Pentax K-7 Pseudo-retirement

Shortly before buying my Pentax K-3, I took my K-7 out with my SMC-M 50mm 1:1.4 for some long-duration night photos. I figured it would be a fun way to say goodbye to the camera as my primary photographic tool. I didn't spend a long time outside, but a few photos turned out decently.

I'll miss having the K-7 as my primary camera. The K-7 and I took a LOT -- LOT -- of good photos together. It's old now, and has some dead pixels, and the sensor is approaching 90,000 actuations, so it's getting to the point where I can reasonably expect to need to replace the shutter at some point.

The K-7 will remain my reprographic camera and when I take my K-3 kit out will go, too, as I store them in the same Pelican box. But on a local day trip or for softball and bowling, the K-3 will be going with me now.

K-7, I'll always keep you and you'll always be used. Thank you for getting me back into photography and thank you for the amazing photos we've taken in the last two years.

Hit Me!

A while back I picked up a Crystar-branded Hit-type 16mm camera. These are fun little cameras from Japan that were popular in the 1950s as Christmas tree ornaments here in the U.S. And you know what, they work as cameras!

So I picked up some metal spools (very hard to find) and paper backings (EXTREMELY hard to find) and set about re-spooling some film. Well, the paper was cheap 60 years ago and the original paper backing I tried tore. So I used my spare one as a template and cut new backings from some 120 paper backings I had lying around. It took three tries, but I finally managed a roll with something resembling an image.

I don't expect to ever take a prize-winning photo with one of these, but I do plan to see what I can make these do. A plastic lens, very poor manufacturing quality control, and age all combine to make this a very unpreditcable camera.

Pinhole Camera Experiments

For my art class I also did some experiments with pinhole cameras. Here are some examples as well as descriptions of what you're seeing. When the videos for each are done, they'll be uploaded to my YouTube channel.

Brisk Iced Teas Pinhole Camera
For this camera, I used a Brisk iced tea can. I cut it open, painted the inside black, and made two pinholes (at approximately a 70-degree angle) in the sides. This allows me to make single or double exposures. Double exposures can be of the same thing or different things. The results have been fascinating.




Here I punched holes in the paper to try for a 36-degree wrap. It partly worked.


Here I used sheet film and photographed a hill in a manner in which I can guarantee it's never been photographed before.


Eastmann Kodak 5217 (250D) Motion Picture Film 250-foot Spool Can
Using an old film can, I put a hole in the top and used the back (with circle-cut paper) to make these images. The images are significantly smaller than the paper. All of them look as though they were taken from inside a hole.





The Dragon Box Steroscopic Camera
Instead of describing this one, here is a video showing you how it's made.

Dog Days with the Recesky DIY TLR

A month or so ago I picked up a couple of Recesky DIY TLRs. These are hardcore toy cameras with plastic bodies, very simple focusing mechanisms, and plastic lenses. The following videos show how to build the camera. After the videos, I'll share some photos from the first two rolls off the black-bodied Recesky.

The blue line is from something in the camera that's scratching the film emulsion. But, it's a plastic camera, so hopefully no one expects the results to be perfect. I like the color transmission in these photos. And the center detail is simply staggering. The edge softness creeps in pretty quickly, but it's less severe the closer you focus. At infinity, the edge softness is pretty extreme. With the closest focus, it's almost non-existent.


For portraits, this camera has some serious potential.


Even with light leaks and emulstion scratches, it's pretty great.


In black and white the camera exhibits impressive contrast transmission and excellent detail.


Infinity focus -- extreme edge softness.

Lucky Find

I saw this at Lucky's Grocery Store the other week. Something doesn't add up.