Received the lens this morning. It certainly looks fine. "Mint" was a fair description. There is no Ricoh "program" pin, no problem mounting the lens on a K200D and no problem removing it afterwards.

After I'd finished shortening grass this afternoon, I leaned over the rear fence (with the lens supported on a bean bag) and took a photo of the playground at the far side of the field, maybe 120m or so away - just as a test. It was taken at ISO 200, f8, 1/640 as a raw, converted in Rawtherapee and twiddled with in Photoshop 7.

Full frame, resized ......



and this is a crop at 100% ....



Well, the lens works and looks pretty sharp to me. I'm really quite chuffed.


Andrew

Yeah, I did see that thread before I bid on the lens. In his next post, he says there isn't a problem mounting the lens - but that he was worried about the Rikenon "stuck lens" issue.

This is a bit odd, because this lens isn't a programme "P" lens (AFAIK) and doesn't have the pin that causes the problem. I have other Rikenon lenses (because I have a couple of Ricoh film bodies that I used to use), including one - a 35-70mm zoom - that did have the pin. It's easy to recognise and takes only a minute or two to remove.

Andrew

As I have a penchant for trying to get something for nothing (or little more than nothing) and for taking fliers without really doing enough research, I've just bought a supposedly mint Rikenon XR APO 300mm f4.5 PK fit lens for £53 on Fleabay. It comes with a built-in tripod mount and a lens hood. I haven't been able to find much on Google, but what there is suggests that it is rare and could be pretty good.

I'll post some test photos after it arrives. Does anyone have one of these lenses or have any experience of one that they could share?

Cheers
Andrew

THE SLUG - RIP

Thud ..... thud ..... thud ..... why is it going dark?






Taken around 2.30pm, 12/9/2009.
Pentax K200D + 18-55mm II kit lens
ISO 200, f5.6, 1/100

At the end of each day, I have a quick whizz through the shots I've taken that day and lose any that I don't want to keep. The real duffers don't get as far as being seen on a computer monitor. Couldn't you adopt a similar strategy?


Andrew

Isn't that what pros have always done? DSLRs now allow photographic dabblers (like me) to do it too. I'm not sure that this is anything to worry about.

Andrew

It looks to me like it could have been a scene from the end of a remake of the 1960's film Quatermass and the pit, where the Martian devil image floats above London. The lighter area in the cloud at the top left is a bit like the Martian's head in the old film.

Andrew

We usually holiday in a touring caravan - and this year went to Clachtoll in Sutherland (NW Scotland). Whilst the family is having a few minutes watching TV or reading a book, I can pop out and take "snaps" like these literally within a couple of hundred yards of the caravan.

Part of Clachtoll beach



Rocks at the end of the beach



I don't really let it worry me whether I take photographs or snaps - after all, as SWMBO says I'm not a real photographer anyway (whatever one of those is).

Cheers
Andrew

They are long life, low self-discharge hybrid rechargeables - like Eneloops. It looks like a great price too.

I use them in a K200D and battery grip and they are fine. (The Lithiums that came with the camera are still in their packaging).

Cheers
Andrew

Congratulations to the worthy winners and thanks to Hefty for the very positive comments. I'm glad I entered now - must have another go soon.