And for that matter, let's throw the DA 35mm Limited into the mix. I know it's sharp as English cheddar, but does it focus fast enough in low light compared to the DA 40 Ltd?

Hello,

Just brought my Kx back from my Thanksgiving trip to the states. Absolutely love it (especially at the US price)! Low light with the Sigma 30 1.4 is awesome, but I'm thinking I REALLY want the DA 40 Ltd for an ultra compact walk around setup (that's still good in low light w/ Kx's high ISO performance). Dont think I can justify owning both so I'm eager to test out the 40mm to put my curiosity to bed.

Would any DA 40 Ltd owners in London want to meet up and swap lenses for an hour or two? First round o pints is on me! Fire over a PM and let's meet up.

S O L D

Epson 2400 still for sale in other ad tho!

Helloooooo,

Funding Kx & tele lens purchase, so up for sale is my Epson R2400 printer. Prints A3+ on most pro quality thick papers or even 44” wide panoramic if you buy the paper rolls! This is the predecessor model to the R2880. Full stats here - http://www.epson.co.uk/Printers-and-All-In-Ones/Inkjet/Epson-Stylus-Photo-R2400.

To be honest, I haven’t used it very much at all. I couldn’t get my monitor calibrated right, then get all the right paper profiles, yadda yadda. I got all motivated about two months ago, went out and bought a full set of proper Epson inks (over 100 quid worth), had a friend calibrate my monitor, etc. etc. Now I still can’t get the profiles right and even though the head cleaning cycle comes out perfect, the test print hues are slightly off. I don’t print enough anyway so I decided I’ll pay for some of the Kx by offering this fine printer up to someone who will actually use it.

Here is what’s included:

Epson R2400 – excellent condition, with the manual an all the attachments including the paper roll holder. I think I misplaced the setup disc, but I can burn the program off my computer onto a DVD if it doesn’t turn up. Or I believe you can just downloaded from Epson for free…
Fresh set of Epson ink – most of them were just installed not long ago, and a few are still in package (including the matte black).
Two boxes of Ilford semi gloss pro paper – One box of about 25 A3 and one box of 100 A4.

Most online retailers have the Epson for sale for about £500 - £600. The inks were bought at London Graphic Design Centre (yeah, a little overpriced) for about £125, and the paper was over £50 I think. Total current value if new is about £650.

Asking £325 for everything. I’m in Central London and can show just about any evening. Not interested in trades right now, thanks.

Let me know what you think,
Mugs

Hello hello,

The Kx bug has bit me hard, so up for sale is my trusty K200D, kit lens and Sigma Zoom. Not only was this my first DSLR, but first camera I've owned EVER. Wish I could keep both but the bank says NO!

Included in sale:

Pentax K200D - excellent condition, approx 5,000 shots taken. Have the manual, white sensor cavity cap, strap, and I think a Magic Lantern guide somewhere if I can find it.

Pentax 18-55 AL kit lens - works well, but this lens took a tumble (not on camera) and part of the focus ring feels tighter as you focus in/out. Might be a slight bend in one of the gear teeth. Tested the lens and it works fine including AF - perfect for a backup lens if you intend on using in extreme conditions (or they are cheap enough new as it is). Includes front & rear caps.

Sigma 28-300mm F3.5-6.3 - Perfect condition includes front & rear caps.

Amazon has the K200D w/ kit lens for just under £500. Most online retailers have the Sigma for just over £250. Total current new value = £750.

Asking £375 for the lot taking the kit lens "issue" into consideration. Not interested in trades at the moment, thanks! I'm in central London and can show just about any evening.

Cheers,
Mugs

Tested the lens last night at a few pubs. Friggin fantastic. Got some shots in almost ZERO light by bumping the ISO up. The K200D still did plenty of hunting, and I definitely missed my fair share of shots in AF and MF, but I couldn't immagine more challenging conditions. Very happy with the Sigma. Now it's time to find a Sigma 70-200 F2.8 APO EX!

Chris - these calibration adjustments actually make me feel MORE confident in my gear. After reading hundreds of posts on "quality controll issues" with ANY brand of lens, it had me second guessing my gear on every OOF shot always wondering if I bought a shitty copy.

Now I know that 99% of all lenses (at least from Pentax, Sigma, Tamron, and the other good manufacturers) are perfect copies and any focus issues can be cheaply corrected. None of the "if you get a sharp copy" crap.

Yup, Sigma would only adjust the lens as they can't technically mess with a non Sigma product. I think there is some sort of mechanical adjustments that Sigma can make to the different lens groupings to correct IN THE LENS.

So if I really wanted everything perfect, I'd send in my new (not even bought yet) Pentax Kx and Pentax Lenses to a Pentax shop first and get them all calibrated togeather. Then, I'd send the Kx and Sigma lenses off to Sigma, and they would adjust only the lenses to match the body. Everything in harmony and the world can turn again (and by the time that was all finished, the K8 would be out!)

Good explanation Mike.

And dont forget that last but not least - you can send your body & lens to Sigma UK and they'll calibrate the lens to your specific body - FOR FREE if you're still in warranty. That way, you can do the AF Ajust to get it as close as possible for all the Pentax lenses, then send the body & lens off to Sigma to adjust the 30f1.4 to your body.

Fella at Sigma UK said it would only take about 2 weeks. Some dealers may even pay the shipping for you.

Chris - Honestly, the process is NOT that complicated. I just explained every single step in detail. Step 2-6 takes about 2 mins total. Testing would have been much quicker too if I had a real test chart.

I don't think there is too much risk to bricking your camera with this one. There is much more risk when you're trying to upgrade firmware yourself. This "hack" is just a trick to access the camera's factory installed hidden setup features without needing official Pentax equipment.

You might not notice FF/BF unless you're shooting less than f2.0, because the depth of field from f2.0< is enough to compensate for slightly off focus points.

MikeW - I agree that all cameras should have individual lens adjustments. It's simply an addition to the software/firmware that wouldn't cost the Manufacturers a dime to immplement. Even if it was just 5 that would be fine for me. I think they exclude that feature simply to make you want to upgrade to the highest end models. LAME.

However for now, I'm going to buy two of the cheapest, smalled SD cards I can find to load the Debug Enable & Disable scripts onto. I'm just an amature shooting mostly friends, travel & sports - so I don't need to change lenses all that often, and if I do it doesnt need to be very quickly. That'll be a 5 quid solution.

If I could cram the Kx guts into the K200D body, add 5 custom lens profiles (w/ AF Adjust), add a prism VF and front exposure adjust dial, I'd be totally jazzed.

Hey hey,

Was a little frustrated with my K200D and new Sigma 30 1.4. Was very noticeably front focusing at wide apertures, which I why I bought the stinkin lens anyway. After a few days of reading posts where most people said it didn't work, I found this thread and tried it myself - http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/75223-k200d-autofocus-...

I also typed out detailed instructions on exactly what I did. Use at your own risk but it worked fine for me:

Holy-sh*t-house-mouse, it works. AF adjust on the K200D.

Noticed some significant front focusing with my new Sigma 30 f1.4. A bunch of my pics from our friends Halloween party were OOF, but a few accidental shots were dead sharp, so I new it was just calibration. Ran the above commands but accidentally set it to -120 first time and WOW what a difference. Retested & trimmed that back to -50 and I think I'm good. Need to do some field testing next time I go to the pub for some low light portraits but after a few days of researching I'm happy this actually works .

Notes for newbs running PCs, as I'm a complete newb and this took a few tries to figured it out

1. Completely unscientific calibration test
I just used the Pentax quick reference guide as a testing plane instead of buying a thermometer like some others have suggested. Opened to a page with a bunch of text but with a line or two of open space in the middle. Wrote "FOCUS" with a Sharpie in the empty space with some cross hash marks to the left and right. Had the camera on Gorillapod about 6 inches high and the focal point about 2 feet from the end of the lens.

Make sure you're on single point center focus and the widest aperture you've got. Snap a few pics and see if the "FOCUS" and hash marks are in the center of the in-focus area of the picture. Before adjusting mine, it seemed that the "FOCUS" was blurry but a few lines of text in front of it were tack sharp = front focus (the actual in-focus zone is in front of where the camera thinks it is).

After making adjustments, I'd walk around the room shooting things that would obviously show FF/BF to check my calibrations. Few pieces of Halloween candy on my kitchen table at slightly different distances was a good test. Also tried shooting close to (within 5 feet) and further (across the room about 10 feet). Repeat the test and the steps below few times until it's satisfactory.

2. How to make Text File
Insert the SD Card & Reader into your computers USB and open a window for the SD Card through My Computer (mine was "Removable Disc H:"). Right click over the empty space on the right side of the window, which brings up a menu. Scroll mouse down to "New" which brings up another menu and towards the bottom is Text File (or Text Document for me in Vista). Click Text Document and badda-bing, you've got a fresh Text Doc.

3. How to edit Text File / Text Document
The new Text Doc will be named "New Text Document.txt". Open & Edit the text document before renaming it! Open up the Text Doc and type in exactly [DEBUG_MODE EN]. Close & save (automatically prompts you to save in Vista). Right click the Text Doc icon and rename to "MODSET.445" (no .txt at the end). A warning will probably pop up asking if you're sure you want to continue - click yes.

4. How to run Debug mode
Enter the card back into the cameras SD slot, but do not close the door. Hold down the Menu button and turn the camera on. It should display two version numbers (mine were both 1.00.00.02), the screen dimly flickered a few times, then everything shuts off... scared the crap out of me the first time ! Turn the power switch back to OFF and shut the card slot door. Your camera is now off but in DEBUG mode.

5. How to find and adjust AF Adjust
Turn the Power Switch back on (no need to hold Menu). The screen will flicker a little, then just show a blank dark glow. Press MENU - brings up the menu screen which looks pretty normal. If you scroll through all of the tabs, you'll notice some extra adjustments that aren't normally there...sneaky! Click the Right Button twice to highlight the Setup tab. Press Up Button twice (or Down Button a bunch of times) to reach "AF TEST", then click Right Button to open the AF TEST screen. First is AF Area Test with options of 0,1,2,3. I just left it on 0, not really sure what this one does. Click the Down Button to highlight "Focus Corr" to correct the focus. Left for Front Focus and right for Back Focus. Try going +/- 50 or 60 to start with and test/retest a few times from there. Press OK and you're done adjusting (at least this round), and turn the Power Switch back off.

6. Exit Debug mode back to normal operating mode
Right now, your camera is still in Debug mode so every time you turn it on, it will still be in Debug mode and you can't take pictures. Take out the SD Card, pop it back in the computer and open up the SD Card Window. Rename the "MODSET.445" Text Document to "MODSET.445.txt" (and click YES if the warning pops up again). Then open the Text Doc, delete the previous text and enter exactly [DEBUG_MODE DIS]. Close & save, then remember to rename the Text Doc again, back to "MODSET.445" (no .txt at the end). Plug the card back in the cameras SD slot, leave door open, hold menu & turn on. The screen will flicker, show those two version numbers and then go blank again. Turn the Power Switch off. You're out of Debug mode and back to normal.

However I would go ahead and remove that text file, not sure if its the best idea to leave them on the card but that's just a guess. Might be a good idea to buy two tiny SD cards, one with Debug Enable and the other with Debug Disable prompts on them, so you could adjust in the field without a computer ?!? Each file is only 16 Bytes...hahah.

Try this at your own risk, but I hope this detailed account of my experience helps.
Mugs