----- Original Message ----- From: "Pedro" Subject: bought an MX - need some advice
> Hi, > > I'm glad to have stumbled across such an active mailing list... I've > always had a big interest in photography - though I never went further > than taking snapshots with point and shoot cameras. So, when I recently > was offered an old Pentax MX for next to nothing, I bought the thing on > an impulse. Now, I never owned an SRL before, let alone an all manual > camera, and I'm really enjoying learning to use it. I do, however, have > a few questions and concerns with which I hope you can help me. > > With digital photography taking over the market, is the MX a complete > dead end? If anything goes wrong, will it still possible to get service > and replacement parts in Europe? If I buy extra lenses, will they have > any market value in the near future? I'm not complaining for the time > being, since I bought the thing really cheap from a friend, but I'm a > bit reluctant to put any more money on it if will be of no use in an > year or two. > > Anyway, I am mostly interested in trying street photography and macro. > Currently I have a basic 50mm lens (f1.7), which is not especially > suited for neither... > > As for macro, I must say I'm somewhat confused. I want to take close up > pictures of bugs and flowers and that sort of stuff, and I know I need a > macro lens to be able to focus real close, but what kind of focal > distance do I need? I really have a difficult time picturing the field > of view at such close distances. > > Regardless of the macro issue, I'll need a wide angle for street photos. > 28mm, 35mm, wide angle zoom... I'm leaning towards a 28 prime, but feel > free to convince me otherwise. Budget is limited, so I'll buy second > hand. Can you recommend me any particular model featuring a good > price/quality relation, and not too hard to find? > > Thank you for your time, Film is pretty much a dead end, but enjoy it while it is still available. The MX is a wonderful little camera. Your 50/1.7 mounted on a set of extension tubes will work quite well for general purpose macro work. If you decide to buy a dedicated macro lens, try something longer, in the 100mm range. It's hard to go wrong with any macro lens, they are all quite good, no matter who makes it. (note, macro zooms are a different animal completely, and are generally not so good when compared to a real macro lens). I don't have much use for the 28mm focal length on film. It has always seemed to be wide enough to have all the difficulties that wide angles introduce, with none of the wide angle advantages. I'd look for a 24mm. Pentax has done a very good job of maintaining backwards compatability with their lenses, so don't hesitate to pick up whatever tickles your fancy, it will still be usable on digital SLR bodies if you decide to buy a Pentax DSLR. Welcome aboard. William Robb -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
