designation.
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Forum: General Talk
06-26-2023, 11:42 AM
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I drilled only as far as it took to remove the head of the screw, which is a pan-head. In fact I kept stopping after I got near that point and gently trying to prise the flange off, the other four of the five screws already being removed, luckily without problem. I drilled slowly by hand for maximum control, getting started with a 1.5mm drill bit, and then moving up to a 2.5mm drill bit (the recess in the flange for the screw head is about 3mm diameter). When the flange did pop off, I was left with the stub of the screw projecting about 2mm above the surface. I then turned this out of its threaded hole by gripping it gently with small and very sharp wire cutters.
Unless a screw is rusted in its hole, which is obviously not the case here, most of the resistance to turning it is at the head because that has a larger diameter, so removing the head removes most of the resistance. Must admit, it was a breath-holding moment not knowing if I could turn it out gripping with the wire cutters - tricky as the screw is so tiny.
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Forum: General Talk
06-25-2023, 06:10 AM
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A 2mm Diameter 3mm long JIS Screw
(Attached to a Pentax-A 28-80mm lens)
K-1, M 50mm f1.4, 70mm extension tubes
This is to replace a flange screw in a Pentax-M 100mm macro that I am repairing. One of the screws was immovable and I had to drill it out. Buying a lens of the same era on Ebay "for spares and repairs" was the surest way of getting the right screw, and probably the cheapest : it cost me £5 incuding postage, and it provides me with other parts for possible future use too.
The 28-80mm lens is awful. This one seems to fall between the SMC and the Takumar A-Series versions - Pentax must have loved making 28-80 zooms around 1980-2000, and Ebay is now full of them. Most PF reviews of this version comment on the looseness of the focus and zoom, and having taken mine apart I can see it is not due to wear but it was made that way. Mine is well worn anyway, missing the focus ring rubber, has scratches on the front glass, and a fungus ring inside. Just for fun I took it apart and cleaned off the fungus anyway, but I shall not be using it to take photos.
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Forum: General Talk
05-06-2023, 08:55 AM
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Sigma AF DL Macro Super 70-300mm F4-5.6 (Not the K-1)
I have just received this lens, in mint condition, from Ebay for £30 - which is almost free compared with what they cost new, or even used, not very long ago.
I already have a Pentax FA 100-300 F4.7-5.8, which while OK optically has left me a bit dissatisfied. For one thing it is silver (black ones are rare in the UK) which on a black body looks naff IMHO, and a bit conspicuous. Also, the FA is very plasticky (even the mount is plastic - what was Pentax thinking?).
OTOH the Sigma has a metal mount and, while still mostly plastic otherwise, it does feel less wobbly and reassuringly heavier, and is slightly faster too. Looks more at home on the K-1 and has a more technical look, which I like. So it will replace the FA 100-300 if the performance is OK. No pictures yet, and I will do a review in due course. I have always regarded Sigma as one of the better independent lens makers.
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Forum: General Talk
01-14-2023, 03:34 AM
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I always fancied one of those but the price was always too high for my liking. On the used market any flash unit or other accessory with a camera maker's name on it costs much more than third party equivalents, no matter how good they are. I wanted a hammerhead for my DSLR because I feel nervous about a heavy flashgun mounted on the hotshoe - heard stories about it being ripped out. I went for a used Sunpak (a 544 (aka 4205G) first because Sunpak are good but cost only peanuts used. I find most used flashguns (I have bought a lot) have been only lightly used, unlike cameras. Makes sense.
I read once that Pentax flashguns around the 1980s (AF200T, AF280T, AF400T etc) were made by Sunpak under contract. I cannot substantiate that, but it is plausible.
It's to do with the reflectivity of the sensor. The early DSLRs like the *ist used a CCD sensor but later DSLRs used CMOS ones. TTL off-the-film (or off-the-sensor) flash measurement needs a matt film or sensor surface to work properly, and I understand that CMOS is not matt enough whereas CCD was.
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Forum: General Talk
01-13-2023, 01:49 PM
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I have a page on my website: Sunpak DX Series Flash Units about the Sunpak DX series, which were made at the end of the film period. I have now acquired all of the DX series (some in duplicate) and its accessories except for the bare-bulb 120J - which is very rare and usually fetches >£100. Although the 622 and 120J do not have "DX" in the name they are contemporary with them, use the same dedication modules, and the 120J is built on the same body as the 36DX.
The AF280T is usable on the Pentax DSLRs, at least I have used it on a K10-D and K-1. Not all functions work, obviously not the TTL which is film type. The late Stevebrot gave a detailed account of using the AF280T on a Pentax DSLR PENTAX AF 280T reviews - Pentax Camera Accessory Review Database |
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Forum: General Talk
01-13-2023, 06:42 AM
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Sunpak 622 with Zoom Head
These don't often come up in the UK, and I don't think this Ebay seller was the user because the photos were amateurish and the info incomplete - probably why I was the sole bidder for £30. Bidding for these usually gets competitive - I've tried in the past. It is near mint and charges in a few seconds with 4x size C batteries.
It's a monster, and I have put my AF280T in the picture to show scale (some PF reviewers say the AF280T is too big and heavy!). The combined weight with the K-1 and grip is nearly 4 Kg. Guide number is 50 metres measured the old way (72 metres the "new way"). There is an even more powerful version called the "Super", looking almost identical, with a GN of 60 metres (82 metres the "new" way). The thing like a finger guard on a sword, with the silver trim on it, is the battery pod which is quickly exchangeable if you have more than one.
I have already done a PF review here : Sunpak Auto 622 pro-system reviews - Pentax Camera Accessory Review Database
I really bought it to complete [almost] my GAS inspired collection of late film era Sunpak flashguns. I can't see my using it much as it is so cumbersome.
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Forum: General Talk
12-06-2022, 01:01 PM
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Sunpak 24DX Flashgun
I only bought this (from Ebay) to complete my GAS motivated collection of Sunpak DX Series units. I now have all seven (and duplicates of a couple). They were made up to about the year 2005 and were superior to the contemporay Pentax units IMHO, and usable straight on modern Pentax cameras with the Pentax foot module. It was relatively cheap at £16, and came with the generic, single contact, STD-1D module which interested me.
I did not think I would use it because of its low power and lack of a tilt and swivel head, which I regard as essential for normal use. However, I now think I might use it for lighting a flash brolly for tabletop work, and for my slide duplicator.
The STD-1D is the only DX series module to have a sync cable socket. I guess the reasoning was that it was for older cameras that had no dedication features, and some of those do not even have any hot shoe contacts, so the ability to fit a sync cable was provided. But the cable socket will be useful for wiring up a flashgun on a light stand.
Oddly, the generic STD-1D modules tend to fetch higher prices on Ebay than the dedicated modules. Usually they cost more on their own than this one did attached to a flashgun.
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Forum: General Talk
10-14-2022, 03:55 AM
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It says "OUTPUT DC175V 20mA" and is the same one as in your first link. However it came with a Sunpak Auto130 and I want to use it on later units, for example a Sunpak 30DX, and there is nothing in the 30DX handbook that says what voltage it should be supplied with or what current it takes - it simply says to use an AD27 with no mention of an AD27B or AD27E, despite the fact that the 30DX handbook must have been printed after the AD27B (at least) had been in existence.
It doesn't help that the people who wrote the handbooks and designed the labels on these devices did not know what they were talking about. The 30DX handbook describes the external power supply connection on the unit as an "Outlet" when in fact it is a inlet, and says it is for an "AC" supply when it is in fact for a DC supply, the AC from the mains having been converted to DC by the transformer-rectifier that is the AD27.
I have done a few more detailed tests and I measured the output voltage of the AD27B as 215 v with no load, but it drops to 165 volts when supplying 20 mA (its nominal rating). So it has very poor voltage regulation. Interpolating, it would produce its nominal 175 v while supplying 15 mA although I do not have the appropriate value power resistor at home to test that. I would expect the current draw while charging a flash unit to vary widely (I can't measure it without opening things up) so the voltage would vary widely too. The 30DX handbook says you can attach a 510 v external battery (which I don't have) directly to the same input! The units take just as long to charge with the mains adaptor as they do with internal batteries (about 10 seconds) but the handbook says it charges in only 1 second with the 510 v battery, so I don't know what's going on inside.
Anyway, I have now tried running the 30DX using the AD27B mains adaptor; no blue smoke appeared, and it works fine.
Extract from the Sunpak 30DX Handbook :
I do not think the adaptor for the 510 v plug, shown circled in the diagram, contains any electronics.
For some reason, Sunpak hammerhead units used a different shaped plug from their hot-shoe units despite sharing the external battery pack.  |
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Forum: General Talk
10-12-2022, 12:42 PM
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A Sunpak Auto130 flash unit with a mains adaptor. I didn't want the flash unit, which is an ancient design sold in the 1970s I believe. I wanted the mains adaptor. Cost £6 plus postage.
The mains adaptor will fit some later flash units I have, at least I think it will. The plug fits but I'm unsure about the electrical match. My flash units' manuals say they require an AD27 adaptor and this is a AD27B, and I know they also made one called an AD27E. If anyone knows the difference I'd be glad to learn it. From what I have measured so far its output looks like a fully rectified but unsmoothed 200v, but I will do more tests before using it with one of my later units. I will need to put a longer mains lead on it too.
I have done a PF review of the Auto130 anyway*, and don't recommend it because of its high trigger voltage. It pre-dates thyristor technology too, meaning that in Auto mode it dumps any excess energy to an internal "dark" flash tube rather than conserving it. It is quaint that the design utilises this internal flash as the confirmation that the auto flash is satisfactory - you can see the white flash of the internal tube through a window in the back (if you happen to be looking at it while you take the photo), which means the flash was OK on the basis that it must have had some energy left over. I will probably put it in the bin electrical recycling now, before anyone fries a modern camera with it.
* Sunpak auto130 reviews - Pentax Camera Accessory Review Database
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Forum: General Talk
10-07-2022, 04:00 PM
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Sunpak 30DX Flash Unit
I have now collected most of the Sunpak DX series (made c1990-2000). I have eight with some duplicates. With the appropriate camera dedication module they are usable straight on a modern DSLR. I have just posted a review for this one. Mine are all near mint and I mostly paid less than £10 for each, but £20 for this 30DX because it came with a Pentax module, of which I now have four. I will do a group photo for the gear prawn thread soon.
Pentax K-1, DFA 24-70mm, Sunpak 36DX flash with brolly
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Forum: General Talk
09-14-2022, 03:51 PM
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Sunpak Auto DX 12R Ring Flash
I already have the slightly smaller DX 8R but I saw this 12R on Ebay for £9.99 starting price, put in a half-hearted bid, and was the only bidder! It is near mint, complete with original carry-case, instructions and even some original packaging. They cost £270 new according to a 2004 Techno catalogue I have (£400 at today's price). The used market is buyer's market at the moment - I have stopped trying to sell anything myself.
But I'm a bit disappointed. There was no PF review of the DX 12R (there is now) so I didn't know it has no Auto mode (ie using its own sensor), only Manual and TTL modes. It belongs to the late film era by which time advanced cameras used TTL flash control, so flash unit makers had largely dropped the Auto mode. Film era TTL is useless on a modern DSLR, so I can only use it in Manual mode. My DX 8R was a slightly earlier design and has all three modes : Manual, Auto and TTL.
So I might sell it when the market picks up. Or I might adapt the 12R flash head to the 8R body unit, because the 12R head has a better method of attachment to the lens, a larger throat diameter for bigger lenses, and has modelling lights. The 12R head would be limited to the 8R energy level (the numbers are the Guide Number in metres), but it will take that in its stride. It is not a straightforward swap because the 12R's connecting plug has more pins, but it could be a project for the dark winter evenings.
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Forum: General Talk
06-18-2022, 12:18 PM
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I found a used 30.5mm skylight filter on Ebay. All my previous Skylight filters are Hoya 1B, but I did not notice when I ordered that this was a 1A. I had never heard of 1A before : it is supposed to be weaker than a 1B but still giving a warm cast. But this looks distinctly blue! I don't think is is caused by exposure to sunlight etc as the tint is completely even.
It is for the back end of a Centon 500mm mirror lens because I have been advised that its optics are designed for a filter present. I bought the Centon a long time ago, used and very cheap, lacking case and filters (it is supposed to come with three of them). I have never used it much but decided to give it a new lease of life. So I cleaned out the dust and fungus, and even found the proper case for it on Ebay (in second picture). The case is in excellent condition, unlike my old Pentax lens cases which have aged badly, not from mis-use.
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Forum: General Talk
06-08-2022, 01:29 AM
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Out of curiosity I went to look at their website. I don't think they mastered the art of salesmanship yet :
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Forum: General Talk
05-31-2022, 06:07 AM
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72mm Hoya HMC UV Filter
Despite the consensus against the use of filters on another PF thread , I have just received this one to go with a 500mm Centon/Vivitar mirror lens from which I have recently cleaned out the dust and fungus.
Not very exciting except that the Ebay seller turned out to be Mifsud, a bricks and mortar dealer in Brixham (Devon, UK). They are a name from the past as they used to have a two page spread in Amateur Photographer mag (still do?) when I subscribed to it, and they did mail order back then too. There don't seem to be many remaining independent shops like that. Oddly, they did not call themselves "Mifsud" on Ebay.
It does irritate me when people mention stuff and always add, quite unnecessarily, "You can get it from Amazon" because I don't think there is anything that you can't get from the blighters. I Googled for plutonium once and some website automatically responded that I can get it from Amazon
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Forum: General Talk
01-19-2022, 06:11 AM
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.A Vivitar flash meter, mint condition. It looks almost identical to the Shepherd flash meters I've seen on the internet. Bought as part of a job lot so this cost me about £5.
I have already used it to measure the Guide Numbers of a couple of old flash units I have : a Pentax AF280T is about 20m instead of the the 28 it is supposed to be, a whole stop!, and a Sunpak G4500DX is 40 rather than 45 - not so bad.
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Forum: General Talk
01-04-2022, 04:31 AM
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I had been thinking of showing what Father Xmas brought me, so prompted by your post I have. Mine is said to be a rat trap, it's quite big. I've been fighting mice for several years using mechanical traps (and I've got quite good at it by now*), but the electronic trap is quicker to set up and does not go off with temperature changes etc. They are supposed to be more humaine too. It has caught three mice so far. This is the best picture I can find, from the USA, but they are available in the UK and anywhere else I suppose. On the expensive side though.
* Mechanical traps - go for all-metal ones with a wide "pedal", file the end of the trigger wire dead square and bend it to exactly right-angles to the hole it fits in, set with zero overlap (ie hair-triggered), nail it to a heavy block of wood, and bait with Nutella.
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Forum: General Talk
11-17-2021, 03:15 PM
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I find the sale that the OP linked to is totally unclear. In the "Item Specifics" it says the output is 220V (?!). Further down there is a table of a range of power supplies up to a 12V/720W version and a 24V/792W version. Taking those "Item Specifics" again, even if we assume an output of 12V (rather than 220V), with the stated amperage of 30A that makes 360W, not 40W as stated, but then elsewhere it says the wattage is "15-600W" so it could be anything.
Frankly I don't think the seller has a clue what they are selling. And for only $2.02? Is this real?
Moreover, the photos show bare touchable high voltage connectors, so these things must be intended for being built into larger pieces of apparatus with outer casings, otherwise they are dangerous.
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