Film Camera 2019/6 – Pentax ZX-L – Results

by Posted in Cameras, Pentax ZX-L, smc pentax-f 35-70mm f3.5-4.5 Leave a comment
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Above:Marker in a Patterson, NY cemetery.

I’m pleased to say that, unlike the last two Pentax SLRs I acquired (which were dead on arrival) this one worked perfectly. Film loading and unloading was easy. Although uninspired pictures they were all well exposed (if a little contrasty possibly because of the combination of Tr-X 400 and the bright mid day light) and well focused. The camera was so light I could have easily have carried it around all day. I particularly liked the use of a switch around the shutter release to adjust aperture, shutter speed etc.

I tend to frame quite tightly and the only quibble I have is that in some of the pictures the framing was off. This has happened to me with other cameras. I have to remember to frame more broadly in future.

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Sybil Ludington Statue in Carmel, NY.

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Crosses in a cemetery. Patterson, NY.

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Rusting machinery. Fishkill, NY.

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The band played on. New Milford, CT.

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Van Wyck Homestead. Fishkill, NY.

Taken with a Pentax ZX-L, SMC Pentax-F 35-70mm f3.5-4.5 and Tri-X 400.

smc pentax-f 35-70mm f3.5-4.5

by Posted in Flowers, Nature, smc pentax-f 35-70mm f3.5-4.5 Leave a comment
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This is the second of the lenses that came with my ill-fated acquisition of two Pentax autofocus film bodies (See : Tamron AF Aspherical LD 28-200mm f3.8-5.6).

I rather like it. It’s small, light and pretty sharp throughout. Like the Tamron it’s a bit ‘plasticky’, but still feels well made and reliable. I found the colors to bit a bit flat, but nothing that a little extra contrast and saturation couldn’t cure

The zoom range is a little awkward. Because of the crop factor it’s around 52-105mm so you completely lose the wide end. The tele end provides a useful range for portraits though.

It’s not the fastest lens I’ve ever come across, but then again it’s far from being the slowest too. Autofocus is reputed to be good, but since I’ve only used manual focus (on a Sony NEX 5n) I’m unable to comment.

When I was editing the pictures I realized that something was different. At first I didn’t know what it was, but after a while I figured out that for some reason I’d set the camera for jpg rather than RAW (which is what I always use). It was now too late to do anything about it (I wasn’t going to go back and take all the pictures again) so I’ll just have to live with the lack of flexibility that comes from editing jpegs.

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For more pictures taken with this lens see:

Picture of lens taken with a Sony A77 II and Tamron A18 AF 18-250mm f3.5-6.3. Pictures of flowers taken with smc pentax-f 35-70mm f3.5-4.5 on a Sony NEX 5n.