Vivitar 28-210 Macro Zoom Test Shots
I sold this lens to another Pentaxian for cheap, roughly $30 just for the lens. And I sold it with a 72mm polarizer and a 72mm UV filter. Though the lens is not very sharp wide open, I can attest that with proper stop down on apertures, it is a reasonable zoom lens for the money.
If you see the lens under $50, I would recommend it as a outdoor zoom lens that one can practice on manual focusing. The lens comes in the heavy side and its minimal focusing length is about 7 to 8 feet on the focal zoom range from 28mm to 200mm and it is not quite usable for indoor shooting. But for outdoor with flower and longer distance to object and the use of 210mm focal length, the zoom is quite usable and the zoom ring is great for manual focusing. One caveat noted with the zoom ring is that it is heavy and can slide zooming in and out without a zoom lock and it may be difficult to use for some situations that need a tilted angle. If you hold it in your hand, that is not an issue but it is impossible to use on a tripod with a tilted angles and remote as you need to hold the zoom ring to prevent it from sliding.
About metering, I use Manual mode with stop down metering in my K100D, with limited testing on the lens, I find the needed adjustment of +0.3Ev to +0.7Ev adjustment on Av aperture and in Manual mode, I adjust the timing to yield the equivalent Ev compensation.
Overall, I would have little complaint about the lens if I buy it again for $50, an inexpensive lens for practicing manual focus.
ABC Wednesday -- Wonderful Pair
![]() | Last week ABC Wednesday is on Violent Moments |
Merry Christmas from Hin
Merry Christmas to you all
ABC Wednesday -- Violent moments
I have been leaving a comment to Mrs. Nesbitt asking the whereabout of WalksFarWoman as I have been missing her in all recent ABC Wednesday events since her 'S' post in late November. Her blog in wordpress.com has been deleted and I can't find her anywhere in BlogCatalog or MyBlogLog, and Technorati profile. She is my best friend in the blogging community and a greatly admired writer that I always look up to for inspiration and insights into life with a positive attitude in her poetic writing. I truly pray that she is well and I dearly miss her tonight in posting my 'V' post. I am asking all who knows about WalksFarWoman to make a sincere prayer for her. Much thanks for sharing my concerns of my dear friend.
![]() | Last week ABC Wednesday is on Ultrapod II tripod |
Warning on Bower M42 adapter
Bower adapter with clip removed
I don't need any mounting and dismounting for my M42 lens anymore as I turn them into a K mounted lens. And the RED dot in the adapter will work just like any K mounted lens.
I think I can no longer recommend the Bower adapter anymore as an alternative choice to the genuine Pentax adapter as the clipping mechanism gets worn out easily that may get you a stuck adapter permanently onto your K100/10D bodies.
Though the Bower adapter shares the same mechanics as the genuine adapter, it has a very fragile clipping plate with a small screw that are worn very easily and I got my adapter stuck on the K mount socket in K100D body yesterday night. Ouuuch, but luckily I found a way to free the dislocated clip in the stuck adapter along with the tiny screw that you are likely to lose when it gets warn out. If the screw gets dropped onto the floor, you may never found it again as it is quite small for the naked eyes to find it on carpet.
And I make the change yesterday night to remove the clip in my bower adapter, and use my 2 bower adapters to mount onto my M42 lens turning my M42 lens into a K mounted lens. Cool, you may think! And yes, I heard about other people doing that. I did that last night without choice after the clip fell off from the adapter and got stuck in the K100D body for 20 minutes.
Here are the new use of my bower adapters, after the clip is removed, and it changes any of my M42 lens to a K mount
Warning: one has to be careful in the setup as any abrupt turn on focusing and aperture ring can unmount the lens unintentionally as there is no longer a locking pin mechanism in locking the K lens in place. A small hole can be drilled on the M42 lens simulating the receiving hole for the locking pin. I have not done the final step involving drilling on the M42 lens' base and I will report back on the success or failure if I manage to find time for experiment.Related:
- Pentax M42 adapters - Hin's Tech Corner
- How to convert Pentax M42 to K mount lens
- Genuine Pentax M42 to K Adapter
- Articles labeled M42 Adapter
- How to mount and dismount genuine adapter
Praktica MTL5 -- my 1st film camera
I used my K100D with Pentacon 50mm f/1.8 to make it a complete shoot on M42 lens shooting M42 lens -- all in hand-held snapshots with manual focusing and stop down metering. First three shots are done with Pentacon 50mm f/1.8 and the rest are done with Prakitcar 28-70 zoom.
Related:
ABC Wednesday -- Ultrapod II Tripod
Eyetek Digital DS328AZ

Model Trains
Impressions & Notes
- Well built and sturdy
- Very portable and perfect for table top and desktop
- Sturdy enough for both point & shoot and dSLR.
- I find it a bit awkward to mount camera on. I usually have the legs collapsed althogether and use the leg to screw in the tripod mount of my dSLR bodies
- Ideal tripod to shoot camera and lens that are for sale. The tripod helps to provide a better angle to the camera gear.
- I highly recommend this tripod
Photography Passion with Target
I give to You my talents now
Your purpose to fulfill.
-- Cetas
by burying their talents
-- Our Daily Bread
ABC Wednesday -- Model Trains
Picture was taken in San Leandro Historic Railway Society with a train show on December 1st and June 1st and this great museum has weekly schedule open to the public. I thought my older boy would love to see the moving trains but he happened to be more into the cookies but he kept me in great company in seeing the train show. I enjoyed the model train show very much and the museum has great display of history and artifacts related to train and railway operation.
I can't wait to bring my younger boy to see it on June 1st as the weekly opening will not have 15 model trains replica of new and old trains running in the track for display for the public to enjoy. More pictures unorganized at the moment can be seem in San Leandro Train Show. My younger boy was sick again in the weekend; otherwise, he would have a blast with the moving trains like myself. My older boy loves to play with things and he is not someone enjoying things that he can't touch but my younger boy are mellow like me in observation with great appreciation to things we see.

Flying Seagulls