John Sheldon's photos with the keyword: Pentax camera

Spotted in a charity shop, classed as ‘bric-a-brac’ (a miscellaneous collection of small articles commonly of ornamental or sentimental value per Merriam-Webster). The main point of interest is the smc Pentax-A f3.5 35mm-105mm zoom lens. This model was produced between 1985 and 1989. On the Pentax Forums website its cumulative scores (out of 10) are sharpness 9.0, aberrations 8.5, Bokeh 8.5, Handling 8.3. Its down sides are heaviness (615g/1.35 lbs) and, apparently, busy bokeh with bright backgrounds. This one is in fine condition. I am a lucky lad. The Pentax P30 35mm SLR film camera was introduced in 1985 (called P3 outside the UK) and seems to have had a very short run before being superseded by the P30i and P30n upgrades. It is a creature of extremes – either fully automatic exposure (it chooses aperture and shutter speed with no scope for intervention except for exposure lock) or fully manual mode where the user chooses everything guided by either a handheld light meter (just like a Pentax S1A) or the TTL exposure gauge in the viewfinder (or of course, as in the old days, the use of experience and instinct). The viewfinder information is limited to shutter speed: the one being used and the one it thinks you should use. This P30 camera body is generally in very good condition and all seems to be working well. I suspect that someone has tried to remove the focussing screen for a clean as there is a horizontal mark that seems to float in space inside the viewfinder. It is tempting to put a film through the camera to see how it performs – it still has its adherents who praise it on YouTube. This picture was taken using smc Pentax-DA 35mm f2.4 AL (weight 124g/4.4 oz).

Wallace: “A Takumar lens with a Pentax K mount! Well, what do you think about that, Shawn lad?” Shawn: “........…?” Wallace asks me to explain it to Shawn using information found on the Internet: Me: "Takumar lenses with the 42mm screw thread are members of the Royal Blood Line in Pentax lore. The Takumar lenses with the K or bayonet mount are apparently of the lesser nobility. They were produced after the screw mount had been discontinued and as a cheaper alternative to the Pentax branded bayonet lenses which typically had SMC (Super Multi Coated) stamped on them. This particular Takumar A lens clearly has some kind of coating on its elements but it does not boast about it on the lens barrel. Some Takumar lenses were issued with the brand name Cosmlcar and were marked MC for just plain Multi Coating. On the lens barrel, the markings for f8 on the aperture ring and 10 feet (3 metres) on the distance scale are differentiated by orange ink. The logic seems to be that if you set the aperture to f8 and set the distance scale to 10feet (3 metres) everything from 5 feet (1.5 metres) to infinity will be in focus. All dependent on the film speed/shutter speed and light level of course; but it makes everything sound easy. A 28mm focal length lens designed for full format/35mm film format cameras converts to 'effective' 42mm on my DSLR (APS-C) camera. The lens lacks autofocus of course, but if I find that I really like this 28mm focal length, I can always buy a Pentax-FA HD 31mm f1.8 Lens for only £1,049 (USD $1452/€1218) more than I paid for the Takumar." Shawn: “........…?”

A replacement for the lens I foolishly sold in 2013. The plastic aperture ring is as crusty as might be expected from a 30 year old lens. I managed to set it to A without breaking anything, and there it will stay.