Strange K1000??
Hi all, I just picked up a K1000 on eBay, it is unlike the other K1000s that have passed through my hands in that it is not an SE but it has split image focusing (the circle around the split image is larger than on the SE that I have) and the top is exactly the same as that of my KM, with serial number and a little bump to the left of the prism and it says K1000 not KM. All my other K1000s had/have the serial number on the bottom and no little bump. Top and bottom plates are metal. Is this a long lost prototype that is worth thousands, or Grant
RE: PESO: Through a windshield dirtily
Very road movie... Which bit of road is that, stranger? I was given about 25 feet, 8 meters of very expired, June 1979, bulk Tri-X which had been cold stored. So I shot about a dozen frames with the MX and the Pancake lens. The film is fogged and pretty well un-useable producing very grainy results with shadows blocked up. The rest of the film will soon be in the trash unless someone can suggest an interesting use for it. A couple of shots of my sons house construction were worth saving and then there is this one. It is really bad! I think the Pancake lens does a nice job of shooting into the sun but the dirty windshield sure adds to the flair. So why do I kind of like this shot? Just my poor taste? Or is it interesting to anyone else? http://members.shaw.ca/hargravep/Image-X.htm My dirty windshield does not make life very secure for the nearly invisible pedestrians. Powell
SMC Pentax-M 50mm fix
Hi everyone, I recently succeeded in fixing 2 Pentax 50mm lenses that had the focus jammed. I have documented the experience at this site for those who might be interested. http://grantharg.tripod.com/CameraRepair/M50mmfixa.htm It compliments my MG fix page. http://grantharg.tripod.com/CameraRepair/MGfixa.htm Grant
RE: lens help
Don, While you are peeking, I have disassembled a jammed Pentax M 50mm f2 also. I am perplexed because the final part of the puzzle pictured here: http://pages.videotron.com/granth/M50 doesn't make sense. Logically the silver ring, which has the focus ring attached to it normally, should turn within the black body ring and should be held in place withing the black ring someway (if not the whole lense mechanism would drop off - I think.) It is jammed solid - and I don't see anything that would keep the 2 pieces from separating (if they weren't jammed together.) What am I not seeing/understanding? The only thing I could suspect is that the 2 pieces are pressed together and groove in one accepts a protuding tongue on the other to keep them together but permitting the necessary rotation. Grant -Original Message- I'll peek at one of my junk ones tomorrow and see what I can figure out. Don From: Gonz [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, March 18, 2006 4:48 PM To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net Subject: Re: lens help Its an M50. The front two elements came out, each had their own retaining ring. The back two elements are together in on assembly that screws on, and can be removed with a spanning wrench. That leaves one middle element which I cannot figure out for the life of me how to get out. I want to get it out because I am creating a lens with only the front element. Thanks, rg
RE: How to remove ME winding lever?
Date: Mon, 20 Feb 2006 21:55:16 -0800 (PST) From: Jon Myers [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net Subject: How to remove ME winding lever? Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Do I understand correctly that the plain round cap in the middle unscrews reverse threaded (ie, righty loosy)? I've tried to unscrew it, but all I've done so far is scratch up my pretty camera. What's the best way to get that goofy thing off? Your information is basically right, but my experience is that the little devils can be a pain to get off. This site that I am building with the story of my MG shutter repair may be of help, although you may not want to use my ultimate method on your ME. http://grantharg.tripod.com/CameraRepair/MGfixa.htm Grant H __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
Re: How to remove ME winding lever?
Date: Mon, 20 Feb 2006 21:55:16 -0800 (PST) From: Jon Myers [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net Subject: How to remove ME winding lever? Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Do I understand correctly that the plain round cap in the middle unscrews reverse threaded (ie, righty loosy)? I've tried to unscrew it, but all I've done so far is scratch up my pretty camera. What's the best way to get that goofy thing off? Your information is basically right, but my experience is that the little devils can be a pain to get off. This site that I am building with the story of my MG shutter repair may be of help, although you may not want to use my ultimate method on your ME. http://grantharg.tripod.com/CameraRepair/MGfixa.htm http://grantharg.tripod.com/CameraRepair/MGfixa.htm Grant H __
RE: Street photography illegal in Quebec?
A) Ok people, a little perspective on the question. Quoting from the article: if you don't have ... permission from the people who appear in your photos, they can sue you for making such images public. So there is no PP (Picture Police) waiting for you to pull out your trusty Pentax before jumping on you. I don't see how sending a picture by e-mail is making it public and the chances of someone who cares finding it on your web site AND being interested in sueing is minimal. Remember that the original case came from a picture that was published on the front page of a magasine. Also from the article; situations where such a permission is not mandatory is when the photo is of a crowd, if it's considered legitimate news or considered to be in the public interest. So street scenes can be shot and published without problems. Now that I have given part of the perspective (as I see it, from Montreal, by the way)... I agree that it is a problem, Montreal newspapers have developed a style of what I consider really ugly pictures, lots of shots where you can't see the faces of people and many shot at slow shutter speeds that blur anything that is moving (usually 2 legged things). I am less affected because I am into old industrial buildings and they tend to not give a damn! B) Bob W wrote: Don't worry about it. Nobody wants to look at Canadians anyway... :o) Probably the majority of Montrealers don't consider themselves Canadians, rather they are Québecois ;-) Grant
RE: Help! - Pentax MG - 2 cameras, 2 problems
Well just in case someone else is intereted I have answered both my question all by myself. As mentioned in an earlier post the flash problem was just a question of bending a contact after having removed the top cover. As for the second question, I came by another MG on eBay which is a REAL parts camera, basically nothing works, including the shutter which had several blades out of place. On disassembling it I found the little spacers are on the 2 posts on the left side that the screws that hold the shutter box together screw into. Will now try reassembling the MG... If it works after all this it will replace my MX as my favourite camera, but the MX does not look too worried yet, I wonder why. Grant Original message --- Hello all, I have 2 MGs, the first works fine except the flash. Before taking the top off to check the contacts etc. I am curious to know how exactly the hot shoe works and how to trouble shoot it. Am I right in assuming that it is a simple on off switch that trips the flash by closing a circuit, likely very briefly? My continuity tester doesn't see anything on a working camera. Any suggestions would be appreciated. The second MG has been disassembled to get at the shutter box because the blades were blocked. I took off the rear plate or the shutter box and found a blade that had some how gotten on the wrong side of the frame separating it from the forward shutter. I was able to replace everything the way it should be and put the plate back on... and discovered a little bushing or spacer laying on my work space. I think it came from the shutter, I was being careful with the bits as I took the camera apart. Can anyone tell me where the offending piece goes in the shutter, or if not, any suggestions where it goes in the camera? Picture at: http://pages.videotron.com/granth/MGshuttertemp.html http://pages.videotron.com/granth/MGshuttertemp.html Thanks in advance, Grant H
Re: MX mirror sticking
Hi, Scott Loveless' suggestion that the sticking mirror is related the shutter. I can see that when the mirror sticks the shutter does not quite finish its run. By exercising the shutter the sticking happens less often and I can use lower speeds. Will do some cleaning and lubricating... Thanks for your help, now if only someone would respond to my question on the MG (extra bushing/spacer left over after reassembling the shutter) I'd be a happy guy. I got the flash working on my second MG by taking off the top cover and bending the contacts up... Gee that was hard! Grant
Help! - Pentax MG - 2 cameras, 2 problems
Hello all, I have 2 MGs, the first works fine except the flash. Before taking the top off to check the contacts etc. I am curious to know how exactly the hot shoe works and how to trouble shoot it. Am I right in assuming that it is a simple on off switch that trips the flash by closing a circuit, likely very briefly? My continuity tester doesn't see anything on a working camera. Any suggestions would be appreciated. The second MG has been disassembled to get at the shutter box because the blades were blocked. I took off the rear plate or the shutter box and found a blade that had some how gotten on the wrong side of the frame separating it from the forward shutter. I was able to replace everything the way it should be and put the plate back on... and discovered a little bushing or spacer laying on my work space. I think it came from the shutter, I was being careful with the bits as I took the camera apart. Can anyone tell me where the offending piece goes in the shutter, or if not, any suggestions where it goes in the camera? Picture at: http://pages.videotron.com/granth/MGshuttertemp.html http://pages.videotron.com/granth/MGshuttertemp.html Thanks in advance, Grant H
MX mirror sticking
Hello, I have recently become a Pentax M-series collector... on a budget. I have made some very nice purchases and some less successful, so I will be using this forum as a resource to try to transform some of my parts cameras into working collectables (see recent post on 2 MGs). My latest buy is an MX advertised as used working condition, but when I tried it the mirror sticks up at speeds of 1/60 and less. At 1/125 and up everything seems OK. I believe I read somewhere that there are separated mechanisms involved for these speed ranges which would seem to give an idea of where to start looking. What are the first things to check, and what are the chances of a generally mechanically competent beginner to solve the problem? A second observation is that the light meter LEDs are unstable, like a dirty or loose connection perhaps. They seem to indicate a reasonable reading and respond normally to the speed and f-stop adjustments - then they flicker a bit. If I tap the camera with my hand that seems to set them off. Any ideas on what I should check/clean/tighten? I also have an ME F with the original SMC Pentax AF 35-70/2.8 lense, which does not do any of the AF things they are supposed to do... but that's another project for another post. Thanks again, Grant H
RE: MX mirror sticking
Hi Don, I already have the MX service manual and, while it is useful for disassembly and assembly there isn't much help in troubleshooting. So I was hoping some one would tell me, you tale off the bottom plate, ajust the whatsit and put a smudge of grease on the thingme and it will work... or at lease suggest the first things to look at. I am confident I can disassemble, less confident that I can reassemble, so want to do only the minimum! Grant -Original Message- From: Don Sanderson [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net Subject: RE: MX mirror sticking Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I too work on older Pentaxes, but your questions are a bit outside the scope of what e-mail can handle. There is however a wonderful collection of service manuals provided by one of our generous list members, Mark Roberts. It can be found here: http://www.robertstech.com/pentax.htm HTH Don BTW: Thanks again Mark! ;-) -Original Message- From: Grunt [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2006 12:55 PM To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML Subject: MX mirror sticking Hello, I have recently become a Pentax M-series collector... on a budget. I have made some very nice purchases and some less successful, so I will be using this forum as a resource to try to transform some of my parts cameras into working collectables (see recent post on 2 MGs). My latest buy is an MX advertised as used working condition, but when I tried it the mirror sticks up at speeds of 1/60 and less. At 1/125 and up everything seems OK. I believe I read somewhere that there are separated mechanisms involved for these speed ranges which would seem to give an idea of where to start looking. What are the first things to check, and what are the chances of a generally mechanically competent beginner to solve the problem? A second observation is that the light meter LEDs are unstable, like a dirty or loose connection perhaps. They seem to indicate a reasonable reading and respond normally to the speed and f-stop adjustments - then they flicker a bit. If I tap the camera with my hand that seems to set them off. Any ideas on what I should check/clean/tighten? I also have an ME F with the original SMC Pentax AF 35-70/2.8 lense, which does not do any of the AF things they are supposed to do... but that's another project for another post. Thanks again, Grant H
