On Jul 30, 2005, at 10:35 AM, Shel Belinkoff wrote:
No, not the mountain, the Pentax ;-))
It might be nice to get a K2. Does anyone have experience using one,
especially a K2-DMD. Problems to look for? Idiosyncrasies?
I've owned four K2 bodies (up to three at once) but I'm down to one
now. I've never seen the DMD model in these parts but the market is
quite small here. Black K2s are less common (I've only seen one) and
the black K2-DMD is reasonably rare and is considered collectible.
This model is infamous for its film speed setting. The dial is in a
weird location - around the lens mount - and it's been known to be
difficult to turn. I've not had this problem with any of mine.
Apparently it can freeze up if it's not moved for a long time. I
think it'd be quite a simple repair though: just a disassembly of the
lens mount to lubricate it.
To change the film speed setting, the exposure compensation must be
set to "1x" (important: the ring is locked otherwise), then you press
the square black button in and turn the dial using a fingernail. The
serrations stick out a little bit at the bottom of the lens mount, so
this makes a good location to grip it. Mine turns quite freely but
it does require a fingernail. I think you'll understand why they
abandoned this design in future models :)
Because the film speed and exposure compensation dials are
mechanically linked, you won't get the full +/-2-stop compensation
range at the extremes of the film speed range (you'll only be
affected at settings lower than 16 and higher than 1600).
Flash sync is 1/125 which is very unusual for a camera of that age.
This is because the shutter runs vertically (the K2 must have been
cutting-edge technology in those days). The shutter is quite heavy
and a bit noisier than the LX. Without a battery you get 1/1000th, X
(= 1/125) and B. If the shutter is set at 1/125 or slower it will
fire at 1/125 without a battery. Set it to 1/250 or faster and it
fires at 1/1000 (I just judged this by ear with the mirror locked up).
You're sure to notice the weight. It's the heaviest K-mount SLR that
Pentax has ever produced. Not sure if there are any heavier M42
cameras. The K2 makes a good stepping-stone towards 6x7 ownership
(nudge, nudge).
The centre-weighted metering is fantastic. When you check the meter
accuracy, check its linearity as you stop the lens down. One K2 I
had was OK with the lens set to f/8 but as I stopped down further the
meter started to deviate significantly from the expected reading. I
think it was 2-stops out at f/22. It also deviated as the lens was
opened up past f/8. The local repair facility weren't able to handle
it, but that's another story.
I like the K2's match-needle light meter as it's a continuously
variable readout rather than the discrete LEDs of the LX. This is
the one thing that makes me choose the K2 over the LX, especially for
slide film.
To me, the K2 is the Toyota Hilux of K-mount cameras...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/prog25/toyota.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/prog28/toyota.shtml (video: uses Realmedia)
If you get a silver one, put a silver 43mm Limited on it.
Cheers,
- Dave
http://www.digistar.com/~dmann/
