I remember when Pentax switched to the K-mount came out in '71 or so (I was selling cameras then...) and thought the design was sensible, but my left hand is clumsy for manipulating lenses in and out of my bag. I always hold the camera in my left hand and handle the lens in my right. So the whole thing was backwards from the get go for me. Holding the lens with the right hand and using the thumb to align the bits worked but wasn't as comfortable as what I was used to on the Nikons. Of course, one plus was that you didn't have to do the "Nikon aperture ring jiggle" to index the lens maximum aperture like I did with the Photomic FTn finder or Nikkormat FTns, but they solved that with the AI aperture coupling a few years later.
Nuthin's perfect. Frankly, I always had the same difficulty with the Leica M lens mount release, tucked tightly against the lens mount in the middle of the body, but with Leica Ms I tended to change lenses much less frequently than with SLR cameras. On Fri, Jul 23, 2010 at 8:55 AM, P. J. Alling <[email protected]> wrote: > The original Pentax design with the indexing bump on the lens made a lot > more sense. Holding the camera with the right hand, cradle the lens with > the left with your pointing finger over the bump, lens mount to the front. > Touch the lens release with your pointing finger. The lens is properly > oriented to mount on the camera. With a little practice you can do this > without looking. To remove the lens holding the camera with the right hand, > grab the lens with the left hand and press the lens release with the middle > or third finger on the right. However the indexing bump is history as of > the FA lenses, (except on some of the limited lenses), and the release > button has been repositioned so it no longer lines up properly from the *ist > cameras forward. I guess no one complained. > > On 7/23/2010 11:06 AM, Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: >> >> On Fri, Jul 23, 2010 at 2:36 AM, Dario Bonazza >> <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>>> >>>> .. the location of the lens release button on >>>> the Pentax was always an awkward thing for me, I'm used to it being on >>>> the opposite side of the lens. >>>> >>> >>> Of course, it mainly depends on what system you are accustomed to. This >>> said, I believe the ideal lens release button must be comfortable to >>> reach >>> with the left hand, while keeping the lens with your right hand (for >>> right-handed people). So the position of Pentax release button is better >>> if >>> you change the lens while looking at the front of your camera (turned >>> toward >>> you). That was the way I worked for years with cameras such as the MX and >>> the ME Super. With cameras having a big grip like those in fashion today, >>> I >>> tend to change lenses from above, with the lens pointing forward and the >>> camera back resting on my belly. In that case, a lens release button >>> placed >>> like Canon and Olympus is better. Wherever the lens release is, I find no >>> big problem. >>> >> >> When changing lenses, I tend to hold the body with my left hand and >> depress the lens release button, while handling the lens with my right >> hand. Grab body, grab lens, press with index finger, turn with right >> hand and drop lens into slot in bag, grab next lens, insert and turn >> to click. >> >> The position of the Pentax lens release made it hard to figure out >> which hand to use to press the release ... drove me a little crazy for >> a long time. It's amusing to think of it this way, but it's one of the >> reasons I moved to FourThirds bodies ... the lens release button was >> much more comfortable to me. LOL! >> > > > -- > {\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0\deflang1033{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\fcharset0 > Courier New;}} > \viewkind4\uc1\pard\f0\fs20 I've just upgraded to Thunderbird 3.0 and the > interface subtly weird.\par > } > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and > follow the directions. > -- Godfrey godfreydigiorgi.posterous.com -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
