I found some M42 (Pentax screw-mount) lenses to use on the EOS body until my
ship comes in, so I figured I'd look at an
all-mechanical body as a backup.
I guessed I'd also get a 55mm standard (free) that focuses the "right" way too,
not the Pentax-Nikon-Tokina way. By the way, has
Tamron gone over the "wrong" way with their AF for EOS as shown in all of the
pictures of the 28-75 f2.8 I've seen?
The popular M42-mount Mamiya/Sekor 1000DTL had a mercury battery but the later
DSX1000 takes our old friend, the SR44. Anyway, it
arrived today and after I cleaned it up, I discovered that the 55mm had a stuck
aperture. I put a small amount of "Goo Gone" (a
light solvent) on a Q-tip (cotton swab), and daubed it on the aperture pin,
then started working the aperture pin. Then daubed
again, worked the pin again. And again... I can't really claim it was cost
effective but I got it working again.
I'm gonna use John's instructions to replace the foam when I get around to it.
The first test roll, I'll be able to try out the old
fixed-mount 21mm Tamron (~$45), the aforementioned 55, and the M42 extension
tubes.
This is big geek fun, gentlemen. The M42 lens -> EOS body adapter costs about
the same as a Tamron Adaptall2 mount and there are at
least 3 different designs to choose from every week on the bay.
Be warned though, this mamiya has dust gaps ALL OVER the place, unlike ANY Oly
I ever had (pre-MD 1, 2n, plain 4,PC). This is worse
than the Miranda Sensorex by far too. Instead of an everready case, this body
needs a Tupperware box just to keep grit out of the
working bits!! It's not the right tool for shooting desert warfare but as a
mechanical backup, it can't be beat. I don't think I
could have bought a body & lens for $43 in the Nikon mount. There's no such
thing in an EOS mount either.
I'm not bragging 'cause I know most of you have FAR nicer stuff, and more of
it, than I do. On the other hand, you'll have to admit
that the Canon Elan II will do E-TTL auto-fill-flash exposures with ANY lens,
even these M42 econo-jobs!
All the best,
Lama
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
|