Carpe Lux Seize the Light

I just pulled the trigger and ordered a Pentax smc DA* 16-50mm F2.8ED AL [IF] SDM lens from Adorama. $659.95USD was just too good a price to pass up, especially with this weak dollar.

Update 1: UPS should be delivering it any minute now. Opening this box and testing the contents will be a lot like looking at Schroedinger's cat; I don't know if this copy of the lens is a dud (too many have been) or a gem.

Last week, I finally took delivery of a slightly used SMC Pentax DA* 50-135mm F2.8 ED [IF] SDM lens. I got it from an eBayer who was switching brands. As I had the 1.20 firmware in my K10D, a video camera and a tripod, I figured I'd tape the lens while focusing back and forth and then measure the focus speed from the video clip.

Hi, I'm Richie. I bought a new lens today. It's an old manual focus Vivitar, said to be one of the sharpest lenses ever made. It can shave a man from ten feet away. It resolves the unresolvable, cuts the unwary and feels great to handle. Apart from being sharp, it can be defined as being very solid.

I got mine from TraderJim's on eBay and can't recommend him enough. Now and then, he seems to find some old new in the box stock and offers up a BIN or Best Offer auction. It seems he accept offers around $190 USD, I got mine for $240 with fast international shipping.

Here's a new twist - a blind camera with no optics. Instead of taking a picture, it records the exact time you press the shutter button and then starts searching Flickr for images taken at the same time which it then downloads and displays - hours or days later.

Useful? Well, maybe as a gift to someone who has everything else, and I mean everything.

Pentax seems hell-bent on milking the K10D for every last drop. Here's a limited golden edition to commemorate the Camera Grand Prix it recently won: http://www.pentax.co.jp/english/news/2007/200748.html

It'll go nicely with the DA* lenses (also with golden trim) but it positively screams "steal me now!".

Today, I was going to try combining a 2x teleconverter, an extension ring and a prime lens to make a 100mm 2.8 macro lens.

First, I put the TC closest to the camera, then the extension ring (20 mm Kenko) and on top the FA 50 1.4. Worked fine, but I didn't get close enough so I figured I'd swap the TC and the ring, so I did. Except when doing so, I managed to dislodge the little spring that actuates the aperture lever on my $1000 K10D camera.

Oops.

Pentax has unveiled a prototype/design model 50th anniversary edition retro-styled K10D called the AP50:

Linky-linky: http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/cda/other/2007/06/01/6368.html

Low-light, low-weight, low-cost, low-profile.

I got it back not five minutes ago. New main circuit board, built-in flash repair (although it wasn't broken I guess mine was part of that first batch with potentially bad flashes so they fixed it pre-emptively) and cleaned CCD. All free of charge. It seems Pentax' International Warranty really works.

Thank you, Pentax! :-)

Dead. Gone to the great beyond. Displaying naught but an "empty battery" icon on the top LCD. Deceased. This camera is no more. It's pushing up the daisies. It has kicked the great bucket in the sky. It has gone to meet it's maker after a mere ~5500 shots.

I am willing to bet real money that as soon as I send it away to be repaired, my back-ordered FA 50 will arrive promptly. Any takers? No? Didn't think so. This is the way of the Murphy.