Tokina 400mm teleconverters?
Hello, list- Ive seen some recent discussion on the list about some of the Tokina 400mm telephotos but have only caught a few of the messages (I usually follow the list via the archive which only seems to archive a small percentage of the messages for some reason), so I apologize if this issue has already been addressed Can anyone recommend suitable teleconverters for the lens? I have the SD if that makes a difference I recently picked one up used. I see a number of Kenko and Tokina doublers / teleconverters available new and used. Are there any restrictions on which ones would work, or recommendations on which might be best? Thanks, Rob
Where to buy Pentax 24mm f/2?
Does anyone have any leads or ideas on where to buy a new Pentax 24mm f/2 SMCP-FA AL (IF) lens? I think it was recently discontinued and Ive probably waited just a little too long - it is not currently stocked by BH, Adorama, 17th Street Photo, Focus Camera, or some others I often use. Some places like Tristate, Cambridge, and LaBelle show it on their websites as though it is in stock but contacting them reveals that it is either on backorder (Tristate) or reveals that the stores in question have such abysmal service that they cannot respond to an email (Cambridge, LaBelle). Any other places to try? Is [EMAIL PROTECTED] my only hope at this point?
RE: Who's Not Using Digital
I am one of those folks who isn't using digital and who has no plans to in his personal photography. Happily I am a hobbyist and not a professional photographer and so am not pressured to make decisions based upon speed or upon return on investment. Part of the reason I've not followed the list too closely lately is that it has become so digital oriented, which is fine I guess (especially considering the list has always over-represented the computer-obsessed types) except it will be interesting to see how even this innocent question of Shel's is turned into the usual look how dumb you are for not going digital by Herb or somebody. Again, apart from speed/convenience issues (which are not relevant to my method), I don't see any great advantages to digital apart from vulgar economics, though I admit there are a very select few technical reasons such as the Maxxum's anti-shake, as noted by Mike Johnston in a recent column. Overall, I can't really see any reason to switch to digital and I am happy I am not forced to since I consider film an authentic and transparent medium in comparison to the simulations of the digital milieu. RSW Who's Not Using Digital Shel Belinkoff Sun, 11 Dec 2005 09:39:46 -0800 I was thinking about this last night. It seems that most everyone on the list, at least from the usual gang of regular posters, has made the move to digital. Who hasn't, and who have no plans to do so in the near or foreseeable future? Shel You meet the nicest people with a Pentax
Re: Does a screw mount list exist?
Thanks to all who responded regarding my question about a screwmount list. (And sorry not to have said so eariler - I've only had a chance to check the list periodically.) Re: Does a screw mount list exist? Andre Langevin Fri, 14 Oct 2005 08:18:23 -0700 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ClubM42/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Spotmatic/
Non-digital-specific Pentax lens availability question
Hello, Can anyone provide some kind of summary about current availability of non-DA Pentax glass? Or is it shrouded in the usual Pentax mystery? Perusing my favorite internet sites reveals that the selection seems to have been cut back greatly, with some previously stocked lenses shown as backordered (in some cases with no known date for expected delivery) and others just plain gone. I'm wondering whether some of these backorders even have a realistic chance of being filled and thought someone on the list might know whether production has ceased. The Pentax website also shows a somewhat reduced selection (e.g., no FA* 400mm f/5.6), though it is also not totally consistent with what seems to be out there on the market either. More specifically, is there likely to be continued availability of the three limiteds, the FA* 24 f/2.0, and FA 20-35 which all seem relatively current? And are backorders for things like the FA* 200 f/2.8 or 80-200 f/2.8, FA* 300 f/4.5, or FA* 400 f/5.6, which all seem pretty scarce out there, likely to be filled. I imagine Pentax is trying to leverage all their strength toward digital cameras and digital-specific lenses, so I don't blame them if they are more-or-less dropping most of their lens line as they ramp up for production of newer designs. I guess as a film shooter I am just interested in which lenses are the most urgent to get before they are no longer available. Sorry if this has already been discussed - I don't often have a chance to read the list these days.
Does a screw mount list exist?
Hello, everyone- Is there a separate Pentax screw mount list or discussion group somewhere? Thanks, Rob
Problem with buttons on back of PZ-1p
Hello, everyone. It's been a while since I've posted to the list. I have a quick question. The exposure compensation and metering mode buttons on the rear door of my PZ-1p have just failed. Does anyone know the easiest (cheapest) solution? Wasn't there once a databack (time/date stamp thingy) available? Is that something I could buy and install myself to solve my problem? Is it still available anywhere? Is there a better solution? Thanks, Rob
All's quiet on the *ist front
It is a tribute to the importance of digital in Pentax's future that so little has been said on the list about the *ist (non-D, to be precise). Here we have a radically new camera design which is trickling out to magazines (how many read Herb Keppler's assessment?) and even into select stores. Yet, so little discussion about it... Even the astonishing news about the new SAFOX VIII has been discussed very little (which is the more surprising since I suppose it will feature in the D version as well). What gives - no interest in film bodies? Admittedly it will be positioned as a lower-middle class (like me!) item, but is anyone else happy to see Pentax at the technological lead in a price point for the first time since the PZ-1p? Anyone planning on getting one? Anyone eager for news of what is next in the series (such as a true PZ-1p successor and Maxxum 7 killer)? Anyhow, I was thinking the *ist + 43/1.9 would make a neat little package. Rob _ MSN 8 helps eliminate e-mail viruses. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus
Goodbye!
After exactly three years on this list, I just want to say goodbye as I will be leaving the list for quite some time, and indeed perhaps permanently. Finances arent the best at the moment in fact theyve taken a significant turn for the worse. Though Im by no means destitute, I am even considering selling my '75 Dodge Dart since I mainly take the bus anyway. And Im trying to scale back on the non-essentials and hobbies (of which photography is one of the most expensive). My favorite hobby anyway is reading and I will concentrate a lot on that since it is pretty much free. I also mean to concentrate on getting my jazz radio show off the ground at a local community station as well as to work on a few other mainly volunteer things so that Im not just taking up space on the planet. This list is just too darned good at enabling! What little money I do have for photography I am going to try to spend on Sensia slides and Fuji mailers...and Ill try to forget about all that equipment I just need to have! (How funny it would be to me now if Pentax finally announces a new film flagship - a true PZ-1p successor or perhaps a limited LXAF sort of SLR - at PMA!) Any extra equipment bucks I have (though I can foresee precious little) will probably go towards the occasional new Hexanon the Konica AR kit is so much less expensive and yet very much to my liking. (Ill also be using my Yashica Flex TLR which fortunately for my finances doesnt accommodate interchangeable lenses or many useful accessories! And Im falling in love with the ground glass lately.) At least I dont anticipate having to sell any Pentax lenses. This list also takes so darned much time! Ive never been much of a money person but Ive figured out that to get my life above a subsistence level I have to start working brutally hard (and I should probably get a bit better at kissing ass and self-promoting and all that nonsense, though I dont know whether I can stomach that sort of thing). The internet in general is such a distraction from productivity; this list in particular is so high-volume and time-consuming. Anyway, thanks to everyone for all youve taught me! Ive taken so much more than Ive given. Though Ive never been popular or good at making friends, I met a few here and I do feel there is a certain sense of community and good will on this list, of which I feel I was occasionally a part, and which I will certainly miss. Good luck to everyone throughout the world in any difficult times ahead. Rob _ Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail
Lens sharpness vs. camera shake
I'm not trying to be a wise guy here, but aren't the tree tops moving a fair bit even on still days? What were your shutter speeds? (And sorry if you've already addressed this point - I'm a bit behind on reading the digests.) [...] Getting sharp images with long lenses is an exacting task, much more difficult than meets the eye. Forgive the weak pun. I've been taking shots of tree tops recently with a Sigma Apo 400/5.6. They are not particularly sharp although I used the highest shutter speed I could. Its hard to decide if the images are fuzzy because: the lens is not so good wide open, the shutter and mirror vibrated the camera on the tripod, the lens is not so good anyway, or the camera was not properly focussed. [...] Don Williams _ MSN 8 with e-mail virus protection service: 3 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virusxAPID=42PS=47575PI=7324DI=7474SU= http://www.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/getmsgHL=1216hotmailtaglines_eliminateviruses_3mf
Shooting an LX at waist level
Hello- Does anyone regularly use a Pentax LX with a non-eye-level viewfinder for general purpose photography (and if so, what do you use - for instance, perhaps the FF-1)? I am so enjoying shooting with my Yashicaflex TLR at waist level that I am wondering about how something like this could be tried in 35mmm in certain ways, either at waist level or at some point well below eye level (perhaps at an angle). RSW _ The new MSN 8: smart spam protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail
OT: Really dumb question on atmospheric conditions
It was about 9 degrees Fahrenheit this morning and very clear out. It seems it is usually or often clear when very cold. Dumb question but is this some kind of rule: is it always/usually clearer when cold? And why? Is it because of the cold, or some other related factor which may be present when it is not cold or may sometimes not be present when it is cold)? Or is it all in my imagination? Thanks and forgive my ignorance... Rob _ MSN 8 with e-mail virus protection service: 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus
WELCOME BACK, MIKE J.!!!
Welcome back, Mike J.!!! We missed you. I'll even stop railing against digital for a while in your honor. Seriously, though - great to have you back! _ The new MSN 8: advanced junk mail protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail
Mike Johnston on Pentax in this week's Sunday Morning column
Mike Johnston's Sunday Morning column is on the topic of his favorite lens - a Pentax, of course. http://www.steves-digicams.com/smp/11242002.html This link is to Steve's Digicams; Mike's column usually shows up there on Sunday mornings and on the Luminous Landscape site on Sunday nights. _ STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail
PDML WEBSITE IS DOWN
PDML WEBSITE IS DOWN. _ Tired of spam? Get advanced junk mail protection with MSN 8. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail
Re: PDML WEBSITE IS DOWN
PDML Website is back up. _ The new MSN 8: smart spam protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail
RE: Where's Greywolf?
His site has a journal entry for October 15, 2002: http://pages.prodigy.net/graywolfphoto/_journal/road-8.html _ Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail
RE(2): Where's Greywolf?
Or rather October 19. The good news is that he seems to have a home; the bad news is that his last post is about some very bad arthritis. His site has a journal entry for October 15, 2002: http://pages.prodigy.net/graywolfphoto/_journal/road-8.html _ Add photos to your messages with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail
architectural lenses
I am becoming increasingly interested in architectural photography and am again seeking recommendations for wide angle and especially tilt-shift lenses: Pentax lenses and various branded lenses for Pentax cameras, as well as lenses for other-branded cameras. Can anyone advise? I don't suppose anyone here has experience with the Zorkendorfer adaptor?: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/accessories/zork.shtml; RSW _ Unlimited Internet access for only $21.95/month. Try MSN! http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/2monthsfree.asp
recent bokeh question on PDML
Someone recently posted a question on bokeh that interested me but to which I didn't have a chance to respond - nor were there many responses. Now I cannot find the post; would that person (or someone else) care to repost? _ Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963
Re: bogus rule about not posting ebay auction links
I'm sorry but that is an idiotic argument. eBay provides tools for the seller to insure a minimum price is met. If the seller chooses to lay bare his auction items to market forces with no reserve then they can't blame anyone for it selling at a lower price than they may have foreseen. Agreed? Rob Studdert The same argument technique was used by a friend in my youth who stole: if the store has no provisions for preventing me from doing it, then it's their fault. I'm not attempting to say that you are advocating stealing, but only that this justification isn't that successful. Minimum price auctions often don't do as well, so sellers sometime choose not to do them. I don't use them when I sell simply because I know I find them annoying as a buyer. Anyway, I'm not so concerned about the specifics and technical mechanisms of such things, but only about the sham ethics of pretending that the buyer is the only one who counts, that therefore enabling others to steals is per se a good thing, and that inflating an auction to even a reasonable price is always terrible. Why sympathize with other buyers and not other sellers? Not posting to the list sometimes hurts sellers and sometimes helps buyers - so...? I can understand if you are happy to see Walmart as a seller get ripped off by some poor buyer, but that's not usually what we're talking about anyway. Someone on here a while back posted that anyone who has the high bid a few hours before an auction close is a fool or words to that effect and that bidding early on is so terrible because it inflates the price for those wonderful geniuses among us who bid within 10 miliseconds of the end of an auction. Amazing how people inflate their own behavior to morally absolute conditions - particularly when the behavior isn't especially nice. I bid early in auctions simply because I don't like playing games. I like to establish also that I want the item and want it for a certain price - then someone can top me if he wants and everything is on the table. If someone has already bid on something I often don't bid if I know the item comes around a lot because I figure the buyer may really want it, and need it soon. If the bid is low, I often will bid, however. None of this is set in stone from an ethical standpoint, though I try to act nicely as a buyer and seller in general, rather than just getting the best deal or best price for myself. Anyway, there has never been agreement on the list on ebay issues apart from the imaginary gentleman's agreement in the minds of a few listers, a small minority of who is out there. Rob _ Internet access plans that fit your lifestyle -- join MSN. http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/default.asp
Re: architectural lenses
Thank you so much. This is just the type of advice I need: 1) I was trying to recall that Schneider PC Super Angulon 2,8/28 in K mount which had been mentioned before and 2) I somehow simply hadn't thought about the AOV problem with the Zork - but it makes so much sense now. Can anyone weigh in on wider lenses, like 20mm, which are known to excel in the rectilinear - are orthogonally accurate? (Someone had previously, but again I cannot find the post.) (Of course I am aware that the software corrections for keystoning are getting quite good but I don't happen to do digital photography or processing.) Rob --- Rob Studdert [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On 2 Nov 2002 at 10:08, Robert Soames Wetmore wrote: I am becoming increasingly interested in architectural photography and am again seeking recommendations for wide angle and especially tilt-shift lenses: Pentax lenses and various branded lenses for Pentax cameras, as well as lenses for other-branded cameras. Can anyone advise? Obviously there is the Pentax 28/3.5 shift and one very nice lens is the Schneider PC Super Angulon 2,8/28 in K mount however for the price you could probably buy quite a nice view camera kit. I don't suppose anyone here has experience with the Zorkendorfer adaptor?: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/accessories/zork.shtml; They are quite expensive and require a lens of a larger format than the camera body which means that the AOV won't be all that wide, so they aren't well suited to architectural photography. Cheers, Rob Studdert HURSTVILLE AUSTRALIA Tel +61-2-9554-4110 UTC(GMT) +10 Hours [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://members.ozemail.com.au/~distudio/publications.html _ Surf the Web without missing calls! Get MSN Broadband. http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/freeactivation.asp
Why no 57mm normals any more?
Why is the 57mm normal a thing of the past? Does anyone know? All fast normals now seem to be 50mm on the nose, whereas once so many were 57mm. I rather like the 57mm focal length, and it makes a nice compliment with a 40mm (also not so popular any more). I once recall someone (maybe Mike Johnston - I'm not sure) posting about how it was easier, or once easier, to make fast 57mm lenses as compared to fast 50's. (I may have gotten that all wrong. I've gotta get more organized about saving and cataloguing old posts.) To keep this on topic, I was thinking about doing a shoot out between my Hexanon 57mm f/1.2 (for Konica Autoreflex) and the Pentax SMCP-A 50mm f/1.2. I have a feeling the Hexanon is superior but would be interested to test the performance differences. Would anyone be interested in the results? RSW _ Unlimited Internet access -- and 2 months free! Try MSN. http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/2monthsfree.asp
Re (2):architectural lenses
No problems :-) I believe that Gianfranco has one but not in K mount, he mentioned that it is a stellar performer (which is borne out by the manufacturers MTF diagrams). Yes, I think it was Gianfranco that posted about it. The big advantage of the Zork adaptors is that some models offer a combination shift and tilt but at the FLs available it's really only good for macro photography and static product shots. OK - so it seems it is not the thing for architecture. I'm not into macro/still life/product shooting/etc., so Zork is out. The Pentax A20/2.8 has surprisingly low geometric distortion, the 15/3.5 isn't near as good. By your questions I assume that you can't easily get your hands one one? Maybe you can ask list members for specific example shots that resemble the matter that you intend to shoot? Cheers, Rob Studdert The 20 came up last time as a possibility, so I may try that. You are right - I know no other Pentax users and no store around here carries much of their stuff. Normally I just research a product and then buy it and am usually pretty happy. Good suggestion on the sample shots idea. However, I'm never sure of the exact condition because they vary greatly on the buildings I work on. I'm generally thinking of architectural interiors where I need wide angles but also of exteriors where I cannot get far from the building because of trees and power lines in view and so need the widest possible rectilinear lens. But within those the conditions are so varied. Thanks again- RSW _ Unlimited Internet access for only $21.95/month. Try MSN! http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/2monthsfree.asp
Re: Mike Johnston on gentleman's agreement
I don't believe that Mikes opinion on the issue is that of the majority, if it did there should also have been posts indicating agreement. The majority agreement (for those who took the time to consider and respond about the issue) was as was recently outlined. Cheers, Rob Studdert I honestly don't think there was a majority agreement. Looking through two related threads at the time of Mike's post indicates much disagrement and arguing (as usual). A series of people (I found a total of four - but there may have been more) chimed in that they agreed with the idea of not posting links. One asked if this was a majority and then put a ;-) to be cute. Maybe this is the source of the gentleman's agreement idea. It is hard to imagine a majority agreement on anything on this list, isn't it? And how can the above-mentioned few speak for hundreds on the list? For what it's worth, I am not for posting links (and don't happen to do it myself) - I'm just not for beating up those who have. For the most part, the internet is a free-for-all and it is deceptive to imagine otherwise; people can do whatever they want. But I'll stop posting now. (You can feel free to respond, though, of course.) RSW _ Broadband? Dial-up? Get reliable MSN Internet Access. http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/default.asp
Brad the CEO's Assistant (Re: New Pentax SLR platform)
He could be serious, you know. Didn't he use the term Pentax F###ers to describe what, if this were true, would be his bosses? If the suits at Pentax were my bosses, I would call them those names! I'd love to see this all become one of those internet rumors that everyone believes... Ok folks, it's time to come clean, I am an assistant to the CEO Asahi Optical Co., and am authorized to let you know we have entered negotiations with Canon, Canon will under terms support K-mounts for the next 10 years in some of their EOS cameras, as well as some digital models. It's been a wonderful run, and we appreciate our loyal customers, but feel this opportunity, will give users cameras we have not been able to make final. We are giving you this information first as you have been the most loyal customer base. As of May 31 at Midnight 2003, Asahi Optical Co. will cease to exist. We wish you the best of luck. Sincerely, Brad Dobo Assistant to the CEO, Asahi Optical Co. _ Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963
OT: Re: Metaphors (Was Re: A funny problem with digital)
When I was crossing a stream once with my dog by hopping rock to rock, he jumped right into a stagnant area of coagulated foam, thinking it was solid earth. He was quite surprised (and angry) to find himself underwater. Now, THAT's stupid. (Even smart dogs like my Cardigan Welsh Corgi are pretty dumb.) Incidentally, I found the original metaphor about skimming stupid extremely easy to understand and somewhat funny - I don't know what the problem is. You guys seem pretty dumb. RSW Absolutely! In Richmond, near the bridge, I've seen some of that foam on my Sunday morning strolls. It certainly looks like stupid. Very unpalatable. D Dr E D F Williams _ Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963
Re 2: Exclusive picture of new Pentax D-SLR
So what if the MZ-S was the developing basis for new products and now will be the basis for the new chassis? I could imagine a new chassis line as follows: - a cheaper MZ-S made of polycarbonat replacing MZ-5/MZ-6 - the present MZ-S as semi-pro camera - the previous MZ-D with minor changes and the APS-sized chip - a MZ-flagship as big as the MZ-D with an integrated, fast winder and more pro-features For me this sounds sensible (altough it is pure speculation), Heiko Hamann This sounds utterly sensible to me, too (with the possible exception of the polycarbonate in the first one being maybe impossible as indicated in other threads). This would make a fine line of cameras with consistency and yet variety appealing to various users and yet sufficiently condensed to eliminate overlapping and too-similar models. I suppose they'd have to hang onto some sort of MZ-30 type thing for a while at the bottom end and maybe use that sort of chassis for the problematic scaled-back polycarbonate cheaper MZ-S you mention. Interesting speculation - thanks for the post. RSW _ Unlimited Internet access -- and 2 months free! Try MSN. http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/2monthsfree.asp
Re: Re: Exclusive picture of new Pentax D-SLR
Bruce wrote: For low volume production items the cost is in the tooling and setting up production, and not the materials. Thats why the story provided by Pentax UK, all new slr's from the same chassis, makes sense. I'm not convinced the MZ-S as building block for the whole Pentax slr line-up makes sense. The MZ-S was designed as a digital slr from ground up and later engineered into a film slr. This cannot be ideal. A new chassis that is engineered from ground up for both film and digital seem to make more sense. Pål Man, this is what I've been arguing all along. I mentioned long ago that the MZ-S was a derivative and therefore possibly compromised camera and most found that possibility silly. I'm not complaining about any MZ-S specifics but simply questioning whether certain of the choices would have been made if it hadn't been first designed as a digital. RSW _ Get faster connections -- switch to MSN Internet Access! http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/default.asp
Don't forget: folks are dumb (Was: Re: law and image)
Hi, Alan, What people buy and why they buy it is a pretty darned complex issue. [...] frank theriault And never discount stupidity. Folks are pretty dumb on average. When I was selling cameras and audio I watched a training film which shared some market research indicating that 75% of people made their choices of which speakers to buy based on the exterior appearance of the speakers. I'd hate to be responsible for the marketing success or failure of a product. If the MZ-D doesn't look just right - for instance, maybe if the LCD screen is the wrong color - it may sell terribly. RSW _ Surf the Web without missing calls! Get MSN Broadband. http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/freeactivation.asp
Re: What lenses do you have?
Many or all of those messages never made it to the archives - or, if they did make it, they didn't stay there. (The internet isn't exactly the repository of the definite.) Actually, I can't find them in the recent archives, either. Maybe I just imagined it. Chris Brogden _ Surf the Web without missing calls! Get MSN Broadband. http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/freeactivation.asp
Film flagship chassis?
I guess I'm one of the few still thinking about the possible new film flagship... If the Photosharp report is accurate and the new Pentax digital SLR is based upon the MZ-S chassis (in contrast to the Pentax UK press release's claim of a new chassis), I wonder what that means for a new film flagship. A new film flagship based on the fairly small MZ-S chassis probably couldn't be that much more well specified than the MZ-S, could it? And would they make a new chassis just for the flagship but not for the DSLR? I was hopeful about a true, honest-to-goodness flagship when I heard the talk of a new chassis, but I am not so hopeful now. Also, none of the more recent speculations, reports, etc. are even talking about the film camera anymore. Is this a bad sign? Was it an erroneous original report? Is the fact that almost no one on this list even cares any more an indication of how useless it would be to come out with such an animal at this point, or just an indication that if one is in development, no one is bothering to ask about it or leak info about it? Maybe I will wait until tomorrow - we may hear entirely new and contradicting information by then! Perhaps there will be an obscure and mysterious leak from Pentax Zimbabwe (translated roughly from Sindabele or Shona) mentioning that all the digital developments are in fact nothing to do with a forthcoming DSLR but are actually aimed at the growing prosumer proctoscope market. RSW _ Get a speedy connection with MSN Broadband. Join now! http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/freeactivation.asp
pdml problems again
The pdml digest is unreliable again and messages are spotty. This seems a regular occurrence. Digests have never been reliable. The website archive is continually failing or out of date. Does anyone have this much trouble on other groups? Does anyone have any suggestions for a better system than we currently have? I know we all adore and worship Doug, but is everyone satisfied with how the list is going? I know, I'm a terrible person for asking any such questions or mentioning any discontentment. _ Unlimited Internet access for only $21.95/month. Try MSN! http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/2monthsfree.asp
Re: Way off topic: Re: Med format exhibit in Texas, great stuff
That it is easier is sometimes a recommendation against it. I love how all of a sudden in the last ten years people suddenly find it so difficult to live without smiley faces in their writing and find all sorts of justification for how necessary they. easier to simply append a textual smile! isn't it? Dr E D F Williams Keith Whaley _ Internet access plans that fit your lifestyle -- join MSN. http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/default.asp
Re: Way off topic: Re: Med format exhibit in Texas, great stuff
I admit I am usually suspicious of change, particularly when it comes about as rapidly as these internet conventions and is advocated mainly by a category of people with perhaps the least imaginable understanding of what is lost when established ways of doing things are altered. Debates similar to this occur in reference to how changes come about in the words of our languages - I recall some heated debates about what should be included in the new version of the Oxford English Dictionary where some of the older school wanted very little of the newer usages which were mainly bastardizations in their eyes, while some of the younger contingent wanted inclusion of all sorts of things such as Yatta, yatta, yatta (a phrase uttered by the female character on Seinfeld and subsequently a part of the vocabulary of certain younger folks in the USA - I'm not sure whether I'm spelling it right). My belief is somewhere in between - we can't expect language never to change, nor expect that every utterance is immediately sanctified into a standard of our language. As with most things, one can deconstruct or construct it either way but at it's core is an idea, the idea of language, which exists independent of our analysis or deconstructions of it. One can deconstruct the idea of colors and the notion of red by showing that it becomes difficult to identify as it borders other colors, that other people have different intrepretations of exactly where are the bounds of what constitutes red; nonetheless red exists independently as an idea, regardless of how we can show it to be deconstructed and meaningless. But my point is simpler than all that: if we try, we can all communicate pretty well without smiley faces as we always have in letters to each other, letters to the editor, etc. (Part of the reason some of us might want to do this is because of a belief in the idea of language.) In this way, we can reduce the superfluous, which to me is per se a good thing - an opinion or bias, admittedly. In addition, we can give attention to the beauty of abstract language without feeling a need to include aspects of body language or whatever else someone feels language suddenly requires. Again, this is all just opinion and someone might feel great about the idea of deconstructing language just for the fun of it. That's what makes the world go 'round. However, it is odd for those who advocate smiley faces to require their use by others. (I don't use smiley faces but don't require others not to use them, though admittedly I do sometimes poke fun.) I would say: expect that some won't use them and try hard to understand what you are reading, rather than focusing on what visual cues you are missing. --- Keith Whaley [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Robert Soames Wetmore wrote: That it is easier is sometimes a recommendation against it. Sometiimes it is. Agreed. We tend to gloss over meaning and nuances if we're rapidly typing an email to someone. Emails don't require as much attention to the details of 'conversation,' do they? So, yes, your point is well taken. I love how all of a sudden in the last ten years people suddenly find it so difficult to live without smiley faces in their writing and find all sorts of justification for how necessary they. ...are. easier to simply append a textual smile! isn't it? Dr E D F Williams Keith Whaley Good points, all. However, language develops with use. Fact. Can't stop it. Changing all the time. Of course, we can't put smileys in out face-to-face conversations, becasue we do that automatically. On the other hand, we, as a society, have never done so much written (typed) conversation. We would ordinarily have saved it for a phone call (where you can heaar voice inflections...) or a personal letter. Evolution is not always good, is it? keith whaley _ Broadband? Dial-up? Get reliable MSN Internet Access. http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/default.asp
Re: Re[6 ]: Med format exhibit in Texas, great stuff
I agree that the seminal issue is how hard it is - but what does it say about an artist if his choice of medium is entirely contained in it being the least difficult? The medium choice in my opinion should be best, not easiest. But that's just me, of course. That is a belief that not all will share. Actually, photography was very controversial among painters for it's ease of use. It also took a while for it to be accepted as an art, since in a sense anyone could do it. Of course, the true artists had more control, etc., but it was and is still possible for a todder of a moron to take a fine photo. I was thinking of this when I saw an exhibit recently - that there is such a finer distinction between the artful and non artful in photos compared to most other mediums. Artful photography is both easier and yet harder. This makes photography such an incredibly subtle form of art. The difficulty of this distinction attracts me greatly. Your reference to the ease of shooting guns reminds me that I have to polish up on my knife-throwing ability. RSW --- Steve Desjardins [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Too much skill required for most people. More folks can learn to do things with Photoshop than can paint. One reason that guns became more popular weapons than swords or bows is that they were easier to use. In a medieval style battle, the sword was a much better weapon, but it took a long time to learn how to use one. OTOH, any fool could pull a trigger. I'm such it bothered painters that photography made it possible for less skilled people to produce reasonably acceptable images. Steven Desjardins Department of Chemistry Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA 24450 (540) 458-8873 FAX: (540) 458-8878 [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] 10/22/02 05:28PM i choose not to add or remove elements of what was present external to my recording device when i took the picture but only to correct the flaws in the process and the medium to make the image more resemble my vision and remembrance of what i saw. some people make other choices. Herb Until very recently photorealistic painting would have given you far more control over content creation than photography - did you ever consider that choice? RSW _ Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963 _ Broadband? Dial-up? Get reliable MSN Internet Access. http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/default.asp
The flagship is coming! The flagship is coming!
Paal, you are now the PDML equivalent of Britney Spears Cameron Hood Maybe you're right - I did actually feel like having sex with Paal after his new flagship posting. RSW _ Choose an Internet access plan right for you -- try MSN! http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/default.asp
Re: Re: Pentax announces digital SLR
Even Minolta offers a few low-end models in addition to their Maxxum 5, 7 and 9. Chris Brogden Yes, but Minolta has been clarifying their line lately. I think the Maxxum 9, Maxxum 7, and Maxxum 5 made a lot of sense as a trio of film cameras to remain for a while: one super-pro spec, the other a high feature for the money midrange camera, and the third a very inexpensive (though well specified) beginner. Most of the others are older hold-overs that don't quite fit in. Adding the Maxxum 4 didn't make a whole lot of sense to me, though - it's so close to the 5. Canon I think is going to do something similar. The Rebel Ti is going to cover a lot of the lower-end ground. Then they will probably end up with three more bodies. Pentax has way too many too similar lower/mid-lower film bodies. They should end up with an MZ-6 as the beginner, the MZ-S as the midrange, a retro LXAF/MZ-1 as a high-margin niche product, and then the film flagship which could be something very highly specified. I agree with Mustardamus that the new flagship logically might resemble certain aspects of the PZ-1p, though it probably won't look like it or have the degree of features/dollar (-nothing does!). I can't imagine it would be quite as monstrous as an EOS-1v (this isn't Pentax's style), though I wouldn't mind something almost that big to pair with large FA* glass. Something in between the Maxxum 7 and 9 in size, in feature content, and in retro vs. high tech might fit the bill. Paal's prediction of a cross between the F100 and Maxxum 7 is perhaps the most likely in the end (not just because it is coming from Paal). Rob _ Get a speedy connection with MSN Broadband. Join now! http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/freeactivation.asp
Thoughts on a film flagship
Realistically Pentax's immanent film flagship may be it's last high-end film camera. It seems it might go more in the high-tech direction (PZ-1p, Maxxum 7) or, alternatively, in the lower tech - an LX w/ AF sort of thing. Or could it, like the Maxxum 9 and to some extent the MZ-s, hit both points simultaneously: traditional interface, appeal to traditionalists, but high-tech and highly specified? Maybe a bulkier MZ-S (including right hand buldge) with limited finish, faster shutter and drive motor, AF spot beam projector ... which would be like a somewhat scaled down Maxxum 9? What do you all think? Do you think it will go in one direction or the other? Which would you prefer? _ Surf the Web without missing calls! Get MSN Broadband. http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/freeactivation.asp
RE (3): Poll: 3rd party prime lenses for k-mount
My choice: The lens used in the most top-secret US spy satellites (and I'll take the digital camera part too) g [Brad Dobo] My choice is any third party lens that will fit my recreational proctoscope. RSW _ Unlimited Internet access for only $21.95/month. Try MSN! http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/2monthsfree.asp
Re (2): Thoughts on a film flagship
Why am I increasing aware that I got suckered when purchasing my MZ-S? [Brad Dobo] You didn't get suckered - the MZ-S is a beautiful camera. But perhaps you are alluding to the fact that it may not be a long-term flagship but, rather, as some of us have speculated, a kind of stop-gap camera needed to fill a very large hole in the line-up. But think of it this way: in the above sense, you were less suckered than anyone who has bought a digital camera to date, which is a lot of people. RSW _ Surf the Web without missing calls! Get MSN Broadband. http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/freeactivation.asp
RE: Wedding Photography
I was recently married and, with my wife, had to choose a wedding photographer. Strangely, in my area, they are all divided into pretty much PJ or traditional. Pretty silly. We went with someone who used neither term and was somewhere in-between in a certain sense. Some of the PJ types were trying so hard to be clever in their photos the exact opposite of the photographer becoming anonymous. Action shots with slanted horizons of blurred brides getting out of cars as if they happened to be captured by paparazzi for the cover of The Star. It is just a fad and will look dated in about five years. Some of the traditional category had such posed shots that we were bored to tears. We went only with personal recommendations and saw about 10 of the better wedding photographers in our area. They ranged from about $1700 to $5000. Most were $2000 to $3000. They would be more in or around a major city like NYC, but we are 2 hours north. About half (maybe less) gave the proofs to the customer. Packages usually included variations on something like: 24 page leather albums, 200-400 shots taken, 6-8 hours of shooting time on the date (often including up to three locations), a couple of enlargements, in some cases engagement photo sessions, or other things. We paid a little over 2 grand, got all our (~350) proofs, got a decent-sized album, two framed enlargements, and a great photographer. Personality entered into our decision as much as - or more than, really - technical ability. I am not speaking of artistic personality but actual people skills. Not to focus on equipment but this is an equipment list, so... Everyone we went to used Hasselblad except two one who used Bronica (loud!) and one who used 35mm Canon. After seeing the results of my photographer (who used Hassey), I wouldnt consider 35mm. Initially I would have, apart from being somewhat suspicious that some 35mm users had 35 because they weren't established enough to have MF. The MF difference was clear even for smaller prints. No comparison in terms of tonality. This is also why Ive given serious consideration to MF in my own shooting, though I dont feel I am currently good enough to deserve such equipment (apart from my beloved Yashicaflex that my father gave me). I would go to a lot of photographers and look at a lot of books - not best of display books but complete albums of individual couples. RSW _ Get faster connections -- switch to MSN Internet Access! http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/default.asp
Re: how many bodies do you own?
Re: how many bodies do you own? The ones I technically own right now total 8: PZ-1p (2), ZX-50, K1000SE, Konica T3n, Konica T2, Konica FT-1 motor, Yashicaflex TLR. I'm rethinking it all, though - but that's another and much more tedious thread... RSW _ Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963
Re: Now that's advertising. . .
I also notice its in silver cans. probably can't get the black cans in the US. Not that it bothers me . . . Steven Desjardins HA! Paal knows a guy who will convert the can parts from silver to black for $180/can. The beer tastes the same, though, so it seems kinda silly. Who needs to look like a pro beer drinker anyway? Rob _ Internet access plans that fit your lifestyle -- join MSN. http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/default.asp
Re (x): Pentax annonces digital SLR
I expect [the Pentax DSLR] to be comparable to the d60/d100. But as long as it's got specs equal to the MZ-S I'll be happy. Nick Wright Wow, specs equal to the MZ-S - that includes ISO equivalency up to 6400. That would be impressive! Rob _ Unlimited Internet access -- and 2 months free! Try MSN. http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/2monthsfree.asp
Re: ot repair to Yashica Mats
Any one know if the focus mechanics on a plan jane Y-M are fixable,at a reasonable cost. Mine went south on the best day of the long weekend.The knob focused fine for the first 2 pictures of the day,then all of a sudden the knob turns freely and the lens housing does not move in/out. Any suggestions? This is my only MF camera Wa. :) Dave Dave, I don't know the answer to your question but I would be happy to pose it to the two Yashica TLR groups I converse with if you want. By the way, for Yashica TLR repair, THE man is Mark Hama. http://www.markhama.com/ He built them in the factory and is the leading expert repair guy. I've used him and am happy with his service. You could fire him an email describing the problem and ask about whether it's repairable and how much: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (You could call him, but he's not too chatty, maybe because of his language skills.) Rob _ Unlimited Internet access -- and 2 months free! Try MSN. http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/2monthsfree.asp
May I be the first to whine?
If Pentax goes all-digital I will very sadly abandon the brand. RSW _ Choose an Internet access plan right for you -- try MSN! http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/default.asp
Re: Poll: Primes that we wish Pentax had built
1. Lens name: FA*50mm/1.0 (below are guesses, not requirements) Length: 3.5 Diameter: 3.8 Weight: 2.5 lbs Filter Thread: 72mm Other: optimized for wide open shooting, ghostless coatings, price less than $3000 2. Lens name: FA*21mm/4 tilt-shift (below are guesses, not requirements) Length: 3.4 Diameter: 3.7 Weight: 2.2 lbs Filter Thread: 72mm Other: ghostless coatings, price less than $1750 3. Lens name: FA* 300/4.0 (below are guesses, not requirements) Length: 9 Diameter: 3.5 Weight: 2.7 lbs Filter Thread: 77mm Other: built-in tripod mount, price less than $1500 ...and a PZ-1pn - Oops, did I say that? _ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com
Pentax poll digressions (Or, let's not get ahead of ourselves)
Arnold, Next poll suggestion. Pentax lenses you whished they still manufactured. Bob Or the next poll could be about what you want the next poll to be... RSW _ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com
Re: dslr
Bruce Rubenstein wrote: Deal! Of course, now you've guaranteed that I have to stick around till then. [...] BR D'oh! He got us again. Rob _ Join the worlds largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com
Re: Subject: Re: Primes that we wish Pentax had built
Yes, now THESE are some nice choices!!! Lens name: A*SMC 35/1.2 ED Lens name: A*SMC Pentax 1:1.4 20mm Lens name: A*SMC Pentax 200/2 ED Steve Larson Redondo Beach, California _ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx
RE: To the pentax spies
No, no, no. Wrong. He apologized five times already. You see, he wrote the swear, defended his statement, and then realized he wrote the swear, and then apologized five times. But he will apologize another ten times to you because of your post. And then he will ask me to clarify this post of mine. And then we'll all apologize to each other. Oh, and, by the way, I'm truly sorry for this post of mine here - I didn't realize what I wrote until just now before I hit... SEND[TOO LATE!] Sounds like you condone 5 yrs old kids swearing says a lot about today's people in education. Mike. And your point on kids? I'm in education, I see 5yr old kids swearing. Brad Dobo _ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com
Re: Pentax Spies
Don't make him angry...you wouldn't like him when he's angry... [shirt ripping, body becoming Hulkingly large, face taking on the supposed greenish hue of those large white Pentax lenses] Please don't say that, I apologized for the my choice of words. I am not a freak. Brad Dobo _ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com
Re: Rebel Ti starts to copy MZ-S
Guess whose latest slr has a tilted top plate? Hard to keep a good idea down, I guess. http://www.canoneos.com/rebelti/flash/rebelti_f.html Click on the flash thingie and then on the virtual 3d thing and check its profile. Dan Scott Wow, that looks truly awful and gimmicky. It should sell extremely well. RSW _ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com
Pentax TLR drawing?
Someone posted a link to a drawing of a Pentax TLR a while back but I can't find the message - can someone repost? RSW _ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx
Pentax Ad
Page 15 of the new Petersen's Photographic (November, 2002) has a full page ad for the Pentax Optio 430RS. The theme is power to spare (in terms mainly of battery life) and shows the camera in the foreground with a wire leading back to a marshall amp stack in the background. The lighting is such that the finish of the Optio is shown to be quite beautiful. RSW _ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com
Mamiya advertising is better than Pentax
Hello- I've noticed that many on the list decry the size and weight of the EOS-1v and F5 type cameras and advocate that for that size it would make more sense to have an MF camera - up to a certain telephoto length, anyway. I recall, too, the posting of a link to some nature photog who switched from Canon to Pentax 645 for this very reason. Obviously, there are also issues of lens speed, wide-angle availability, lens/kit costs, and camera automation/sophistication that may weigh against such an option. My main point is that this type of advertising might be brilliant on the part of Pentax, certainly for the 645 (and especially if it were to get USM and/or Image-stabilization as a few have dreamed). However, Mamiya is taking advantage of just this in recent ads, such as on page 37 of the November 2002 issue of Photographic. It is quite a compelling ad which shows head-on shots (which make the case better than if one sees the depth of both systems) of a MAMIYA 7II next to an F5 (w/ name on Camera and lens blacked-out) and then below shows the difference in image size. Such a simple point - and made in such a graphic way that drives home the point. Would that Pentax advertising come up with such a concept. RSW _ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com
Others with NO interest in digital?
Hello- Just out of curiosity, is there anyone else on this list who has absolutely zero interest in digital cameras (except perhaps as a curiosity), has no intention of ever converting from film, etc., etc.? At the moment, I'm not trying to argue with those in favor of digital, I'm just wondering if I am more-or-less completely alone in wishing to stay with film for the rest of my life. RSW _ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com
Re: no test
this is not a test -- Frits J. Wüthrich (Sent with Kmail) Indeed. What I read was not a test but a representation of a test. Are you related to Magritte? Robert Soames Wetmore _ I am not interested in constructing a building so much as in having a perspicuous view of the foundations of possible buildings Wittgenstein _ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com
Re (2): no test
Rene Magritte was the painter of This is not a pipe: http://www.cgecwm.org/art/this-is-not-a-pipe.jpg; Robert Soames Wetmore _ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com
Re: OT: D1s review
I don't see how anyone could conclude that 35mm film is still a superior media after seeing these pictures. -R [Ryan K. Brooks] Maybe because there are considerations for some of us other than absolute image quality. Even if you don't agree, other perspectives shouldn't be inconceivable. RSW _ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com
list manners
An internet list such as this is a great microcosm of the world. It proves that civility never wins out over incivility - and this is why humanity is ultimately doomed. Calls for civility are futile as long as such obtuse and hostile people exist, which they always will. It's the same problem we civilized First World countries have in co-existing with terrorists - as long as they exist, they will never consent to any higher rules of Civilization. It's like the question of who wins in a debate between Wittgenstein and a bear. (Answer: the bear.) Asking people not to swear or be needlessly hurtful is like asking terrorists to stop blowing people up - it's silly to attempt it. And, again like terrorists, people come up with the silly arguments that any attempt at order (or in this case, merely a plea for voluntary compliance!) is policing All you can do is live with it, be realistic, and remind yourself that this is why the world can never be a place of peace, enlightenment, civility, etc. Every day I get on the bus and witness young punks/gangsters swearing to each other in the most insanely vile language right in front of peacable old folks. It is a sad thing, but not surprising. Once long ago there may have been manners, but no longer. Now there are only feelings of licentiousness (combined with a haughty sense of entitlement to any sort of behavior). Manners will never work on an unmoderated list and calls for better manners only really incite people who are hostile to civilization. RSW Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2002 04:49:19 -0700 (PDT) From: Bob Poe [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: favourite photos Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii GET THE ... OVER IT... ETC, ETC [Bob Poe] _ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx
What about a film flagship?
I'm getting bored of all this digital SLR talk; can we go back to speculating about either: 1. a film flagship that outclasses the Maxxum 7 (which was claimed as a minimum benchmark for specification of a possible future Pentax SLR) or 2. a Limited film flagship of lower specification but matching the Limited lens finishes (which was hinted at an an LXII, or as the camera we would take to our graves)? Failing the above, let's talk about religion or politics. Does anyone have a good Pope joke? There's more to life than digital. Robert Soames Wetmore _ I am not interested in constructing a building so much as in having a perspicuous view of the foundations of possible buildings Wittgenstein _ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com
Re: Buying an LX
Here's one: http://home.earthlink.net/~belinkoff/cameras/lx/questions.html; Every 3 months or so I see mention of a page listing things to check when buying an LX. Of course, now that I'm actively shopping for one I can't seem to find the site. Can someone please point me in the right direction (promise I'll bookmark it this time).; Mike Y _ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx
Re: Juan's terrific photos of petanca
Let's try that link again...it was fine when I sent it (I even checked my sent messages - yup, looks fine) but somehow a simicolon appeared magically and then the end quotes became part of the hyperlink. So, here's another try at the link: http://jbuhler.com/html/petanca.html; _ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com
Re: My God It's Finally Arrived
What's all the excitement? What is it, another new proctoscope??? Robert Soames Wetmore _ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com
Re (2): My God It's Finally Arrived
What's all the excitement? What is it, another new proctoscope??? Robert Soames Wetmore ...and is it the long-awaited flagship proctoscope or just another amateur model? Robert Soames Wetmore _ Join the worlds largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com
Re: Future of digital
I think this touches upon an important point and one that suggests a continual need for digital to develop beyond the standards of film (whereas many are still, I believe erroneously, using film as a yardstick for digital resolution). I imagine digital resolution continually increasing until one day the method will be that one starts by taking an initial survey and then goes into a post-production mode on a PC and creates pictures - changing the perspective angles, adding and subtracting various things, at times zooming well into an image for a detail or macro from what started as a panoramic survey. The majority of the images will be made thusly in post-production. And having a great capacity to capture large amounts of information (far, far more than on film) from a scene fairly quickly will be deemed essential. Of course, in my opinion this has nothing to do with photography - but at this point that's neither here nor there. [Robert Soames Wetmore] One huge weakness to this concept is that of DOF. This is a method that is employed at the time of exposure to sometimes emphasize or de-emphasize a particular element or subject. If you were to capture a very large scene and then later pick it apart, focus and out-of-focus areas would really make or break the picture. That means you would still have to apply as much or more creativity at the time of capture as you would at post processing. [Bruce] This is true as things are at the moment, but I don't see why this couldn't be changed - particularly if companies are trying to come up with new things to sell cameras in the future, and if people are convinced they need this sort of thing. I think most of these types of limitations, such as DOF, can be overcome by computers - like maybe something that focuses in and out quickly to record a scene at a myriad of different focal points which can then be interpreted (interpolated) by software...or increasing sensitivity so much that depth of field is enormous (and can then be foreshortened by various types of blurring software). I can almost guarantee that everything is going to go post-production in this way. RSW _ Join the worlds largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com
Re[2]: Digital vs.FILM: will digital cameras lose the war?
False. You can copy *any* file 100 times a second for the next 100 years, and the last copy will be as good as the first one. [Mike] Ridiculous. Robert Soames Wetmore _ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx
Re: Albano desperate test
If you are reading this email, please write me directly to let me know. I can't see my own postings, and it's PRETTY FRUSTRATING. Thanks Albano (in digest mode) I wouldn't get that frustrated - your postings haven't been all that interesting lately, so you're not missing much. For instance, this one was just about how you're not getting your postings...very dull and uninteresting. Rob _ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com
Re: FA100-300mm
Quick question - FA100-300mm There appear to be two versions. A power zoom version (f4.5-5.6) and a current silver version (f4.7-5.8) The comments on Stan's site all seem to pertain to the power zoom version, and imply that it's not worthy to carry the Pentax name. What about the new version? It's considerably cheaper, but does that mean that it's an even worse performer than its older brother? wendy beard There are at least three (in addition to the newish silver #27607/#27608 80-320 4.5-5.6): 1. #27927 FA 100-300 4.5-5.6 (black) (out of production, no longer on Pentax USA site) This is powerzoom and was twice as expensive as the one below. 2. #27931 F 100-300 4.5-5.6 (black) (probably out of production, though if so it stopped after the FA production stopped. Still on Pentax USA website. Getting harder to find. Looks like the FA - both have ellipse shaped impressions in the zoom rings.) Probably the least expensive. 3. #27617 FA 100-300 4.7-5.8 (silver) newer and current. FA but not powerzoom. From what I understand, (1.) and (2.) are the same optically but the second is cheaper because, though later, it lacks powerzoom; both are considered poor. I don't know about (3.). Most people seem to say the 80-320 is the best one of all, though not stellar. It's usually around $280. Last I checked you could still get the FA Powerzoom 100-300 at Focus for $260, and the other 100-300s (the F versions) at a number of places for much less. This is probably one of the best areas in which to consider third party lenses - and particularly the alternative of third-party used fixed focal length lenses (especially if you were looking to use the zoom lens at longer focal lengths where they are all mediocre at best). Rob _ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx
Re: The Inkjet Printer Reaches Maturity
The reports on the Yahoogroups EPSONx7x list have all been very favorable. Maris There's a yahoo group for a brand of printers??? RSW _ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx
Future of digital
My thinking is that its not just large print sizes that show the difference, but also the greater enlargement of a cropped part of an image. How many times I have taken a photo in landscape orientation andthought that there is a big space to the side and I want to crop it to make it portrait. This means using perhaps half the available image and therefore enlarging it twice as much as normal. Therefore if you need to go to A3 to show the difference between digital and film for 'full frame' shots, by the time I have done my crop I would see the difference at A4. [Rob Brigham] I think this touches upon an important point and one that suggests a continual need for digital to develop beyond the standards of film (whereas many are still, I believe erroneously, using film as a yardstick for digital resolution). I imagine digital resolution continually increasing until one day the method will be that one starts by taking an initial survey and then goes into a post-production mode on a PC and creates pictures - changing the perspective angles, adding and subtracting various things, at times zooming well into an image for a detail or macro from what started as a panoramic survey. The majority of the images will be made thusly in post-production. And having a great capacity to capture large amounts of information (far, far more than on film) from a scene fairly quickly will be deemed essential. Of course, in my opinion this has nothing to do with photography - but at this point that's neither here nor there. Robert Soames Wetmore _ I am not interested in constructing a building so much as in having a perspicuous view of the foundations of possible buildings Wittgenstein _ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com
Re (2): MZ-S appearance handling vs. PZ-1p (was: MZ-S built quality)
The Ford Focus does in fact have a round shape more in common with the Z-1p than a Volvo. It's edges are all ornaments in the form of lights, lists etc. The MZ-S hasn't any superfluous edges as the edges are not ornamental and are indeed to some extent dictated by ergonomics. [Pal] Edges cannot be dictated by the ergonomics of a supple human body. Possibly they could be dictated by manufacturing needs or ease, or by a structural proposition. Both the Focus and Evoq are well-known examples of the 'new edge' styling - and the MZ-S shows such an influence. I'm not sure where the Volvo comes in - I don't think there's a camera on the market that box-like, stodgy, or boring looking...well, perhaps the Maxxum 9 (which, incidentally, I rather like). My Civic Si absolutely destroys the Wolfsburgh-built Golf I replaced it with in terms of mechanical reliability. [me] The Golf I was released in 1974... [Pal] That was an i not a Roman numeral 1. I foolishly replaced my Honda with a Golf of abysmal reliability. I didn't know there was a Golf I. (And the Mexican VWs are the only cars on even terms with American reliability.) [me] Surely you must be joking? [Pal] No, the Mexican VWs are the only cars doing as badly in reliability as American cars. No other European cars and no Japanese cars come close. Do you deny this, or did you misunderstand? I won't start in on Audi TT quality control since I know you are an Audi fan. Robert Soames Wetmore _ I am not interested in constructing a building so much as in having a perspicuous view of the foundations of possible buildings Wittgenstein _ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: Re: Odp: Next Pentax Flagship Camera?
Sometimes it's very hard not to take it personal. I wonder if I'm really the only one PDML'er who thinks that Z-1p is user friendly and easy to master, the only one who feels that MZ-S is not as good as it could and should have been. I wonder if all those loads of user's good opinions on Z-1p written on the Photography Review, Camera Review, PhotoZone and the similar sites are worth nothing. Regards Artur Artur, You're certainly not the only one - some of us just get tired of the continual criticisms of the interface from people who freely admit they simply don't have the capacities to learn to work it. I love the interface and it is so simple that, since I honestly don't doubt the intelligence of the detractors, I sometimes doubt their sincerety - that is, I doubt they've honestly really given it a fair try. It is easy to be scared off by anything new, anything which allows many choices. And I'll be the first to admit the manual is scary - really poorly written, and wrong in several places. Robert Soames Wetmore _ I am not interested in constructing a building so much as in having a perspicuous view of the foundations of possible buildings Wittgenstein _ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Why the slower shutter and motordrive on the MZ-S?
The MZ-S strenght's are small size/weight and high built quality. In order to make it small you have to use small batteries something that precludes highly strung and battery hungry shutters and fast motordrives due to their excessive power consumption. [Pal] Is this true - that the small bateries were the main thing governing the shutter/motordrive specs? I'm not trying to pick a fight - I honestly don't know enough about it. Is a faster shutter also larger? I assume a faster motor is going to be a bit larger - or is it really not that much with the advances in microelectronics? I'm just wondering how small the MZ-S could still have been if it had had, say, 1/8000 max. shutter, 4 FPS motordrive, and used maybe 2 CR123s or a 2CR5 or whatever. Thanks- Robert Soames Wetmore _ I am not interested in constructing a building so much as in having a perspicuous view of the foundations of possible buildings Wittgenstein _ Join the worlds largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
PZ-1p (8-segment) vs. MZ-S (6-segment) multi-pattern metering
Just out of interest, why did Pentax switch from an eight-segment multi-pattern metering system (PZ-1p) to a six-segment system (MZ-S)? Does anyone have any insight? I'm not implying that the MZ-S meter is worse - I don't believe in sheer numbers (the nine segment Minolta meters seem to test consistently better than the EOSIVs); I just wonder why they'd take an APPARENT step back. Was there any problem with the PZ-1p's system? Or was the six-segment an economy (because of sharing with other ZX cameras)? I've had excellent results from the 1p multi-pattern metering and scrunched my nose a little to see it gone in the MZ-S (which, as I said before, may be just as good or better). Robert Soames Wetmore _ I am not interested in constructing a building so much as in having a perspicuous view of the foundations of possible buildings Wittgenstein _ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
RE( ): Next Pentax Flagship Camera?
Well said Pal. Something is worth what people are prepared to pay for it. If enough people are prepared to pay the price for an MZ-S then it is not overpriced. Basic economics. [Rob] I wonder what the term 'overpriced' means then if everything is worth exactly its selling price (assuming it sells)? Isn't it possible to take some sort of reasonable and dispassionate look at things and determine at least a reasonable range of relative value? If someone came out with a K1000 clone tomorrow that sold for $5000...and it sold well somehow (it is possible!), couldn't we all agree nonetheless that it was overpriced? One could begin by comparing the build quality, features, etc with that of an LX or MX or whatever and determine that it wasn't worth it. I guess I'll stop before starting another anti-Marxist thread...I guess I just can't believe it's impossible to speak at all about value or about something being overpriced in terms other than whether it happens to have sold in some particular and in many ways artificial context. Robert Soames Wetmore _ I am not interested in constructing a building so much as in having a perspicuous view of the foundations of possible buildings Wittgenstein _ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Architectural Interiors - seeking lens and book recommendations
Hello- I am an architect working on a restoration project of a 1930s theater and, though a pro photog will be hired at the end for some promo shots for marketing purposes, I am contemplating doing some before and after documentation myself, for my own purposes, with just 35mm equipment. 1. Does anyone have any recommendations for a good text on photographing architecture - particularly interiors? 2. I will be using the FA 24/2.0 (I have the FA 35/2.0 as well) but would like any recommendations for additional suitable wide-angle lenses (including the shift lens) and comments on anyones experience in using them for architectural photography, particularly in terms of rectilinear distortion or orthogonal accuracy. Thanks, RSW Robert Soames Wetmore _ Less is more cheap. - Osvaldo Valdes, architect _ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re (5a): Photo of Jet Breaking the Sound Barrier
Bob Walkden wrote: Authenticity does not depend on the medium but on the source of the information, and the extent to which we trust the source. If the National Enquirer printed a photograph and claimed it was a Yeti, I'd be inclined to doubt it. However, if Nature printed the same photograph and said it was a Yeti I'd have very good reason to believe it to be true. A photograph and a painting, both of unknown origin and not accompanied by any documentation or verbage will be viewed and interpreted very differently. Correctly or not, one will be believed by most viewers to possess a different level of truth value, a different relationship to reality. This is precisely the attraction of photography the not merely formal qualities. I do not disagree that the trust one has in the source is tremendously important in connecting the sign of the photo with the signified. This is where information external to the photo enters in (increasingly so in the digital age). But the sign itself in photography possesses very different values than the sign of the painting and this is where the importance of the medium, and not just of intentionality, enters in. In the example above, if it is a photograph, it is of something - maybe a man in a Yeti suit. As far as the photograph is concerned, it is an accurate representation of a man in a Yeti suit (or whatever it was - maybe a bush in the shape of a Yeti, or a smudge on the lens in the shape of a Yeti) in the given conditions (broadly defined). Whether this is a real Yeti is a different question, one external to the concerns of photography itself (though no less important of course). The vast, overwhelming majority of paintings, in the West, were representational until the rise of photography. Those paintings still are representational. It doesn't mean they're all honest, or that they all depict events that really happened. But this is the definition of literal representation, which is what I am referring to. Yes, traditional painting has been figuratively reprentational and your point is taken, although now it is of course known that all painting is abstract, if not always self-consciously so. I should have been more clear in my terminology. (This is precisely the value of give and take, or dialogue.) The difference in these modes of representing consists of course in the relationship to the real. Different media, none of which is intrinsically more or less honest than any other, but trustworthy authors and/or context. That's what makes the difference. I agree that the trust in author is essential. However, there are intrinsic differences between mediums. One has to consciously subvert representation in photography (and even then, one only succeeds in subverting the recognizability of representation but not representation itself) whereas canvass and buckets of paint for example are anonymous and not predisposed to being assembled in a figurative manner, an abstract manner, an accidental spill, etc. These differences are hard to quantify, but they exist; they have to do with our cultural history, the history of each idiom, the psychological associations we have with phenomenon, the processes of creation and our knowledge of the processes of creation (e.g., optical and other physical laws), the human physiology, and many, many more things. Thanks for the debate - I find what you are saying to be of interest. RSW _ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
RE: Pentax 28-105 4 5.6 Power Zoom Auto Focus lens
Hello, Ed - The 28-105 FA Powerzoom is indeed an excellent zoom. And this is coming from someone who isn't a fan of zooms. It's my main general purpose zoom on my PZ-1p and I've grown to really like it. Optically, I find it to be excellent: very sharp and possessing above average color rendition. It demonstrates very little problem with flare. The build quality is decent - as good or better than any other zoom I've seen, short of the pro-level FA* stuff. It's a little large for this focal length, maybe because of the power zoom functionality. The only problem is that it is a bit slow - but, again, this is coming from a primes guy. It's the same speed as most zooms in this focal length. Although recently having been replaced, the orignal black FA Powerzoom model is still available new at Focus Camera for $255. I'm not sure what you should pay used. John Coyle directed you to the archives - and he's right: there has been very consistently high praise for this zoom on this list previously. However, I've decided to comment and rehash some of this because the last time I checked, the archives went back about a week or two. (The digital milieu isn't exactly a repository of permanence.) I recommend you buy the zoom! Rob Hi All, I was wondering if anybody has used this lens (Pentax 28-105 4 5.6 Power Zoom Auto Focus lens) or could comment on it. I have a friend who knows a guy who was selling one. I was considering buying if this is a good lens. Thanks, Ed _ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp. - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: WTB: 35-105 f3.5 A
Dave wrote: I would prefer not to have to bend over, assume the position, and get sodomized by both UPS (brokerage fees) and the Canadian Government :) Gee wiz, where's the listmarm when you need her? _ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Filters or not? (Was Re: 31 Limited Question)
Bruce, Joe- This argument goes back and forth from time to time - it's kind of a maximax/maximin type of thing. Being a conservative guy, I go for the maximin approach, or at times, more precisely, the minimin approach. I figure the optimal performance of the lens is only very slightly reduced by a high quality filter (and I use ONLY new Pentax or B+W multicoated filters) whereas over the long haul the performance loss from glass scratches and coating degradation is likely to be noticeable and, by comparison, appreciable. At least with filters I'm more or less guaranteed a, practically speaking, constant level of very, very good performance. (And the filter is replaced when this level is no longer constant.) Without filters I have a good chance at very slightly better performance for the short haul and a good chance at noticeably reduced performance for the long haul (with the additional possibility of a traumatic event being far more likely to seriously compromise performance). In particular, it seems like a good idea not to be cleaning the coatings on that crucial outside surface of the lens too often - as much as they are bragged about for durability, they're still somewhat soft. Many on the list, such as Len (if I remember correctly) will disagree and take the opposite approach. But a lot of it comes down to personal preference and pure enjoyment - myself, I can relax more with a filter on the lens for protection and enjoy my shooting in a more carefree way. Rob Joe, I used to put protective filters on my lenses. Once I started to aquire high quality optics, I finally got over my fear of damage and quit using filters for protection. Why would one want to spend so much money on a lens with great optics only to put on filter that will negate some of that optical quality. Protection can be in the form of lens hood and/or lens cap. Got to let that lens perform to it's best for you. Just my 2 cents. Bruce Dayton _ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: (2) 31 Limited Question Again
Sorry - you were talking about the cap, not the hood. I'll shut up now. I knew it was a mistake to go back to contributing to the list. _ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
31 Limited Question Again
It has a flower-shaped hood specifically for attaching and removing filters. In here: http://kmp.bdimitrov.de/lenses/primes/wide-angle/FA31f1.8.html; You will in fact find the quote: It even comes equipped with an exclusively designed flower-shaped lens hood, which not only cuts down excessive light but also allows for easy attachment and removal of filters. So, filter + hood = no problem. Precisely how the hood attaches, though, I have no idea. Rob _ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
645NII to be featured in March issue of PHOTOgraphic
The March issue (on sale Feb. 12) of Petersen's PHOTOgraphic is to have a lead feature on the 'Unveiling of the 645NII'. _ Join the worlds largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
RE: Mangling English (Papped)
The one that grinds my teeth is that the word architect is mis-applied to computer programmers at all. We real architects make buildings. (Granted, this is not so much a grammatical error as a conceptual error. Or a cultural error: current society doesn't value its civic artists any more - and in some ways much less - than it values those that write scripts for computers.) Rob Hi Cotty, try working in IT - they are worse than politicians for mangling English. The one that I hate the most, the one that really makes me grind my teeth is architect. Paul Ewins Melbourne, Australia _ Join the worlds largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: Why would you say that?
There's also an article by Bob Shell on the Nikon FM3A SLR for those of you who have been feeling traitorous lately! Why would you say that? I know that. You think I don't know that? Why would you think I don't know that? I know that. I don't know why you'd say that, you see, if you thought I didn't know that. [beads of sweat on forehead] [dragging heavily on cigarette] --SNL Mike Oh - I didn't mean you, Mike. When you were gone for a couple of weeks, there was some other jerk here who wanted one. He also passionately hated tripods (the more stable, the worse), considered anything longer than 85mm to be supertelephoto (the province only of the most dedicated and adventurous nature photographers in Sub-Saharan Africa), and used to edit and write for darkroom magazines but suddenly and inexplicably turned into an advocate of digital. What a wierdo THAT guy was! g Rob _ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
31 and 24-90 in Feb. Shutterbug
Hello all, Not sure whether this has been mentioned as I'm about ten digest behind, but the latest issue of Shutterbug (February, 2002) features a sizable article reviewing the Pentax 31 F/1.8 limited and the FA 24-90 F/3.5-4.5 AL[IF] Zoom. I've just picked it up and not had time to more than skim it - but it seems rather positive, especially of the limited. There's also an article by Bob Shell on the Nikon FM3A SLR for those of you who have been feeling traitorous lately! Rob _ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: PZ-1P kits
Marc, On the surface, this isn't a bad way to go. There are a few things I'd be careful of, though. One trick I've seen is that there is a substantial extra charge for something that is already included with the camera: You want the eyepiece? That's $xx more. Another trick is of course the possibility of off-brand lenses, even if the ad makes them appear to be Pentax. Sometimes it will say f/ptx [translation: for Pentax] or ptxm [pentax mount] or some such nonsense. Another issue is that there might be some small print somewhere about the fact that you're not getting a new product, or not getting a USA warranty, or getting a refurbished item. Sometimes the shipping and handling costs are actually like 10% of the price or more. Also, sometimes they'll charge your card and then tell you that the lenses are out of stock at the moment and on backorder, which they'll be on indefinitely - and good luck getting a refund. These are just off the top of my head as a former New Yorker - I assume we're talking about CCI, Tri-State, Abe's, Beach, Focus, Smile, etc. I'd recommend BH, Adorama, or CameraWorld, though I've also had success when I've risked some of the others (such as Focus and 17photo), knowing EXACTLY what I was getting and keeping things simple. How about the PZ-1p ($480 at BH) and 35mm/2.0 ($284 at BH) and 50mm/1.4 ($185 at BH) for a total of $949? Then in a while add the 135/2.8 ($309), then maybe something between the 50 and the 135, then something wider than the 35 or longer than the 135. If that's too expensive, I'd start with the PZ-1p and just the FA 28-105 f/4-5.6 (the older style black powerzoom model 27667, such as the one now at Focus for $254). There have been quite a few 28-105s, and they vary. The one I mention is still around new in a few places and is excellent. The succeeding one, gray instead of black, wasn't quite so good. There's another brand new one, the FA 28-105 f/3.2-4.5 AL (IF), that is getting good reviews. The 100-300 is pretty bad, the 80-320 somewhat better: I'd avoid both, though there's no inexpensive Pentax-brand alternative. By the way, the FA 28-70 f/4 is a super buy, though they're getting difficult to find now. (Focus is one place that still has them - and cheap.) You could get this or the 28-105 I mentioned above, then think about your next step - maybe a longer prime lens. I love my PZ-1p and believe it to be a fantastic value for the money. Good luck with your purchase! Rob _ Join the worlds largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re[2]: MZ5 and MZ5n Z1p Question
In the last year, I've most frequently used a PZ-1p and ZX-50 and can second this. Assuming the MZ-6 motor is similar to the two generations earlier ZX-50, you may still have the same problem. The PZ-1p motor is quite a bit stronger. Incidentally - and not to rekindle the for/against PZ-1p thread we just had - but I was very happy to add the PZ-1p after using the ZX-50 and would whole-heartedly recommend this move up. However, in fairness to those who argue the opposing position, make sure you are comfortable with the size and grip of the PZ-1p, and especially with the dials and menus of the interface. It's a very capable camera, with so much more in features than the ZX-5n and very little lacking, but it's clearly not for everyone (whereas most find the ZX-5n unobjectionable in handling and interface). Rob Lawrence, THe MZ-L or MZ-6 doesn't solve the wind/rewind motor problem. If you have used both MZ series bodies and the PZ-1p, there is a world of difference in the strength of the motors. Bruce _ Join the worlds largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: Re[2]: I love the PZ-1p
Bruce wrote: In all this discussion of aperture control, I forgot one very lame behavior on the PZ-1p. It is somewhat of an oxymoron. It provides this capability to change aperture by spinning a dial rather than using the aperture ring, but the DOF preview button is mechanical and requires you to turn the aperture ring to make it work. I had forgotten about that, but now remember how it used to raise my hackles a bit. Especially doing macros, I would spin the dial to set aperture, press in the DOF button to view, and realize that I have to use the aperture ring. Not only that, the dial doesn't work with pre A lenses, so to get aperture priority, you still have to use the aperture ring. This is probably what is meant by a somewhat confusing interface. Not quite as clean and cohesive as it ought to be. I understand why, but, nonetheless, it is inconsistent with the design philosophy. This is quite correct. Not having an electronic DOF preview is annoying, particularly if you're setting aperture on the body. A strange inconsistency, maybe due to the time of release, this is one of those things that I'm sure was improved on with the PZ-1pn (which Paal has mentioned was developed but of course never released). Rob _ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp. - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
The brute force school of photography
The following was posted to the list, excerpted from some Olympus digital
camera literature:
{...] as well as 15 fps in the burst mode (JPEG only), thus greatly
enhancing your chances of getting the shot you wanted at the precise
moment it happens.
...also known as the brute force method of photography.
Reminds me of an old music video from rock group The Who where bassist
John Entwistle is shooting skeet: he keeps missing and gets frustrated - and
the next scene shows him yelling Pull! and then opening up with a
full-auto machine gun, decimating the skeet. I think the song was called
My Wife. (!)
If Mike J. has recently returned to the list, I apologize for the gun
reference.
Rob
_
Join the worlds largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail.
http://www.hotmail.com
-
This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe,
go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to
visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
RE: My eBay Pentax garage sale
On the Minolta list you get one warning and then you get permanently kicked off. [Kent Gittings] Sounds like a friendly place! Is that the same list that doesn't let you view the archives unless you're a member, or another one? RSW _ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Pentax New Year's Predictions?
Some speculation enabling for you all... Does anyone have any Pentax New Year's Predictions? Folks with insider info such as Paal are encouraged to weigh in! Of course, I also solicit wild speculation. My predictions are: No new limiteds in 2002. Some kind of medium-to-big glass will come out. Obviously, the MZ-6 will be released. I'm guessing that a non-full-frame digital will be released just before the end of 2002. Also, I'm guessing we'll see one additional entry-level body after the MZ-6 to replace I guess the ZX-30; the line-up will then be MZ-S, MZ-6, MZ-whatever. They'll keep the ZX-5n around for a while longer and eventually (not in the coming year) update it with something upgraded from the new MZ-6, calling it MZ-2 or something. I expect by the end of the year to hear a bit more talk about a forthcoming 35mm flagship to take to one's grave, but I don't expect it until perhaps the end of 2003. No predictions at all for medium format. None of this has any basis in fact or direct knowledge - it's purely speculation and of dubious value. -RSW _ Join the worlds largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: PZ-1p review
Lately, PHOTOgraphic has been giving some belated credit to the PZ-1p. They even listed it in the last issue as one of their five favorite cameras under $500, which I found surprising. I personally love the PZ-1p and can't really imagine a better all-around camera. The ergonomics, as has already been pointed out, couldn't be better. The feel of the camera in my hands is simply the best thing I've ever felt. The Hyper modes concept is a brilliant one - something that would be difficult now for me to lose. I can't imagine getting so much enjoyment out of any other object, let alone camera. I was one of the handful clamoring for a PZ-1pn as a new flagship...not that an update was needed for me, but simply for marketing reasons - a few upgrades such as multi-point autofocusing would have helped sales perhaps. (Let's not get into the discussion of how poorly this gem of a camera, the PZ-1p, has been marketed.) And a weather-sealed titanium PZ-1p would have made me happy for life. It's hard for me see how the PZ-1p is considered ugly - especially when set alongside the MZ-S. The cover of PHOTOgraphic displays the five sub-$500 cameras - and the PZ-1p certainly isn't the worst looking. I have no problem with the looks of the Maxxum 9 though, either, which is generally considered awful to look at...so maybe I have strange notions of what constitutes attractiveness. May main dilemma is how many more PZ-1ps to buy before they disappear altogether. It seems clear that Pentax, as all other companies, will go almost entirely digital in order to survive. Room is left for perhaps one more film flagship, and it seems to make sense that it would be in the retro-style not unlike the LX-II suggested previously by Pal. I'll likely buy one (particularly if the build quality exceeds the PZ-1p, and especially if it exceeds the MZ-S and includes weather sealing), but it seems certain the specs won't match the PZ-1p. With the MZ-S coming in under the PZ-1p in specs in most regards apart from build quality, what this means is that the PZ-1p will end up having been the best, most well-spec'd, pro-caliber 35mm SLR Pentax ever produced. Hence, the more I can buy now the better off I'll be years from now. Sadly, the PZ-1p wasn't even loved by Pentaxers in general - and certainly not the way LX was. The demise of the LX was honored with a long thread of lavish toasts; the PZ-1p died without such honor. When I heard the news that the PZ-1p was officially out of production, I, however, silently drank some homemade chianti. Rob _ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: PZ-1p review
I'm not sure of the exact date when production ceased. Paal Jensen mentioned it a while back. It's hard to find this sort of thing out officially - Pentax USA recently told me it is still a current model. They may still have back-stock at Pentax. The PZ-1p is certainly still available new in many large mail-order shops. BH and Adorama were already mentioned, and most ads in POP Photo still list it. I figure I certainly have at least 6 months (perhaps a year or more, but I want to play it safe) before they become difficult to find. (I bought a K1000 new in 2000 and I think they stopped making those in '97...I did overpay for it though.) The PZ-1ps are rarely on the shelf but that doesn't mean they are unavailable. (How many were on the shelf even back in '95 and '96?) As far as I know the ZX-5n (MZ-5n) is still very current. They've just announced the MZ-6, apparently to replace the ZX-7 (MZ-7), and one could guess that they may release another similar MZ camera to replace the 5n/3 at some point. I guess if you're leaning toward the PZ-1p (which would be my recommendation) then act fairly soon; but if you are leaning toward the MZ-5n, you probably have a couple years before they dry up. Rob Date: Wed, 26 Dec 2001 10:53:56 -0500 From: David Brooks [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Re: PZ-1p review Rob.How recently did Pentax stop production of the PZ-1p?? I'm saving up for eithr the MZ5n or PZ-1p,and i see the 5n still for sale in our big shops but have not realy noticed if the have any 1p's on the shelf. Thanks _ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: 50mm/f1.2
Since Mike's been driven away for a while and can't do so, I'll supply an interesting related link: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/noctilux.htm; -RSW Date: Mon, 17 Dec 2001 05:06:30 -0800 From: Steven Larson [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: 50mm/f1.2 Has there ever been anything faster? _ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
FA 35/2 bokeh (was M lens testimonial)
Is it just me or is the FA 35/2.0 bokeh pretty awful? The author acknowleges the double-imaging of the bokeh wide open (which is bad enough) but then claims it gets good at 2.8 and very good at 4 and beyond, whereas it seems from his images to be really ugly and harsh to me at 2.8, and still ugly at 4.0. I actually feel a little sea-sick looking at it. The bokeh in every shot looks un-natural and unpleasant. Perhaps it's my computer, or something about the subjects he shot or the presentation of the images? I've been thinking about picking up the FA 35/2 but now I don't know. -RSW Date: Sat, 15 Dec 2001 05:11:40 -0800 From: Steven Larson [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: M lens testimonial Hi Paul, was it this one: http://www.takinami.com/yoshihiko/photo/index.html Steve Larson _ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
FS: PZ-1p on eBay, mint condition (Item # 1310332048)
Hello, all. An acquaintance of mine has listed a pristine PZ-1p on ebay - please check out the link if you are interested: http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemitem=1310332048; _ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
