The_archaeologist

Joined: 15th May 2011

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The_archaeologist
bforbes wrote:
I've gone retro tonight with a whisky and soda
How bloody civilised of you. Good man

Comment by The_archaeologist posted on Another pointless thread at 14/04/2013 - 21:50

The_archaeologist
bettyswolloks wrote:
Hello all I'm/we're off to London next weekend, the wife and my 2 boys. Friday we'll be doing the Harry Potter tour, staying in Watford. The hotel is only 5mins from Pentaxia or SRS as some call it
So after we've done our respective tours its off into London. What's the best way to pay for the traveling? Oyster/Travel card? Or as and when with cash? The eye is on our list as is the usual things, big ben, Buckingham palace etc etc etc.
Is there anything or anywhere you would recommend? We have a full day, Saturday, to fill.
SRS is a mighty decent shop staffed by decent folk. Watford is too damned near Ealing for the good of my wallet to tell the truth...I have to restrain myself every bloody time I go there!! As for the smoke, It's a zonking big city bruv, and it eats up your time like a starved dog...especially when you're on a one day sortie
As you're a 'togger, It has to include the eye which in turn then puts you in a radius for the queen's chav' shack and other such notable London landmarks. Keep your wallet close to your skin and your kit bag zipped tight though...they don't call it sh*t city for nothing!

Comment by The_archaeologist posted on London Travel Advice Needed at 14/04/2013 - 21:12

The_archaeologist
Sorry, that should have read 'light meters don't have...

Comment by The_archaeologist posted on Weston Master V Light Meter at 27/03/2013 - 20:39

The_archaeologist
Thank you for the input guys, and (shhhhhhh!!) god bless Minolta. The variations in digital image results -on manual- to the Weston readings didn't deliver the goods to be quite honest with you, which is why I posed my previous question.
So the consensus of opinion here is that light metres doesn't have any significant advantages over the current crop of inbuilt metering systems built into the average (or more specifically Pentax) DSLR metering systems?

Comment by The_archaeologist posted on Weston Master V Light Meter at 27/03/2013 - 20:37

The_archaeologist
I picked up a mint condition Weston Master V light metre last summer, and having stowed it away with my old Minolta 7000 (I can say that on a Pentax site, can't I?) promptly forgot about it until rummaging around for something else just recently. I love the accompanying booklet and diagrams (I didn't realise that we're all supposed to wear a suit and tie whilst taking photographs) as well as the somewhat formal tone of the instructions ( best 'BBC voice' whilst reading if you wouldn't mind).
Has anyone else either owned, or had experience with this delightful little device and if so, can it still cut the mustard in this digital age?

(I fitted new batteries in the old Minolta and fired it up-which promptly coughed and kicked out a cloud of dust- as well as my K10D & K30 then tested their respective metre readings against the Weston. This produced a somewhat mixed bag of results in terms of digital images?)

Bob.

Comment by The_archaeologist posted on Weston Master V Light Meter at 26/03/2013 - 22:20

The_archaeologist
oldhat wrote:
When I bought a K7 I thought of selling my K10, but didn't, thankfully. I still use it regularly and the quality of the images, particulalry colour, is generally better than my K7.

Regards
Curiously enough I was enquiring about the K7 this Saturday over in Watford (SRS)and the consensus of web (and in-house)opinion was that the K7 was a definite improvement over my K10D Super. I looked at two examples and noticed that the casing of one of them was somewhat battered and scarred. This damage was of course reflected in the price difference between each, and I was about to ask if the previous owner had perhaps used it as a hammer when not taking photographs when one of the sales guys volunteered that it had been used by a pro tog' on three tours of Afghanistan. I muttered something like 'Nuff said' and looked at it thereafter with due respect.
Aside from the misguided politics of such a piss-begotten conflict, I nonetheless thought back to the movie 'We were soldiers' and the Journalist who landed himself (allowing for Hollywood hype) in the thick of an unfolding hell. I'd like to know who the Journalist was but then oddly enough, part of me wouldn't actually like to know...if that makes any sense.
I went away and sat down with a Latte nearby in order to deliberate over the camera and whether to purchase it as a usable piece of modern history, or as a static piece of modern photo-journalistic history?
I decided -by the end of my Latte- that if the pro-Journo' could put it up for sale in a camera shop in Watford without any apparent sentimental attachment, then I as a civilian should look at it from a consumers point of view, as in battered, jarred and suffering from condensed user abuse and in all probability with over half of its shutter life already expired.
I suspect that the psychology behind this sale would prove interesting to say the least, but from a simple photographic perspective somebody with a sense of history should purchase this camera soon.

Comment by The_archaeologist posted on Trying out my K10 at 17/03/2013 - 18:51

The_archaeologist
johnriley wrote:
This thread is none months old...
Sorry John. I tracked back and found that I'd upset a bit of an apple cart with my comment and realised that I should have looked more closely before posting it and ticking folk off. End of issue.

Comment by The_archaeologist posted on Con. at 17/03/2013 - 17:41

The_archaeologist
petrochemist wrote:
ronniemac wrote:
AndrewA wrote:
[quote:3496ace15f="Mike-P"][quote:3496ace15f="The_archaeologist"]Nobody has mentioned Pentax anoraks...and curiously enough I think I've just stumbled upon a collection of them!
LOL ... excellent
I would like to see one, oh with the tie and baseball cap being worn by the modl too!
Too far, Andrew. just too far!

Well OK then, I'll indulge you. Feast your eyes on this........ http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GENUINE-AMERICAN-PENTAX-GREY-JACKET-LARGE-/30087338982...?

pt=UK_Men_s_Vintage_Coats_Jackets&hash=item460d7396fd]link[/link] [/quote]Tempting, an American 'Large' might be big enough, but in the UK in need an XL/2XL or sometimes even 3XL...[/quote]Ohhh sweet Jeez, please stop this before somebody informs us they have a Pentax bed cover which they alternate with Thomas the Tank engine!!!!

Comment by The_archaeologist posted on How many Pentax things have you got? at 17/03/2013 - 17:31

The_archaeologist
greynolds999 wrote:
Just to clarify (and it might be the reason you are annoyed) this site has nothing to do with Pentax UK.

It is an entirely independent site and is not funded or affiliated with Pentax in any way.
In that case statement retracted and apologies to all concerned.

Comment by The_archaeologist posted on Con. at 09/03/2013 - 13:36

The_archaeologist
greynolds999 wrote:
At 21 you need to pass on a machine of at least 395cc between 25 and 35kw which allows you to ride a machine up to 35kw, but to ride anything bigger you need to wait two years then do the test on a 600cc 40kw machine. There's no automatic upgrade any more.

Which means if you're 16-19 there is no incentive to pass a test as you're stuck on a 125 anyway!

The biggest problem is once you've done your CBT you need to be accompanied by an approved instructor and many schools won't have an A2 bike for you to use. So you'll need to find and insure a bike and get it delivered to the riding school!

You can't take your test on a bigger bike until you're 24 or have two years on an A2 licence.

Which is why I was so determined to get through my test before 19 January. Saved me a fortune.

Good luck!
I cut my teeth on a 1979 DT 125 Yamaha. It was brand new, I was a motorcycle virgin and my mum wasn't happy about the whole affair. They took the bike directly to a car park the following Saturday and gave me four hours practice on it during which we never got out of first gear. They let me ride it home afterwards whereupon I learned what the other four gears did through a mixture of error, terror and grim determination. As I happened to be getting into the UFO mystery at the time, I rode my brand new 'chick chaser' all the way down to Warminster (Wiltshire) and back two weeks later and only crashed once during the whole trip (dented the tank and scratched some chrome as well as my pride) I swiftly learned not to grab the front brake in the wet and more importantly that every other road user was my potential killer if I gave them the chance.
Those first few weeks on the road (under the old system) probably taught me far more than any modern scheme ever could to be honest, but in a blind, ignorant and dangerous way to be even more honest.
Nonetheless for that I went on to perfect the art of the 'knee down', clock 45 minutes from Birmingham to London on the A5 and experience life in the fastest lane (170 mph for five miles on the way back to Calais one sunny Sunday morning)amongst other things. I got away with this kind of rubbish because my unguided baptism taught me an extremely valuable lesson...there was a finite time and place to cut loose and push your boundaries, and infinite opportunities to choose such moments badly.
Now, however, I would strongly advocate cutting loose on a track day not the highway, as modern Britain is a positively lethal environment for any motorcyclist quite frankly!

Comment by The_archaeologist posted on Another pointless thread at 08/03/2013 - 21:50

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