Hi Stefan - yes you can get the camera converted (costs more than the camera though!) and you have the advantave of being able to used handheld shutter speeds. Lens coatings don't help - it's a filter on the sensor that stops cameras from being able to do fast IR shots, and that needs to be removed/replaced with something else that lets the IR through to the sensor.

HG is right too - converting the camera means it's no longer usable for normal shots, and in this case I share the body with my kids, so they wouldn't thank me for that.....

HG - get the filter: it's cheap and fun! With the K100DS, exposures of around 1 second at f11 and ISO400 seem to do the trick in bright conditions. PP is pretty easy too, once you know how to do it. For people with K20D or K-7 it's still possible, but exposures probably need to be at least 10 seconds, so only possible on still days unless you don't mind blur.

Cheers,

Jon

Thanks for the kind words Konrad. Have you noticed much difference shooting at 10MP rather than 14 on the K20D? I'm quite attracted to the smaller file sizes, but wonder whether you can notice any image quality difference at anything other than pixel peeping level?

Jon

It's something I do on occasion with the K100DS I bought refurbished, and which is mainly used by the kids. The old 6MP dSLRs (ie Pentax and Nikon) are quite easy to use with cheap R72 filters (at least they're cheap in the size you need for kit lenses!) and the results can be fun. Nice to see places you're familiar with in a completely "different light".

Here's a couple of examples from a recent trip to Vermont to see my outlaws:







And from a closer to home, a couple taken around Dulwich in South London:







I still think the 6MP cameras were great anyway (and actually would be very happy if my K-7 had a few less MP too...), and this is one more reason why I hope mine keeps going for a long time yet. Anyone else had a go?

Cheers,

Jon

Hi SMC - thanks for the heads-up. I'm having a think as the Ffordes lens sounds like it's got more signs of wear and tear than I want ideally. For info - the Opteka is a rebadged Samyang lens, is MF, has an A on the aperture ring, and is FF. It performs brilliantly from wide open, but Pentax/Nikon lenses start to do better once they are stopped down. Not putting it up for sale unless I get an FA77 though....

As it says in the title really.

Interested in acquiring decent (ie as close to mint as possible) FA31 and possibly FA77. Colour not important.

If there's a 31 out there, I'd be looking to sell or trade a 35mm FA and 28mm SMCA (I know that someone selling a 31 is unlikely to want either of these). Similarly, the 77 would be replacing a 70mm DA Ltd and an Opteka (Samyang) 85mm f1.4 (I know ditto....). All of my lenses are in excellent condition and all bar the 28mm are boxed.

If you have one of these lying around unused for some inexplicable reason, let me know by sending PM!

Best wishes,

Jon

Another vote for IKEA (same ones as Richard). They're neat, simple, reasonably priced and look good too.

SMC - you've got a good one - I'm pretty sure that if memory serves me right I can vouch for this particular lens! It accompanied me to Botswana amongst other places, and it is capable of amazingly sharp shots.

You'll be fine with practice.

MF done well is sometimes more reliable than AF, especially when shooting at wide apertures, which you may be doing for some portraits.

And it wasn't that long ago that all photographs were taken with MF lenses in any case.

Ok, the viewfinder was bigger and brighter, which helps a lot, but you could always consider buying the OME53 magnifying eyepiece, which will help with MF lenses (unless you wear glasses, in which case the eye relief may not be sufficient for you to see the whole of the viewfinder). These come up frequently on this forum, and should not be too expensive.

on istDS it'll be equivalent to a 75mm - a nice length for portraits, and the fast aperture will help for that too.

I agree with John - without a price, a photograph or two, and a lot more information about its condition and use (eg how many shutter clicks) you might struggle to get much interest. £800 is massively optimistic too - look hard enough in the UK and you could buy a new set for quite a lot less than that.