Pentax K/ Ricoh advice etc

MindofMel

MindofMel

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This has been a system I have been mulling over for a long time to try out but there just seems to be SO much and information isn't anywhere near as concise online as it may be for the 'bigger' brands. So just after some help / points in the right direction. There seem to be a million brands all doing the very similar bodies/lenses? Miranda/ Asahi/ Rikenon/ Pentax :bang:

Essentially, I'm after a prod down the right path for a 35mm SLR, fully manual controls, bright viewfinder, minimum of 1/1000 of a second SS and lenses around the 28mm, 50mm, 90mm, 180mm setup range. Any recommendations?
 
Others will disagree, but I like my OM's. Default aperture priority but easily switched to full manual. Good selection of lenses both Olympus' Zuiko and third party. Downside is there is an element of fighting the small form factor digi boys (and girls) for lenses.
 
Sectionate said:
Pentax ME Super
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Excellent as it is, it's not fully manual.

The standard Pentax manual camera used by photo courses in schools and colleges was the K1000. These now have a bit of a cult status, often with a price to match. The slightly better specified KM is a good alternative.

If you want compact, the MX is good and has one of the best viewfinders to be found on a 35mm SLR. The Ricoh Kr is also a good body to use K mount lenses with.


Steve.
 
Steve Smith said:
Excellent as it is, it's not fully manual.

The standard Pentax manual camera used by photo courses in schools and colleges was the K1000. These now have a bit of a cult status, often with a price to match. The slightly better specified KM is a good alternative.

If you want compact, the MX is good and has one of the best viewfinders to be found on a 35mm SLR. The Ricoh Kr is also a good body to use K mount lenses with.


Steve.
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The Centon K100 is very similar to the Pentax K1000, yeah ok stop sniggering ;) but my Centon works and anyway it's the lenses that count, and you could pick them up for peanuts and is a cheap way to use PK lenses.
 
Yes get the MX, fits all your criteria and is better and cheaper than the over rated K1000, I've had two ME Super's which both broke, even the one i had professionally serviced died after 6 months, so i advise people to avoid them, it's also not fully mechanical, requires a battery for the shutter.
 
The MX basically fits the bill, but I personally think the viewfinder on several other cameras I've owned have been brighter. It's not bad, but there are brighter for sure.
 
If you don't mind me asking, given that (I think) you already have a Nikon SLR or two, why do you want to do this?

Don't get me wrong, I like experimenting with cameras too, but for 35mm SLRs I think it pays to stick to one brand/system, and there's nothing about these cameras that would make me switch from Nikon.
 
TheGreatSoprendo said:
If you don't mind me asking, given that (I think) you already have a Nikon SLR or two, why do you want to do this?

Don't get me wrong, I like experimenting with cameras too, but for 35mm SLRs I think it pays to stick to one brand/system, and there's nothing about these cameras that would make me switch from Nikon.
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Will be going on elective next year plus travelling (africa & south america) - ill be trekking around. Travelling by less than assured means - want to take a full kit with me etc not too keen on it being my nikon stuff. This system seems relatively cheap and lenses on ebay seem plentiful and fairly cheap aswell.
 
As far as sturdy 35mm SLRs go, the Nikon SLRs are right up there with the very best... a tad surprised at that comment, really.
 
Assume Mel means something which is less valuable in case it is damaged or stolen, which I can understand! Though one option for bodies (doesn't cover your lenses of course) is to get a cheapie Nikon body like a Nikkormat (I sold one recently in the classifieds for £25 delivered) which is also built to withstand anything you could throw at it.

To me, reliability would be a primary concern if I was doing that kind of travelling, and on that basis I wouldn't look past what you already have. A thief will take a Pentax just as readily as a Nikon, and either way it leaves you without a camera to document your travels.
 
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freecom2 said:
As far as sturdy 35mm SLRs go, the Nikon SLRs are right up there with the very best... a tad surprised at that comment, really.
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I never made a comment about the reliability of Nikon gear. My prime concern is about loss rather than any other factor and the smaller risk of theft.

Having a kit that I am not as attached to/ precious about; will do a capable job and I could afford to replace if anything happened is the line of thought I'm running along.
 
TheGreatSoprendo said:
Assume Mel means something which is less valuable in case it is damaged or stolen, which I can understand! Though one option for bodies (doesn't cover your lenses of course) is to get a cheapie Nikon body like a Nikkormat (I sold one recently in the classifieds for £25 delivered) which is also built to withstand anything you could throw at it.

To me, reliability would be a primary concern if I was doing that kind of travelling, and on that basis I wouldn't look past what you already have. A thief will take a Pentax just as readily as a Nikon, and either way it leaves you without a camera to document your travels.
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Exactly fella. Good idea..however, my primary concern is lenses. 85mm 1.4's don't come cheap! lol.

The Pentax system seems to beheld in high regard; just less popular than say Nikon/Canon thats why I asked about it rather than say just a cheap russian rangefinder or something. Asking now, to give myself time to get a semi decent body, and a decent collection of lenses for it, and time to become convalescent with it if its the route I choose to go down.

Either way, let's not pretend we all only have the exact kit that we need. G.A.S in this forum more than most runs rife and out of control :lol:
 
Pentax MX. Lovely camera, great viewfinder. Robust, tough, light. If you want more, then the LX is surely the thing (off the film metering)... but it's 5 times the price! And there are hundreds of K mount lenses... eg see http://www.pentaxforums.com/userreviews/ for some great comparisons and knowledgeable reviews of Pentax and 3rd party lenses.
 
Oh, you can get the Rokinon 85mm f/1.4 for £200 brand new (well regarded but a bit heavy), or a used f/2 Pentax-M 85mm for around the same price. Or the Pentax-A* 85mm for about 4-5 times that!
 
freecom2 said:
The MX basically fits the bill, but I personally think the viewfinder on several other cameras I've owned have been brighter. It's not bad, but there are brighter for sure.
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It's possible to use an LX screen to improve this, though it does throw the meter off slightly.

Asahi/Pentax are the same people, as are Honeywell.

I like Pentax lenses a lot, they really are excellent bits of kit with unsurpassed colour rendering. Rikenon lenses are a bit naff, but OK, certainly not of Pentax quality but capable enough. Remember if you use Ricoh stuff with Aperture reporting (Pentax A series, Ricoh P series IIRC) then it won't work with the equivalent Pentax version as the pin that makes it happen is in the wrong place.

Pentax MX would be good, LX better but much pricier. Perhaps a K2?

Olympus should also be on your consider list as they are very very close in terms of what they offer - I personally think Olympus made the better bodies though Pentax made the better lenses. Any single digit OM will fit your requirements.
 
If I was putting together some equipment to take travelling, I would be thinking in terms of small size.

My options would be Pentax MX, Nikon FG and Olympus OM.


Steve.
 
To expand on the Nikkormat idea (say for £30), you would be able to use pre-AI Nikkor glass which is available quite cheaply, eg:

28mm f3.5 - £50
50mm f2 - £30 (or an f1.4 for maybe £50)
135mm f2.8 - £40

That's a very high quality kit for around £150-£200 and the body would work as a backup for your current system too.

The Nikkormat FT2 would be the best option for using pre-AI lenses (and it will meter with AI/AI-S lenses too as long as they have a prong) - it's better than the FTn in terms of focusing screen and battery type.

They are also among the most reliable cameras ever made.
 
I have been playing with a ricoh kr-10 recently which is basically manual with an aperture priority mode. Quite happy, although the stutter sounds like a slamming door.

So far my stable consists of kr10 body, 50mm f2 lens and a 28mm f2.8 lens,

Cash invested?

£14
 
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Ebilpirate said:
I have been playing with a ricoh kr-10 recently which is basically manual with an aperture priority mode.
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Last year I brought home a Ricoh Kr-10x from work which had never had a film put in it. The first time I took it anywhere, I managed to drop it and the corner of the viewfinder element has a crack in it. It's still useable, but annoying.

I will probably take it apart to see if I can repair it as despite its second class pedigree, it looks nice and handles well - and it takes Pentax lenses.


Steve.
 
I've just been on the bay and you can pick up Canon 35mm EOS cameras - working - for £10 delivered and from Top Sellers.

I reckon with lenses you could be up and running for £50-60.
 
huxleypiggles said:
I've just been on the bay and you can pick up Canon 35mm EOS cameras - working - for £10 delivered and from Top Sellers.

I reckon with lenses you could be up and running for £50-60.
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Wouldn't a set of lenses be expensive as the digital guys use them :shrug:
 
Plus it looks expensive, to an opportunist thief, don't the EOS look a lot like a low end DSLR?
 
steveo_mcg said:
Plus it looks expensive, to an opportunist thief, don't the EOS look a lot like a low end DSLR?
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Another reason to get a Nikkormat - you could even beat it up a bit first - put a few light dents and scratches in the brass top and bottom plates, and make it look really worthless! And it doesn't have Nikon on the front either, to make it even less interesting to thieves.
 
TheGreatSoprendo said:
Another reason to get a Nikkormat - you could even beat it up a bit first - put a few light dents and scratches in the brass top and bottom plates, and make it look really worthless! And it doesn't have Nikon on the front either, to make it even less interesting to thieves.
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:lol:

Thanks all, lots of good info in here. Great link for reviews ChrisR!
 
steveo_mcg said:
Others will disagree, but I like my OM's. Default aperture priority but easily switched to full manual. Good selection of lenses both Olympus' Zuiko and third party. Downside is there is an element of fighting the small form factor digi boys (and girls) for lenses.
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^^^WHS^^^

If you're happy to invest in new system then you cant really go wrong, but if you want to stay with the Nikon brand then as others have said get a Nikkormat.
 
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i have a pentax spotmatic that i love, m42 mount :)
and these old camera's are solid, fairly sure you could use one as a fairly painful weapon if needed
 
Nikon FM, if you don't want a Nikkormat? Fully manual and mechanical, so independent of batteries other than the meter. A lot of pros used them as backup, and mine seems pretty bulletproof.
 
The reason why I still don't think it's necessarily the best idea (with all due respect), is that the investment of a body and 3-4 lens set-up, especially decent popular lenses, is probably going to end up costing as much as having to replace your kit if it was stolen, all whilst having less compatibility with your current gear.

And I'm not convinced having a Pentax MX rather than a Nikon FM (just an example) is going to make much of a difference in terms of theft - if it's going to be stolen, it's going to be stolen. Sure, it might not be your primary 35mm SLR kit, but see my comment in the first paragraph on cost. Basically all the 35mm SLR systems require a decent level of investment for a good kit.

I'd also go Nikon FM over the Nikkormat - AI compatibility (the AI compatible Nikkormat FT3 is relatively hard to find), so no messing around with prongs, it's more compact, they can still be had for a very small outlay, their design is pretty good - the basic layout was used all the way up to the FM3A.
 
freecom2 said:
The reason why I still don't think it's necessarily the best idea (with all due respect), is that the investment of a body and 3-4 lens set-up, especially decent popular lenses, is probably going to end up costing as much as having to replace your kit if it was stolen, all whilst having less compatibility with your current gear.

And I'm not convinced having a Pentax MX rather than a Nikon FM (just an example) is going to make much of a difference in terms of theft - if it's going to be stolen, it's going to be stolen. Sure, it might not be your primary 35mm SLR kit, but see my comment in the first paragraph on cost. Basically all the 35mm SLR systems require a decent level of investment for a good kit.

I'd also go Nikon FM over the Nikkormat - AI compatibility (the AI compatible Nikkormat FT3 is relatively hard to find), so no messing around with prongs, it's more compact, they can still be had for a very small outlay, their design is pretty good - the basic layout was used all the way up to the FM3A.
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You're not wrong. Adding up my modest OM system:

OM2SP £45
OM4Ti £140
50mm f1.4 £55
24mm f2.8 £60
100mm f2.8 £55

That's over £300!
 
h'mm Richard "Film is not dead" just many people who used it are.
 
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