Opinions please

[Nikki]

Hi guys! Had a bit of a scare there... my computer crashed and I lost my favourites list... but I've found you all again... YAY!

Now, I've just discovered that my brother left a Takumar 28mm F2.8 lens and a bunch of coloured filters in my Dad's garage when he moved overseas. They're all in great condition except for a spot filter which is a bit scratched. Unfortunately none of them are compatible with my current equipment - Minolta Dynax 404 and 28-80 lens.

What I'm now pondering is, should I buy a second body (the lens my bro left will fit pentax or ricoh and there are plenty of old K1000's etc around), and be able to have two cameras ready to go, eg one with colour film and one with b&w, or should I just get another minolta lense that the filters will fit on (I was planning on getting another lense, maybe an 80-200, in the next few months anyway). :?:

I'd like to hear any thoughts you might have!

Cheers,
Nikki

 

[photobug]

You should be able to adapt the filters to your existing lens via step-up or step-down rings. Unless your lens takes something like 62mm filters and the filters are small like 49mm it should work.

Going to a larger filter usually doesn't cause any problems (except maybe at extreme wide angle), though going to a smaller filter will probably cause some vignetting (that black drop-off in the corners of the photo) to various degrees.

Here's an example of step-up rings:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2931622475&category=30040&rd=1

I just picked these up the other day. I need one more that goes from 46-49mm. Then I'm going to buy 72mm filters and use them on all my lenses (including my Coolpix 4500). The 72s cost more, but I only need one of each instead of 3 or 4, so in the long run it's cheaper to go this way.

And you can always use them as a "field expedient" lens hood if needed. gotta love versatility!

Unless you really want a second body and are just looking for an excuse to buy one. No reason not to do both, except budget of course.

Jim

 

[dlc]

It would be a shame to waste your 28mm lens unless you could sell it. K-1000s are available as well as other Pentax that would take that lens. The 28mm would be nice for landscape photos. You will have to decide if the one lens is worth another camera body. It would depend on what type of photography you like the best

 

[Nikki]

Yep, I like doing colour landscapes, and I'll probably be doing a lot of that when we go to Tassie in November. I also love using black and white film for everything. So I was thinking that having the second body with the 28mm lens and colour film would be perfect for the colour landscapes and then I could use my Minolta for black and white stuff, which is mainly what I'd want to use at places like Port Arthur and the other little historic towns we'll be visiting.

We also have a compact zoom camera (a Konica Lexio 115) and a basic digital, so I could always have one of them handy for colour as well. Regardless of what I'm taking, my hubby would definitely want to take the digital anyway. I can easily pick up a second body for under $100 AUD here, so it's not a huge expense and the whole lot would fit in the back pack I am hoping to buy.

BTW, the lens I currently have is 55mm in diameter and the filters are 49mm & 52mm. Would that cause any vignetting if I used a step up ring?

Thanks for your input guys, and sorry for waffling on so much!

 

[photobug]

You will probably get some vignetting, more with the 49s than the 52s. You can always crop that part off when you print them. Or, you may decide you like the look and leave it alone.

You'll have to play with it to find out.

Jim