Pentax digital SLR cameras

[Steven Gourlay]

Atleast you got the camera which is a bonus for the weekend. Try and find some house spiders to try your new camera out.

What do you think of your new toy then?


Looks like i could get out in the snow again.
BBC - Weather Centre - 5 Day Forecast in Celsius for Ullapool, United Kingdom

[EDIT]

Met Office say HAIL over the weekend not snow.
Met Office: Ullapool: forecast weather

[Mallimak]

There was a bit of a respite in the wind late morning/early afternoon and the sun was shining, so took the camera into town. While the other half was doing a bit of shopping I took a few pics just to get a feel for the camera

Because I'm using manual lens I'm having to guess at the right aperture for a given speed, just like the old days when I started in photography and didn't have a light meter. At least now you can see instantly if you got it right or not.

After a few building shots I wandered down to the harbour and took a couple of shots of a Herring Gull sat on one of the walls. Tried using RAW mode so that I can have a play back at home.

From the best image I have cropped the gull which was taking up about the centre 1/9 of the frame. You can see the result in the gallery.

Tonight the wind is blowing a right howler with the forecast fore gusts of 60mph+.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a bit calmer and sunny intervals so hope to get out and do a bit more experimenting, but not from the hide don't fancy flying across Scapa Flow but at least I now know it is possible to land on water!!

[CertEdFriday]

Hi,

A few years ago I was in a similar position with regards to going digital. Like you, I have a range of pentax K mount equipment and just could not bring myself to, 1 start all over again, 2 part with some of my cherished FA* Lenses. I started off with the istD then moved to the K10D and recently the K20D. I still have the istD and the K10D and they are my backup bodies.
Call me biased, but the pentax cameras are packed with features and are much cheaper than the super Hyped Canon and Nikon ranges. Hope you agree and you are enjoying your purchase.

I have started a pentax users area on the forum - might see you signed in?

Regards

David

[CertEdFriday]

Did I note you were taking delivery of a Pentax DSLR?

What model is it - and what Pentax lenses do you have?

[Mallimak]

Hi David

I have just got a Pentax K100D Super.

I have two Pentax lenses, a 80-200mm zoom and a 28mm wide-angle. I also have a Chinon 50mm lens and a Paragon 400mm lens.

I also have a Pentax 2x convetor and set of bellows and some extension tubes.

These were all used with a Chinon CE4 camera body which I bought back in 1981!!

Cheers

Dave

[CertEdFriday]

Originally Posted by Mallimak

Hi David

I have just got a Pentax K100D Super.

I have two Pentax lenses, a 80-200mm zoom and a 28mm wide-angle. I also have a Chinon 50mm lens and a Paragon 400mm lens.

I also have a Pentax 2x convetor and set of bellows and some extension tubes.

These were all used with a Chinon CE4 camera body which I bought back in 1981!!

Cheers

Dave

Hi Dave,

Sorry for the late reply but I have been away overnight - at Burns Night Supper - In Devon!
The K1000 Super has had some good reviews and I am sure you will find it to be an excellent camera. The fact that some lenses go back to the 80s is not a problem with Pentax! In good light and a steady hand/ or tripod, the converter is a bonus.

Look forward to hearing how you are getting on with your Pentax and also a few images taken with it would be good.

[John Parry]

Well, this thread has been quiet for a while, but as a new member I thought I'd make a contribution. A Pentax (or Samsung) DSLR will accept every Pentax (or 3rd Party) Pentax bayonet lens of every series ever made. The same isn't true of any other manufacturer. So, if anyone is thinking of going digital this may be a deciding factor. (You may not have any earlier Pentax lenses, but remember, they can be bought relatively cheaply now compared to modern lenses). So if you wanted a nice portrait lens for example, your choice is vast. They will all meter (you will have to tell the camera the focal length for some of them), and they will all give an in-focus indication in the viewfinder, provided there is sufficient light.

The disadvantage is that you can't use the LCD screen as a viewfinder. The optical viewfinder is excellent, but if most of your pictures are going to be macro shots from 6 inches above the ground you should bear this in mind.

Oh, and one other thing. As well as Canon and Nikon, which will both take a limited selection of earlier lenses (depending on the model), the high spec Sony DSLRs will also accept many Minolta lenses (and they are very nice glass!). So you should bear in mind that you aren't limited to the big (and expensive) two!

John

[Steven Gourlay]

Good input John, with regards to the LCD viewfinder its only new Canon models that are coming with this ie my older 5D and 400D do not have this either. I did not realise Pentax was in partnership with Samsung learn somthing new everyday.

[John Parry]

Pentax and Samsung have a development agreement (although there are rumours of 'frank exchanges of views'. I think the K20D may have live-view capability by the way. The K200D definitely doesn't.

[Steven Gourlay]

Yeah after you saying that i did a few searches and Pentax Director was quoted saying their relationship is not perfect. :-)