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?

tech difficulties

How many screens does one family need?

We've been messing with phones a lot recently, but they are not the only stand-alone screens around here.  My Asus HD 7" is beginning to show some age as it needs to reboot a lot.  I wiped its memory and it was happy for a while, but reboots are coming back.  I picked up a bargain Transformer 10" detachable-kbd Windows tablet (now running Win 10) but it's challenging to use as a tablet; its back is quite slick & needs some grippiness if it wishes to be the HD7 replacement.  For some reason T100 gel covers are nonexistent so it's either go with strips of electrical tape or a get a near-fit case plus an Xacto knife to make the buttons align with the openings!  Bizarre. *

clockwise: 5" and 4.5" Droids 4.4.2, iPhone 4s, HD7 tablet, T100 WinX tablet (keyboard not shown)

And oh yes, the phones.  My wife decided an iPhone would be her best option and I figured I'd help her out by joining her, so two quite new Android 4.4 models (top two in this image) were swapped out for iPhone 4s - mine black with minimal memory, hers white and with enough to replace her iPod Classic.  After about a month I feel I've learned a few things about Apple, Android and myself.

No denying that Apple has the phone game down, even with these older bodies.  I've heard that newer ones are faster and smarter, but the hardbody 4s is one solid chunk of telephone.  It pretty much does what I need - except play music, ironically.  I've had no end of trouble getting that part working!   While I had heard the Apple camera was a fine one that killed the compact market by itself, I find it just as poor as the Droids I have owned; apparently the camera stories began with the model 5?

On the other hand, group chat is effortless with my siblings now, and most Google items are politely tucked into the iOS system (we're both on 8.4-something).  No massive complaints operationally.
And yet...

My many forms of electronic gear had solidified around the micro-USB connector.  Tablets, phones, even my K-s1 dSLR used the same cable.  (No mourning the passing of micro-D camera cables here!)  The mUSB are ubiquitous and we own a car charger for it.  Suddenly the wide (pre-Lightning) Apple port  is required in several places to keep phones charging.  And they need that a lot; perhaps iOS9 fixes that, but the 4.5" Droid I had acquired definitely did better there (the 5" Droids are daily chargers like the 4s).  We have two i-cradles which are nice for almost drop-and-go charging - but of course my new protective case would be too thick to allow the cradle to accommodate it.  Silly me, thinking it was up to others to keep things simple.

I also miss widgets.  The iPhone is two clicks away from most data sources,  but I can power up the Android and have weather, phone status and a few other status reports all on one screen.  I grew accustomed to that and I miss it.
So...

for now I'm planning to return to the smaller Android and see what I think.  Maybe in a week it will drive me a different kind of crazy, we'll see.

* Later: I found a 2-piece shell that owners suggest does improve the grip.  I shall just use the tablet cover & leave the keyboard as is, since some owners say it interferes with full screen tilt..

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.

one last lens to confuse everything!

Of the common features that I was missing in my Pentax lens collection, two big ones come to mind.  Weather sealing is one, but without a sealed camera the point is rather lost.  The other is silent focus.  That's worth having for creatures or circumstances where loud noises like a screw-drive focusing system are out of place.

Pentax has several very nice lenses with quiet motors, but generally not at the price point I had in mind (i.e. Cheap).  I found a Sigma HSM 50-200 that would do nicely, but starting at 50mm was not what I'd had in mind when my 55-300mm is so good by every other measure but silence.  Today I found the answer, and it's an answer that I have tried before: Amazon's used warehouse had a Sigma 18-50 f/2.8-4.5  in Good condition for $96.  Good is good enough for me - so I bought it.

This lens is curious in several ways.  For one it's a budget zoom that put its money into surprising spots: motor, stabilization, focus and zoom are done internally.   Internal zoom designs tend not to appear at the low end of a lens range - but here it is.  The result is not weather sealed yet moisture will not find easy entry with this design.  The silent HSM justifies its place in my bag.  Some reviewers claim the lens OS works a bit better than Pentax' SR but it's hard to justify the effort to switch over for a shot or two; we'll see how often I try it.

Another curiosity is that it competes* with Sigma's own 17-50 and 17-70mm models for shelf space.  Both of those are well regarded but this lens' unique design is unmatched by them. And the price is no contest at all!  *The competition is over in fact: the 18-50 has been discontinued while the other two live on.

As I said I've owned this lens before.  I liked that its zoom ring goes the same way as Pentax, and opposite most other Sigma zooms that I have tried (including those 17-50 and 17-70 models).  It's decent at closeups though it does not compete with a true macro.  The lens is somewhat bulky compared to the DA18-55 but that's because it's f/2.8-4.5 instead of 3.5-5.6 - and the size never changes when zooming or focusing so its bulk never changes shape!

On days when carrying less is handy, the 18-50 + 55-300 covers my typical shooting range really well.   Toss in the DA15 and coverage is even better!  Add the DFA50 when closeups are needed.  As long as you've done that, why not bring the K24?  With that you can now leave the 18-50 at home!

Hmm wait a moment.. oh yes, I see it now: there's the confusion! :~)

we are all gathered here..

The wedding went off well, gear-wise.  I carried the K-s1 and shot with K24 and DA15, with a pinch of DFA50 thrown in.  Mostly for video but a few still images managed to sneak in as well.  One of the Qs stood in a corner and filmed somewhat continuously, though I left a gap during dinner.  Now to assemble it all into a coherent presentation..

And here at last is the 'full' lineup!

The primes: DA15Ltd, SMC24, DFA50 1:1 Macro, SMC-M100 and Vivitar 180mm f/3.5 T-mount preset.

Not shown: Hanimar 400 T-mount preset (it wouldn't fit).

And the zooms: DALs 18-55 and 55-300, and two oldies but speedys:

Vivitar/Kobori 35-105 f/3.2-4 and JCPenney 80-200 f/3.5!

Geekday!

Our two computers both received notice that Windows 10 was ready to go.  They have been waiting patiently while others jumped on board, and today was their day.  Such geeky thrills!

While they went off spinning their discs I found the old:new Vivitar 180mm T-mount prime sitting on my porch.  Man it looks good for a lens that's been around for 50ish years!  This sits between the 100 & 400mm on my list of primes, and looks great while doing so.


A bit later I tripped down to Portland then came home via the local post office; they had left the lens but failed to leave my wife's new:old iPhone 4s (signature required).  Her patience with Android methods has worn out and she likes her iPod, so new tech has arrived.  While my 'droid time has been OK I've had issues with group messaging my siblings, so tomorrow is also geekday when my mint-used 4s arrives.  Never expected that day would arrive.. just don't ask me to love iTunes.

Before bed I finally managed to use my Win8.1 tablet when it had a full charge and all its 8.1 updates.  I found its reserve-Win10 notice and sure enough it was ready to download ..so  it's on Windows 10 now too!

 One long geeky day.

One Last Piece

I had contemplated a final prime above 100mm to complete my set.  I sought something curious, but had no idea what it would be.  I knew it would not be a Pentax 150 or 200mm;  I had owned and sold one of each and did not miss them enough.

Then I saw this.

It's an old T-mount Vivitar preset, a 180mm f/3.5, that comes with a MD adapter but of course can use my K adapter.  It is small but Very dense at ~635g, apparently made by Tamron a long time ago.   It uses 58mm filters and hood that I already have for the 55-300.  It also looks like new despite being just a few years younger than me, introduced when Kennedy was President!  Soligor also made a 189/3.5, but it looks a lot different. 

So it fits well with current gear and fills the prime gap between 100 and 400mm with a unique instrument.  Why not bid?

My bid stood alone so it was a bargain that will arrive soon.  I look forward to giving it a try!

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?