I have a number of A series lenses at home, so I decided it was high time I made an inventory. This has got me wondering does anyone know how the Pentax serial number scheme works ? Every A series lens I have starts with 5xxxxxx, except for my two 50mm f/1.7 lenses which have the series 15xxxxx and 23xxxxx.I cannot see an obvious pattern, but I am curious if it is possible to see when a particular lens, or camera body for that matter was made.

Cheers,

/Ian

Thanks for the quick reply, and the very detailed review.

I guess it's another case of you get what you pay for. I think I will keep my eyes peeled for the lesser spotted second hand smc-a, 20mm 2.8 and stop drinking beer for a while to help pay for it !

Cheers again,

/Ian

Hello,

Anyone ever used or have any opinions about the Cosina 20mm ? I'm after a manual focus 20mm prime, that does not cost the earth. Would love the smc-a 20mm, but the ocasional ones that turn up on ebay always end up well over my budget.

Cheers,

/Ian

Thanks for the fast reply.

Cheers,

/Ian

Hello,
I have a roll of Kodak HIE I would like to use. I am a little confused about what ASA to set the camera to. Want to try and get some dreamy type landscapes, so intent to shoot in quite brigt sunny conditions. Going to use my A15mm lens and Super A. The lens has a built in O2 filter which I hope will be red enough for the job.

Anyway, for bright sunny conditions and a O2 filter, what ASA setting should I set the camera to ?

Any other tips always welcome.

Cheers,

/Ian

Thanks for the tip. I own a SMC-A 50mm macro lens so I will give that a go at next weekend.

Cheers,

/Ian

Hello,

Finally, after months of saving, and then having to spend my savings on those things life unexpectedly throws at you somethimes, such as: servicing the car, new microwave, decorating the living room, tax bills etc, etc, I have finally got my hands on a shiny new K10D. What a wonderful piece of equipment it is. Worth the wait ? Absolutely. Relived the same feelling I had when I got my then brand new Super-A way back in the 1980's.

Anyway, has anyone out there used a K10D together with a slide copier attachment to scan in old slides ? If so were you happy with the results ? My slide collection is all on Kodachrome 64, and as I understand from the answer to another of my posts, the nature of K64 can cause problems on some dedicated slide scanners.

I'm only interested in getting some old family photo's into my PC. If I make any prints for the family album they will probably never be larger than 5"x4".

I already own Auto bellows A, and am thinking about getting the slide copier attachment if a reasonably priced one turns up on ebay.

Any thoughts ?

Cheers,

/Ian

Hello,

Just in case anyone else is interested in the future.

Yes, all Kodachrome in Europe is sent to Dwayne's in the USA for processing, and they offer a scanning to CD service for an extra charge.
There is also a postal charge for CD.

If you google to Dwayne's web site you can find details of costs etc, plus a copy of the order form you will need to include with your films.

Cheers,

/Ian

Hello,

Does anyone out there use Kodachrome 64 ? I used to use it years ago and after recently going through some old slides was reminded just what great a film it was (perhaps still is ?) Anyway I'm thinking about buying some rolls and I was wondering is it possible to get the images back digitally on a CD as well as the slides from processing ?

Cheers,

/Ian

Hello,

Thanks for the tips. The local library is closed, but luckly the www is always open. Found some useful information here:

http://www.mreclipse.com/LEphoto/LEphoto.html

The cloulds in this part of the world are breaking up, so perhaps I might get a chance to photograph the moon tonight after all.

Cheers again,

/Ian