GAS GAS: Please Share your Latest Acquisitions Big and Small

[gordo]

Picked up an Epson V600 to continue the scanning of personal and family photos. Hope to have it set up and do some test scans in a day or three.

Already have the FastFoto 640 for smaller prints and documents, the flatbed will work for the slightly larger prints, negatives, and slides.

 

[drd1135]

Pentax FA 100mm f2.8 - bigger/heavier than I expected

View attachment 215495_3100004 by Walter Kernow, on Flickr

Oh yeah. That thing is a beast. I had one back in my Pentax days. It's a great lens.

 

[mike3996]

Just bought a preowned copy of Olympus 75-300 f/4.8-6.7 II. I had a coupon for -20 € off so had to have something right?

As someone who hardly ever uses FLs over 100 mm this lens must be a big hit.

I thought I was managing well, GAS-wise, but now I'm looking at my purchases for the last 30 days:

• 70 € for Olympus EPL5
• 70 € for Panny 12-32
• 255 € for Panny GX80
• 270 € for the Olympus 75-300

Yikes. ?!

I guess I'm giving M4/3 a good second chance then.

 

[MiguelATF]

Pentax FA 100mm f2.8 - bigger/heavier than I expected

View attachment 215495_3100004 by Walter Kernow, on Flickr

True. It is a heavy lens. But the FA 100mm 2.8 probably has to be among the all-time great macro lenses Pentax has ever made, not to mention doing double duty as a nice telephoto.

Congrats!

 

[MiguelATF]

I admit, most hard-core Pentaxians either laugh at or loathe the oh-so-modern design of Pentax's only modern mirrorless APS-C camera, the K-01, which Marc Newson designed back in 2012....and which is known among non-fans as, simply, 'the Brick' - but I've always liked the design and the chunky feeling in hand.

So I gave in and bought one. And (I know this brands me as a faithless heretic, but) ... I'm finding it rather fun to use.

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[drd1135]

Nice. I always wanted one of these, especially with the 40. I would have gotten the yellow one, however.

 

[William Lewis]

Oy. So I asked BrianS what a good mechanical Nikon would be. He tells me. I think, that's good to know for when I have a toy money budget again. Wonder how much they cost.

Oh my, there's one on EPrey. 6 hours left and NO BIDS. New Seals. Film tested. Pre-AI 50/1.4 included.

$40.

I bid the minimum. Six hours later I've won this:

I just gotta stop looking there

 

[Biro]

I admit, most hard-core Pentaxians either laugh at or loathe the oh-so-modern design of Pentax's only modern mirrorless APS-C camera, the K-01, which Marc Newson designed back in 2012....and which is known among non-fans as, simply, 'the Brick' - but I've always liked the design and the chunky feeling in hand.

So I gave in and bought one. And (I know this brands me as a faithless heretic, but) ... I'm finding it rather fun to use.

View attachment 215574

I had one of these and enjoyed it. I especially liked its simplified controls. But, in the end, I finally let it go for two reasons: 1) Autofocus remained sluggish even after a firmware update. 2) I couldn't use the rear LCD in bright sunlight.

Technology on both points has improved dramatically since the K-01 was introduced and I have wondered several times why Pentax hasn't tried again. It probably has more to do wuth the K-mount and lack of overall resources in the current environment than anything else.

 

[MiguelATF]

I had one of these and enjoyed it. I especially liked its simplified controls. But, in the end, I finally let it go for two reasons: 1) Autofocus remained sluggish even after a firmware update. 2) I couldn't use the rear LCD in bright sunlight.

Technology on both points has improved dramatically since the K-01 was introduced and I have wondered several times why Pentax hasn't tried again. It probably has more to do wuth the K-mount and lack of overall resources in the current environment than anything else.

I think Pentax sold a LOT of K-01's in the domestic Japanese market, but not so many elsewhere. And, honestly, Ricoh - which bought Pentax back in 2011, still has not quite figured out what to do with their 'Pentax division'. Pentax makes great cameras and even better lenses, but their shrinking market share - and their even-more-shrinking internal budgets within Ricoh - doomed the development of future iterations of the K-01.

The more I use it though, the more it grows on me. It's simple, relatively tiny, and has brilliant IQ. And thanks to the D.O.F. scales on many compact (and pancake) Pentax lenses, it's easy to shoot quickly in a modified zone-focusing way in Manual Focus. And certain lenses - including the astoundingly tiny 40mm pancake lens - are just really fun. I think for me, when all is said and done, it's a combination of fine glass - and a quirky-but-quite-usable shooting experience - that I am enjoying.

But you're totally right about the rear screen in bright sunlight. No way around that one.

 

[Ad Dieleman]

Bought the über-expensive Really Right Stuff L-plate for my new Sony A7Rm4. This time I didn't try my luck with some cheap Chinese L-plate; I did that 4 years ago for my A7Rm2 and that thing scratched the bottom of the camera and didn't fit well, showing a slight bend in the base plate when mounted. I ended up buying an RRS L-plate for the A7Rm2 and selling off the Chinese crap thing at a big loss.

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[Jonathan F/2]

Over the weekend I picked up a low shutter count Nikon D700 back-up body to my D750 bodies. I was considering a whole bunch of other Nikon bodies such as F-mount (D850, D810, D4, Df) and even Z-mount (Z6) options, but the D700 mainly won because of cheap price and fast FPS. Plus I didn't really want to give up my D750 for a higher end swap. Aspects like the 24mp sensor, wifi transfer and tilt screen make it a more practical camera for all-around general use. The D780 would of been a natural upgrade, but Nikon's stubborn insistence to remove the vertical grip on a $2K + USD cameras is utterly ridiculous. There's nothing "entry" at the $2000 USD and up price point!

Anyways, I still have an EN-EL4A charger from my previous D3 bodies (which allows 8fps) and spare Sandisk Extreme Pro CF cards laying around around. Between 200-3200 ISO files are still plenty useable and I only plan to use it mainly with my 300mm f/4 PF VR and 50mm 1.8 G lenses. The D750 bodies will handle my 16-35mm f4 VR and 70-200mm 2.8 VR-II lenses. Also with my raw workflow, clients don't really care nor can tell the difference what I shoot with unlike the gear head crowd! I spent a good 2-3 years making money shooting a Nikon D2H and 4.1mp! Today's photographers are so spoiled!

Saying that, portrait work is now handled by my Sony bodies, but Nikon DSLRs are my go-to event cameras!

 

[phigmov]

Bargain Voigtlander f0.95 - suffered a drop or someone took pliers to the filter ring by the look of it - functionally fine and I'll get a rubber hood for it which will hopefully cover up the scratches. Swore I wasn't buying anymore lenses but this was to good to pass up.

_IGP0751 by Walter Kernow, on Flickr

 

[rayvonn]

Bargain Voigtlander f0.95 - suffered a drop or someone took pliers to the filter ring by the look of it - functionally fine and I'll get a rubber hood for it which will hopefully cover up the scratches. Swore I wasn't buying anymore lenses but this was to good to pass up.

View attachment 216011_IGP0751 by Walter Kernow, on Flickr

I've seen the way that renders, very film-like. It's a great lens. I don't know why it is, but a lot of them seem to have taken a fall when being sold used.

 

[bilzmale]

As a first step in returning to fixed lenses only I picked up a nice LX100 with a Smallrig cage/grip and an auto lenscap.

I am unsure of when to sell off my 5 MFT bodies and 6 lenses given the virus situation.

Excuse the dust in the pic,

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[Matero]

Bargain Voigtlander f0.95 - suffered a drop or someone took pliers to the filter ring by the look of it - functionally fine and I'll get a rubber hood for it which will hopefully cover up the scratches. Swore I wasn't buying anymore lenses but this was to good to pass up.

View attachment 216011_IGP0751 by Walter Kernow, on Flickr

This is the lens I regret selling
Very special rendering and lovely pics.

I've seen the way that renders, very film-like. It's a great lens. I don't know why it is, but a lot of them seem to have taken a fall when being sold used.

Maybe because it’s quite heavy although small’ish m43 lens. [if I recall correct]

 

[phigmov]

This is the lens I regret selling
Very special rendering and lovely pics.

I've only been shooting around the house and garden so far - blows-out easily if you don't watch the shutter speed (then again I get that with my adapted f1.4's so thats not unique), and has a lot of low-end aperture clicks - normally when I rotate around to get to f4 or f5.6 I count click-stops but with this I typically end up at f2. But when you get it right, it does look a little 'filmic' but that might just be the modern coatings compared to legacy adapted glass which can sometimes render a little 'dry' or lacking in contrast (to my eyes).

Maybe because it’s quite heavy although small’ish m43 lens. [if I recall correct]

The cameras I've put it on definitely feel nose heavy - with a native lens its probably 50/50 as to whether the body or lens takes the hit, with this lens you know it'll land on the lens first. My rubber hood arrived and it was tricky to screw on but it covers up the bent/scratched bit AOK and I'm hoping it acts as a bit of a shock absorber if I ever have the misfortune to knock/drop it.

One other thing I'm appreciative of is how the science of lens design has really moved on over the years - I have a Nikkon (non-AI) f1.2 50mm from the 60's and it has a nice soft rendering but I'm amazed at how f0.95 feels clearer/cleaner than that old lens wide open (ditto my Pen F Zuiko f1.4 - nice wide open rendering but super-soft - even the in-focus area).

 

[Mike G]

Just received my latest gizmo a Sony joint XQD & SD card reader. USB3 connection. Expensive but the only joint slot reader I’ve seen, just the thing to cater for my Z6 and GX8 needs. I hated faffing around swapping readers when I changed cards!

 

[Matero]

New vest (Gariz) for my buddy and suspenders (Peak Design)

 

[mike3996]

 

[MoonMind]

View attachment 216322

Interesting catch - I'll very much like to know what you think about the lens (yes, I've noticed the Df ). I almost bought it a couple of times to have a lighter alternative to my almight Sigma 24-105mm f/4 Art (which is a really good, but also really bulky lens in every respect).

M.