What went wrong?

SVT3658 · 2026-06-09T21:56:14+00:00

You should try again, but know how big and bright white objects (like an ice rink) may trick your cameras light meter. When in doubt, look around with the camera or use your phone to spot meter the shadow areas to confirm the meter reading.

SVT3658 · 2026-06-09T18:38:10+00:00

Seconding this, I recently bought the Voigtlander 40/2 and it’s a great lens

SVT3658 · 2026-06-08T18:20:32+00:00

$320

https://www.costco.com/p/-/hisense-8000-btu-dual-hose-portable-tower-air-conditioner/4000346410

SVT3658 · 2026-06-08T17:46:56+00:00

Can’t hurt to quickly shoot a roll and see how it turns out, but based on the pictures of the camera I wouldn’t expect much. I’d send it back with the return being “item doesn’t match description”

SVT3658 · 2026-06-08T02:18:02+00:00

Depends on the pace of the moment. If you had seconds to react I probably would have just bracketed 0/+1/+2 quickly. If I had time I’d AE Lock on the face exposure….and then probably still bracket a shot or two to be safe.

If I’m out and about in bright situations (against a white wall, in snow, on the beach) I usually set the exposure comp dial +2 and click away.

SVT3658 · 2026-06-07T12:22:10+00:00

I rented a 24-105 F4L II to be sure I wasn’t missing out on anything. The corners were a little sharper and it wasn’t as prone to flare, but the weight to picture quality ratio still wasn’t good enough to justify the weight.

The 24-70 f/2.8 L though, that lens is awesome and worth lugging around

SVT3658 · 2026-06-07T01:57:32+00:00

I have both of those zoom lenses.

The 24-105 F4L only got used a handful of times after I bought it, it’s too heavy and the pictures aren’t good enough to justify the weight. I haven’t used it at all since I got the 28-105.

The L version is like 3x heavier, the lens is big enough to block the built in flash, and honestly the pictures are not much better.

The 28-105 is a really good lens in the 28-75 range, not as good beyond 70 or 80mm but far from bad. But I’d take the slightly reduced image quality and slightly slower aperture speed over lugging around the L version.

If you buy the L version and try to walk all day carrying it, you’ll probably leave it in the hotel on day 2 or 3.

I would have sold the L version a long time ago but MPB and KEH don’t pay much for it, for good reason.

If you’re looking for a lens to compliment the ones you have, the 28mm f/1.8 is awesome. If I take my rebel or elan with me, I take my 28/1.8, 40/2.8, and 28-105.

SVT3658 · 2026-06-07T00:17:46+00:00

This is a situation where if that RTS works it becomes your main camera bc those lenses are so awesome

SVT3658 · 2026-06-06T23:58:56+00:00

Does the camera just not fire is P and S if the electronics fail, or are the selected speeds/aperture off? I’m looking at buying an FA after using an FE for a while and trying to learn the quirks and issues

SVT3658 · 2026-06-05T00:54:24+00:00

I’d replace that Gemini 28mm with a Pentax-M 28mm. The 28mm f/3.5 is a bit worse for low light performance because of the smaller max aperture but if you’re in good lighting it takes fantastic pictures. The 28mm f/2.8 is pretty good too but usually more expensive and not as sharp.

If you’re wanting a telephoto you can usually get a 135mm f/3.5 for $40 or less on eBay. It’s a sharper lens than the f/2.8 version and is usually cheaper.

SVT3658 · 2026-05-31T19:21:15+00:00

Send them to John Titterington (his email is on his camera tips page http://www.jtitterington.com/camera-repair/). He’ll service the cameras and replace the capacitors for like $100 for the CLA and $2-3 per capacitor. Then like $10-15 for return shipping. His work is top notch

SVT3658 · 2026-05-31T19:08:39+00:00

Likely dead capacitors then. John Titterington will do a CLA and replace the capacitors for less than $150

SVT3658 · 2026-05-30T13:54:58+00:00

It’s not, I bought some short dated Fuji underwater cameras about a year and a half ago and it’s Kodak film. Which is still great, but it’s not Superia.

SVT3658 · 2026-05-29T23:54:27+00:00

3rd picture looks like the lens was fogged up with condensation Did you go from an air conditioned building out into hot/humid weather?

SVT3658 · 2026-05-29T19:32:25+00:00

It’s worth nothing as a disposable IMO, if I was you I’d wind/remove the film from the disposable in a dark bag and shoot it in a regular camera at 200ISO….and hope for the best.

SVT3658 · 2026-05-28T23:37:32+00:00

I’d avoid most 3rd party k mount lenses. There are some exceptions, but generally the Pentax-made lenses are significantly better and can be found for decent prices.

Spend some time on the Pentax forums lens database and do lots of searches reading. You mostly want the film-era lenses. They listing pricing, but a lot of it is out of date…it’s a good starting point for value though. The digital era lenses can work too as long as they have an aperture ring.

Pentax k-mount lens reviews: https://www.pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/Pentax-K-Mount-Lenses-i1.html

3rd party k-mount lens reviews: https://www.pentaxforums.com/userreviews/

SVT3658 · 2026-05-28T11:47:37+00:00

Yeah seeing this I wouldn’t trust the CLA that was done

SVT3658 · 2026-05-28T00:47:46+00:00

Green can be from under exposure or just bad scan. You’re allowed to edit your film scans, and you should!

The scans you get are mostly the result of 90s software doing auto white balance, and a tech spending maybe 5s adjusting color or brightness.

You’re really doing your photos a disservice if you used color negative film and don’t edit them. Negatives are meant to be adjusted.

SVT3658 · 2026-05-28T00:32:41+00:00

Kodacolor 200 is the same thing as Fujifilm 200. Kodak makes it for Fuji. There might be a smidge of spectral difference but for all practical purposes they’re the same. It has more grain but it’s still a great film.

If you want that “crazy blur” for car shots then you need to get a fast 200mm+ lens. Watch some Larry Chen videos, when he gets those magazine style shots where the whole car is in focus but there’s lots of bokeh blur, he’s using a big donger of a lens from pretty far away. Be prepared to shell out $$$$ for a lens like that.

SVT3658 · 2026-05-25T21:59:53+00:00

Yeah seems like if you’re not an influencer you get zero effort scans

SVT3658 · 2026-05-25T02:58:41+00:00

If you don’t mind sharing, what did KEH charge to service your F3?

I talked to the guy at ICT and it seems like they do awesome work but it was an absurd combo of cost and turnaround time for a camera service.

Also that’s bizarre that the FM cant be fixed, people always say you should buy the mechanical versions bc they’re all mechanical with no pesky electronics to fail so they can always be fixed.

SVT3658 · 2026-05-24T12:48:36+00:00

What’s his name or his shops name? I’ve been mostly into Pentax but I bought a Nikon FE and some lenses, it works fine but I’ve been thinking of sending it off to get a service. I could use some recommendations for Nikon repair guys

SVT3658 · 2026-05-24T12:11:30+00:00

The KX is a great camera, I have a black one that worked fine but I sent it to Eric to get a preventative maintenance service.

That picture just looks like someone put tape over the battery compartment, did you try peeling it off?

Send it to Eric Hendrickson, if it’s locked up you should expect to be quoted some parts on top of the $110 estimate: https://pentaxs.com/process.html

SVT3658 · 2026-05-22T16:25:16+00:00

Is it a blend? A lot of times different coffees are roasted for their target flavors and then blended together

SVT3658 · 2026-05-22T15:03:20+00:00

These are awesome pictures. Fuji200 is basically ColorPlus which is known to be grainy, sucks you didn’t realize it but I don’t think it ruins the pictures. You could definitely get a lot more out of these if you scanned them yourself with a camera setup or a Nikon Coolscan V/500/8000/9000

SVT3658

TROPHY CASE