I'd rather have a Quantum battery for my 283's, then again I also have several full frame Pentax cameras

Hi Simon,

I'm new to the Pentax DSLRs (big film user), so my comments are possibly ill informed, but for what they're worth:

1) From the specs the image quality will be higher, but will you 'see' it?, possibly not unless you're pushing the KR to its limit.
2) In the days of film, image quality concerned the film & lens used along with how accurately the camera aligned them to where they should be and how solid the camera was mounted. With a DSLR it's much more down to the sensor and software (assuming the lens is the same).
3) Will your photography improve with a K-5? not necessarily but you'll have more tools, more options (and possibly more confidence in the body etc.). You're really buying more versatility.

Before buying my K-5 body I looked at them both, what sold me the K-5 was the top plate LCD (I can turn the rear screen off and still see the exposure details), the construction, the PC socket and the general feeling of completeness. I have two LX's so things like this matter to me (even if I rarely use them).

Had I had a K-R it would have been a harder decision, but starting from 'scratch' (admittedly with loads of K-mount lenses), the K-5 was the better option. Had the shop not had a K-5, I'd have bought the K-R and considered the saving over a K-5 as significant.

'Upgrading' is perhaps the wrong word, you'll probably want to keep the K-R as a 'back-up' body if you decide to get the K-5.

Hi All,

I've just picked up an ME-F which appears to have a fault with the electronic focus indicator. When turning the AF on (or activating the meter from a half press of the shutter relase), I get the 'in focus' indicator flashing green. This is immediatelty replaced with a continuous right pointing arrow which is still displayed when the lens hits infinity (M 50/1.7)

I'm guessing the answer is that it's not repairable (which other AF system is likely to work after 30+ years), but any suggestions would be gratefully received.

John.

I'm new to the current Pentax line (having lost interest in all things digital since Pentax had a slow start), although I have loads of film gear.

A couple of weeks ago I found a BJP article about the K-01 and did a bit more reading, then I found out that Ricoh had bought the company, a week later I bought a K-5 body. I see Ricoh as a big step in bringing Pentax back to where they should always have been.

As others have mentioned, Pentax has a unique magic (once I held the K-5 I knew exactly how it worked - at least the photo side), but I wouldn't have bought it without knowing about the Ricoh deal. Ricoh had been using the K mount for film cameras for years (and the XR-X was always 'unique').

I see the K-01 as a must have in the line-up, the quirkier the better (because a boring 'same-as' camera wouldn't have the impact needed to get new Pentax users into the system). The 40mm pancake lens will help with this too.

I was pleased with the comment about the 'excitment' of using a proper finder), shows the guy really understands things from a photographers viewpoint.

I'm very hopeful for the future.

Trying again:



Illuminated Traffic Cone by John Halliwell, on Flickr

OK, I can link to an image on my website, but not one in my Flickr account (I get the box with a red cross in IE which will take me to the link) but nothing in Firefox.

Any ideas?

Hopefully there's an image here...




And here:




Is there?

Hi Andrew,

I've got an old Lowepero Orion Trekker (camera bottom part, daysack top part) which is really useful. The closest I've found in their current range might be the 'Orion DayPack 200'. I found it comfortable, although you need to take it off and rest it on something to get anything out of it.

The Fastbacks look like they would hold a DSLR and lens better with the 'T' shape cutout (which is difficult to arange in my Orion Trekker).

John.

The LX is a great camera with a huge list of advatages compared to rest of the Pentax manual focus cameras. There are a few things to watch though (as always with most 30yr old cameras):

- They were professional cameras and many have been used as such, so there will be some that have seen heavy professional use.
- The mirrors are prone to sticking (as with many old cameras), I have two with this problem (there shouldn't be any lag from fully depressing the shutter release to the shutter firing). I presume you can still get these serviced to fix this (approx. £100 last time I looked).
- It uses an interchangeable viewfinder (really useful), but you should check that it locks firmly into place with minimal slop.

But it is a fantastic camera:
- Shoots from 1/75th to 1/2000th & B without batteries.
- During long exposures it meters during the exposure closing the shutter after it has received enough light.
- Excellent big, bright finder.
- Full finder info even without batteries (aperture, speed, exposure compensation warning).

If you want a fully mechanical camera like the FM2 then the MX is the best choice (shoots at any speed without batteries) and again has full finder info.

When I was looking for a good 'walkabout' lens when shooting film (I was after a moderate-wide to standard length), I had the M 40/2.8 pancake & 50/1.7 and considered the 35/2. It's a difficult choice if you are only going to carry one lens (it will often be the wrong one for effect you're after). Even if you bought them all, you might still struggle to decide which to take with you.

I like primes of this length as they are 'sort-of' convenient to carry in pockets (especially the pancake) and not having the bulk of a zoom on the camera makes it feel far more portable. I agree that the 35/2.4 would be a good start and using this with your existing 50mm (at least initially) will give you coverage at both ends (and 35 is almost 40 anyway).

For portraits, the 50/1.7 (or better still a 1.4) is probably going to be the best option.

My favourite setup for a while was a Super-A, Motordrive-A & 40mm pancake.