Another camera thread

[Ade B]

Not a which camera question but..

I've just dug out my old 35mm slr (Pentax Z10) purchased whilst a student in 1991 or thereabouts..

It's been in it's case without a battery since about 2002.. There's a roll of film in it which I want to get developed so..

a. Do any of you Camera Experts know if I can get batteries for it so I can rewind the film..
b. Is there a teeny chance the film is still developable? I've no idea what's on there but it would be fun to find out..

TIA

Ade

 

[Dryce]

a. Do any of you Camera Experts know if I can get batteries for it so I can rewind the film..

2CR5 probably. These are still available on the web for aroumnd £3 to £5 last time I looked. Boots and Jessops used to stock them at around £9 to £12.

b. Is there a teeny chance the film is still developable? I've no idea what's on there but it would be fun to find out..

In principle yes. Depends on how the camera has been stored in terms of temperature. If it has been cool the film will have survived better. It used to be that you could find a lab that would perhaps play with the processing a bit. For a price.

If it's not critical then you could fling it into a high street developer and cross your fingers. If you can get it scanned then you can play with it to try and correct any colour shift and contrast issues due to aging.

 

[219]

Yes , the Z10 uses 2CR5 .

I'm sure they'll still be widely available from any decent camera shop - I know I can still get CR2 batteries OK .

Why not buy a film and give the camera some use ? I still like to shoot film every now and then - I still carry my MZ-S and one of my LX bodies in my kit : shooting film , especially with a MF camera , makes you THINK about what you're doing and remember what photography is all about rather than just rattling off exposures on digital as I know we're all guilty of .

Also revel in that BIG , BRIGHT viewfinder - maybe you won't want to go back to that APSC DSLR with the finder that's next to useless .

Sometimes I go out with just a film camera . On my recent holiday to berlin , I just took an LX and 3 primes .

All you ever wanted to know about Pentax
Welcome to Bojidar Dimitrov's Pentax K-Mount Page

Oh , and yes , most processors will scan to CD as well as process - you can then import into Photoshop or whatever .

 

[Mark300SL]

Also revel in that BIG , BRIGHT viewfinder - maybe you won't want to go back to that APSC DSLR with the finder that's next to useless .

Thats why I love my 5D - all the full frame advantages

However I agree with Derek - get out there and shoot some film. I never managed to use my WW1 Kodak folding brownie at Bodie ghost town this year but I definitely will at some point in the future.

Digital is so easy - but film still has a magical quality about it.

 

[Ade B]

Thanks guys - will see if I can get it recommissioned. The stock 28-80 lens wasn't great from memory but I had some fun with it in the past. Currently still smitten with my D90.


Ade

 

[crockers]

Ade - I too have the D90 and love it - what lenses do you use?

 

[219]

Thanks guys - will see if I can get it recommissioned. The stock 28-80 lens wasn't great from memory but I had some fun with it in the past. Currently still smitten with my D90.


Ade

Yes , that camera belongs to the era when Pentax kind of lost their way , after a series of 35mm film cameras culminating in the fantastic LX (I still have two) they produced a series of AF cameras and lenses that were never quite the same ( the MZ-S was the only one that had the feel of a proper 'pro' camera about it ) , then a somewhat disappointing series of DSLR's .

The original *istD was expensive for what it is , although I did buy one , but they have got progressively better of late and the new K7 is a really nice camera and I'm seriously thinking of getting one ( despite having 2x D300's supplied by work , I'm just not a Nikon fan ) . I'd like to save up my pennies for a 645D , which is not medium format but full frame 35mm with its 24x36mm sensor , but beyond my means , alas . Film 645's are something of a bargain these days ( as is all medium format stuff ) but the Pentax lenses are going back up in value due to compatibility with the digital bodies - a feature that few other makers have bothered to build in .

 

[Ade B]

Ade - I too have the D90 and love it - what lenses do you use?

so far just the kit 18-105. Trying to master basics - there are limitations to the lens at some settings with complex distortion & slight fall off on corners but as I'm shooting for fun not National Geographic I don't mind. The kit is certainly not the limiting factor...

Ade

 

[Ade B]

Having said that, I've been shooting today with a borrowed 50mm f1.8 prime no zoomy stuff but far more fun than the 18-105..

I'm now on the look out for a full frame 35mm fast lens for family pics and sharp distortion free snaps.

Ade

 

[crockers]

I recently got this lens - finding it fantastic.
I just bought the body and this lens -- which I use most of the time..not this exact model but the one before it the VRI version.
But I agree - I think I have mastered 5% of the camera so the lens is least of my concerns.
Planning to do a course in the new year - just learned to use AP whereas before I was using the preset modes.