On Oct 23, 2006, at 9:29 PM, J and K Messervy wrote: > The meter needle in the prism has not moved when I've turned it on > and fiddled with it. I'm hoping > that it only works with a lens attached.
You are correct - it does require a lens to be attached. If you remove the viewfinder you'll see a little actuator on a chain just above the focussing screen. That's used to couple the aperture position to the meter, and without a lens attached this actuator is at its left stop, so the meter thinks that the lens is set somewhere beyond f/45. Be careful with that little chain! If you remove or mount a prism finder you need to do so with the lens removed, otherwise that chain can break. At the very least, the meter might not work as the chain won't be engaged (I just made that mistake when I checked the above). If you still have the little ring that fits over the shutter-speed dial for easy adjustment with the prism attached, note that it's extremely easy to lose. I dropped mine while changing finders near the top of one of the largest hills in this area. I made a trip back there about 6 months later and actually found it! > If it is supposed to work even without a lens attached, then it's > stuffed. :( My prism was actually non-functional when I got it, but it was a common fault and a cheapish repair. Don't ask me how cheap because it was too long ago! Even after the repair I still considered it a good deal even though I'd only been looking for an unmetered prism. Did your body come with the wooden handle? They can be a little challenging to find on the secondhand market (it took me a while to find one in this country). Happy shooting BTW... make sure you try some slide film. 6x7 chromes look very nice on the light box, unless you have a 4x5. - Dave -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
