One of our Chairman's sons at ADAPS has moved into the pressing of vinyl and he reports that business is buoyant. The demand is there and I'm sure that the demand for film will continue for a very, very long time.

Interestingly, at least two of our digital photographers have recently bought film cameras...

In the end, we can always process the films ourselves - in monochrome this may well be the route of choice anyway.

I don't think film is anywhere near dead yet, and in 20 years time I'm sure will still be available for those who want it. Perhaps the drop in digital sensor will have arrived ny then for our 35mm SLRs!

Don't forget that even now, if you know where to look, you can still get film isn 116, 127, 620, 828 and quite possibly othere obsolete sizes as well. And how many photographers are out there using these sizes? I suspect very few...

I use digital and film cameras and at the moment am tending back towards film, simply because of the quality. And that is not only the image quality, but also the quality of a nicely made metal camera with beautiful, silky smooth lenses.

Simply hold a Pentax...

This is one of the early Pentax zooms. It is huge and heavy by modern standards, but I understand its performance was very good. I do not have any personal experience of using the lens, perhaps someone else does?

Hi Roger

You'll find links in one of the message threads in this forum plus plenty of discussion about it - have a browse and you should find it OK.

When we do opt for an *istD (and it is ineveitably when, not if!) we will also be using all our older lenses. Looking forward to trying it all out myself...

To fully use the *istD you need lenses with electrical contacts, so that means from the A series onwards. If you want autofocus, then you need autofocus lenses of any of the types Pentax have produced.

Earlier lenses from the M and K series and even S series screw thread lenses can be used, but you need the firmware update from the Pentax website and their use may not even then be so convenient.

However, this is all pretty good compatability wise and I hope you enjoy your new *istD very soon! (We are still waiting for the price to dip below £1000 in a significant way...)

In those far off days when Sue and I were involved with Frankie Valli's fan club, I took quite a few concert shots at both small and large venues.

The following seemed to work pretty well:

Small venues such as the Sheffield fiesta: Short telephoto such as 100mm f2.8, Kodak Tri-X film (400 ISO) exposures guessed and bracketed but generally survived OK! Don't forget minimum shutter speeds to stop camera shake. (Colour film would also work)

Larger venues are less inspiring as the line of sight is not so good, but getting a seat close in is a good start. I think a 300mm lens might be too slow.

I guess that there may be restrictions on photography at some venues that should be considered. In 1972 things were more casual. Do check the situation before arriving with a hugh gadget bag full of kit!

Have fun!

I just picked up a rather nice SMC Pentax-M 50mm f4 Macro lens, but just missed out on an Elicar 90mm f2.5 Macro, which is one of the few outstanding Independent lenses.

I think the P30 series sort of over-lapped the days when 50mm standard lenses gave way to 28-80mm zooms, so I would forgive a vague answer to some degree! (Including this one, I hope!) What constitutes a "standard lens" is traditionally considered to be one with a focal length equal to the diagonal m,easurement of the format. This is thought to give a view that equates to our human vision and for 35mm cameras would be 43mm.

Now pentax do, uniquely, supply a superb 43mm lens, but in practice I could recommend any pentax 50mm or 55mm bayonet lens as a good standard.

If you mean the first basic zoom as a standard lens, then this started as 35-70mm but soon extended to 28-80mm.

My criteria? If possible, a constant f number, so the SMC Penta-A 35-70mm f4 zoom fits well with your camera. Or a good 50mm, such as the SMC Pentax-A 50mm f1.7, again, ideal for your camera.

If by standard lens, however, you meant the one that fits in usually with your view of the world, then the lens I would use most would be the 24mm! But that is digressing.....

Hope you continue to enjoy your photography - welcome to the PentaxUser forum!

I didn't get a key with mine! (But It's 20 years too late to complain...)