photographists - after some advice.

[ocatoro]

morning all, i used to have a nikon d50 which i sold a couple of christmasses ago to pay some bills.

i was mainly using a couple of old slr lenses with m42 mounts with adapters which i kept.

i'm after something similar again, i figure people have upgraded for christmas and are selling their old gear now

i got quite into it, but never really felt limited by the d50, so nothing fancy required....

been looking at those, pentax k100d's and also the old olympus offerings

any input on those??
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CBT - 17/09/12 * Theory - 23/10/12 * Mod1 - 05/03/13 * Mod2 - 25/03/13 * BOSH!
Current - None but shed project H100 (first bike )
Past - ER5, '93 ZZR600, '92 CB400 SF, ZZR600 (again), yellow Monster 620, Blackbird - black Monster 620ie - '96 ZZR600

[Lord Percy]

Please don't change the thread title when you notice your error. It's too funny

[Aff]

[flat spot]

[ocatoro]

of course it was intentional, with reference to the "blatent" terrorist aspect of pointing a camera at things in public.

although i think some people genuinely talk that way. i was once asked by a really small bearded arab type guy if i knew where he could find the hair cuttist.


if anyone here is actually into photography, i'm leaning toward a pentax k100 due to the price difference vs the nikon in spite of my familiarity with the nikon, everything i've read says the pentax is slightly better, and better made too. plus as i almost always used my old manual lenses anyway, the pentax certainly suits that style more with all of its billions of old direct fit k-mount gear.

the olympus e-300, e-330, and e-500 were also contenders due to price as well as apparent high quality of both bodies and compatible lenses. but i'm not sure i'm comfortable diving into the whole weird world of four thirds. and as i work nights, i think higher iso settings might come in useful, something the olympus lot don't seem to handle very well at all. though i stand to be corrected.
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CBT - 17/09/12 * Theory - 23/10/12 * Mod1 - 05/03/13 * Mod2 - 25/03/13 * BOSH!
Current - None but shed project H100 (first bike )
Past - ER5, '93 ZZR600, '92 CB400 SF, ZZR600 (again), yellow Monster 620, Blackbird - black Monster 620ie - '96 ZZR600

[Aff]

[Teflon-Mike]

I'm not sure what you are up to here?
You want to get back into photography, and get an old 'Halide' Olympus or Pentax?
Or you want to get a modern Digital?

D50 with old manual focus halide lenses, I guess would be a pita... camera body designed to work with AF lenses... but not sure how you would have been intimidated by it?

I've just got a D3200 to get back into the hobby; (Was seriously into it; own dark room, the lot, but that was fifteen years or more ago!)... I am finding it 'different' and its taking a bit of time ot get to grips with digital, but a lot of its pretty familiar, controls are just in different places and some-time I have to hunt through menu's to find them!

Loads of old SLR's; and favourite was a Sigma, a 1970's copy of the old clock-work Pentax M42; which I ran with a set of prime lenses. Main camera though was an Oly OM4, paired with an OM10; Vivitar Series 1 35-70 and 70-210 Macro; A Tameron 28-80 and an obscure brand 12mm fish-eye! The Oly kit hasn't been used for ten years now.

The Sigma I will probably never part with... its a real and interesting 'classic' camera, and I love the solidity of the screw-fit lenses, and the complete lack of electronics!

If you are going to halide, then the old Pentax's have a lot to reccomend them; they were favoured college camera in years past; probably still are, and its a well supported system.

The Olympus's I wouldn't bee too keen on. It was what I was given at the beginning, because it was an obsolete system; and as a student, it was cheap stuff, because it was an obsolete system. I could pick up OM10 bodies for like a fiver when they broke, and lenses that would have been a couple of hundred quid even second hand in another fitting for half that for the olympus's.

Digital? I went Nikon because of the Legacy... and it was what I had always promised myself when I was at Uni but never did.

I think the old lense compatability business is a bit redundant these days; and one system is about as 'good' as another, the kit not having the life expectancy it used to.....

I got the D3200, becouse at the moment, it seems to be about the 'best' VFM entry D-SLR out there; certainly has the highest pic count. Older D3100 is cheaper, though.

I'm certainly not finding it intimidating to use.... though am a bit frustrated getting used to the different controls and stuff compared to the old halides.... but stick it in point & shoot mode? its a doddle, a six year old could use it pretty much.

Snowie, has got a Nikon 'Bridge' though... and I have had a play, and with 21x power zoom, and no fancy manual modes or complexity.... it really is just point and press, its incredibly unintimidating and easy to use, and with that zoom range... something like 28mm wide angle to 300mm tele..... and a BIG lense with pretty large appature for a compact.... I can see that camera taking more pics then the D-SLR in the coming months! £110! Its daft! If I didn't want to get back into propper photography and be able to use depth of field and focus shift and use grads and star filters and stuff... A Hundred and Ten QUID! And probably do about 99% of anything and everything any-one would want a camera to do.... And its cheap as any regular compact camera with a half decent resolution and real lense! Could be worth thinking about Bridges.

But still not entirely sure what your intent is here, or if any of this is any help?
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[Islander]

Pssst.... Tef.

The K100 is a DSLR.

The Pentax DSLRs are well thought of - if I hadn't invested a small fortune in Canon lenses and equipment I'd certainly consider one.

[Teflon-Mike]

[ocatoro]

haha yeah, the k100 is a dslr... it's basically the same spec as my old nikon, but with crude image stabilisation and better back compatibility to old slr lenses.

certainly not intimidated, the d50 was a joy to use with old manual lenses, you just fit an adapter ring so they mount the body and away to go. i'm a laid back sort of chap so i don't need ultra fast auto focus capabilities, and my budget also doesn't allow that sort of thing. so within my budget, i could have had cheap nasty af-s compatible lenses, or high quality antique glass for less outlay.... essentially i want the best i can get for relatively no money (don't we all)


the d3200 is lovely, maybe one day i'll splash out on something newer, but i can't really justify it at the moment. maybe when the mrs starts on her doctor's salary she'll treat me to one

some nice stuff there, i have a 1973 (if i remember right), petri ttl slr with a 50mm prime lens that i picked up for a fiver at a recycling place a few years ago, just needed a new battery in there for the light sensor


hope i cleared that up a little bit haha.

the olympus models i mentioned are an odd format of dslr with differrent types of prisms and lens/sensor format called four thirds. they seem to be very high quality, but do have their limitations and i'd rather not buy a bunch of four thirds specific gear only to want to sell it on again, unless folk here have experience with them and have good things to say.


aff- i looked at the e-510, but it's just beyond what i want to spend really. though the 500 isn't a lot different. i read they are a bit clunky writing raw format to card and can take up to 12 seconds between shots as a result!? is that something you've experienced?
____________________
CBT - 17/09/12 * Theory - 23/10/12 * Mod1 - 05/03/13 * Mod2 - 25/03/13 * BOSH!
Current - None but shed project H100 (first bike )
Past - ER5, '93 ZZR600, '92 CB400 SF, ZZR600 (again), yellow Monster 620, Blackbird - black Monster 620ie - '96 ZZR600

[Aff]

Never heard that before, and never experienced it.

My only gripe with the camera is that it doesn't accept SD cards. It only uses Compact Flash Cards and Olympus' stupid SD card variant, an xD Card (which is basically a SD on its side). Means it cost more for memory (xD max is 2GB and cost more than AD cards, as does CF cards) and takes up more room.

I picked mine up second hand with 2 lenses for just under £200.
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Current Bikes:Honda 929RR Fireblade, Honda CD200 Benly (Project), Stomp Z2 140
Electric Bike Project

[_Will_]

If you're not fussed about a lot of the modern crap that goes into cameras why not get yourself a quality film body, you can pick up pro slr's and rangefinders for peanuts!
(If you're after quality glass then opt for a fixed lens cam for even better bang/buck)
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Past -Honda qr50 | 2004 Peugeot Tkr s 50| | 1996 Yamaha XJ600s Diversion|

[flat spot]

I bought a Canon D650 for the better half for Christmas. The colours and sharpness of the pics are exceptionally good. Shame the lenses are so damned expensive.

[ocatoro]

[_Will_]

I only suggested film as it sounded like you are in it for the joy of shooting, which is when an old manual film camera is hard to beat!

In any case if you want old manual/cheap lenses and digital convenience take a look at Sony Alpha mount cameras as they took over the minolta line.

(A100/200/230/290/350/380 etc)
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Past -Honda qr50 | 2004 Peugeot Tkr s 50| | 1996 Yamaha XJ600s Diversion|

[ocatoro]

[Lone-Wolf]

Wotcha.

I had an old Pentax K100 SLR film camera - then went and bought a Pentax K20 DSLR.

Does the job, and apart from it slightly underexposes when set to full auto, I can't fault it.
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Cheers.
^..^
L.W. - www.moonshiners.org.uk

[ocatoro]

[Lone-Wolf]

[_Will_]

Wild card suggestion here, but why not shoot film for the enjoyment and get an advanced compact for the digital side?

I have all my clunky gear there if needs be but otherwise my little Fuji X10 has pretty much everything I need in way of manual control for an always ready shooter, as a bonus it does some things my 'pro' gear doesn't, like a real 1/4000 flash sync.

Following Xmas should be able to pick one up extra cheap.
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Past -Honda qr50 | 2004 Peugeot Tkr s 50| | 1996 Yamaha XJ600s Diversion|

[ocatoro]

[ocatoro]

[weasley]

What is this obsession with using manual exposure over auto, as if manual is some greater way of doing it? I have been a photographer since studying it at school 25 years ago. Back then manual was pretty much the norm, certainly for studying, but now I am more than happy to use an automatic mode and use other techniques for exposure correction such as exposure compensation, spot metering or AE lock. I tend to prefer aperture priority, although will use shutter priority and full program modes for various situations. I rarely use manual.

To the OP, I wouldn't let your existing lenses define your camera choice; there are few, if any, M42 lenses that are worth the hassle on a modern camera. Nikon bodies can take Nikon F-mount lenses that go back decades AND retain a modicum of operability. The Pentax K mount also has a long history. Canon changed their mount when they went to the EOS AF system in the 80s.
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Yamaha XJ600 | Yamaha YZF600R Thundercat | KTM 990 SMT | BMW F900XR TE

[ocatoro]

it's not an obsession with manual, just a preference. the auto mode on my d50 used to be cursed. i used it for a day to see how it did and i did't get one "keeper". obviously due to my particularly limited experience i don't even know why... but i never had the problem when using manual settings.

with the lenses i still have, theyre currently sitting with nikon adapters on. but i think my preference would be to go to pentax and use older lenses which had decent functionality with the digital body. (as here... https://www.mosphotos.com/PentaxLensesExplained.html )

at the moment, i have a choice between a nikon d50 with just 1700 actuations, couple batteries, etc, and 2 sigma lenses, an 18-55mm and a 70-210mm. this is mine for £160... a bit more than i intended to spend, but i was thinking i'd be getting a body and kit lens, so it's offset against 2 better lenses.

the other option is a pentax k100d with 2000 actuations, and an 18-55mm kit lens. this is £110

this, and the price, point firmly at the k100, but the nikon is a very good deal imo
____________________
CBT - 17/09/12 * Theory - 23/10/12 * Mod1 - 05/03/13 * Mod2 - 25/03/13 * BOSH!
Current - None but shed project H100 (first bike )
Past - ER5, '93 ZZR600, '92 CB400 SF, ZZR600 (again), yellow Monster 620, Blackbird - black Monster 620ie - '96 ZZR600

[carlosthejack...]

My K100D's never let me down. Fast action, macro or nice landscapes...

https://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/456576_10150751572492511_1320764665_o.jpg

https://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/48177_10151071440557511_5539059_o.jpg

https://sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/207110_10150149290082511_6455933_n.jpg

https://sphotos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/6056_115528567510_5016674_n.jpg

https://sphotos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/5216_109509782510_5919625_n.jpg
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