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Comment by Jonathan-Mac posted on PENTAX 17: B&W and C41 Colour First Tests at 19/08/2024 - 09:35
While I haven't used any Sigma cameras, the L-mount is my main system these days so I have some familiarity with it. For something that's FF in as small a package possible there is also the new Lumix S9. Both cameras have some serious sacrifices to make them that small - no viewfinder, no mechanical shutter, no weather sealing - and due to that they're certainly not cameras I'd want to use, however they have their fans. It depends on how you plan to use it and what kind of photography you do.
The L-mount is also not the best place to find compact lenses. There's a 26mm f/8 manual focus "lens cap" lens, a soon-to-be-released 18-40mm slow zoom and the Sigma 45mm f/2.8 Contemporary lens and for now that's it for relatively compact lenses, and none will bring you very close to the form factor of a GR. The lenses are universally superb (I have eight between Panasonic and Sigma) but they're not small or light by traditional standards. In fact, it's usually better to add an adapter and a small DSLR lens from another system to get the most compact form possible. The smallest combo I have is a Konica 40mm f/1.8 on an AR to L adapter, though the Pentax M 50/1.7 plus adapter comes a close second, as would a Canon EF 40/2.8 on adapter, which has the advantage of being fully automatic, if not a fast focuser.
The L-mount is also not the best place to find compact lenses. There's a 26mm f/8 manual focus "lens cap" lens, a soon-to-be-released 18-40mm slow zoom and the Sigma 45mm f/2.8 Contemporary lens and for now that's it for relatively compact lenses, and none will bring you very close to the form factor of a GR. The lenses are universally superb (I have eight between Panasonic and Sigma) but they're not small or light by traditional standards. In fact, it's usually better to add an adapter and a small DSLR lens from another system to get the most compact form possible. The smallest combo I have is a Konica 40mm f/1.8 on an AR to L adapter, though the Pentax M 50/1.7 plus adapter comes a close second, as would a Canon EF 40/2.8 on adapter, which has the advantage of being fully automatic, if not a fast focuser.
Comment by Jonathan-Mac posted on Anyone used a Sigma FP or FP-L ? at 19/08/2024 - 09:24
Seems like a decent deal: https://www.cashconverters.co.uk/shop/phones-cameras--computers/cameras/dslr--sl...
Comment by Jonathan-Mac posted on K1 on Cash Converters £749.99 at 16/08/2024 - 12:34
George Lazarette wrote:
If I use the same logic to calculate what I paid for my K2DMD in the package it came in then it cost me zero. But those kind of opportunities don't come along often.Jonathan-Mac wrote:
If you like the K2 you should try the K2DMD...
I own three K2s but none of them is fully working due to their tendency to get gummed up inside and require a very deep CLA to fix.
Tempting. But they go for quite a lot of money. My new K2 came with a pristine SMC K 50 1:1.4 which I reckon was worth £75.00 on its own. As the total package was £100.00, that prices the K2 at £25.00. Quite a bargain for a little-used and well cared-for camera.If you like the K2 you should try the K2DMD...
I own three K2s but none of them is fully working due to their tendency to get gummed up inside and require a very deep CLA to fix.
Comment by Jonathan-Mac posted on What's your latest acquisition? at 08/08/2024 - 21:22
George Lazarette wrote:
I think I may have been the first on this forum, and if not I was certainly one of the first, to buy a Pentax digital camera. At the time I was sure I would never buy another film in my life.
Fast forward 20 years, and I have recently acquired five film cameras and am loving the experience (though not the cost) of putting film through them.
Five??? Yes. One is a K2, in very good condition. It replaces the one that was stolen from me in 1975! Next come two SVs. First I bought a dodgy one for almost no money, fell in love with it, so then bought one that works. The SV is a really lovely camera. It's basically an SP2 without meter or hot-shoe, and is therefore slightly smaller than a Spotty (and nicer looking in MHO).
Next came two non-working ME Fs, without the AF lens. The ME F is a superb camera; much nicer and more capable than the ME Super (because it has focus confirmation - useful for old codgers). Sadly, they suffer from a Fatal Flaw. The battery compartment and cover are the very worst things Pentax ever made, and are not easy to repair.
So at the moment I am using the K2 with a 50mm 1:1.2 lens, and the SV with a traditional 55mm 1:1.8. And I am waiting to get back the film I shot on the Super A with 40mm.
I love my digital cameras, but these new ones are something else. The Super A is in danger of being knocked off its pedestal as my favourite camera of all time. Both the K2 (so purposeful and strong) and the SV (so beautiful) are now in contention for the top slot.
I like to think that I won't buy any more cameras, but a good LX going cheap might yet persuade me to open my wallet. Sadly, it would probably cost three times what I paid for the other five.
Unlike most here I started the other way - I bought a DSLR first and then a couple of years later branched out to film and started buying film cameras. I used film compacts when I was younger but just for taking snapshots, I wasn't remotely interested in photography as such. There's nothing quite like using a fine mechanical camera and lens and for many people, myself included, the first experience leads to buying and trying a multitude of others, each of which has a different feel.I think I may have been the first on this forum, and if not I was certainly one of the first, to buy a Pentax digital camera. At the time I was sure I would never buy another film in my life.
Fast forward 20 years, and I have recently acquired five film cameras and am loving the experience (though not the cost) of putting film through them.
Five??? Yes. One is a K2, in very good condition. It replaces the one that was stolen from me in 1975! Next come two SVs. First I bought a dodgy one for almost no money, fell in love with it, so then bought one that works. The SV is a really lovely camera. It's basically an SP2 without meter or hot-shoe, and is therefore slightly smaller than a Spotty (and nicer looking in MHO).
Next came two non-working ME Fs, without the AF lens. The ME F is a superb camera; much nicer and more capable than the ME Super (because it has focus confirmation - useful for old codgers). Sadly, they suffer from a Fatal Flaw. The battery compartment and cover are the very worst things Pentax ever made, and are not easy to repair.
So at the moment I am using the K2 with a 50mm 1:1.2 lens, and the SV with a traditional 55mm 1:1.8. And I am waiting to get back the film I shot on the Super A with 40mm.
I love my digital cameras, but these new ones are something else. The Super A is in danger of being knocked off its pedestal as my favourite camera of all time. Both the K2 (so purposeful and strong) and the SV (so beautiful) are now in contention for the top slot.
I like to think that I won't buy any more cameras, but a good LX going cheap might yet persuade me to open my wallet. Sadly, it would probably cost three times what I paid for the other five.
If you like the K2 you should try the K2DMD...
I own three K2s but none of them is fully working due to their tendency to get gummed up inside and require a very deep CLA to fix.
Comment by Jonathan-Mac posted on What's your latest acquisition? at 08/08/2024 - 09:32
I have a small item to buy from SRS and I know members used to get free delivery from them - does that still apply, is there a minimum price to qualify and how is it done on their website?
Many thanks
Many thanks
Comment by Jonathan-Mac posted on Do we still get free delivery from SRS? at 02/08/2024 - 16:54
I hope you find something soon John and don't let it get you down. In my experience these unforeseen events can often turn into a positive, though it may be difficult to see at the outset.
Comment by Jonathan-Mac posted on FS: Voigtlander Color-Skopar SL Aspherical 20mm f3.5 plus LH-20 Hood at 30/07/2024 - 09:37
Isolated colour in an otherwise B&W image screams of gimmickry to me, I've never liked it. So the first one.
Comment by Jonathan-Mac posted on Sculpture Image: Original or Colour Pop? at 26/07/2024 - 08:55
This is a bargain price - if I didn't already have one I'd snatch this up! Smoothest focusing of any lens I've ever owned.
Comment by Jonathan-Mac posted on FS: Super-Takumar 105mm f2.8 at 17/07/2024 - 17:04
I saw one a few weeks ago in a shop in Madrid but didn't have time to ask if I could have a play, maybe after the summer.
Comment by Jonathan-Mac posted on Pentax 17 at 12/07/2024 - 08:56
That was exactly my reaction to it Karlo. Why pay that extortionate price when you can get better on Ebay? e.g., an analogue *ist.
And, at the end of the day, if you are going to digitize the images and electronically manipulate them, why use film to capture them in the first place?