I recently borrowed a 180mm Mamiya lens from a friend. Unfortunately, he had to ask for it back very quickly and it meant I only had a day to use it. I took it and my Mamiyaflex C2 to work and rushed around after school, asking for volunteers to pose and looking for flora. I gave it back to the owner even before I had developed the expired HP5 film…oh this is his lens, I grabbed these shots 2 minutes before I gave it back.
When I did develop the film, I was very pleased with the results, here are some of them. The child is a workmate’s daughter and she permitted me to publish the shots here.
After chatting with the owner of the lens, he informed me that West Yorkshire Cameras had a copy for sale, very cheap and in better condition than his. I looked on their website and it was just less than £60, a bargain, I bought it immediately.
The day after I received it, WYC advertised a free photowalk where they were giving out Harman Phoenix and might also have a Pentax 17 to try. I thought, well if I take it on the walk and there are issues, I can hand it straight back. Plus a chance to see the 17 up close and personal, perfect.
If you haven’t heard of the new Pentax 17 then where have you been? Here is my tiny hand holding it…
I got to shoot a couple of frames on a shared roll, so no results for you. But I have to say, I was impressed with it. It felt nice to use, comfortable to hold and it just worked. I didn’t even mind it was a half-frame as I have come to like that format recently. When I first read about it, I felt the same as most commentators, jeez that’s expensive. But the more I thought about it, the more I read, I realised it wasn’t that exorbitant. I really want a Nikon 28TI, they are way more expensive. I spent way over half that on a Kiev 88. This is a brand new camera…brand new! Not a camera with a known fault that might die at any moment. Jim Grey put it very well in his article, we should be happy with this new camera.
That being said, I don’t have £500 or even £499 🙂 But I do have too many other cameras, so I came up with an idea, a project. What if I sell 17 cameras to get the 17? £499➗17=£29.35
Thirty pounds, if I sell 17 cameras for £30 or more I could get the 17…ooh interesting.
So that is what I am going to do. I am going to start advertising here, making a Project 17 blog page in the next week. Plus I am going to add some to eBay/Facebook. I have also sorted out some clothes to sell on Vinted, but you are probably not interested in those. In the meantime, if there is a camera you are interested in buying, send me a message via the contact form. Unfortunately, if you are outside of the UK the postage probably wouldn’t make it worthwhile. Have a look at the camera post list and those with a * next to the name, a ^ means I might not consider an offer, but you never know. You can see all the results from the cameras somewhere on the blog.
Oh and here are some of the photos from the WYC photo walk taken on expired T-Max using the lens I bought from them.
Love it.
The Pentax 17 costs 499 pds in the UK and $499 in the USA. Something is not right there … $499 at today’s exchange in the US is 396 pds.
Further re the Pentax 17: I had a debate with a fellow photog about the logic of spending $499 on a camera that makes half frame negatives. He countered that most digital photography is captured on APS-C sensors, or even smaller sensors (think iPhone). I understand that line of thinking, and agree that, with quality lenses, half-frame should be no worse (and no better) than APS-C. What this argument omits, however, is the film factor: Resolution, sharpness, grain structure are components of analog negatives that are not involved in digital image-making.
Am I correct? Or drawing incorrect conclusions?
I think everything you said is correct and I wondered about the price compared to $$ but there isn’t much I can do about that, just hope the price reduces while I am saving. As for the film, I was happy with XP2 results from the Kodak H35N so I expect this to be better. I just think I should support new cameras…not all of them, but this is one I have seen and liked
Beautiful lens! The photos with the lens you bought impress much better. 500 dollars for the Pentax 17 is a significant amount of money, especially in Argentina, but it is true, it is an unthinkable new camera that would be manufactured again by none other than Pentax-Ricoh. My favorite cameras are Spotmatic, ME super and the Espio. Very good idea about the project of the 17 cameras to sell, maybe I will borrow your initiative.
I was not in such a rush the second time and had more willing models, maybe that made a difference. A spotmatic is one of the cameras I will be listing to sell, I have a pentax esii, I don’t ‘need’ both. But it is a great camera.
I Like the shots you got with that big Mamiya lens, Peggy. As for half frame, I have been doing it for a whole year with my Baldax and had a lot of fun along tha way. I would like to try a Pentax 17 and have some fun with it.
Well, if I ever get one…a photo walk will be on the cards. As for the lens, I am very happy with it. I definitely won’t be selling that set up.
Hi, great photos again.Just to encourage you with your plan to acquire the ‘17’. I recently exchanged 29 cameras for a Mamiya 645, what a camera! Hope it happens for you.
Andrew
Well, I will start on that after the big photowalk this weekend. Just had a seagull 4b serviced which will be the first one up for sale.