No love for Pentax?!

I used Pentax Mx & ME Super as well as Super A for years and loved them, in particular the MX, in fact I only got rid of them when I gave up photography! I'm back now but currently using Minolta Dynax (Maxxum), purely because I can pick up used equipment dirt cheap!
 
I have two SLR systems .A pentax ME super with the 50 1.7 lens and a 100 2.8. The other is a Yashica FX-D with a 50 Planar and a 28 Yashica ML. I prefer the Pentax body .A Contax /Pentax mount would be nice because so that I could use the Planar and the Yashica ML .
 
I have a Pentax ME with the 1,4/50mm, that I love for it´s mechanical and optical quality. The 50 has the smoothest focus ring of all my 50s.

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My favorite Pentax cameras are the pre Spotmatic M42 cameras. The little S1, S1a, S2, SV (Sold in USA as H1 etc) are all superbly designed and elegant little cameras that in the hand remind me a little of Leica thread mount cameras. And they are really very cheap to buy whilst giving superb results with their lovely range of Takumar lenses. No metering of course but who cares.
 
I have an old SP500 that I've owned since the mid seventies ... it was my first SLR in fact! It's survived all this time being stored pretty much the same way you'd store garden tools and even survived an attempt by my son when he was younger to dissmantle it.

It sounds harsh and feels as dry as the Simpson Desert but still functions perfectly ... for some reason though I've always thought of it as an ugly camera.

But I do respect it! :D
 
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When I showed my old SP500 this selection of it's latest bretheren I'm sure I saw it flinch! :p


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mabelsound said:
I shot almost all my last 10 rolls of Kodachrome with the LX and 100mm f/2.8.
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Sorry mabel 'cos I've never seen an LX (except in adverts) or the 100mm F/2.8 though I have little doubt that they are superb cameras.

All of my Pentaxes are between a '61 S1a and a '79 ESII and maybe a dozen in between - I must admit my favourites and the ones I used most were a brace of SPF's
 
My initial enthusiasm for Pentax got dented when both of my then-new (1981) Pentax LX bodies locked up solid, and Pentax' own crack techs couldn't sort things out properly (this became known as Sticky Mirror Syndrome, which affected early-production LX bodies). The MX I also had at the time was fab, though. I'd quickly switched to a pair of Nikon F3s out of desperation ("they were big, but they worked!), and that was that.

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United Aircraft TurboTrain (ex-Amtrak), Naparano scrap yard, NJ, February 1982

(Technical: Pentax LX, Pentax M SMC 40mm f/2 pancake, EPR)

These days, my sole remaining SLR is a gently-worn Olympus OM-2n, for those occasions when I feel the need for an SLR, which isn't often.


- Barrett
 
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I started out with 2 Superprogams many years ago and have stayed with Pentax since then.
I have always been happy with the reliability and I love the lenses I own. Always thought it would be better to drop a less expensive camera. I still use the Superprograms. Did my daughters wedding with them not to long ago.
 
As for pentax love, this is after all the RF forum, nikon started out a RF maker and OM's, well they are just cool and they were directly inspired by leicas. For my part, I've always liked the SPs and the lenses are top notch.
 
I recently bought a Spotmatic SPII and a K1000 at Goodwill. I am not a fan of stop down metering on the SPII, but the pictures were good. I only paid $5 for the K1000 and it looks like it has only had a few flims through it. With a fresh battery, it was ready to go.
 
For years I used Canon and later Nikon SLRs. I tried Olympus and Minolta too.
15 years ago I discovered Pentax K manual focus SLRs and lenses were right for me.

Chris
 
started out with a K100D then collected all the FA Limiteds had 2 MZ-S's ... these were beautiful picture taking machines and then sold it all except the K100D for random snaps

pentax always tries to be a bit different from everyone else and you can't really go wrong with their equipment today
 
Someone said they use the Pentax DSLR for kiddy shots, and I do too. This is the K10d with a 35mm Pentax (latest model) lens. I used Sybercynchs to trigger a Minolta 320x on a flash stand, bounced off the ceiling. So simple yet it works great.

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There's been quite a bit of Pentax chit-chat here over the years. Yes, I'm a Pentax fan. I bought a new {blow on fingernails, wipe on blouse} black "press model" Spotmatic years ago and loved it except for the clumsy changing of lenses. I then traded for a K1000 which I still use regularly. It's now old enough to vote, old enough to drink, actually, but still performs like new. :)
 
The other day I tired of reading the enormous manual for my K20D, put it aside, and wandered out with my 1971 black, brassy, Spotmatic SP and Super Takumar 50/1.4. Suddenly I was back in the seventies. What fun. No LED screen, no menus, no searching for and fiddling with buttons and controls. Just focus, meter, click. Felt I was on holiday.

I do regret the screw mount part, but back in the day I carried two bodies, one with the 28, the other with the 105. Didn't take any other lenses so no screwing unscrewing.
 
erik said:
Great pic, Barrett. There sits the future, waiting for the torch.
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Thanks, erik. And, I just realized that the date appended (now corrected) to that pic is exactly two decades off: I took that in 1982, not 2002. :eek:

As for pentax love, this is after all the RF forum, nikon started out a RF maker and OM's, well they are just cool and they were directly inspired by leicas. For my part, I've always liked the SPs and the lenses are top notch.
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I've grown even fonder of The OM system than in the past (though I've always admired the system). I suppose the fact that my only SLR now is an OM-2n speaks for itself here.


- Barrett
 
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