and then I remembered!

oh if you just got here you missed the good part...

I'll start over:
Several months ago, after picking up two K-r bodies, I remembered just what using a penta-mirror viewfinder was like. (Hint: not good.) I sought options that would enable me to see well enough to focus manually, as at the time I owned several manual primes.  This was also the time when KatzEye bright focusing screens disappeared as the company dealt with financial issues, so the best-known option was unavailable.

So off I went to the search engines, seeking bargain alternatives.  I found a mystery auction dealer that sold one-fits-all Pentax screens for under $20 and ordered a split screen fresnel collared screen.  It took a while to get here but i jumped in when it reached me.

only to find it didn't fit!
The screen was labeled for K-7 only but I was pretty sure it was not so exclusive.  The K-r swap was new to me though, and clearly it wasn't working - so I sought to return the screen for a refund.

only I never sent it back!
So here's where you came in: today I remembered it had not left my shelf.  I still have several manual focus lenses.. but now a K-s1 body makes use of them.  Could it be possible that the old cheap screen would fit the new camera?

yes it can.
So now the K-s1 has focus peaking And a more precise focus screen.  Test images show that it aligns just fine.
Overkill perhaps, but the screen is here anyway.. so why not?

as always, just one little kit problem

While taking photos of my staircase project I could see the SMC 24mm contrast was poor.  It turned out to be a small corner of the image was showing a piece of the cloudy-bright sky, and that was enough to produce veiling flare across the image.  I re-shot with my arm covering the bright area, only to find I had too much image shake for the SR to overcome.  I learned later that I had SR set for a 180mm lens, so it was working for a telephoto lens not a wide angle.  Oopz.

All of this points to the down side of classic glass.  SR does not set itself for them, the 40-year-old SMC coating isn't the best option for modern digital sensors, and relative to other options it's easy to make silly mistakes!

On the one hand a DA21 would cure the problem nicely - but it does leave a larger gap between 21 and 50mm (return of the DA35/2.4?).  On the other hand the Sigma 18-50 covers the range with modern optics and coatings and is silent to focus unlike the DA21 (and DFA 50 for that matter).  A bit more bulk for sure, but at 21mm it just straddles the f/2.8-3.2 maximim so the DA21 is no faster.  And the zoom is already in hand - so no further expense.  The age-old conundrum of carrying a few great primes vs. a convenient zoom reappears, especially when one of the few primes is not quite "great"!  Must check the 100/2.8 for veiling flare in similar circumstances now . .

DA15, K24, DFA50, M100, DAL55-300 on K-s1; Sigma 18-50 above.

While updating the group photo I noticed another new thing: not only does the K-s1 not come in the Pentax 'stormtrooper/panda' White and Black trim (it has grey trim), its white is not in fact white!  I know this because I put my broken white DAL 18-55 next to the camera and it's clearly not a good match - the lens is more intensely white than the body.  That saves me some effort, as I have a black DAL with a good mount which I could use to repair the white lens' cracked mount.  Now that I know the colors would look really wrong it saves me the effort.  To spare the fashion-conscious I left the hideous, clashing lens out of the photo.

the Home Team

Here is the shooting team as it stand today.. at 4:30PM.. Pacific Time!*

The starting five: DA 15/4 Limited, SMC 24/2.8, DFA 50/2.8 macro, M100/2.8 and DAL 55-300

Support crew: Vivitar 35-105, DAL18-55, Hanimar 400/6.3, JCPenney 80-200/3.5 (and 2x TC)

Not shown here: the K-r and SMC-A 50/2 that took the photo!

* Still valid as of early August - that might be a record :·p 
One more may be coming though -- stay tuned?

revenge of the primes

It's been a big 3 weeks of gear-trading!
 - and I did not see it coming.  I made my plans but the path meandered a bit..

It began with a great deal on a DA* 50-135 followed by an absurd deal on a DA17-70.  The DA* is a great lens, but the 55-300 was holding strong to its place in the lineup; slower yes and in more ways than one, but so much more convenient and less bulky.  While contemplating next steps I sent away a lot of gear the 50-135 rendered less relevant in hopes of grabbing a used DA14 or DA15; neither was available so instead I came away with a gently-used DA10-17 Fish-Eye.
 Then an trade offer hit the forum: Limited primes for DA* zooms!  With a minimal amount of negotiation I came away with the DA15 and DA40  - and the 55-300 retained its place.  In theory I gained value with both the great price on the 50-135 and again with the two primes; value was important but in practical terms I'll use the Limited primes more often than the bulky DA* zoom.
Speaking of value, the DA15 was a sure bet to crowd out the 10-17 since an ultrawide prime was my original goal - so the 10-17 became available to sell and recoup some expenses.  And after some hard thinking I decided the DA15 plus 24-40-50-100 primes was more userful and practical to me than the 17-70.. so that zoom also became expendable.

Today those two zooms left the building, victims of the DA15 and the primes in my bag.  The NX300 and 135mm lens left two days earlier, so cupboards are quite bare - but the remaining lenses are quite uniformly excellent and very well matched.  On a scale to 10, forum users review my lenses thusly:
DA15 / K24 / DA40 / M100 / 55-300 -> 9.2 / 8.6 / 9.6 / 9.3 / 8.8
While those are just opinions, experience shows these to be reasonable estimates - and my prices were seriously low which increases the value factor.  The low rating on my list is the smcA 50mm f/2, which is underrated by its proximity to the 50mm f/1.7 variants.

- But wait!   One last deal remains to be sorted, as a DFA 50/2.8 1:1 macro arrives tomorrow to contest with the DA40 Limited.  If the macro (user rating 9.4) wins out the DA40 will likely sell for a net gain of funds, as the DFA was priced lower than I'd have expected.

In the end I saved on several levels: weight, expense, aperture (all except the DA15 are f/2.8 or faster).  Add in the imminent arrival of the supercompact K-s1 dSLR and those primes will really be able to show their best: the faster AF motor and absence of a low-pass filter means my images will be as good as anything currently available.  Oh sure, 42 megapixels beats 20M every day   And when you can afford the camera with that sensor..- when you can store them.

Stay tuned! Another group photo will be coming soon !
In the meantime a bit of humour:

less than a month ago I posted

this as my "power team" lens set - 

now only the 55-300 (far left) remains!

Goodbye Hello

A few 'last' changes to the gear just came about.  Reasons are complicated but sound, not merely an excuse to acquire .. not this time!

I broke down and bought a white K-s1 body after refusing the siren call a few times as the price drifted lower.  This is not the body or the color I would choose if all options were open, but financially this was an easy call.  It was the last one in stock so acquired an extra 20% discount which dropped the price below $280.  Memories of the white K-01 come to mind: it fell to about $235 when I picked it up a few years back. Today a similar price nabs a nice AA-free 20Mpx camera with full viewfinder in a baby body.  Sure it has a few compromises, but if the K-r is acceptable the K-s1 definitely will serve me well!

This camera brings me to the end of my Samsung days.  That's a shame as the NX300 is a great little camera and the 16+30 pancake primes are most excellent.  I now have the Pentax 15+40 Limited lenses though, so optically I lose very little and logistically I have just one mount to consider going forward.  The nx300 sold in about three hours, so the price must have been on the slightly low side of just right.. or the ideal person read my note at just the right time!

Never the same-  DA40 and 15, M135*, K24 A50* and M100 with zooms behind.  Shot with *NX300 (* =departing soon).

The M135 departs with the Samsung along with NX adapters.  That leaves 15-24-/40-55/-100 plus 55-300 zoom, along with a spare 18-55 & a few old zooms to play with.  The M100 f/2.8 just arrived from KEH (mounted on the K-r) and yet again their Ugly rating is vastly underrated; it's in great condition with only a few meaningless cleaning-marks on the front element.

The new small kit also earns a new small camera bag*, a sling type that can hold a small dSLR 4 primes and a zoom.  My days of needing a pack that can hold camera and bike gear plus laptop and spare work clothes are long gone, after all.

image from pentaxforums.com

Never last and surely not least: Adorama offered up a VG-grade DFA 50/2.8 1:1 macro,  a well-regarded macro lens that I have not tried.  If this works well the DA40 can go for more than the 50's cost, adding a smidge more money to the bank for future use.  Hope it's a keeper, as it has AF + quick shift; that will result in precise and fairly speedy focus yet still allow for precise touch-up.  The Tamron push-pull MF design really didn't fit my mind - so I'm thinking this will feel a lot better!
In any case the smc-A 50mm f/2 can depart; the DA40 or FA50 will do the job.

 - -  - -  - -  - -  - -  - -  - -  - -  - -  - -
* so much for camera bags from China.  I ordered the pack above in Gold only to hear back that the seller only had black, was that OK?  Hmm, the company has two separate listings for gold models but only have black - oh and a few red (but no listings show the red version).  No thanks - refunded.  I then found this blue one, identical to the other store and also in China.  Yay?  No they have no blue - just black, and a few red.  This group Also has no red one showing online, so I got another refund.  This time I saved $20 and just bought an insert that will pad the bottom parts of my hydration pack.
You guessed it: I bought it in red!  That will match my red/black pack but at least I know what this red pack looks like!!