Hin's Tech Corner

Genuine Pentax M42 to K Adapter

Left: 3rd party adapter

Right: Genuine Pentax M42 to K Adapter

Left: 3rd party adapter
Right: Genuine Pentax M42 to K Adapter

The Genuine adapter has less wording in the engraving. It is the right one on the above two pictures with engraving for "Asahie Pentax" on top and "Japan" on bottom. The 3rd party adapters such as those from Kalt and Bower share the same mechanical build as the genuine adapters but they are bought with a tool for dismounting the adapter

Dismounting tool from 3rd party adapter

Bower adapter on bottom

with "Bower" engraving on top

In general, I recommend others to get the genuine adapter as the best adapter to use with M42 on Pentax latest dSLR. It is easy to use and dismounting can be done without the use of additional tool. With practice, I find myself frequently remove the adapter with thumb and index finger holding on the two holes in the K mount and dismount the clip with inward direction followed by a anti-clockwise turn of the adapter to unmount the adapter.

Genuine adapter:

The easiest to use, especially in dismounting
No need for dismount tool
Well built in mechanics
More costly like $30 to $40 dollars
Difficult to find
New one comes in a green pouch

For 3rd party adapters such as those from Kalt and Bower, I ran into spring plate getting stuck in my K100D body creating panic moments to unmount the adapter.

3rd Party adapter:

Cheaper in cost from $10 to $20
Share the same mechanics but require removal tool
Quite difficult to dismount with the given tool
Lots of panic moments in dismounting from various users
Spring plate easy to get worn out with the adapter stuck in K mounted body

I end up using both, but I prefer to use the Genuine adapter for ease of use. For 3rd party adapter, I remove the spring plate and mount the 3rd party adapter directly onto the lens

Adapter mounted directly onto M42 lens
(Bower adapter with spring plate removed)

Where to find Genuine Adapter:

Pentax Store

http://www.pentaxwebstore.com/detail/PTX+30120
The item carries the adapter 'B' in description and 'B' actually refers to Bayonet mount, which includes the KAF2 mount in the latest Pentax dSLR as in K10D/K100D etc.
Please call to confirm

Some discussion seems to suggest that henrys.com in Canada may carry it in stock, cost of shipping may be expensive dependent on location, please call to confirm.
KEH may have it
Find it used and new in ebay, be warned of non-genuine copy

New one comes in a green packet and check wording printed on adapter as a guide. Make sure to ask question if it comes from eBay to confirm it is the genuine copy.

Local store with special ordering from Pentax

Related & Resources:

Pentax Auto 110 & Morning Coffee

Pentax Auto 110 with Kodak Gold Film 200

I put this miniature SLR camera into my to-be-sold items and so far I am undecided whether I should part away with this cute camera. The first roll of test film was destroyed when I found that I had a dead battery and the battery was inside the film compartment and I am onto the fifth frame of test shots on the 2nd roll of Kodah 200 film. If you think that I should not sell it to my good friend, please comment and show your support that I should keep it.

I know once I see some good pictures from this camera, I would have a harder time to sell it. This camera is very small and I can have it in my backpack similar to another point & shoot. And I have three lens with the camera 18mm, 24mm, and 50mm when I purchased it as a set with winder and 8 different filters for $120. So far, I am very impressed with the viewfinder and the picture taking with it is quite easy to handle. I get stuck in deciding to trim this or not, please comment and show your support.

Related:

Hin's Camera Gear

Pentax Auto 110

I have been busy trimming down my gear. Just want to show my Pentax Auto 110 camera that I purchased few months ago. Here is the debut of my CBA (Camera Buying Addiction) evidence, the shame, the glory, and fun that go with camera collection. Pictures are taken from K10D with Tokina 28-70 f/2.8-4.3 shooting wide open, I can't sell my Tokina, the product shots are as good as those from my Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 except on the colors.

Pentax Auto 110 meets my K100D
My smallest camera

Pentax SuperProgram and Pentax Auto 100

Complete set with 18mm, 24mm and 50mm, winder, filters, etc.

Related Resources:

Recommended labs for film development

http://www.frugalphotographer.com/catPhotoLab.htm

Info on 110 films

http://www.frugalphotographer.com/info-110.htm

http://www.frugalphotographer.com/cat110.htm

A great detailed page on 110 from Rick Oleson

http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-116.html

Sample images taken by 110

Tamron 70-300 Di LD Macro Test Shots

Flower Close up with Tamron 70-300 Di LD

All test shots are done hand-held with Pentax K10D in iso 100 with JPG setting on bright image tone with +2 on sharpness and -1 on saturation on some of them. Post processing are done in Picasa

Initial Impressions:

Very capable close up work with this zoom with 1:2 magnification in long end of the zoom from 180mm to 300mm
Amazingly sharp for its price and that it is a zoom lens, I paid only $90 for a used copy of this zoom. New one only costs $129.00 as of this writing
Color are rich and have good contrast and details
AF is effective but a bit slow in the macro zoom range.
AF.C is working reasonably well with little bug around flowers
Though manual focus ring has a large focus throw, it is difficult to use manual focus as the macro only become available in 180mm to 300mm in which the zoom extends to a greater length making it difficult and awkward to focus hand held manually.
I used f/8.0 throughout the test and use negative Ev compensation to reduce purple fringing in scenes with high contrast.
Unlike my Pentax SMC-A 50mm f/2.8 where I need to stay very close to the subject like 0.5 feet to get to 1:2 magnification, the Tamron zoom keeps a good distance from the subject like 3 feet away making it easier to setup with tripod and picturing bugs around flowers.