Auto bellows A and a K10D

Hello,

I am soon going make the move to digital and purchase a K10D.
I was wondering if I will still be able to use my old auto bellows A and
100mm f.4 lens on the K10D? I was mainly thinking about the double
cable release. Does the K10D have a socket for this ?

Best regards,

/Ian

Hi Ian

I have the Auto Bellows K which I think is exactly the same as the A version. None of the Pentax DSLR's have the threaded socket on the shutter release (something they could have given us without to much expense IMO).

I use the mechanical cable release attached to the bellows along with the body cable release, you have to press the machanical release to close the aperture and hold it then activate the body release.

Hope this helps.

Hello Ian,

I have the auto bellows A and have used it with the *ist D. A couple of initial problems.

The first was mounting the camera onto the bellows. With the protrusion of the built in flash, the camera body mount adapter needed to be removed from the bellows unit, installed into the body and then remounted on the bellows...at a right angle to horizontal to get clearance (mine will not sit in the traditional horizontal mode and, if necessary, need to tip the tripod head ninety degrees -- not preferred as it does place a lot of weight off-side on the tripod).

The second concern was the cable release question you've alluded to. On this unit, the bellows mount cable connection can be depressed into the bellows body and turned CW to lock, thereby getting the correct aperature. My process is to take my readings with the aperature wide open, set the camera for a manual image, close the aperature (with the twist function) and then take the shot.

http://www.ephotozine.com/gallery/showlargepic.cfm?photoid=472009

This is a shot taken of a standard hardball baseball stitching with the setup.

My quick recommendation is to take the bellows with you and check the clearance before purchase. I don't konw if the external dimensions of the K10D are greatly different than the *ist D.

Hope this helps.

Al

Or you could just put a short extension tube between the camera and bellows.

For the cable release issue, Speedgraphic sell an adapter that allows you to use a mechanical cable release with any autofocus camera. I've not used one and it attaches to the camera with a velcro strap which looks like it might get in the way of the thumbwheel, but it could be worth a try.

Failing that, it wouldn't be too hard to rig up a cable release controlled electronic shutter lead (see the several threads on making your own CS 205 elsewhere on this forum).

Steve

http://www.siblingmedia.com/