The arc of progress.

Old, but not dead.

Over the past three weeks I’ve been checkin’ out the #ShittyCameraChallenge tag on Twitter and I’ve noticed that folks are using any old shitty camera they can get their hands on, including ‘vintage’ digital.

I still have my old Pentax Optio 300GS. It’s a tiny compact digital camera I bought in 2003. It’s a whoppin’ 3.2 MP, uses a 128 MB Compact Flash card, and it runs on AA batteries.

It’s not really shitty, but it is old.

It’s not really shitty, but it is old. And after 17 years, the sensor has a handful of dead pixels.

So, yesterday I walked around the house, garage, and backyard shooting whatever caught my eye.

These two shots had a similar feel, seemed meant for each other. A wagon wheel, and leaves from one of the Pride of Barbados plants out back.

Rusty shutters #28.

Pentax ZX-5n.

April 2007.

I’d amassed a decent collection of Pentax FA lenses after acquiring the *ist D a year or so earlier. It only made sense to find a 35mm camera that could share them. I bought the Pentax ZX-5n from KEH for around US $150.

I ran about 5 rolls of film through this camera. Then it sat unused for a few years. I pulled it out recently to document here, but also intending to run some Tri-X 400 through it.

I put a new battery in it, and went to do a film-free test shot. The mirror lock-up gear failed. Totally unusable now. Bummer. Apparently a problem common with these 20+ year old cameras.

It’ll be cheaper to replace than repair. Maybe I’ll get the ZX-7. Maybe the MZ-S. No hurry. No worry.

Launched: 1997
Type: single lens reflex camera
Lens mount: Pentax KAF2
Film type: 35mm film with speeds of 25 to 5000 ISO, with auto DX, 6 to 6400 ISO manual
Metering element: Silicon photo cell
Focusing: Autofocus
Programs: Av, M, P and TV modes
Flash: Built-in, Guide number 11
Shutter: Focal plane shutter with speeds from 30 to 1/2000 sec. B, 2 to 1/2000 sec manual
Viewfinder: 0.8 magnification x 92% coverage, shutter and aperture LED display.
Power: 2x 3v CR2 battery lithium battery
Dimension WDH: 5.3in x 2.4in x 3.5in
Weight: 14.4 oz

Pink Lincoln

Red

Clover

Peek-up

Tulips

Rusty shutters #15.

Pentax K10D.

January 2008.

It was the next logical step, and my last Pentax DSLR before making the move to Micro Four Thirds.

With plenty of Pentax glass in my collection when the K10D was announced, I still had a lot of miles left in my *ist D and wasn’t in any hurry to make the upgrade.

So I waited nearly two years after its realease before adding the K10D to my kit.

It’s a bit bigger physically than the *ist D, but comfortable gripping with my right hand.

I added a couple of Sigma primes, the 30mm ƒ/1.4 and the 28mm ƒ/1.8 macro, and the Lensbaby Composer Pro Sweet 35 combo. I get a lot of use of these 3 lenses, plus a very big and heavy Sigma 27-70mm ƒ/2.8 macro. I also have the SMC Pentax-FA 50mm ƒ/1.4.

I still take this rig out. This and the *ist D both have a special place in my collection.

Resolution: 10 megapixels
Max image size – 3872 x 2592
Display: 2.5in LCD @ 210,000 pixels
ISO: 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
Shutter Speeds: 30 sec – 1/4000 sec
Metering: Center-weighted, evaluative, spot
Dimensions: 5.6in x 4in x 2.8in
Weight: 1.57 lbs
Power: Pentax D-Li50 lithium ion rechargeable battery
Memory card: SD/MMC/SDHC

Thunderbird

Josie

Remnant

Skirt

Peony

Pail.

… by comparison.

I shot this photo with my Panny GX8 and a Pentax 25mm ƒ/1.4 (m43 50mm equivalent) c-mount CCTV lens, ISO 200, wide-open, using the Dynamic Black and White in-camera filter. A Manfrotto 785B Modo tripod and the camera’s timer set to 2 seconds helped keep things steady. I unscrewed the center bar from the pod to make the camera sit closer to the ground. The camera was just short of 5 feet from the subject.

The only post-processing is simple auto-levels in Photoshop.

I love the swirly bokeh this little lens produces.

The setting is the north side-yard of our home, sitting on a flagstone step, beneath the shade of our neighbor’s Live Oak and you’re looking east here.

A neighbor had set this pail out next to their garbage can for pick-up one Wednesday and I spotted it on my early-morning walk. I made a point of walking back past their house to snag it on the way home.

I store charcoal in it.

I love the swirly bokeh this little lens produces. It’s a great portrait lens, as well – you just have to get up in people’s faces with it!