Hin's Photo Corner

Beware the Dreams From One's Youth
You guessed it, this is another discussion of gear that went out of vogue decades ago.  When I was in my late twenties, I was shopping for a new SLR camera and boy was the market plush with high quality sophisticated product.  I remember going to the local mall camera store (later purchased by Ritz) with the intent of looking at a few cameras and was surprised to find the place packed with people lined up three and four deep at the counter waiting to handle the new wave of electronically controlled automated cameras (this was 1982).  To further showcase the camera's capabilities, almost all were mated to very professional-looking power winders.  Wow...just like a motor drive!

Now for the benefit of our younger readers who don't remember a time when cameras did not wind themselves (or even when they required film to wind), there was a day when all photographers advanced their film by hand.  All, that is, except for the owners of certain professional-level cameras who had the need for and the funds to justify motor-driven cameras.  It was quite the status symbol to hold down your finger and burn through a full roll of film in a few seconds.  In the middle to late 1970s, camera makers started making motorized winders that did what a true motor drive did, but did so at a somewhat slower rate (< 4 fps).  These winders, while still not cheap, were much less expensive than a true motor drive.  They were also not made to the same build standards as the pro models, but then again, they did not need to be.

Needless to say, despite the drool hanging from my chin, I had neither the need, nor the funds to buy a power winder back in the day.  As sad as that tale may sound, all was not lost, because as time went by, the prices of those cameras and winders came down and I managed to acquire more disposable income.  As a result of that happy convergence, I recently scored three power winders to mate with my three cameras of late '70s to early '80s vintage at prices of less than $20 each.  They are:

• Ricoh XR Winder I for my XR-2s, EX+ from KEH
• Ricoh XR Winder II for my XR7 from Adorama-Used
• Pentax Winder ME II for my Super Program, EX+ from KEH

All three are fully functional and make a great deal of whirring, snapping, and clacking sounds when furiously pounding out the shots at 2-3 fps.  Here are the three, tastefully posed for a formal portrait:

Three Winders sans Camera

Rear to Front: Ricoh XR Winder I, Pentax Winder ME II, and Ricoh XR Winder II

The three are arrayed with the bulkiest unit to the rear.  While there is some difference in size, all weigh about the same (almost as much as the camera) with most of the weight being due to 4 AA alkaline batteries.  The Pentax unit is the best made of the bunch with much of the grip being cast aluminum.  The remainder of the Pentax is high quality plastic.  The Ricoh units are plastic clad, but appear to have metal innards.  As mentioned above, all three are noisy.  Shooting with a power winder is not a stealth activity.

All three winders support both continuous mode and, except for the XR Winder II, a separate single frame mode.  With both Ricohs manual shutter/wind operation is possible with the winder attached.  With the Pentax, the situation is a little more complicated.  There are several pages of cautions in the manual related to proper sequence for manual/powered wind and states where the winder may not operate as expected.  Maybe I did not read carefully enough, but looks like there were some lapses in product design.

I Feel So...Empowered!
I guess that is one way to put it.  When you put your finger on that button, it is a little like pressing the accelerator on a powerful automobile.  Well, sort of...maybe just a little...  While it truly does not suit my shooting style, at least I have the benefit of finally having what I wanted way back when.  They also look cool when attached to the cameras.  Oh, you are wanting to see the winders attached to the cameras?  Well, here ya' go...

Three Winders, Suitably Attached

Left to Right: XR-2s w/XR Winder I, XR7 w/XR Winder II, Super Program w/ Winder ME II

It is a little difficult to see from the photo, but the combos are arranged from bulkiest on the left to most svelte on the right.  The XR-2s is by far the heaviest and largest of the three cameras (about the same as a Pentax KX) with the Super Program being significantly smaller.  The Super Program looks and feels tiny by comparison.  The XR7 falls somewhere in between. Strangely, when paired with the winders, the spread is not so wide.  The Super Program with winder is still tiny, but weighs about the same as the XR7 with winder.  The XR-2s with winder is just a notch heavier than either of the other two.

Well, what about handling?  All three winders allow the camera to stand by itself by virtue of the grip or, in the case of the XR Winder II, a small foot that swings from the bottom plate.  First place for handling goes to the XR7 with XR Winder II.  Despite the lack of a grip, the camera is extremely well-balanced when paired to the winder.  Next in line comes the XR-2s with the XR Winder I.  The grip on the Winder I fits the hand nicely, with the trigger falling naturally to the finger tip.  I would have given it the nod over the Winder II except that the surface of the grip is a little smooth for my liking.  A little of the rubbery stuff and it would have been a lot better.

And that brings us to the Pentax Winder ME II.  As noted above, the pairing of the Super Program and Winder ME II was the most compact of the bunch.  That compactness comes at a price and that price is that the grip is too small and the trigger is positioned poorly.  A person with small hands might feel differently about the combo, but from what I can tell, your hand would have to be tiny to be able to have your index finger on the trigger and the rest of your fingers on the grip.  This is truly a shame since the Super Program without the winder is easily the best handling camera of the trio, even for people with monster hands.  The accessory grip for the Super Program body is one of the best for any camera, any brand, ever.

Ahhhh...Nostalgia...It Ain't What It Used To Be...
Too bad, but finally getting my winders did not yield the degree of fulfillment I was hoping for.  Fortunately, they were not expensive and serve to round out the historic aspect of each camera body.  I am just happy that I did not stretch my budget to buy one back-in-the-day!

Special Mention And Considerations
BTW...While all three winders are spec'd at 2 fps, the XR Winder II seems to churn at a somewhat brisker pace than the other two with the XR Winder I being the most leisurely.  The XR Winder II also takes the prize for easiest battery load and easiest to attach.  The Pentax Winder ME II gets a special prize for the most unusual "feature".  It has a small slider switch on the grip that MUST be used to sync the grip's trigger with the body's flash mode.  Go figure.  The Winder ME II also has one additional very cool feature that I was unable to try.  It has a port that accepts a cord for tethered release.  The optional cord is 5 meters long, but I expect that it might be possible to wire in some sort of intervalometer.


Steve

It is a sad post to compose as I have always loved my stylish Pentax K-x White. Out of my frustrations with Memory Card Error and Pentax Customer Service during the long repair time, I had resolved to put it up for sale after repair. And I have since sold my beloved white K-x with a stylish red bag. My white K-x is well loved by me and I send the new owner the red bag for free.

To be fair with CRIS and Pentax Customer Service, they did quite a good job in addressing not only the memory card controller issue, they also addressed two cosmetic problems that I reported to them when I sent my K-x in for service. CRIS fixed the broken chrome strip and they replaced the missing red label in the SR logo. Though the wait was long for 5 1/2 weeks, I felt quite satisfied with the repair and have since regained confidence with both CRIS and Pentax. The unexpected longer wait was mostly attributed to back-order of parts from Pentax Japan and it took about 4 weeks for parts delivery from Pentax Japan to CRIS. And I truly hope what happened to me doesn't happen to another Pentax user and that Pentax Japan can take note in improving the back-ordering of parts from Japan to other countries.







Some Farewell Notes On K-x

• I absolutely love the white K-x in terms of style. When I see the Pentax K-r with a partial black body, I find the K-x to be more attractive especially on the white color model.
  
  
• It is a great traveling camera with lighter weight and compact form factor. It works wonder in traveling especially when you mount it with small Pentax limited primes as in 15, 21, 35, 40, 43, 70, 77.
  
  
• Ever since I got my K-x as a second body, I actually use K-x as my main body and leave my K20D at home. Its high ISO, good image quality, quicker AF makes it a delight to use.
  
  
• Its clean high ISO images in 1600 to 3200 win it hand down over my K20D.
  
  
• Price! I don't think one can fault its price for a budget camera that can serve well like its other bigger Pentax brothers in K10D, K20D, K7, K5 and K-r.
  

Related

• Pentax K-x Memory Card Error
• Pentax Customer Service
• Pentax K-x White Arrival
• Pentax K-x In Traveling
• Pentax K-x At National Night Out
  
• Hin's Camera Gear
  

So...Tell Me Again...What Does Small Mean?

Those of us who have been around for a long time (don't call us old) are often a little discouraged by the physical size of current gear. For sure, modern composites and plastics have resulted in extremely light, but very capable equipment, but the bulk is pretty daunting. Back in the day, you could easily slip your OM-1 or Pentax MX mounted to a fast normal lens into your a jacket pocket. Life was simple.

As such, I was feeling pretty smug about my wise choices in vintage gear. My mainstay 35mm SLR for the last several decades has been a Ricoh XR7 mounted to a Pentax-M 50/1.7 normal lens. The combination is light, fast, and very compact. May I also brag that I last replaced the batteries about two years ago and those cells are going strong? That smugness was given a severe jolt this last week when I took delivery of two FSU (Former Soviet Union) rangefinder cameras. Now you can say what you might about my Zorki 4K and Kiev 4AM. They are what they are and my expectations were not particularly high.

While the cameras are interesting in their own right, I was mostly astounded by the physical dimensions of the normal lenses that came with them. Both the LTM Jupiter-8 50/2 and the Contax-mount Helios-103 55/1.7 are absolutely tiny. I felt pretty stupid at that point in that while I have been doing photography since the late 60s, I have never handled or seen an interchangeable lens rangefinder up close. I have owned a couple of fixed lens Japanese rangefinders, but those with faster glass (f/2 and wider) are generally in the same size and weight range as a compact SLR. So here they are for you to compare:

Pentax-M 50/1.7 on the left vs. KMZ Jupiter-8 50/2 on the right

Now the Pentax-M 50/1.7 is one of the most compact normal lenses ever produced by Asahi. (The Super-Takumar 55/1.8 is slightly smaller at about the same weight.) That being said, it looks positively pudgy next to the J-8. I suppose I could have added the Helios-103 50/1.7 to the mix, but it is somewhat taller in its mount and does not convey quite as convincingly that it is actually a little smaller than even the J-8! It is also not a fair comparison since the Helios does not have its own focus helicoid, but instead uses the focus mechanism built in to the camera body.

So, why should this size discrepancy be? The answer that I have read is that these rangefinder camera lenses are not burdened with the bulk and weight associated with the automatic aperture mechanism. More importantly, while the rangefinder optical designs are every bit as sophisticated, the SLR lenses also have to support the long registration distances required by the mirror box. The result is larger elements and more complex designs.

I will be sharing more on my adventures in FSU rangefinder land in future posts. For now, I will have to wait until both cameras get back from the shop. Yep, both had fatal issues that required some attention from the repairman.


Steve

We Love Our Gadgets

Every Photographer loves gadgets. It is a law of nature. The fondness for gadgets is so deep that sometimes our camera bags are referred to as "gadget bags". Now as we all know, the best gadgets are the ones that share two traits:

• Those that are useful
• Those that we use

Now many photographers are gadget fiends. If something looks potentially useful, they buy it and then try to find a use for it when they get home. While that may represent one extreme, I tend to fall more towards the opposite. I have to be feeling the pain before I start looking for the solution. So it was when I started looking for my newest, most favorite gadget.


The Source of My Pain

As I explained in my first post some weeks ago, I am a fan of older film cameras. I am not really a collector since I pretty much insist that any old camera I pick up be usable and I regularly shoot with all the cameras I own. Now by usable, I mean that most of the cameras features be functional within reason. One of those things that are often broken are the exposure meters on cameras that predate the electronic era. I have a couple of Yashica Lynx rangefinder cameras that date from the early to mid 1960s. While the meters on both cameras react to light, neither is really what I would call functional. I also recently acquired two FSU (Former Soviet Union) rangefinders that never sported a built-in meter. From this small stable of rangefinders grew a persistent pain related to meters.

Now I have a hand-held light meter and a very good one at that. My Gossen Luna Lux is easy to use, accurate, and very sensitive in even the lowest light levels. Unfortunately it is almost the same size as any of the above listed rangefinder cameras. and is hardly pocket-able. I did a little research on smaller meters and soon found that some excellent options exist.


Option 1: Voigtlander VC Meter II

The first option was the quite lovely clip-on VC Meter II made by Cosina/Voigtlander. The VC II is designed to fit on the accessory shoe of vintage rangefinder cameras. It was literally made to do the job that I needed it for and is tastefully styled to be compatible with the task. Small, light, accurate, beautiful! What more could I want? How about a lower price? At just under $200 USD street price, it might make perfect sense when paired to a classic Leitz or Nikon rangefinder body, but I am afraid that it is less of a good match for my Zorki, Kiev, or the pair of Yashicas.



Option 2: Sekonic L-208 Twin Mate

Well, back to the Internet to find what other options are available. It did not take long to discover that Sekonic also makes a compact clip-on meter. The L-208 Twin Mate has a more traditional appearance than the VC II and is not quite as sensitive, but makes up for it with the ability to take both incident and reflected measurements. While it is not obvious from the product shots, the L-208 is really very small and at a little over $100 USD is closer to what I had in mind, price-wise.



And The Final Solution Is?

Still, I was feeling not too wealthy and decided to stop by my friendly local used camera shop (Knight Camera and Repair) to see what Mike Knight had in his magic box. I was hoping to find a Gossen Pilot that I had seen there in the past. The Pilot is a nice unit, but is a selenium meter and not too great in dim light. What I found instead of the Pilot is my "Newest, Most Favorite Gadget". Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the...

Vivitar Model 24 Clip-on Light Meter

Vivitar Model 24 Light Meter Mounted on Yashica Lynx 1000

Yes, the image is monochrome, but it is a vintage item attached to a vintage camera, so a B&W conversion seemed like the obvious thing to do. The model 24 meter was on the shelf for under $20 USD and is in excellent cosmetic and working condition. It has a CdS photocell, is sensitive from EV -1 to EV 24 and supports ASA speeds from 9 to 6400. The only drawback is that it was originally spec'd for use with outlawed PX 675 mercury batteries, but a quick test on Mike's calibrated light source showed that it was essentially accurate using compatible silver cells. Operation is simple...

• Flip the lever on the back to the left to power on the meter. The meter stays on until the lever is flipped back to the right.
• Point the camera at the subject
• Rotate the dial until the needle in the window is centered
• Read the correct exposure from the scale

If the Vivitar 24 does not look that small mounted on the top of my Lynx 1000, perhaps this photo of the meter hand-held will be more convincing.

Vivitar 24 Meter Held Between My Two Fingers

While this little meter sits quite comfortably on the top of my Lynx, it is of much more recent vintage than the camera. The Lynx dates from about 1960, while the Vivitar 24 was made in the late 1970s. The manual is available on Mike Butkus' Camera Manual Web site should you ever need one. So, in summary...Yes, it really does satisfy the need. It balances nicely on top of the camera and fits nicely in the pocket and plays nicely with the bank account. What a great find!


Steve

I have consolidated my DA 40mm f/2.8 limited and FA 50mm f/1.4 into one single prime with Pentax FA 43mm f/1.9 limited. After trimming my DA limited trio with 21, 40 and 70, I am down to 4 limited lens with two DA limited and two FA limited.

• 15, 35, 43 and 77

and I find the 43mm limited to be a great replacement for my DA 40mm f/2.8 limited. The 40mm limited is an under-rated limited lens but the 43mm stands out in speed and color. I found the 40 limited sharp even wide open but the gain of speed in the 43mm is especially useful in indoor and low light shooting. Though it is not pancake small like the 40mm limited, it is a delight to use with aperture ring and a removable lens hood that is not adding too much bulkiness to the lens. It has a charming factor on its own rights.


When I used it in a weekend in an Art & Wine festival and an indoor night club shooting with Pentax K20D, I was very impressed with its sharpness, color and small form factor like the other limited lens.









Impressions & Notes

• I find it a good replacement for consolidating my two lens with DA 40mm f/2.8 limited and FA 50mm f/1.4 into one.
  
  
• Not pancake small like the DA 40mm f/2.8 limited but it actually is small like the 21mm and its lens hood is reasonably good in size and removable. I actually don't mind and find the size quite ideal for both digital and film. It is smaller and more compact than the FA 50mm f/1.4.
  
  
• It beats the DA limited with an aperture ring and well suited for film bodies as in Pentax MX or my Ricoh xr-p. You can call me old school but I always prefers lens that work with both digital and film bodies.
  
  
• AF is not as fast as the DA 40mm f/2.8 limited.
  
  
• In the night club shooting, I had a very difficult time with AF assisted light from flash and it took a second or two to lock on focus. The difficulty had more to do with my K20D
  
  
• The gain of speed in f/1.9 offers tremendous help to my K20D shooting as I tried to avoid iso 1600 and I shot in iso 800 with f/1.9 for the test shots above. Though wide open maybe soft but I much rather have that option instead of bumping up ISO alone
  
  
• Lens is very sharp like the 77mm and it is cutter than the 77mm in terms of size. Color rendering is vivid and rich and it lives up to the expectation and positive experience with 77mm limited.
  
  
• Highly recommended limited lens
  

Related

• Pentax FA 77mm f/1.8 limited with Pentax K-x
  
• Pentax FA 31mm f/1.8 limited
  
• Pentax DA 40mm f/2.8 limited
• High ISO habit forming with Pentax K-x
• Hin's Camera Gear

I am finding my mono-pod having an important role in my hiking with heavy and long lens. Our family went to hiking in the same park on both Sunday and Monday. The Monday's hike had a purpose as my wife's lost one of the glass in the hiking trail and my younger boy vividly recall a piece of circular glass on the hiking trail. All pictures taken with Pentax K20D and Tamron SP 500mm f/8.0 adaptall-2 55BB on a mono-pod.


It is easier for me to catch up with my faster family who ran ahead of me searching for the missing glass.


And my older boy has a tendency in avoiding and running away from my camera.




And I can make a still shot of animals such as a goose in a distance


And close up with this mirror lens quite usable as long as the background is farther away from the subject. When background is too close, I do see harsh bokeh and sometime the doughnut bokeh do happen especially if you look for them.






Impressions & Notes

For readers who have an interest in mirror lens, I will try to sum up the experience and a caution to set the expectation correct

• It is important to find the brand that is recommended by trusted sources. I will concentrate on Tamron 55B, 55BB adaptall-2, Sigma cat 400mm f/5.6 and 600mm f/8.0 and Tokina 500mm f/8.0 and perhaps few others
  
• Doughnut bokeh are there. Some can be distracting especially when the background object is at a close distance.
  
• MF is the key thing in getting the shots. The beauty in the mirror lens lies in small size and compact form factor. This misleads me to use it hand-held. However, the best pictures and better keeper ratio does come from the use with mono-pod. With the extra investment, you will enjoy the mirror lens UP a notch or two.
  
• The speed at f/8.0 is not meant for fast moving objects. You will be disappointed when you compare the mirror lens to a good f/5.6 in 400mm in shooting objects in a distance with fast movement.
  
• Lower contrast and flat color on pictures are some of the factors that turn people off from mirror lens. I will have some bragging rights on the Tamron 55BB as the color and contrast are at a different camp when compared to the Vivitar 500mm f/8.0 that I previously owned. Don't cheap out in getting a $80 mirror lens as it is not even worth $8.0 for the shipping fee.
  
• There is no fringing in mirror lens as far as I know
  
• Tamron 55BB is a later version after the 55B. And 55BB doesn't have a tripod mount. I find it alright to use the tripod mount on camera and it is an non-issue when I use my 55BB.
  
• Perhaps more to come when I remember them

Related

• Moon Chasing with Tamron 500mm f/8.0 adaptall-2 (55BB) and Pentax K-5
• Tamron 500mm f/8.0 adaptall-2 55BB 1st Copy
• Tamron adaptall-2 PK-A adapter
• Vivitar 500mm f/8.0 mirror lens in K mount
• Tamron adaptall-2 Articles
• Hin's Camera Gear

I have recently grown to love the use of mono-pod for hiking and use with heavier lens. I bought a cheapo Dolica mono-pod and I had purchased also a Manfrotto 3229 and the combo seems to help me to make better use of my heavier gear






I did the shooting on not-so-nice noon setting when the bunnies preferred to hide in the shadows. But I did get more keeper shots with the 30A















Notes & Impressions:

• The mono-pod does help in the shooting as I find myself with stability that I don't have before
  
  
• I don't feel as strained on my hands in the shooting with 30A
  
  
• Mono-pod is more portable and I find it easier to use over tripod especially in terms of framing the shot.

• While the Manfrotto 3229 works well for me, I would have liked to upgrade the mono-pod with better build material and shorter length when collapsed
  

Related:

• Oktoberfest
• Tamron SP 80-200mm f/2.8 adaptall-2 30A
• Licking One's Lens
  
• Tamron PK-A adaptall-2 adapter
• adaptall-2 articles
• Hin's Camera Gear
  

It was my first year visiting San Francisco close to Pier 39 for the Fleetweek Air show. My family visited by Bart and we walked from Embarcardero Bart station to Pier 39 area. I should have gone a bit further down to be located in the middle section of the fly path.


I brought along few gear to the airshow:

• Pentax K20D as my Pentax K-x is still in repair from CRIS into the 6th week
• Pentax F* 300mm f/4.5
  
• Pentax AF 1.7x TC
• Tamron SP 70-150mm f/3.5 adaptall-2 20A for casual street shooting
• Pentax FA 43mm f/1.9 for Bart station indoor shot
• no tripod or mono-pod as it hinder my framing
  

I set my SR focal length for 100mm for the adaptall-2 70-150 lens and later in the air show shooting, I mounted the F* 300mm f/4.5 with the 1.7x AFA TC but I forgot about resetting SR SR focal length from 100mm to 500mm. All of my shots have the registered 100mm in the EXIF. I think most of my shutter speed is faster than 1/1000 sec and hence the absence of correct SR focal length doen't seem to have an effect.


There were 6 blue angels and most of the time, they have 4 flying very close to each other. They are so fast and loud. I was not in the middle section of their flying path but I did catch some of the shots that I like. It was breathtaking to see how close they fly together in the air show.





They are spectacular to watch as a group or a single solo flight. They have done a marvelous job in the performance






One final shot is done in close distance when the planes fly very close to my location.

If you have visited this blog page often, you should note that it is not my style of blog post with negative tone. But I feel obligated to report what happens to my Pentax K-x White that was sent to CRIS for repair under service warranty.

Here is the recap of rough time-line on what happens to my K-x in repair service with CRIS and Pentax USA.

• 8/21/2010 -- broken at 9 months of beautiful service
  
• 8/31/2010 -- shipped out to CRIS with USPS priority
  
• 9/2/2010 -- arrival in CRIS
• 9/8/2010 -- parts back ordered from Japan
• 10/1/2010 -- parts arrived in CRIS, repair started
  
• ETA unknown in each call
• 10/11/2010 -- repaired camera arrived at my home from CRIS
  

I call about once a week and I am calm and as polite as I can be in each calls. If any of you are interested to know which Service rep to avoid, please PM me as I talked to 5 different reps and there is at least one rep to avoid. And in each of steps, I was not given any ETA on the repair. The back-order of parts from Japan to US is likely by ship as it took close to a month to ship from Japan to CRIS.

I call Pentax Service today and see if I can extend my warranty through Adorama recent extended +2 year warranty for $29 but that won't work with Pentax as it needs to be purchased within 90 days from initial purchase.

When I talked to different service representatives, I was confused on who is responsible in stocking parts between Pentax USA and CRIS. As far as I can tell, Pentax USA pretty much relies on CRIS and the history of repairs. And it is my assumption that K-x may not be stocked as heavily as K7 or previous cameras with longer history of repairs.


Summary of Pentax Customer Service:

• From what I have gathered, CRIS seems reasonable in repair as long as parts are in CRIS or available in Pentax USA. A usual repair in warranty will take about 4 to 6 weeks. The most problems happen when parts are not stocked properly in USA.
  
  
• There is no email or any courtesy call and you are pretty much left in the dark.
  
  
• Absolutely no ETA is given when you approach Pentax Customer Service. A ballpark figure was given for 4 to 6 weeks assuming the parts are available.
  
  
• If parts are not in CRIS or Pentax USA, it will take about 4 weeks to order from Japan to US. The 4 to 6 weeks repair cycle may become 8 to 10 weeks
  
  
• I have talked to 5 different representatives and I only feel encouraged by two of the five reps that I have talked to. In general, I don't really get a sense that the customer service is helping me with my problems. It is problem reporting instead of customer care.
  
  
• If one is serious into buying a non-black color cameras as in Pentax K-x or Pentax K-r, I will caution to think again if you are not living in Japan. Parts ordering from Japan to US are done likely by ship. In my encounter of parts order in CRIS, it took 4 weeks to order parts from Pentax Japan.
  
  
• If you want to think of a 2nd Pentax body as a backup or traveling body, think again not on K-x but rather a used copy of K10D, K20D or even a K7 as they are more durable to last longer and more dependable as a 2nd body
  
  
• No extended warranty will help you if you bought the camera used, Pentax service will only service the owner under the invoice. If you have to buy a used camera, make sure you get buy-in with the seller for the remaining warranty usage in case something totally breaks in the warranty period
  
  
• Your best warranty will be doing your due diligence in getting a good used digital body as in Pentax K10D or Pentax K20D that can go between $300 to $450.

Related

• Goodbye to Pentax K-x White
• Pentax K-x White Dead with Memory Card Error
• Why I Love Pentax
• Pentax K-x White Arrival
  
• Hin's Camera Gear