View of New York City from the World Trade Center

View of New York City from the World Trade Center, originally uploaded by BobD2.

I visited New York City with my son back in April of 2001. We stayed at the Millennium Hilton right across from the World Trade Center towers. So of course we had to go to the top of the twin towers to check out the view. I took this photo looking toward Brooklyn using my trusty old Canon PowerShot S100 digital elph. It is a mere 2.1 mega pixels but took very nice photos. Images from the S100 are just 1600 x 1200 pixels and so are really only large enough for a good quality 4x6 print.

26 Below Zero in Yarmouth, Maine (fahrenheit)

-26 Degrees Fahrenheit, originally uploaded by BobD2.

Wow, 26 below zero this morning in Yarmouth, Maine! I can't remember the last time I've seen a thermometer go this low (if I've ever seen it). We're actually afraid to go out!!

Update: since posting this photo, I have gone outside to warm up my wife's car for her. Each time I inhaled, I felt a sting that made me cough! Her car did start, but it was not happy about running at first.

Photo taken with a Pentax K100D and an Auto Vivitar 28mm F2.5 (M42) Lens. I found this nice wide angle lens at a local Goodwill thrift store just the other day. Very good condition and great build quality. The glass was a bit under the weather, but cleaned up nicely. I'm using it with my Pentax K100D using a genuine Pentax M42 to K mount adapter.

King Roger

King Roger, originally uploaded by BobD2.

He may be photogenic, but he's also quite ornery, as this photo shows! After the first photo while he was resting calmly, he got this annoyed look about him, so I quickly grabbed another shot.

Photo taken with a Pentax K100D and Auto Chinon 50mm F1.9, wide open at 1/30th and ISO 800.

Screen Grab of 4 Lens Test Images Side by Side

Screen Grab of 4 Lens Test Images Side by Side, originally uploaded by BobD2.

I decided to test out the 4 different 50mm manual focus lenses I own to see if any one of them is the sharpest. I set up a test shot and used my Pentax K100D on a tripod. I set it to 200 ISO and used the 2 second timer feature which provides mirror-lockup. I then put each lens on one at a time and took 3 shots with each lens - one shot wide open, the next at F5.6, and the last at F11. With all images, I did minimal post processing and treated all images the same (no sharpening or any tonal adjustment of any kind). The 4 lenses tested from top left clockwise are:

• SMC Pentax-M 50mm F1.7
  
• SMC Pentax-A 50mm F2
• Auto Chinon 50mm F1.9
• Ricoh Rikenon P 50mm F1.7

Above is a screen grab from Adobe Bridge of the 4 F5.6 images from each lens, and a 1:1 pixel ratio magnification of each shot to make comparing them easier. From this comparison, it would appear that the Auto Chinon 50mm F1.9 lens is the sharpest of the lot.

Pentax K100D with Auto Sears 28mm F2.8 M42 Lens

Pentax K100D with Auto Sears 28mm F2.8 M42 Lens, originally uploaded by BobD2.

I've been collecting, using, and selling film cameras for quite a while now and have been very dedicated to film. It's not because I feared making the switch either - I've owned several digital cameras in the past - but rather because I just preferred the look of film. But when I recently took a closer than usual look at my expenses and found I'd spent over a thousand bucks on film and processing in just 7 months, I realized something had to change. This pointed me toward a DSLR, and after learning that I could use a handful of old film camera lenses I already owned on a Pentax DSLR, it was a no-brainer for me. Being a fan of all the old manual film gear, what better way to go digital than to be able to slap an M42 screw mount lens onto a modern DSLR camera. So being the cheapskate that I am, I found myself a used K100D in nice condition. Pictured above is the K100D with an Auto Sears 28mm F2.8 lens (M42). I used a genuine Pentax M42 to K mount adapter to make the connection. I had already purchased the adapter earlier to use this M42 lens (and others) on my Pentax ME Super film camera.

Using an old manual focus lens on the K100D took a bit of getting used to, but only a bit. With just a bit of fiddling at home and one jaunt about my town with it and I was snapping away comfortably. After mounting the lens, you switch to manual focus mode (MF), turn the picture mode dial to M for manual, turn on Shake Reduction if you want it, and switch on the camera. If you turned on SR, you'll be prompted for the focal length of the lens (which SR needs to know to work properly). Once that's done you're ready to shoot.

Manually focuing visually is not easy compared to with a 35mm film camera - there's no slit image or microprism to help you. But you can still use auto focus assist by half pressing the shutter button while you focus. When the center of the image is in focus, the green focus lock light will light up.

As for exposure, the manual lenses cannot tell the camera what f-stop is set, so you have to press the AE-L button. For M42 lenses, you'll want to switch the lens to M (sliding switch on the lens itself), set the aperture on the lens to the desired setting, and then press the AE-L button to take the exposure reading. You are then ready to snap the photo. All this sounds like a long complicated process - but it doesn't take that long once you get used to it. And the benefit of doing this? Reasonably priced high-quality fixed focal length lenses of course!

The glass I currently own that I can use on my new K100D includes the Sears 28/2.8 pictured above, a Sears 55/1.4 M42, a Sears 135mm/2.8 M42, a Pentax-A 28/2.8, Pentax-M 50/1.7, Pentax-A 50/2, and a Chinon 50/1.9.

Konica FC-1

This Konica FC-1 came to me out of left field. A wildlife photographer friend of mine - Len Rue, Jr. sent me this camera with the fantastic Hexanon AR 57mm F1.2 lens you see pictured below. It's not one he'd shot with - he's a Canon guy now and was a Nikon guy before that. I think he said it had belonged to his uncle - but regardless, I'd never owned a Konica and hadn't even had my eye on Konica cameras at all before this arrived. Actually, one more bit of trivial blathering - When Len told me about this one on the phone before sending it up to me to sell on ebay for him, he looked it over and dismissed it as rather worthless (Canon man don't forget). But he looked at the lens, read the specs to me, and said "that's a fast sucker!". Mind you, this was coming from a guy who has thousands of dollars worth of the latest Canon lenses in his arsenal, so it's a rare moment when he's impressed by something I'm interested in.



So, when I received this, I was quite excited about the 1.2 lens. At that point in time, I'd not even managed to get my hands on my first 1.4 lens (although I do have one now). I did some research on the camera and the lens, and quickly realized that this lens, and Hexanon lenses in general, are somewhat legendary for their sharpness. I was becoming interested! I took this camera and lens combo out shooting right away and was super impressed with how the FC-1 felt and handled. The lens of course was impressive, and was even more so when I got back my first roll of film - the images were beautifully exposed and as sharp as come be. But I expected that out of this legendary lens - but from my online research about the FC-1 I expected a competent camera, but not much more. Instead, I found myself favoring this camera and buying more Hexanon lenses during the weeks that followed. I also followed this up with the purchase of an Autoreflex T2 - but that's another story I guess.

LIKES: lightweight yet feels well made; nice body grip design - comfortable to hold with good design and placement of self-timer button so that nothing is right under your fingers; nice large shutter speed dial that rotates all the way around; super easy film loading - no need to slip film in any slot, just lay it in there and wind the film advance lever 3 times; film advance indicator on back so you know your film is advancing properly; electromagnetic shutter release; much brighter viewfinder than the Autoreflex series had with easy to read LED f-stop indicators on the left side; more reliable metal focal plane shutter; takes modern commonly available batteries.

DISLIKES: no depth-of-field preview button; no mirror lock-up even with self-timer use; can't see what shutter speed is selected from within viewfinder; not compatible with standard cable-releases (requires special cable release); mirror seems noisier and slower than other SLRs I own (the quietest I own is the Pentax ME Super - dang nice!)




Above: photo taken at the 2008 Clam Festival Bike Race in Yarmouth, Maine with a Konica FC-1 and Konica Hexanon AR 40/1.8 lens and Fujicolor 200 color print film. Confession - this shot was a bit lucky as I'm certain I was attempting to pan the rider closest to the camera. Instead, the rider behind and further back came out tack sharp! That probably works better that way as your eye is drawn back through all the blurry riders to the sharp one.

Konica MG

The Konica MG is a 35mm auto focus point and shoot camera released in 1984. I bought mine on ebay for $7, which included the shipping! It arrived in good working condition - needing only a light cleaning - and included the manual and original strap. It's a good size camera measuring about 4-3/4" x 1-3/4" x 2-7/8", roughly similar in size to the Nikon L35AF or the Canon Sure Shot. I found it a pleasure to shoot with - it feels solid and well made, has a sliding cover like the Olympus Infinity Stylus and Stylus Epic, and allows for manually setting the film speed. It features a Konica Hexanon 35mm F3.5 lens, which I found to be quite sharp.

But what makes this camera stand out for me is a combination of features (or lack of) that make sense for me in terms of shooting. First, the slowest shutter speed is 1/30th of a second - this matches the 35mm lens as the slowest speed you should try to handhold, which means steadiness should never be a problem with this camera. Secondly, if there's not enough light for a shot, the only warning it gives is a red LED in the viewfinder - it doesn't beep at you like many cameras do (I hate it when they do that), doesn't automatically activate the flash like other cameras do (I hate that almost as much as a beep), and it doesn't prevent you from taking the shot, which still other cameras do. In other words, it assumes I have a brain and just quietly lets me know there's not enough light and lets me make the decision from there... pop the flash myself, take the shot anyway, or just pass on the shot. That's what I want, that's what you get with this one. This is one I'll be hanging on to.

Right: Looking up Exchange Street in Portland, Maine. Photo taken with a Konica MG using Kodak Ultramax 400 color print film.

View more Konica MG sample images on D2 Gallery

Read more about the Konica MG at D2 Gallery