So Many Cameras I’ve lost track…
I loaned my son a camera to try his hand at birding. I thought the right camera would be something simple so he could give birding a shot without wrestling with menus and setup and such. So I loaned him an old Lumix superzoom with a terrific little Leica Vario-Elmar. The next day I called him and told him I’d given him the wrong camera. I’d meant to give him a different, newer terrific little Leica Vario-Elmar.
Just how many cameras do you have, anyway? He asked me.
Actually, I have no idea. I’m not even sure how many Pentax Qs I have. And what counts? Cameras I use? Cameras I used to use, but are retired? Old cameras that I bought for my shelves because they’re cool, like my Kodak Brownie Target Six-16?
How many cameras do you have? Vote in this week’s poll, and share your thoughts in the comments!
Elsewhere in this week’s newsletter, New Member Steve Horstmeyer shows us how to take apart two S-M-C Reflex-Takumar 6x7 1000mm F8s; Moderator garywakeling raves about the colours rendered by his SMC Pentax-A 100mm F2.8; and Senior Member sota’s 1st world photographic problem is he has too much kit to take on a trip.
If you’ve been forwarded this newsletter, please take a moment to join the more than 1,500 Pentaxians who have subscribed to our free curated compendium of the hundreds of great images and post shared each week in our Pentax community. Please let us know your thoughts here in the comments and on our Pentax Forums, and have a perfect Pentaxian week!
Threads of the Week:
Shadow Geographic Terain Websites/Apps
September 3, 2025 • Digital Processing, Software, and Printing • 0 replies • 311 views
interested_observer said — I came across a set of web applications (PCs) that deals with shadows on the earth in terms of time of day and geography. Here is a 1 minute youtube short illustrating one of the apps - ShadeMap. Read more »
1st world photographic problem: too much kit to travel with?
September 3, 2025 • General Photography • 24 replies • 823 views
sota said — I've got "too much kit" as my wife says. :D Lately I've been collecting flavors of film I want to use, of course they predominantly come in 36 exposure rolls, and it's pretty much impossible to safely swap between film stocks in a single body. Luckily for me, I have 10 working bodies. Read more »
September 2, 2025 • Pentax K-1 & K-1 II • 7 replies • 572 views
kayasaman said — Hi everyone, these were taken about a year and half ago up in Scotland. It was my first real attempt at landscape as there actually are vistas and scenery up there unlike down south where I live. It was a magical experience sadly cut short on the first night as I got instructed to leave the camera out in the wind and rain. The next day I woke up to my tripod on the floor with the camera and lens ripped off the body some distance away from the body itself. Sadly it meant no more K1 II or 15-30mm for me! Read more »
Pentaxian User Reviews
Pentax Lenses
S-M-C Reflex-Takumar 6x7 1000mm F8
Reviewed by New Member Steve Horstmeyer
Review Date: September 8, 2025 Recommended | Price: $2,135.00 | Rating: 9
Pros: Image quality Cons:Difficult to hit focus
Sharpness: 9 Aberrations: 9 Bokeh: 8 Handling: 5 Value: 8 Camera Used: Sony A7RV, Fuji GFX 100s
I own two of these lenses. There is useful information on fine-tuning and maintenance in the story in the next few paragraphs. My thoughts follow. My interaction with the Reflex-Takumar 6x7 1000mm started several years ago. My first use was doing moon shots and the lens would not focus to infinity. I could get closer distances to focus quite nicely but no infinity.
I first suspected poorly machined mount adapters. But after trying Canon, Sony and Fuji cameras with three adapters of different brands on each camera (9 trials) - still no infinity focus. I spent several months searching for a maintenance documents, and an exploded parts diagram for this lens, but there is almost nothing about this lens out there that I could find.
In lieu of operating on the lens, I decided to buy another copy. It too would not focus to infinity. Work was getting busy so I put them both away until late August 2025 when I retired. Now I had time to work on the problem without rushing. Upon examination both lenses had evidence of being disassembled. When mounting the original copy on a tripod the front section seemed to rotate. The built-in lens hood rotates freely, so I always extend it fully to grip the main tube. It was the main tube that was rotating ever so slightly.
It turns out that the main lens tube is composed of three sections joined by two finely-threaded joints. I rotated the tube clockwise to tighten it. There was quite a bit of resistance when turning the tube and I soon stopped.
Infinity focus was back!!! I then noticed that the threaded hole for the sight was top dead center, the sight was not installed but in the case. After tightening the same joint on the second lens I still did not have infinity focus but by tightening the other threaded joint, the one closer to be rear end of the lens, all is well.
With the amount of resistance required to tighten the joints it is not surprising that the persons who worked on the lenses stopped turning the tube before the lens was the properly tightened to avoid damaging the lens.
Un-screwing the segments is a low-risk, quick way to easily access and clean the components, except the built-in filters and the air space between the front components. Neither of which I have attempted. When I do I will update this review.
If you own this lens and disassemble the main tube be careful not to cross-thread the joints when re-assembling.
The Main tube on one lens with lens hood fully retracted is now 269.92mm and on the other is 270.11mm (see lens photo.) and both give excellent results.
My Thoughts
The Reflex-Takumar 6x7 1000mm f/8 is a Maksutov-Cassegrain catadioptric lens that, with patience, care and dedication can yield great results. The results, when pixel peeping, will not match traditional lenses of the same era or modern lenses.
In addition, like I stressed in my review of the SMC Pentax-M* 67 800mm F6.7 ED [IF] several years ago, a stiff tripod is not enough, you must also have weight below this lens. I use an old Series 5 Gitzo tripod that weighs 15 lbs (6.8 kg) with a Manfrotto #400 geared head (6.6 lbs 3kg). Total weight camera + lens + tele-converters + head + sticks is usually just above 30 lbs. (30.6kg).
When reviewing a manual focus lens, I do not list manual focus as a con and likewise this is a catadioptric lens so I do not list lack of an aperture as a con.
Exposure is controlled by neutral density filters of x1, x2, x2.8 and x4 stops that are on a rotating wheel. On a separate wheel are red, yellow, skylight and plain glass filters.
I find this lens works well with Pentax 67 tele-converters. The image of the moon was taken using a Sony α7R-V and a 2x teleconverter, yielding an effective focal length of 4000mm, iso 500, 1/1000 sec., the camera timer set for a 10 second delay and tripod situated on a non-paved, soft surface.
The lens is awkward to use because of weight and size and it is challenging to focus. The rack and pinion focus mechanism could have used finer gearing for a more gradual focus adjustment, but with patience you can hit focus.
Despite the "cons" I enjoy using this lens partly as an escape from the age of autofocus and programmed shooting. But, I do wholeheartedly embrace the use of digital post-processing, which makes this lens a viable alternative in the world of modern photography.
SMC Pentax-A 100mm F2.8
Reviewed by Moderator garywakeling
Review Date: September 2, 2025 Recommended | Price: $100.00 | Rating: 10
Pros: Colour rendering, small size and sharpness Cons: none
I used this lens as part of the Single in Challenge. I chose the SMC A 100mm 2.8 mostly because it was an A series lens which is a little easier to use on the K1 than the M series which I have had since the 80's. The copy I have has an inbuilt hood which has lost the ability to stay in place and rattles back and forth , the grease seems to need replacing but despite this the lens is a real joy to use. Sharp beyond expectations, lovely colours with bonus starburst potential and I really enjoyed it.
Comment of the Week:
Dartmoor Dave on Is Ricoh the current iteration of Asahi Pentax? Best of Pentax Forums Sept 3 Poll: Personally I think that over the next few years DSLR sales will follow the same path that vinyl turntable sales followed back in the day. Initially turntable sales dropped to almost nothing because almost everyone bought into the hype about the wonders of digital audio. Then eventually, slowly, things picked up again as a new generation discovered the pleasure of using what had once been considered an obsolete technology. Of course turntable sales will never return to the levels of the 1970s ever again, but they are selling well enough nowadays that manufacturers are safely back in business.
I think the same thing will happen with DSLRs. Right now we're in the downward curve where almost everyone is abandoning the supposedly obsolete DSLR technology in favour of the new mirrorless marvel. But if Ricoh can just keep the Pentax brand ticking over for the rest of the 2020s, long enough for customers to start rediscovering the pleasures of the optical viewfinder again in about 2030 or so, then in the long term there's still hope. DSLR sales will never return to the levels of 2010-2015 again, but I'm convinced that the DSLR market will eventually become healthy enough for a couple of manufacturers to thrive. My only question is whether Pentax will have been kept going on life support long enough to still be there when that happens.
How many cameras do you own, anyway?
The Best of Pentax Forums September 10 Poll
My thoughtful son stopped in from grad school to ask my advice on a good camera for birding. He’s the opposite of impulsive, so it was a serious question. My first reflex was to suggest about $4,000 in new gear. That was dumb, so I didn’t tell him that. Instead I loaned him a camera to try his hand at birding. I thought the right camera would be something simple so he could give birding a shot without wrestling with menus and setup and such. So I loaned him an old Lumix superzoom with a terrific little Leica Vario-Elmar. That way he could give birding a try, and learn what works for him before buying gear.
The next day I called him and told him I’d given him the wrong camera. I’d meant to give him a different, newer terrific little Leica Vario-Elmar.
Just how many cameras do you have, anyway? He asked me.
Actually, I have no idea. I’m not even sure how many Pentax Qs I have. I thought I had three, plus a Q7. I setup one and gave it to my wife, and a second to my daughter. But there are two in my case. Did someone give me one back? Did I buy another one and forget? I’m just not sure.
And what cameras should we count? Cameras I use? Cameras I used to use, but are retired? Old cameras that I bought for my shelves because they’re cool, like my Kodak Brownie Target Six-16?
How many cameras do you have? How do you categorize yours? Vote in this week’s poll, and share your thoughts in the comments!
This poll closes September 16th.
And here are the results of last week’s poll:
Weekly Photo Challenges
Point and Shoot Competition #210 - The Ordinary+
We pass by things everyday that are pretty much just ordinary. But sometimes they catch the eye enough to see in them a photographic image. That's why I've titled this "The Ordinary+." What is it that happens to stir the interest? How do you bring it out? Snap!, and it is memorialized. This is pretty close to a Shoot Anything competition, but with a creative focus just the same. I hope it resonates! As always have fun--which is rule #1.
Standard Rules:
1. Always, always have fun!
2. Cameras permitted: Mobile phones, tablets, any camera with a sensor smaller than or equal to 1". Pentax Q, Nikon 1, Ricoh GRD or Caplio, Ricoh GR. Any so-called small-sensor Digicams. Any 110 film cameras (e.g. Pentax Auto 110) or point and shoot cameras that use 35mm film (e.g. Pentax PC35AF and Pentax 17).
Cameras you can take with you in a coat pocket.
3. Entries will close on September 30, 2025 at Midnight wherever you are!
And here is Site Supporter MiguelATF’s entry: A cup of coffee in the morning is maybe the most ordinary - or most common - occurrence in my life. And, until a few years ago (when my small-town local newspaper sadly stopped delivering printed newspapers and leaving them inside a special newspaper box next to my mailbox, on the lane which runs alongside my house), walking outside to get the newspaper was definitely one of the most ordinary actions of my day. Glancing up the road toward the foothills of the local mountains, to check for clouds - which in Oregon are often a sign of changing weather conditions, including rain or smoke during wildfire season - is something I do frequently, without thinking about it. This photo, taken several years ago, combines all three of my most ordinary 'moments' into one photograph.
Pentax Q + 03 Fisheye lens - 1/400 second at f/5.6 - ISO 200
A Walk Down Memory Lane
Pentax Q7 Review
Sep 17, 2013
Introduction
The Pentax Q7 is the third-generation member of Pentax Q family of ultra-compact interchangeable lens cameras (ILCs). This new camera, like its predecessors, is minuscule! Weighing just 200g and measuring only 10cm (4") wide, the Q7 is the smallest ILC currently on the market, and it's probably as small as any interchangeable camera will ever be. The Q7 is likely smaller than the palm of your hand or your wallet.
Despite its size, this camera can still pack a punch. It's loaded with even more features than before, and its sensor has seen an upgrade: the Q7 has a new 1/1.7" 12-megapixel sensor that is some 50% larger than the 1/2.3" sensor found in previous models. This increase in sensor area promises an improvement in image quality, which we will investigate in detail later in this review. Another area that we will be taking a close look at is the Q7's autofocus system, which has gotten an overhaul (presumably) thanks to new technology from the Pentax-Ricoh merger.