dang, i have only recently bought an ME Super!

i am getting confused by the releases, but it is the trend of the industry - new models before the current ones have really finished their run and the constant gadgetry.

i do hope the 'trickery' fad will end and there will be a 'proper' bog standard camera - no video, no articulated screen - but i can't see that happening, which may be why i have reverted to film a lot.

i got a K-30 when it was released (i'd broken my K200d and needed a replacement and couldnt afford to upgrade) and it's a cracking camera, but i still prefer the K100d's image quality and still use it regularly.

saying that, the interval shooting mode on the k-30 has been great for playing with time-lapse. maybe we can have customised cameras! now that would be good.

i'm not really up on Pentax medium format film cameras - generally i use old TLRs for medium format. i would love a Pentax medium format film camera though, just can't afford one (i tend to set a limit of £75 for ebay/2nd hand camera purchases). i should read up a bit more.

i have just bought a ME Super on ebay! i should stop buying film cameras, but they are just so nice!

they were - ME, MG, P30t, P50, MX, SF7, SFX and another SF7. the MG looks to be broken, although it works in 1/100 mode. the SFs are awaiting a battery to see if they work. there was also other bits and pieces. the ME and MX will be taken out soon to snap again.

just need a medium format Pentax now.

nice one!

i still can't resist a bargain on ebay - hence the box of 8 pentax slr's that arrived last week! there is also something magical about holding a film camera after so many years away.

enjoy your baby

using 120 film recently makes you realise how good film is - i think digital has made me appreciate film more now. B&W on digital has always been frustrating - the K100d is good - but that sensor is fantastic for most things.

maybe the earlier digital cameras were trying to emulate film, whereas now they are approaching it differently. it could also be the reason that film is still doing well - there are two different views of the photography world and how they capture the images, digital are no longer just digitising what a film camera would capture.

anyway - it's a rubbish weekend and i only have 100iso film - this is where the modern world wins out.

to add to my new swag, i have just purchased chemicals and the final bits and pieces to process B&W film.

next job is to get some more batteries and then i'll start testing properly.

as the MX is manual i could use it without batteries as these only operate the meter which tells you if the shutter/aperture combination is correct - is that right? if i am metering manually, then that doesn't matter (i am used to 120 TLRs and using a light meter anyway).

Cheers, John.

luckily i had a couple of batteries from my odd collection of film cameras to try most of them out... only the MG looks to be duff, although it works in the 1/100 mode.

the SFs will need a different battery.

i found some manuals online and they seem pretty straight-forward. most are in pretty good shape... it's now time to decide what one to try out first - the ME and MX are head to head in the race.

i have just acquired, by a well-known online auction site, eight Pentax film cameras. sold as seen, they may work, they may not.

anyway, the haul consists of
ME
MG
P30t
P50
MX
SF7
SFX
and another SF7

plus a ME Winder and AF240Z flash

there is a manual for the P50, but none of the others, so off to search.

any tips for any of these? I do have a P30 (not the T version) but i'm used to clunky russian slrs and TLRs!

i love 120 film... i'm using TLRs mainly, plus a couple of 'toy' cameras and a lovely folding one that a friend gave me.

i'm too poor for 'real' medium format cameras, plus i tend to be out and about, so something reasonably portable is a must.

the detail in a 120 negative is amazing and the texture of the photos is just delicious. i've had shots from a Lomo Diana that would shame a DSLR.

my P30 (less than a fiver on amazon recently) has a window on the back so you can see what film is loaded. hpwever, i think there are different versions of the p30 as one online manual had the batteries inserted the opposite way to my one... cue many minutes of confusion and swearing as i couldn;t get the thing to work.

since most of my other film cameras are the plastic 'toy' kind, i am used to not knowing how many shots are left and forget to look at the counter on the p30.