Centon K100

jbissaker

jbissaker

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Julian
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Hi everyone,
I currently use a Canon 400d slr but today a Centon K100 and flash came into my posession.
Does anyone have any advice on how best to go about using it.

Never used a film camera before.

It's in prestine condition and feels great in my hands. (sounds a bit strange i know).
:thinking:
 
Lucky you, get some film in it and shoot some pics! It has onboard ttl so you can forget about the exposure stuff, just fit new batteries, focus and click.


jbissaker said:
It's in prestine condition and feels great in my hands. (sounds a bit strange i know). :thinking:
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Oh no, not strange at all - I imagine everyone that comes in here knows exactly what you mean!

Arthur
 
Having just got a digital slr it's quite scary to take pictures with a 35mm. If i wanted to take B&W pictures do i need to buy a specific type of film or can they develop in B&W ?

Thanks for the help Arthur. & Merry Christmas to you all
 
Well, you can buy BW film if you like or you can buy XP2, which is BW film but is developed using the same process as colour film so you can get it developed at your local photo shop/tesco/jessops.

Arthur
 
Ambermile said:
Lucky you, get some film in it and shoot some pics! It has onboard ttl so you can forget about the exposure stuff, just fit new batteries, focus and click.
Arthur
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erm not for my Centon K100 (which I played with over the weekend), it has an annoying procedure for getting the exposure correct...you have to fiddle with shutter speed or f-stop until you get the green diode in the viewfinder lit. I'm so used to AV and TV semi auto cameras, I'm sure when I see the results today some are going to be incorrectly exposed.
 
Just noticed you have a T90 in your camera list, so why bother with the Centon. The T90 is one of the best film cameras ever (and I am biased :))
 
pauljs said:
Just noticed you have a T90 in your camera list, so why bother with the Centon. The T90 is one of the best film cameras ever (and I am biased :))
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Why bother with any film camera - simples - because we can. I've a EOS-3 SLR as my main film shooter, but occasionally, I'll take out the A-1, as its lighter but still bang-on reliable as far as metering etc. When I'm in the mood, i'll even drag out a Voigtlander Perkeo 120 folder, no metering, scale focusing and don't forget to cock the shutter yourself before pressing the button. Call me perverse, but I even occasionally shoot using cameras with no lens... Pinhole Camera, Tripod, Sunny and 25ISO, call it 8 elephants. WHY? because I can, and because I enjoy it. There are no other justifications necessary.
 
TheBigYin said:
Why bother with any film camera - simples - because we can. I've a EOS-3 SLR as my main film shooter, but occasionally, I'll take out the A-1, as its lighter but still bang-on reliable as far as metering etc. When I'm in the mood, i'll even drag out a Voigtlander Perkeo 120 folder, no metering, scale focusing and don't forget to cock the shutter yourself before pressing the button. Call me perverse, but I even occasionally shoot using cameras with no lens... Pinhole Camera, Tripod, Sunny and 25ISO, call it 8 elephants. WHY? because I can, and because I enjoy it. There are no other justifications necessary.
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Quite so, my comment was meant to be tongue in cheek!
 
pauljs said:
Just noticed you have a T90 in your camera list, so why bother with the Centon. The T90 is one of the best film cameras ever (and I am biased :))
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The T90 is for special occasions with the 300TL flashgun, and I can't walk past camera gear at boot sales going for peanuts, without making an offer for less than peanuts (which the seller usually accepts) and ending up with more camera gear that I don't really need......to play with.
 
excalibur2 said:
erm not for my Centon K100 (which I played with over the weekend), it has an annoying procedure for getting the exposure correct...you have to fiddle with shutter speed or f-stop until you get the green diode in the viewfinder lit. I'm so used to AV and TV semi auto cameras, I'm sure when I see the results today some are going to be incorrectly exposed.
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Annoying procedure....:lol:

its still TTL, ok it doesn't wipe your arse, mop your brow and make a cup of tea, but it still meters for you Through The Lens.

to be even more annoyed you need to meter by hand...:p
 
joxby said:
Annoying procedure....:lol:

its still TTL, ok it doesn't wipe your arse, mop your brow and make a cup of tea, but it still meters for you Through The Lens.

to be even more annoyed you need to meter by hand...:p
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I'll tell ya:- A K100 will p**s you off at London zoo with children...indoors outdoors, kids running in and out of shade, dull then sunny, then clouds and sunshine....gimme my T70 at minimum any time.
 
My Nikon FM2 & Yashica FX are the same, and before those my Spotmatic, Zenit XP, Fujica ST605, Mamiya 500, Ricoh and Canon A1, all work exactly the same way as your K100, had it been a K1000.....it'd still work the same way.
If I set app on the FM2, the shutter speed dial can be turned with the shutter button finger and it still be on the shutter button, its as quick and simple as that.
If you are forced to be quick you soon learn why some cameras are more comfortable than others and the dexterity tricks that you don't need with bum wipe cameras..
Rapidly changing conditions are a pain for every camera, even priority modes can get it wrong, thing with film is, latitude, you can be out and it not make any difference, digital is tighter in that respect.
If you shot b/w at the zoo, it is unlikely any of your shots will be out due to changing lighting conditions, operator error maybe but not sudden 4 stop plunges in light levels....:lol:
We's all agog waiting for the zoo pics.....:)



I just realised excalibur2 South Bucks, you dragged this thread up from bladdy Christmas Eve 2009...:bat:
 
****I just realised excalibur2 South Bucks, you dragged this thread up from bladdy Christmas Eve 2009..***

This thread come up on google, and I didn't have a K100 in dec 2009 to add posts. :) But I've been there done it with 35mm manual cameras and ain't going back unless I have to (well I don't mind now and again for static shots).

***it is unlikely any of your shots will be out due to changing lighting conditions, operator error maybe but not sudden 4 stop plunges in light levels....***

The problem arises when using a 70-250mm f4.5 zoom and camera shake when in dull conditions, whether inside the monkey house or dull condition outside, but I always carry two cameras and the T70 with WA lens was no problem.

****We's all agog waiting for the zoo pics.....***

Well no one fell into the lion area, and I see no point in taking shots of the animals as there are 1000s of shots on the net, and many of them better than I could take.
 
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excalibur2 said:
This thread come up on google.....
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Oh well that's ok then......:boxer:


excalibur2 said:
The problem arises when using a 70-250mm f4.5 zoom and camera shake when in dull conditions, whether inside the monkey house or dull condition outside, but I always carry two cameras and the T70 with WA lens was no problem.
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Tell me about it, had a go at shooting surfing with a 400mm @ 5.6 with........kodachrome 64...:lol:
They come back from processing in 2 weeks, I won't be holding the front page..:)

Is South Bucks your first or second name..?
 
joxby said:
Is South Bucks your first or second name..?
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"location" is my first name ;)


joxby said:
Tell me about it, had a go at shooting surfing with a 400mm @ 5.6 with........kodachrome 64...
They come back from processing in 2 weeks, I won't be holding the front page..
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At f5.6 and 64asa...what was that 1/125sec on a sunny day?
 
Got it up round a 1000th a few times, its the nature of the subject though, hot sunny day, beach & blinding bright sky's, maybe it'll be an entire roll of silhouettes...:(
 
can anyone help me please? I am to photography and am using a centon k100 to teach myself the basics. i have a problem thou my centon k100 shutter realse button isn't working at all i have replaced the film and batteries and still nothing???? please help
 
gainsborough85 said:
can anyone help me please? I am to photography and am using a centon k100 to teach myself the basics. i have a problem thou my centon k100 shutter realse button isn't working at all i have replaced the film and batteries and still nothing???? please help
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erm have you operated the wind-on/shutter set lever?.....if that doesn't work the camera is not worth repairing, so use it for spare screws etc. Also the Centon 50mm lens (which is quite good) will fit a Pentax camera body so if you can pick one up cheap, is a better camera.
 
batteries in the right way ?
 
thanks to both of you yes batteries in right way lmao and i have used the wind -on lever to do you know if i can use the MF lens on a DSLR??? if not may be time to go to a pentax like you said
 
I have just been offered one of these on e.bay. Worth looking at? Seems very similar to a Chinon I picked up recently for peanuts.
 
Plain Nev said:
I have just been offered one of these on e.bay. Worth looking at? Seems very similar to a Chinon I picked up recently for peanuts.
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Any camera is worth playing with if going for peanuts (depends what you call peanuts)...for me if a cheap camera didn't work properly or annoyed me, I'd either give it to a charity shop or take it apart for spare screws etc. Years ago when people were throwing away film cameras I sorta lost respect for them in that I thought nothing of getting rid of a camera cos the meter was a stop or two out and a nice Nikon I used a hacksaw because the lens was stuck on it etc etc...thinking back now it's all o_O :rolleyes:
:oops: :$
 
TheBigYin said:
View attachment 366590

Wondered why I didn't remember replying to this thread, and was puzzled why i'd got a notification, then realised it was 12 years ago...
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Ah, my fault I'm afraid. I did a search for the Centon K100 and this thread came up. I think I'm going to pass anyway. The Chinon was cheap, but this one isn't, by comparison.
 
AAMOI if you have some Pentax lenses.......if you can pick up the Chinon CP-7m for peanuts it's a VG camera in what it can do but the exposure metering system on manual takes some getting used to and annoying for me, as like the Pentax ME, has buttons for shutter speed.... more info:- https://www.pentaxforums.com/camerareviews/chinon-cp-7m.html
But a caveat I don't know the long term reliabilly e.g. uses an unusual square press button system although mine I bought for £7 inc postage is still working OK after about 7 years.
 
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Any K mount lens (bar Ricoh versions and latest PLM lenses) will work on any K-mount DSLR. The Ricoh bayonet has a nasty tendency to jam on PKAF cameras due to where the pins connect.

My K-mount journey started with a CP-7m (as I couldn't afford a P50 or T70 at the time). And getting correct exposure with it was tricky as it tended to underexpose a lot. Nice camera though. Replaced by a Z-10. IIRC Centon was a Jessops brand, just as Miranda was Dixons, and you could get Centons with the Minolta MF mount IIRC; generic Far Eastern copies of Pentax/Nikon/Minolta bodies marketed as budget brands - even though Centon and Miranda gradually disappeared firms like Vivitar and Cosina took over - none of them were ever bad but just don't expect the latest features available at the time.

Might just check out CP7ms on the market place - plus I do need to get that T70 itch scratched.
 
welshwizard645 said:
I do need to get that T70 itch scratched
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Very good camera and I have two (well they were going for peanuts many years ago (y))...and have taken some VG shots with it. You probably seen all the specs and SS (safety shift) is handy, but just one caveat if buying one is to check the catch on the battery holder as it seems to be a weak design for a gorilla type photographer.
And you will have to have an itch for a T90 and if you see one for peanuts with a sticky shutter (could be sticky rubber that has perished or magnets......if magnets? sometimes a bang on the carpet wil get it working again, if sticky rubber then :(...........worth a gamble for a very, very cheap price.
 
Checking my cameras after non use for a while and another Pentax mount camera that might be considered is the Ricoh KR-10 super as if you are into low light/night photography the shutter dial goes down to 16 sec (also on Auto) but exposure meter only displays down to 1 sec.
I also have a Pentax ME super but it's a :LOL: compared to this camera and against the Centon K1000 no contest.
 
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