The city of Calpe shot from the Rock of Ifach. Fuji Superia scanned with Minolta Dimage 5400. No postprocessing. C&C are welcome!

[IMG]http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz50/bjolester/CALPE_3.jpg[/IMG]

A great set, although my favourite is number 3 B&W adds to the atmosphere of the images.

Best regards
Bjørn

I could possible be sniffing at a new career then - postcard photographer in Spain But then sadly my "style" is outdated...

I know that my images in this post are not that great artistically, probably should I have posted these in another tread in another context. But I would be very grateful to get some feedback from you all whether or not I am on the right track with the Spotmatic and shooting film. Are my images for instance reasonably sharp?

I was on holiday in Spain earlier this summer, staying in the town of Moraira, about 100km south of Valencia. My main camera for the holiday was my Spotmatic with the Super-Takumar 50mm 1.4. I used two kinds of 400asa film: Fuji Provia 400X slide film and Fuji Superia x-tra 400 for colour prints. I have scanned the images on the Minolta Dimage Scan 5400, and done no other post processing than slight cropping. These are my first attempts with shooting analog film for maybe 20 years, and I would very much like to get some feedback on technique etc. Are for instance the images as sharp as could be expected with the camera I used? My main camera is the K20D, and when pixel-peeping these images from the Spotmatic are very different, as should be expected I guess I fitted the Spotmatic with a Varta V394 1.5v battery, and the Provia slide film showed that the light meter is "reasonably accurate". Maybe there is a slight tendency towards overexposure, but I need to experiment further with the Spotmatic. C & C are welcome!

Theme: Fishing villages and mass tourism:

1. Moraira Marina 1 (Fuji Superia)
[IMG]http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz50/bjolester/MORAIRA_1.jpg[/IMG]

2. Moraira Marina 2 (Fuji Provia)
[IMG]http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz50/bjolester/MORAIRA_2B.jpg[/IMG]

3. Calpe 1 (Fuji Provia)
[IMG]http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz50/bjolester/CALPE_1B.jpg[/IMG]

4. Calpe 2 (Fuji Provia)
[IMG]http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz50/bjolester/CALPE_2.jpg[/IMG]

I have made some enquires about Tokina service/repair possibilities. Some of them point towards Tokina Service Europe B.V. in the Netherlands. Does anyone have any experience with them?

Bjørn

Thank you for your help! Hopefully all that is needed is an adjustment.

Bjørn

After having used the 80-400mm a bit during the last few days, it seems there is something wrong with the zoom mechanism. Sometimes the zoom barrels gets stuck in one position, only after some careful manipulation it regains its normal function. Well - that´s part of the fun of shopping on eBay

In case I cannot find anyone to repair the lens in Norway: Is there a really good Tokina repair workshop in the UK?

Best regards
Bjørn

Thank you Algi for your advice about zooming vertically, it seems like a good measure against putting unecessary strain on the zoom mechanism. I believe I will make a habit of pointing mine upwards, and then extend to 400mm Hopefully the zoom ring action may become more smooth by using the lens on a regular basis. I paid $340 on ebay for the lens, which I believe is a good price for a mint condition Tokina 80-400mm. So, if the lens need service, I will still be happy

I will keep in mind what you say about aperture and performance.

Best regards
Bjørn

I was recently lucky to win a Tokina AT-X 80-400mm series 1 lens om evil-bay, and I picked it up at the post office today. The lens is more or less in mint condition, the only pronounced place where one can find evidence of use is in the filter treads. But - the zoom ring action is a bit uneven, especially around 250mm. Could I be correct in assuming that the lens just needs to be used, that the zoom mechanism has stiffened from (possibly) not having been used for a long time? Or should I perhaps send it off to service before using it?

I am thankful for any advice on this matter!

Best regards
Bjørn

Thank you all for your help! I will try to do a comparison of the M and K (and the 18-55mm) lenses, like you suggest, in the near future, and post some photos here.

Bjørn