RE: The Toughest Pentax
Bless you. Unlikely though. All traffic going onto Anglesey (or Ynys Mon - pr innis monn) now goes over the Britannia Bridge. You can still drive over the older Menai Bridge, but only in a car. There are weight restrictions on the poor thing Yep, that's the one I meant, the Britannia Bridge...
Re: The Toughest Pentax
On 6/1/04, [EMAIL PROTECTED] disgorged: I lived in Anglesey when I were a lad. We were stationed at RAF Valley and I went to school in Caergiliog (sp?), where I learnt to do joined-up writing and call Welsh people 'trogs'. My sister went to school in Bangor for a few months and had to learn Welsh. I can still count up to 7 in Welsh. How useful is that? I thought it was 'gogs'? Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=| www.macads.co.uk/snaps _ Free UK Mac Ads www.macads.co.uk
Re: The Toughest Pentax
Cotty [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On 6/1/04, [EMAIL PROTECTED] disgorged: On 6/1/04, [EMAIL PROTECTED] disgorged: it's been to Newborough Warren On Anglesey?? Yep, the very one. I went to University in Bangor-aye. I reckon if the MX can survive the life of a student in the wilds of Anglesey then it's as good as indestructable! I love Anglesey! Got a few good shots there last time: http://www.robertstech.com/graphics/pages/7d005012.htm Hoping to visit my relatives there again before too long. Lots of great photographic opportunities there. Just remember to bring your Gore-Tex clothing! -- Mark Roberts Photography and writing www.robertstech.com
Re: The Toughest Pentax
On 7/1/04, [EMAIL PROTECTED] disgorged: I seem to remember a dog-bone link suspension bridge on one of the entrance roads to Anglesey. Does my memory fail me? Might that been a different town in North Wales? There's two bridges now. The newer Britannia Bridge and the much older Menai Bridge. You remember correctly Keith... http://www.anglesey-history.co.uk/places/bridges/ Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=| www.macads.co.uk/snaps _ Free UK Mac Ads www.macads.co.uk
Re: The Toughest Pentax
Cotty [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On 7/1/04, [EMAIL PROTECTED] disgorged: I seem to remember a dog-bone link suspension bridge on one of the entrance roads to Anglesey. Does my memory fail me? Might that been a different town in North Wales? There's two bridges now. The newer Britannia Bridge and the much older Menai Bridge. You remember correctly Keith... http://www.anglesey-history.co.uk/places/bridges/ I think the one Kieth's referring to is the Menai bridge. BTW: When you visit Anglesey, don't pass up the chance to visit Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwantysiliogogogoch! (Let's see what the spell checker makes of THAT!) -- Mark Roberts Photography and writing www.robertstech.com
Re: The Toughest Pentax
Amita Guha [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I love Anglesey! Got a few good shots there last time: http://www.robertstech.com/graphics/pages/7d005012.htm Hoping to visit my relatives there again before too long. Lots of great photographic opportunities there. Just remember to bring your Gore-Tex clothing! Great shots, Mark! I really like these two: http://www.robertstech.com/graphics/pages/7d005209.htm (what's with the angle on those stairs in the top of the frame? The perspective looks weird, like in an Escher print.) Well the spiral staircases in those castles really *do* look like they're something out of an Escher print! BTW: I still haven't got the hang of getting good results from scanning BW negs. The images on the web don't do justice to the prints :( and http://www.robertstech.com/graphics/pages/7d005316.htm - this one reminds me of the Burren in Ireland, actually. Not that far away, really: Just a short hop across the Irish sea. Less than 2 hours on the fast ferry. -- Mark Roberts Photography and writing www.robertstech.com
Re: The Toughest Pentax
Cotty wrote: On 7/1/04, [EMAIL PROTECTED] disgorged: I seem to remember a dog-bone link suspension bridge on one of the entrance roads to Anglesey. Does my memory fail me? Might that been a different town in North Wales? There's two bridges now. The newer Britannia Bridge and the much older Menai Bridge. You remember correctly Keith... Thanks! Yes, that _was_ the Menai bridge. I took photos of it! Uhhh, with my Retina IIIc. Sighhh. That was years before my Pentax awakening. . . http://www.anglesey-history.co.uk/places/bridges/ Cheers, Cotty Thanks for your help. . . keith
RE: The Toughest Pentax
Well the spiral staircases in those castles really *do* look like they're something out of an Escher print! BTW: I still haven't got the hang of getting good results from scanning BW negs. The images on the web don't do justice to the prints :( Oh, I think it's a terrific BW shot! Looks great to me. But I know what yhou mean about the scan not doing the print justice. and http://www.robertstech.com/graphics/pages/7d005316.htm - this one reminds me of the Burren in Ireland, actually. Not that far away, really: Just a short hop across the Irish sea. Less than 2 hours on the fast ferry. Yep. I've taken the ferry there from Holyhead, actually. :) Probably across that bridge Cotty was talking about, though I wouldn't know because it was in the middle of the night. :)
Re: The Toughest Pentax
Comforting words, from the man who sold me my LX! vbg I haven't read anything on this thread yet (but my curiosity was piqued when I saw that Vic posted). I've only had three types of Pentaxes. 3 Spotmatics, and MX and now, my LX. Can't say I've had any reliability problems with any of them, other than meters in two of the Spots (damn, can't they make meters that last more than 30 years?!?). My MX had a sticky shutter when I got it, that was cured by a CLA. Right now the shutter of the MX caps in the cold above 1/500, so once I get my Leica back from the shop, the MX goes in, likely for another CLA. I've only had the LX for a bit more than a month, so can't comment on that one. But hell, I have 5 Pentax cameras, the newest one of which is not likely less than 20 years old, and they're all just humming away! Not bad, in my books. Now, I'll go back and read the rest of this thread. cheers, frank The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears it is true. -J. Robert Oppenheimer From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] snip You know the LX has really takes a beating here some times. snip _ The new MSN 8: smart spam protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail http://join.msn.com/?page=dept/bcommpgmarket=en-caRU=http%3a%2f%2fjoin.msn.com%2f%3fpage%3dmisc%2fspecialoffers%26pgmarket%3den-ca
Re: The Toughest Pentax
Hi, So, which Pentax body do you feel is the toughest ... the one you'd take through the rain and the mud and the Atacama desert, and toss into the back of your rattling old pickup and not worry about it getting the crap knocked out of it? I bought my first LX after my first trip to Ethiopia. I had taken a couple of MXs, including my original which I had bought from new nearly 20 years before. The 2nd MX kept jamming* so I decided I needed something more reliable, and replaced it with an LX. So when I went on a trip from Ethiopia to South Africa I took the original MX, the LX and a Super A (Super Program?) I'd acquired somewhere along the way. This taught me not to mix bodies, and that I didn't like the Super A. However, the Super A was very reliable except for the motor drive, which ate batteries at such a phenomonal rate that I stopped using it. The LX developed sticky mirror. The MX went right on working all the time. The only problem I've ever had with that particular MX was the well-known one of the shutter release switching on the meter and draining the battery. Despite the sticky mirror problem I decided I liked the LX, so I sold the Super A and bought 2 more LXs. Although I never got to take them all to Africa I did take them to places like Russia in winter, and used them in all sort of other conditions. I developed a lot of confidence in them and their toughness. I covered some very violent events where the cameras took some major abuse, and they were fine. One of them was kicked along a gutter by a crowd on a cold, wet winter's day, but kept on working fine. The other way in which the LX scores over the others is its amazing versatility. On my 2nd trip to Africa I was shooting things which ranged from a wedding in Cape Town, to wildlife in Ethiopia, and seaweed farming in Zanzibar. For the wildlife it was essential to have long lenses. The interchangeable heads and screens of the LX were a huge advantage here - they made the photography so much easier and more comfortable. *perhaps it was a rasta camera and was just happy to be in Ethiopia g -- Cheers, Bob
Re: The Toughest Pentax
Charles Braswell Jr [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I don't know if it would qualify as the toughest but I had a PZ-1 that really took a lot of abuse and never let me down. The only Pentaxes that I've owned that are more recent than the MX are the PZ-1p, MZ-S and 645. All three appear to shrug off abuse without missing a beat. -- Mark Roberts Photography and writing www.robertstech.com
Re: The Toughest Pentax
Mine has to be my SP500. I think i mentioned a while back it took some awfull treatment in the early 70's in the Queen Charlottes in British Columbia Canada.Dumped it in the Pacific,dropped it from the helicopter,plus numerous falls from my bumper etc. Still works but the meter is dead now. DAVE Charles Braswell Jr [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I don't know if it would qualify as the toughest but I had a PZ-1 that really took a lot of abuse and never let me down. The only Pentaxes that I've owned that are more recent than the MX are the PZ-1p, MZ-S and 645. All three appear to shrug off abuse without missing a beat. -- Mark Roberts Photography and writing www.robertstech.com
Re: The Toughest Pentax
- Original Message - From: Shel Belinkoff Subject: The Toughest Pentax So, which Pentax body do you feel is the toughest ... Old style Made in Japan K 1000. William Robb
Marginally OT: Re: The Toughest Pentax
I noticed something recently as I perused a local camera place over the holidays - their used AF body section is entirely dominated by Pentax MZ series bodies (what the Yanks call ZX bodies - probably 20 or so of them), especially the MZ-M and MZ-10 models. It made me wonder why. I had an MZ-5n for a while, and I liked it well enough. Certainly it had more toys than most people would ever use, and with the battery grip it was nice to handle and cheal on batteries too. I wonder what people are trading to - there never seems to be a corresponding number of AF normal lenses or those cheap consumer zooms that tend to be sold with these bodies, so I presume that people are just moving to different Pentax bodies, but I can't prove that. Quoting [EMAIL PROTECTED]: What does NOT inspire me as a robust camera is my ZX-5n. Ergonomically, it's my favourite camera, but I've had troubles major and minor with it. - This mail sent through IMP: http://horde.org/imp/
Re: The Toughest Pentax
Steve Jolly posted: Seriously though, in this entire thread, nobody's yet mentioned a Pentax camera that *didn't* stand up to abuse. Is there a body that anyone *wouldn't* be prepared to take somewhere unfriendly? Funny, I just posted another reply to this thread, in which I mentioned in passing that I find my ZX-5n a bit of a wuss. If I'm going on a trip or an assignment, no way I'm taking that camera as the only one. Thirteen months after I bought it, it started overlapping frames (OK, this reliability issue isn't abuse-related). Had it repaired and it's never done that again. Fine. Couple years after that, I was shooting a wedding rehearsal dinner. Partway through, the pop-up flash stopped popping up. Also, I think, not abuse related, but again not inspiring trust. Finished shooting the rehearsal dinner with the WR-90 I happened to have in the car, and kept the ZX-5n in the bag during the wedding as worst-case backup for the PZ-1 and the LX. After which, sent it off for repairs (yea, extended warranty!) and it hasn't done THAT again. Couple years ago, so I guess that was a few months after the wedding incident, I foolishly abused the camera by using my shirt-tail to flick some dust off the viewfinder window. The resulting scratch in the viewfinder introduced so much flare that I couldn't use the camera. So, off to the repair shop. Last summer I took it and the LX on a trip. During the trip, first the viewfinder eyecup disappeared for a while; eventually I found it in my camera bag and secured it with a small black rubber band (sorry, don't recall which PDMLer had recently posted that hint, but thanks!) That's hardly major, but annoying, especially in light of the next item. A day or so later, the lens release button also disappeared, causing me great concern for a few hours until I found it in the van. I still am not sure what casual abuse caused the lens release button to detach from the camera, but that really strikes me as something that should be more secure! Well, if all these little things can go wrong when the camera is actually being treated nicely, I can't imagine expecting it to behave in an unfriendly environment. I had an ME Super which accidentally fell from an open backpack and BOUNCED on a limestone boulder; when I picked it up, it had a dent on the prism and refused to go into Auto, but it worked fine in manual the rest of the day (then off to the repair shop). Just after that, believing that having a second camera is a good idea, bought a P30t. Didn't like that camera much, but will have to give it credit for continuing to work in, and after, a severe downpour in which I was shooting a soccer match. The rain was coming down really hard -- only the officials, the players and I were still out in the open. The PZ-1, which I've had for 8 years now, has been exposed to fog, mist, cold, heat, two delivery rooms and a couple of weddings; it's still working like a pro.
RE: The Toughest Pentax
-Original Message- From: alex wetmore [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Or even the *ist D. My *ist D fell a few weeks ago and the CF door cracked. Someone else on dpreview dropped one in November with a flash attached and the flash ripped off of the hotshoe. The shoe on the camera ripped out? The flashes are designed so that the foot on the flash will break before the shoe on the camera. At least that's what I was told by Pentax after having broke about 9 of them. tv
RE: The Toughest Pentax
On Tue, 6 Jan 2004, tom wrote: -Original Message- From: alex wetmore [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Or even the *ist D. My *ist D fell a few weeks ago and the CF door cracked. Someone else on dpreview dropped one in November with a flash attached and the flash ripped off of the hotshoe. The shoe on the camera ripped out? Apparently. Here is a report: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1028message=6520808 alex
Re: The Toughest Pentax
I have an SF1n. Don't think I would take it someplace rugged. Jim A. From: Steve Jolly [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Tue, 06 Jan 2004 15:40:31 + To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: The Toughest Pentax Resent-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Resent-Date: Tue, 6 Jan 2004 10:41:54 -0500 Shel Belinkoff wrote: Still, like the Timex watches of old, it takes a licking and keeps on ticking, although I don't know why anyone would want to lick an ME S. They're raspberry flavour - that's the difference between them and the vanilla ME, which tastes like vanilla. So, which Pentax body do you feel is the toughest ... the one you'd take through the rain and the mud and the Atacama desert, and toss into the back of your rattling old pickup and not worry about it getting the crap knocked out of it? Seriously though, in this entire thread, nobody's yet mentioned a Pentax camera that *didn't* stand up to abuse. Is there a body that anyone *wouldn't* be prepared to take somewhere unfriendly? S
Re: The Toughest Pentax
On 6/1/04, [EMAIL PROTECTED] disgorged: Seriously though, in this entire thread, nobody's yet mentioned a Pentax camera that *didn't* stand up to abuse. Is there a body that anyone *wouldn't* be prepared to take somewhere unfriendly? The *ist D ! Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=| www.macads.co.uk/snaps _ Free UK Mac Ads www.macads.co.uk
Re: The Toughest Pentax
I don't know. Actually the only Pentaxes I have had extensive experience with are the H3, the MX, and the ME Super. Never had a problem with the H3 but it was my first SLR and I really babied it. Have had 3 MX's, one dropped on concrete with the 85/2 had the mirror knocked out of alignment and a dent in the prism housing. Having the mirror realigned was not expensive. The other one I had back then never had any problems. The one I currently have looks to have been knocked around quite a lot, but works fine. The wind mechanism seems to wear out faster on MX's than it should, going by how many I have handled that were obviously sloppy there. The metal (top and bottom plates) is pretty thin, I wish they had used a gauge heavier metal and let the camera weight an ounce or two more. The current ME Super toppled off the desk onto the cushioned chair and then onto the floor. Cracked the plastic top plate, but otherwise works fine. The one I had to sell awhile back never had a problem. However most of the ME, ME Supers I have seen have never had the heavy use most MX's have had. Of the three models, the H3 felt the most solid, but I do not think it would have stood up to the use and abuse I gave the 2 MX's I had when when I was a working photographer, I would guess the same would apply to the K series cameras as they are basically the same under the skin. I never trust electonics for long term durability, I have had too many electronic gadgets go out for no apparent reason over the years, so no camera that is dependent on the electronics would fit toughest in my mind. So, I guess I would have to go with the MX (if you could get a new one). -- graywolf http://graywolfphoto.com You might as well accept people as they are, you are not going to be able to change them anyway.
RE: The Toughest Pentax
I've had my K1000 for 2 1/2 years and it seems plenty tough. It's been out in rain, snow and cold and has never failed. I have a bad habit of letting it bang against boulders and that doesn't seem to bother it. I had it out shooing meteors from 4am-7:30 on a beach and a marsh in the freezing cold, and it was fine.
Re: The Toughest Pentax
I'll recount my ZX-M story, as it's been a while. I bought a ZX-M in 1999 and almost immediately relegated it to hazard duty. Two of my daughters are fairly interested in cameras and at the time were less than delicate around them. By myself, I subjected the camera to rain, snow, ice, I fell on it twice (it's not soft) pop spills and a dunking at an amusement park. However, my daughter's provided the real tests. Drug across boulders in our west desert, kicked along a gravel road (accidently), swung into a wall by the strap (like a cheerleading baton), splashed in the bathtub, dropped on the driveway and subsequently kicked down to the road (I live on a hill, and my daughter was hurriedly trying to pick it up so I wouldn't notice she dropped it *again*, kind of humourous really) and then the real icing on the cake, dropped one story from the roof to the concrete patio below (I guess light weight has an advantage). End result? No cracks or dents, and works fine, but of course, lots of scrapes, nicks, and gouges.(*) Would I want to take it as my only body on a once in a lifetime trip? No. Does it feel cheap? Yes. Does it inspire confidence? Not really. But a tough camera? Yeah, it's a tough camera. William in Utah (*) Not recounted but implied is the overall rough normal handling (changing lenses, setting, etc.) by overeager prepubecsent offspring. - Original Message - From: Mark Roberts [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2004 8:55 AM Subject: Re: The Toughest Pentax Steve Jolly [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Seriously though, in this entire thread, nobody's yet mentioned a Pentax camera that *didn't* stand up to abuse. Is there a body that anyone *wouldn't* be prepared to take somewhere unfriendly? I believe the LX has a reputation for being less hardy than most metal-bodied Pentaxes. I don't think any of the MZ series (other than the MZ-S) is likely to garner any acclaim for ruggedness. -- Mark Roberts Photography and writing www.robertstech.com
Re: The Toughest Pentax
Charles Braswell Jr [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I don't know if it would qualify as the toughest but I had a PZ-1 that really took a lot of abuse and never let me down. The only Pentaxes that I've owned that are more recent than the MX are the PZ-1p, MZ-S and 645. All three appear to shrug off abuse without missing a beat. I've had my PZ-1p fail when shooting in the rain; first the auto-focus started hunting like crazy, and then it decided to rewind at half roll. I just put it in the back of the car to dry out, and used the MX instead. After an hour or so the PZ-1p was back to normal.
RE: The Toughest Pentax
So, which Pentax body do you feel is the toughest ... the one you'd take through the rain and the mud and the Atacama desert, and toss into the back of your rattling old pickup and not worry about it getting the crap knocked out of it? 1. 6x7 - pickup truck will expire first. 2. K1000 3. MX No placing for my favourite, the LX, it's too delicate. Malcolm
Re: The Toughest Pentax
On 6/1/04, [EMAIL PROTECTED] disgorged: it's been to Newborough Warren On Anglesey?? Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=| www.macads.co.uk/snaps _ Free UK Mac Ads www.macads.co.uk
RE: The Toughest Pentax
MX - mine was dropped at lest three time on stone and marble surfaces from at least three feet, just had a few dents, it always survived.. Ziggy -Original Message- From: Malcolm Smith [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: 06 January 2004 17:35 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: The Toughest Pentax So, which Pentax body do you feel is the toughest ... the one you'd take through the rain and the mud and the Atacama desert, and toss into the back of your rattling old pickup and not worry about it getting the crap knocked out of it? 1. 6x7 - pickup truck will expire first. 2. K1000 3. MX No placing for my favourite, the LX, it's too delicate. Malcolm
Re: The Toughest Pentax
tom and alex were discussing: Or even the *ist D. My *ist D fell a few weeks ago and the CF door cracked. Someone else on dpreview dropped one in November with a flash attached and the flash ripped off of the hotshoe. The shoe on the camera ripped out? The flashes are designed so that the foot on the flash will break before the shoe on the camera. At least that's what I was told by Pentax after having broke about 9 of them. tv tom! I have had the same problem! Only when using crappy Sigma flash guns though. Since getting myself a genuine Pentax AF360fgz I haven't broken even one! When I was using only the Sigma flashes, I broke that many that despite having 3 separate flash heads, I would often find myself without a working flash! S, I got clever, phoned CR Kennedy (the importer of said flashes) and order 3 x of those little module thingies that have the foot on them for each of my separate flash guns. I think that they were around 30 bucks each. So, I just kept them in my cupboard and each time I snapped one off, I would unscrew it, pull out a couple of little connectors and attach a new one. Kept me going for ages, but just thinking about it now, I'd better order some more cause I may be out of them. Bloody plastic What is it about you and I and breaking our gear?!?! Actually, I know exactly why I do this with my flashes so often, it is because I leave the gun attached to the camera and usually have a second camera, (with flash attached) swinging around my neck, and many times this has resulted in it being ripped off by someone running past me and catching themselves on it, me running into or backing into a doorwar etc with it, oh, and dropping it on the road and getting it runover will do it too... vbg tan.
Re: The Toughest Pentax
Hi, wendy beard wrote: I've taken my MX through the rain and the mud and the Pyrenees. It's not been to the Atacama desert but it's been to Newborough Warren. Been there. Newborough warren, I mean 8-) My VIth form biology field trip, 1972. Stayed at the Marquis of Anglesey's. Ahem. Still got some Agfamatic 126 shots of the week somewhere. My cameras have been up mountains, to Siberia in winter, in a Siberian river in summer, across bogs, in rainstorms and endured 40degree heat in central Europe. No problems that could not be attributed to old age or operator error. Worst problem was my MES that I lent to a friend who put it in her baggage for a rainy coach journey of some 30hours. Unfortunately, the baggage compartment proved to be less than watertight and it still occasionally does not meter properly. It fared better than her books and clothes mike feeling nostalgic
Re: The Toughest Pentax
On 6 Jan 2004 at 10:55, Mark Roberts wrote: I believe the LX has a reputation for being less hardy than most metal-bodied Pentaxes. Given that the LX that I landed on last November I've been belting around since 1987 I can't say I agree with you. My *ist D in given the same treatment would have definitely been put out-of-action as the battery cover would have been smashed to bits, that scares me as I'm not likely to buy a spare any time soon. Rob Studdert HURSTVILLE AUSTRALIA Tel +61-2-9554-4110 UTC(GMT) +10 Hours [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://members.ozemail.com.au/~distudio/publications/ Pentax user since 1986, PDMLer since 1998
RE: The Toughest Pentax
-Original Message- From: Tanya Mayer Photography [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] What is it about you and I and breaking our gear?!?! Actually, I know exactly why I do this with my flashes so often, it is because I leave the gun attached to the camera and usually have a second camera, (with flash attached) swinging around my neck, and many times this has resulted in it being ripped off by someone running past me and catching themselves on it, me running into or backing into a doorwar etc with it, oh, and dropping it on the road and getting it runover will do it too... In my case it's usually because I would knock a waiter on the head with it for not getting me a slice of cake fast enough. tv
Re: The Toughest Pentax
hehe! *tanya hums famous Aussie song can i have another, piece of chocolate cake...? Actually, my boys are licking the bowl of left over cake mixture right now (and fighting over it, of course)! We have just made a white chocolate mud cake and it is baking away, smells yummmyy... tan. In my case it's usually because I would knock a waiter on the head with it for not getting me a slice of cake fast enough. tv
Re: The Toughest Pentax
On 6/1/04, [EMAIL PROTECTED] disgorged: On 6/1/04, [EMAIL PROTECTED] disgorged: it's been to Newborough Warren On Anglesey?? Cheers, Cotty Yep, the very one. I went to University in Bangor-aye. I reckon if the MX can survive the life of a student in the wilds of Anglesey then it's as good as indestructable! W. Ahar. Know it well. My mum and dad live at Rhosgoch near Amlwch on the northern part of the island. Been to Newborough a few times. 'Can you show me the way to Bangor?' 'Yeah but you've got to get her drunk first' ;-) Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=| www.macads.co.uk/snaps _ Free UK Mac Ads www.macads.co.uk
Re: The Toughest Pentax
LXs that have been CLAed are usually very tough. There is no other choice for some of us as no other partly mechanical cameras (1/75 to 1/2000) offer TTL flash. I'd bring an MX as a back-up though. Only complaint about MX is that the high speeds need adjustment more often than the older mechanical shutter cameras (Spotmatic through KX). Adjustment of one or two MX shutter curtains is fast on a second generation MX (4 xxx xxx). It might take more time with the first generation MX (9 xxx xxx) as adjustment screws (?) are not as easy to reach, I've been told. If the shutter is in need of a cleaning, the curtains adjustment will not be successful (and you won't be charged if you leave the camera for a CLA). Although I've posted the following information a year and a half ago, it might interest the newcomers that, 25 years ago, according to a 1979 french survey, Pentax had the thoughest equipment after Nikon, and that Pentax KX was the thoughest body alongside Nikon F. Total number of cameras surveyed: about 15,000 Average number of returns per 100,000 clicks for a few brands: N*k*n 7 Pentax9,6 Ol*mp*s 15,8 K*n*c* 15,8 F*j*c* 15,8 AVERAGE 16,6 M*n*lt* 17,5 Pr*kt*c* 28,7 Interesting results per model (column C is the target): Model A B C D N*k*n F 9 78 0,7 0,37 pentax KX10 32 0,7 1,30 N*k*n EL2 6 24 1,8 0,63 leica (all) 20 129 2,4 1,10 C*n*n FL 13 42 2,6 0,47 pentax SP5/1000 24 111 2,9 0,53 N*k*n FT 42 120 3,0 0,20 C*nt*x RTS 17 16 4,2 0,20 N*k*n F2 13 32 4,4 1,27 K*n*c* TN3 20 50 4,5 0,17 Etc... Almost 100 models or groups of models. A: Number of cameras returned per 100 cameras. Note: Older cameras have more chance to have been returned more frequently (than newer cameras). So this number does not tell us a lot about toughness. But readers gave the number of months they have had the camera (column B) and the number of photographs taken with their camera. A somewhat meaningfull measure of toughness is then possible (column C). B: Average age of camera (months). C: Number of returns (for service) per 100,000 clicks (rounded to .1) Average for all cameras is 16,6 D: Share (%) of all cameras own by readers. If you multiply this % by approx. 15,000, you get, for example, that 56 Nikon F and 195 Pentax KX have been considered in the survey. Models with less than 25 cameras surveyed are grouped (i.e. all leica, all topcon, all mamiya etc.) Andre
Re: The Toughest Pentax
Rob wrote Given that the LX that I landed on last November I've been belting around since 1987 I can't say I agree with you. My *ist D in given the same treatment would have definitely been put out-of-action as the battery cover would have been smashed to bits, that scares me as I'm not likely to buy a spare any time soon. I'm with you Rob. You know the LX has really takes a beating here some times. Many of the camera's on this list are 20 plus years old and heavily used. Once in a while the mirrors get sticky and everyone makes a big deal about it. Without a doubt in my mind the LX is the toughest camera Pentax has ever made. Take most of the other Pentax cameras out in the rain, up to the arctic or down to Death Valley and see how they make out. The LX is specially sealed to take this kind of abuse. They are tough little cameras that when properly cared for will easily last you your lifetime. That's not to say they don't need repair once or twice in their lifetime. They are tools afterall that are meant to be used in harsh conditions. If I were going somewhere where the environment was not all that friendly, the LX woulds be the first camera I would reach for. My vote goes to the LX. Vic
Re: The Toughest Pentax
I am partial to the Spotmatics for toughness. There was something about the construction of the bodies back then that inspired confidence that they would function under a lot of different situations. I liked the fact that the meter was the only thing requiring a battery. Everything else was mechanical. I liked to shoot Tri-X back in the Sixties and got to know the combinations of shutter speeds and f-stops needed to get the best exposure. I feel the same about the ES series and, of course, the LX. Jim A. From: Shel Belinkoff [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Mon, 05 Jan 2004 20:56:34 -0800 To: PDML [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: The Toughest Pentax Resent-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Resent-Date: Mon, 5 Jan 2004 23:54:30 -0500 Been thinking a bit about the Pentax bodies I have here ... ME S, MX, LX .. and while I like these cameras quite a bit, they don't seem to be as rugged as I remember my first Spottie to be. Of course, I may be a bit fussier these days, and more aware of small problems. Actually, my ME S has been a great performer. Bought it new and it still seems to function perfectly, albeit it is time for a thorough CLA and refoaming. Still, like the Timex watches of old, it takes a licking and keeps on ticking, although I don't know why anyone would want to lick an ME S. My earlier LX bodies all required a lot of fiddling and maintenance, but, in fairness, they were bought used. The two new ones have given me no trouble, but they are only a couple of years old, and I'd be really miffed about spending as much as i did only to have 'em in the shop already. Both my MX have needed adjustments, and one has to get the shutter release repaired now as it sometimes sticks. Still, I love the cameras. So, which Pentax body do you feel is the toughest ... the one you'd take through the rain and the mud and the Atacama desert, and toss into the back of your rattling old pickup and not worry about it getting the crap knocked out of it? Do you think that any of the newer AF cameras with their Captain Marvel electronics will last on a trip through hell and back? Will the LX make the journey? Maybe the MZ S (I saw John's and liked it ... seemed better built than the other MZ bodies)?
Re: The Toughest Pentax
Hi Shel, I don't know if it would qualify as the toughest but I had a PZ-1 that really took a lot of abuse and never let me down. I believe it was in October 1998 that I dropped this particular camera into Price Lake on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. I was a workshop team member and dived for a participant's camera which the wind had blown over (tripod and all) while he wasn't looking. I thought I might be able to stop it before it hit the lakes edge. It was rolling down the bank and as I dived to save it I lost my balance and me and the camera hit the shallow water. I then realized that I had my own camera in my hand. Both cameras hit the shallow water and completely submerged. I grabbed them as fast as I could and they were in the water for a very short period. The PZ-1 shutter wouldn't fire and there was moisture inside the LCD panel on top. A Nikon Rep happened to be there and advised that I should dry the outside as best I could and then dry the interior with a hair dryer (low setting of course). I placed the camera in front of the automobile heater and drove home (about an hour). Once home I dried the interior as best I could with the hair dryer. I then set the camera (open back) in front of an oscillating fan overnight. Early the next morning I was back on the Blue Ridge Parkway with the same camera in hand and it was working flawlessly. As a matter of fact it worked flawlessly until this summer when I traded it and it was still working fine (Amazing). I used this camera many times shooting all day long in the rain (and it got really wet) but it never failed. The way it was holding up perhaps I should have kept it. :) PS: By the way the workshop participant's Nikon camera didn't fair as well. Charles
RE: The Toughest Pentax
-Original Message- From: Charles Braswell Jr [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Hi Shel, I don't know if it would qualify as the toughest but I had a PZ-1 that really took a lot of abuse and never let me down. I abused the poo out of a PZ-1p, and it kept going. The 645n is a brick too. tv
Re: The Toughest Pentax
On Tue, 6 Jan 2004, Charles Braswell Jr wrote: that I had my own camera in my hand. Both cameras hit the shallow water and completely submerged. I grabbed them as fast as I could and they were in the water for a very short period. The PZ-1 shutter wouldn't fire and there was moisture inside the LCD panel on top. A Nikon Rep happened to be there and advised that I should dry the outside as best I could and then dry the interior with a hair dryer (low setting of course). Not bad advice, but the most important thing is to remove all batteries immediately and not to turn the camera on. Fresh water really doesn't do any damage to a camera provided you dry and air it out... it's the short circuits caused by powering on a camera with wet circuitry that really kills it. chris
