Yeah..... no negative reflection on Nikon, they are the equal of Pentax or any other brand.......but if i HAD to Pick something to sacrifice i was going to say my pair of Nikon F2S.I've owned the Spotmatic, Spotmatic IIa, Spotmaitc F, K1000, MX, ME, MG, and P30 (P3).
They're all nice cameras but the MX I really really like. I ended up owning four cameras. Now I'm down to two MX, one is by my side right now. Fantastic camera. I also kept the Spotmatic F because it really doesn't have any major flaw and in combination with the Takumars (or the Carl Zeiss Jena lenses) gives stunning results.
I think I'd say the same. Had I "discovered" Pentax earlier, I wouldn't have so many Canon and Nikon bodies/lenses.
The K2 is a camera that I had never seen nor heard of...it looks really interesting! Oddly, they seem rather inexpensive compared to the rest (LX are running near $300). That might be the ticket.
Regarding the 1/1000th limit--I've come to the conclusion that in my workflow i can overexpose a negative roughly 4 stops and still have the detail and density to make it work. Maybe I just live with 1/1000 knowing I can still open up the lens a little bit.
In the end........Jimi Hendrix sounded just like Jimi Hendrix whether he was plugged into Fender, Marshall or Ampeg.
No camera or lens, or combination of the two, are going to change the way my photos look.
I especially love the the M42 Takumar lenses. The 50mm f/1.4 is just as good as it's reputed to be—easily as good as my 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor AI-S (a much newer and more expensive lens). I have since acquired a 28mm f/3.5 Super Multi Coated Takumar, a 35mm f/3.5 Super Takumar, and a 105mm f/2.8 Super Takumar. The 28 is just as good as the 50,
In fairness, I feel the 50/1.4 Nikkor AI-S isn't as good a lens as the previous Nikkor-S-C 50/1.4. As for the 50/1.4 takumar, I don't have experience with it but the Pentax-A 50/1.4 is probably my favorite 50/1.4; it perhaps isn't as ultimately sharp as the Canon FD 50/1.4 SSC or Nikkor-S-C 50/1.4 wide open, however the high contrast and far better smoothness of "bokeh" or wide-open rendering makes it a superior image-maker. It never fails to suprise me.
As for the 28, that 28/3.5 is one of the best 28mm lens by any manufacturer. I love mine. I'm eyeing the 35/3.5 because everything points out that is an excellent lens once stopped down a bit and I plan to buy one sooner or later. Really you have some of the best lenses in the M42 lineup.
I have the 28 and also the 135/2.5 (SMC version) which is also a very good lens and relatively quite compact. It makes the Canon FD 135/2.5 feel like a trailer.
I've had a MX and 50mm f2
Canon came out with the same body. I think it is a T50 OR 60?, auto everything so very limited. You never know what the shutter speed is if I remember right.Another odd duck KA camera is the Chinon CP 7m, built in autowinder and auto reverse, exposure lock, interval timer, multiple exposure, shutter speed priority that Chinon calls Action, aperture priority called creative, program and manual exposure. Works with K and M42 with adaptor in manual mode. No dials, all controlled with an odd large multi mode button that sets the exposure mode and a couple of slide buttons. Uses either lithium or AA batteries. Just took mine out and will shoot with it next week. Chinon list a nice list of lens, odd no 35 or 105 and one AF lens.
I absolutely love my Spotmatic SP1000 black body, and the Super Takumar lenses for it.
If I could start from scratch and build a dream system for Pentax, though, I'd definitely return to the LX -- an absolutely marvellous and elegant SLR, and pair it with a 50 (1.2, I think Pentax made one?), 28 and short tele.
I've had or still have all the 35mm Pentaxes from the original 1950s Pentax K up to the M series. After that they became too lightweight and plastic for me and I lost interest. The KX is my favourite for build quality, handling and durability. The split image focussing screen version is excellent if a little unusual.
Too much automation and electronics usually spells trouble sooner or later, especially after a few decades, so much as I like my K2 and ES series models, I wouldn't use them as my 'only' cameras on a trip to the Moon. The attraction of the LX is rather lost on me - it doesn't have the quality feel of the KX or Spots, metering in manual mode is only in one stop LED increments and though I have two of them they rarely get used. Big gripe with the later Pentaxes is the 'A' series lenses. They just don't have the smooth, refined action of the Takumars or the SMC Pentax lenses, especially the crunchy action of the aperture rings.
Steve
After that long winded diatribe... the LX is the best one as long as it works.
Don't get me wrong, I like my LX but for emotional not pragmatic reasons.
Sounds like one of those complicated love hate relationship . . .
Ya while I like my LX, it perhaps is the most over rated 35mm slr available. Aside from it's OTF long exposures ability (that the Oly OM2 and OM4 also has), it does nothing that my dirt cheap Pentax slrs can't do. In some cases less - no AE hold.
And yet it is perhaps the most unreliable Pentax currently on the market! I just bought a (2nd) Nikon F4 that is like new, works perfectly, for $100 less than my LX. The F4 is built way better, and it has real additional features that actually make a difference in photography. AF, AE hold, different metering patterns, a range of shutter speeds that make sense/are useable in 'normal' every day photography. I'll take 1/8000 sec over 4 minutes any day!
Yes the F4 is much bigger, but I don't care. If I'm carrying a camera, I'm carrying a camera.
Don't get me wrong, I like my LX but for emotional not pragmatic reasons.
It is now I've finally got it to work, but given the choice to do it again... I wouldn't. Really the only thing it has going for it is the 'hey look at me I'm the smallest system camera!" thing.
In the end........Jimi Hendrix sounded just like Jimi Hendrix whether he was plugged into Fender, Marshall or Ampeg.
No AE hold because it's against OTF. Personally I do not like the OTF feature of the LX or OM-2.
The reasoning for OTF is that the reading before the actual exposure may not be correct as the light may change after the shutter opens. So the shutter speed is adjusted according to this in real time. So holding an exposure is against this idea.I don't understand that argument. The camera shows a meter reading before you take a photo, so before the OTF is used. The same way as if you were using it in manual mode.
So it should be able to lock that setting with an AE lock function pre exposure. Mimicking if manual exposure mode was being used.
Pentax just flubbed it.
The reasoning for OTF is that the reading before the actual exposure may not be correct as the light may change after the shutter opens. So the shutter speed is adjusted according to this in real time. So holding an exposure is against this idea.
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