Macros For Sale FA50 & FA100 & macro flash

Well I've finally decided to switch kit completley so I'm selling my most used can't live without items now. Will ebay tomorrow or in a weeks time, depends on how quickly I can get photos of them. I will edit in the Ebay links when they're listed.

FA100 F2.8 with caps, case, filter & box (though lost polystyrene from box). Beautifull condition optically,mechanically and cosmetically mint- all round. This one has the focus limiter etc, all metal built like a tank. Yours for £250 delivered.

FA50 F2.8 This is supposed to be the sharpest lens Pentax ever made and I beleive them. This one is very beaten up, I bought it reconditioned ( by a hammer by the looks of it ) and probably paid well over the odds for it. Cosmetically poor ( the plastic window has a crack ), mechanically the filter ring has a bash so it's hard to get the filter on, however it works perfectley, very smooth focus, excellent optical condition and this lens optically is a real star. Grab a bargain £110 delivered. I have the box for this one too.

Vivitar Macro flash for Pentax, includes 52mm,55mm and 58mm rings works perfectley, uses TTL or manual so will work on all film bodies from LX onwards, istD, DS , DS2 but as the later bodies don't have ttl not on automatic on the K10, K20. Working in manual mode involves setting the correct aperture for the distance as the flash will always fire on full power so not as usefull as in automatic mode. Condition is very good, have the original box ( I think ) only one year old £65 delivered.

More items to come.

Wow, what a surprise John . . . not.

I wouldn't advertize your DS here though, everybody else in the forum except you knows it's a dud.

Good luck with your Nikon.

Thanks, I really only made up my mind yesterday, you knew before I did.

I will advertise the DS here if I sell it so at least everyone can avoid it !

It's not a complete dud though it just didn't like a lot of prime lenses. It was ok with all the modern zooms and some primes like both macros and the FA50 so it would still be good for macro or with the kit 18-55 or 50-200.

Given what we have seen of your thought processes, that is probably not unusual.

G

What brand are you moving to John?

I am now a Nikon convert

I must admit it would be interesting if John and Gary were to hang around here long enough to give us their impressions of life with Nikon.

Pluses/Minuses compared with Pentax, kind of thing. As one that's only ever had Pentax, I've led a very cloistered life.

Pentaxke, who posts here occasionally is gradually moving over to Fuji (which uses Nikon lenses). He just doesn't like the new Pentax range, and was impressed with the dynamic range of the Fuji S3 when he borrowed one. So now he has bought one and is selling off a lot of his Pentax gear. Seems to be a bit of a trend.

I'm just about to start a thread in the Digital SLR section, because I had an interesting chat to a sales advisor in a camera shop today. Full frame, new lenses, etc. Seems someone's is investing a lot of money in Pentax, and I assume that's Hoya.

If it's true, you can expect to see a lot of new lenses popping up on the roadmap. So at least one of the gripes of most non-pentax users, and some pentax users too, would be knocked on the head.

Dan

D300 out at weekend, Zero PP required shooting RAW .NEFs at 12bits. Only required cropping.

I would have had to spend some time PP same images taken with K10D.

Now I feel I can go out and shoot without having to work the images in Photoshop to pull out the information captured.

Well if thats the only difference I am happy to carry on with my K10D.
Considering the price difference between the K10D and D300 plus the lenses I think a bit of messing around in Lightroom (which I actually quite enjoy) is a small price to pay.

Pretty sure that's not the only difference.
I think you'd struggle to achieve the same quality of image that the D300 produces, however much time is spent in Lightroom.
I know I'd consider a Nikon switch if the pennies weren't an issue.
Brand loyalty is a strange thing and I'll never understand why people get so wound up in it - I guess it all comes down to money.

Yes I know that thanks but it was the only reason given , I have a friend who has one and yes it is certainly better than my K10D but at the end of the day are his pictures 3 times better than mine? Nope but was his camera 3 times more expensive than mine .. yup.
I only started out with a DSLR 4 months ago and chose the K10D purely on price compared to Nikon and Canon bodies that had lesser features for the same outlay.
Would I buy a D300 now? .. maybe, I may even do so at a later date but then I would hope Pentax (or Samsung) bring out something that is just as good by time I feel advanced enough to upgrade.

Can we see some of the results?

Differences ? Between Pentax & Nikon.
Well you all know the problems I've had with my DS, it was really only when I tried to use the old lenses that I had an auto focus issue. I can't damn all Pentax cameras for that. The fact that both the Pentax K20D & Nikon D300 both have adjustment for multiple lenses show that this is a general problem and they acknowledge the fact and are doing something about it.

However with auto focus I was once bitten twice shy so when the D50 proved to be ok I thought might as well go with it.

Things that niggled with Pentax in general.
Not keen on new bigger bodies, would like a more sculpted grip.
Still no macro flash. I couldn't have a new body and flash that works with it, 2 macroa & no flash are they serious.

77mm Limited seems optically inferior to old M series 85mm ? 70mm only F2.8 ? I like the size and the quality but would like F2.

New 17-70 looks nice but wont work with DS so whatever happens I'd have to buy a new body.

Pentax best zoom lenses can be bought in other mounts under the Tokina brand and without the quality control problems.

This all sounds a bit negative I know, having said all that I like a lot about Pentax and it suits me better than any other brand, feels right, you get more body and lenses for your money than the others.

Comparing the DS & D50 ? It's not really fair to judge each brand by comparing two three year old bodies against each other so bear that in mind. These are just my personal feelings.

Nikon D50 pros
More responsive in general, menus and operation much more nippy.
Images much sharper.
Can change things like iso and flash without going into menus.
This particular one focuses more accurately than my DS.
Feels a bit more solid but its very marginal.
Viewfinder brighter but not so maginified.
Flash sync an 1/500 with any flash ? Good.
Hyper programme equivalent with only one wheel ? Good idea.

D50 cons
Blows highlights more easily.
Raw buffer only 3 shots (DS is 5)
colours a bit more washed out
No mirror lock up which is very annoying using a tripod. (this is the thing that annoys me most)
Bit bulkier possibly a wee bite heavier.
Button not flush so can be knocked easily, they dont click like the DS this makes automatic image review unusable which is annoying too.
No decent software with camera, the Pentax stuff isn't the best but it's a lot better than the stuff that comes with Nikon.
No DOF preview which makes macro work a real pain.

Overall I'd like the DS to be as sharp and responsive as the D50 and focus as well then it would be the better camera or I'd like the D50 to have DOF preview, colours like the Pentax, buttons like the Pentax and mirror lock up then it would be the better camera.

I've just bought a new Nikon 50mm F1.4, it will be interesting to see how it compares to the Pentax. I'll let you know. Hope someone is still interested

If it does what you need it to do there is no reason to change. I just needed a new body because of focusing issues, if I'd liked any of the Pentax bodies at the time I could have gone that way too.