My decision to move away from Pentax that is. Despite selling the *istDS and my Vivitar 24/2 KA (and not successfully selling the K2 or SMC-P 55/2), I made the move back to Pentax with the K-x. Did a pretty much straight-up trade for the E-30 (also got rid of the ZD ED 70-300 as it’s mostly redundant without the E-30) and got the store to give me the better DA 18-55 II kit lens rather than the cheaper-built DA L version as I don’t get along with plastic mounts and wanted the Quick-Shift Focus feature and a lens hood.

The K-x is a little stunner of a camera. It’s a small camera intended for just above the entry-level DSLR pricepoint. Overall there’s nothing particularly special about it spec-wise except the 4.7fps continuous drive mode. It’s a pentamirror finder, single-wheel camera with a smallish 5 RAW frame buffer, 230k 2.7″ LCD, 720×24p HD Video and 12MP. But there’s a little surprise lurking inside. Pentax finally produced a camera with good high ISO performance. In fact, they managed to produce what is currently the best performing APS-C camera with regards to high ISO noise, performance at ISO 6400 is excellent and 12,800 is usable. Compared to the E-30, you get two extra stops, both in limit (the E-30 only goes to 3200) and in performance (K-x is similar in performance at 12,800 to the E-30 at 3200). It was this which finally pushed me to get rid of the otherwise quite satisfactory E-30 and go back to Pentax.

I’ll admit I had looked at Sony instead. But the closest comparable model (the A500) offers less performance for over $200 more money in a much larger package with an inferior viewfinder. Not much of a decision there.

Tamron’s Adaptall-2 system was a brilliant idea. A nearly full system of high quality lenses with interchangeable, fully-couple mounts. It allowed you to invest in a selection of lenses which were not tied to any particular system. And the selection of lenses was excellent, with primes from 17mm to 500mm and zooms covering 24mm to 500mm along with a trio of teleconverters and a single 45mm extension tube. Lenses were split into two lines, the SP professional-grade lenses and the regular lens line. All of the SP lenses and many of the regular-grade lenses were excellent.

I own four Adaptall-2 primes and two zooms, and regularly use most of them. I currently have mounts for Contax/Yashica, Nikon F, Pentax K and KA, Minolta MD, Canon FD and Olympus OM systems.

The primes are:

SP 17mm f3.5 – A compact and excellent lens. I’ve got the second version without the integrated filters and do not have the dedicated hood. This lens is remarkably good, delivering high resolution in the centre, enough for even the high-density 4/3rds sensors and good performance out to the edges. It is somewhat flare-prone though, especially since I don’t have the hood.

28mm f2.5 – compact and reasonably close-focusing moderate wide. A solid but not exceptional performer, better than many 1st party 28’s (especially the Pentax SMC-M 28/2.8). Up to high-density sensors in the middle but average at the edges.

SP 90mm f2.5 Macro – Probably the best known Adaptall-2 lens, this legendary macro is known for its abilities as a portrait lens as well as for macro work. While it only goes to 1:2 natively , there is both an available 1:1 extension tube and the SP 2x converter as 1:1 solutions. Oddly, while the best of my 4 AD2 primes it’s also the least used. This is mostly because of its long focus throw, making it less desirable for walkabout use.

135mmm f2.5 – Relatively compact medium telephoto. This is one of the best 135’s I’ve used, easily outperforming the Nikkor and Pentax 135’s I’ve had in the past. Has a built-in hood and performs well from f2.5 down. It is labelled as a ‘Close Focus’ lens but with a minimum focus distance of 4′ or 1.2m, it isn’t actually close focusing.

Zoom lenses:

35-70mm f3.5-4.5 CF Macro – A compact and optically good little normal zoom. It doesn’t get much use though, due to poor handling (stiff zoom and focus rings being the main complaints) and my general zoom aversion, but the results have been excellent when I have used it. Close focus performance is remarkably good.

SP 28-80mm f3.5-4.2 CF Macro – Larger, heavier and wider ranged than the 35-70, it’s also a good performer and a nice option for a single lens to carry. As I just acquired it only time will tell how much use it gets.

Note that CF in the lens name refers to Continuous Focusing, unlike many zoom lenses of similar vintage the Tamron lenses with CF shift into their macro range automatically rather than requiring you to engage a macro mode. As with most zooms, ‘Macro’ means 1:5 through 1:2 magnification.

Yesterday was the last day for an old friend. The Henry’s Outlet Centre on Queen East closed its doors for the last time. It will be relocating out in Mississauga but I doubt I’ll be heading out that far to paw through the collection of old and weird items that made the original location so fun. I spent quite a lot of money there over the last 6 years and I’ll miss it. That said, I expect my wallet will not, and my camera collection’s likely to grow slower now that I’m not regularly tempted by $20 film bodies and $39.99 lenses.

My last purchase was an interesting find, a Tamron Adaptall-2 SP 28-80mm f3.5-4.2. While the specs are fairly pedestrian, this is actually an excellent lens, part of Tamron’s ‘SP’ line of high-end lenses. I picked it up along with an apparently jammed-on FD Adaptall-2 mount for a low, low price. As it turns out the mount wasn’t jammed, it just needed to be locked into the AE position to release properly. And thus my Tamron Adaptall-2 collection grows.

Swapped the E-30 for a K-x. Cheaper body, but slightly better viewfinder, much smaller and 2 stops higher ISO limit combined with up to 2 stops better performance is a huge win for low-light shooting, which is most of what I was doing with the E-30 anyways. The trade came out even so I wasn’t even out any money for the K-x, although a certain somebody will have to get her own AA rechargeables for the X-Box controller now.

Overall I was surprised by two things with the K-x. First, how nicely the tiny body handles, it’s not much larger than the G1, but handles even better, it’s even somewhat pocketable with the 18-55 mounted. Secondly, how much Pentax has improved their AF. I’ve owned a body from every generation of Pentax DSLR except the K20D/K200D and frankly, AF performance has ranged from poor to awful. The K-x however is quite good by the standards of its competition. It’s no D300, but it was almost up to the E-30’s performance overall and actually seems better in low light (where the E-30 struggles). That said, I’ll miss a few features of the E-30, especially the flip-twist LCD and the level, but overall the K-x looks pretty darned good.

Looking across Yonge St to Temperance St one night after work

One of the sillier bits of grafitti I’ve run across.

I’ve been rescanning the last of my lost archives lately, down to about 25 rolls left. I’ll be glad when that 2.5 year epic project is done (and now with proper backups). It’s gone a lot quicker with the Scan Dual IV than my old, dying SDIII could do, mostly because VueScan is not crashing every strip or two. This has also afforded me the opportunity to tweak my scanning workflow a fair bit and experiment with things like 64bit HDRi output and RAW DNG scans. I’ve managed to nail down some persistent problems with colour and exposure that I’d been having, but I decided that as nifty as getting RAW DNG’s is, I’d stick to 48bit TIFF as my output format for now. It’s just less hassle for a given level of IQ now that I’ve mostly fixed the colour and exposure issues I’d been having.

It also brings home the realization that as much as I love digital technology and new toys, I’m still fundamentally a film photographer. I like the output I get and the process which achieves it, even if the immediacy of digital does have its attractions. While I’m still thinning down the camera collection, what remains will be my primary kit, especially the Bessa and the Maxxum’s.

A recent sale of $20 film bodies at the Henry’s Outlet as they prepare to move to the wilderness of Mississauga has resulted in my acquiring a bunch of kit for almost no money over the last 2 months. Most specifically I’ve added a pair of Nikon bodies, a pair of Minolta Maxxum bodies, an OM body and a K mount body. This is WAY too much kit, especially since my use of 35mm SLR’s is actually down since getting the Bessa R. So some of this stuff has to go.

First on the list is the K mount stuff. I really like the idea of shooting Pentax. It’s good simple gear with great lenses. The practicalities continue to elude me, as the cameras are rough rather than refined, the lens selection plentiful but very limited in options and the two things I really like are available or usable in other mounts (Cosina SLR bodies, M42 Takumars). So my two K mount bodies are getting sold, as are the two lenses. I’ll keep my KA Adaptall-2 mount, but for now it’s going to be permastacked and functioning as a 4/3rds AD2 mount.

Next up is deciding what to do with my AF Nikon stuff. I’ve pretty much decided that the OM kit will stay as it’s small, inobtrusive and offers unique capabilities (Selectable spot metering on manual, mechanical body). As to AF kit, I pretty clearly prefer the more refined Minolta stuff over my Nikon AF stuff, the 700si in particular just fits my hand perfectly. The big kicker is do I keep the F2a. It’s big and clunky compared to the FM2n or FM10, but so well built and the viewfinder is gorgeous. Gonna have to cut somewhere though, 5 bodies and 5 lenses is a little ridiculous, 2 bodies and 5 lenses makes more sense.

Panasonic G1, m.Zuiko 17mm f2.8, ISO 1250, 1/30@f2.8, straighten and tweak in CaptureOne.

This is the Medium Format entry in my series of short takes on the various cameras I’ve owned. I’m going to break my rules somewhat and also include two cameras I’ve used but not owned, the Hasselblad 501CM and the Fuji GA645.

Coronet 12-Twenty : Your typical low-end box camera. cheap 2-element lens, wee mirror-based viewing window, 2 waterhouse stops at f16 and f22, 1 shutter speed which is approximately 1/25, takes 120 or 620 film, red window advance. Cheap, kinda fun, not terribly usable for more than playing around in good light. Bought it only because I was waiting for my Super Ricohflex to come in.

Super Ricohflex: Cheap Japanese TLR. 3 element viewing and taking lenses, red window advance (but an auto-stop advance is available as an accessory), old-fashioned shutter speed advance from 1/25 to 1/200, manual cocking separate from wind, focus ring is the mesh gear, PC sync for flash, coldshoe on the neverready case. My copy only has the bottom case and is allergic to the cold as the focusing helicals gum up. The lens is surprisingly good for a single-coated 3 element lens. It’s a fun camera to work with within its limitations and I do need to spend more time with it, it hasn’t seen much use since I got into 645 stuff.

Fuji GA645: It’s an MF P&S. Auto exposure, aperture priority or manual exposure, auto-wind, AF. vertically oriented 645 format, excellent but slowish 65/4 wide normal lens. good handling, nice and small, wind and AF a bit noisy on an otherwise very quiet camera. Borrowed this one from a friend while he used my 645 Super. Loved it, but they’re still somewhat expensive.

Mamiya M645: The first 645 system SLR. Semi-modular design with multiple prism options and motor or manual wind. Electronic shutter means batteries are required even for unmetered prisms, but said batteries also power the AE and PD(s) prisms (the CD(s) prism takes its own batteries), Uses standard Mamiya M645 lenses and film inserts. 120/220 only, no polaroid, 70mm or 35mm options due to fixed back design. I like the inclusion of the second shutter release on the top of the body at the front, it really does improve handling over the front release when used at waistlevel. It’s a bit awkward to shoot with the prism and no grip though and all I had was the standard prism. I sold it after getting the 645 Super but am thinking of getting another one with a waistlevel for street work.

Mamiya 645 Super: The M645’s more modern brother. A full system SLR with removable backs, prisms and winders. Supports 35mm and polaroid backs as well as 120/220 backs. Much better integrated than the first series M645’s. Shares many accessories with the later Pro and ProTL bodies. Excellent handling with prism and winder, not as good as the older bodies for waistlevel use. WInder is bloody LOUD, body requires electronic release or rare cable release adapter (which I own) unless you use a WG401 winder which has a cable release socket. Winder N is always in Continuous advance mode so don’t use it in combination with a locking cable release on the adapter. I’m very fond of this camera and have shot more film with it (66 rolls) than any other camera I’ve owned.

Hasselblad 501CM: THE classic MF SLR. Rather antiquated in some regards compared to the newer systems, it lacks quick back loading and an instant return mirror and you have to buy winder-specific bodies to get a winder. Handles very well with a waistlevel. Lots of fun to shoot, surprisingly light and compact when using an 80mm, waistlevel and A12 or A24 back. Borrowed one of these for a couple weeks, shot 5 rolls. Would love one as an adjunct to my 645 system (V series lenses which are compatible with the 200/2000 bodies have an available adapter to M645 mount).