Five Frames With A SMC Pentax-A 50mm 1:2, The Green

Re-Living The CCD Sensor - Five Frames With A SMC Pentax-A 50mm 1:2, and a Pentax K-M Digital, the garden green.

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Testing the Pentax K-m with a manual focus prime lens here, with the SMC Pentax-A 50mm 1:2, a lightweight plastic-bodied lens manufactured by Pentax from 1985 to 1998. The series-A lenses by Pentax introduced the 'automatic' aperture settings capability of Pentax K-mount lenses. The lenses still had the aperture ring, which can be set manually, and they also had an 'A' setting, which allowed the camera to control the aperture automatically.

Pentax K-m, SMC-Pentax-A 50mm 1:2

On the APS-C sensor K-m, the SMC Pentax-A 50mm 1:2 is an equivalent of a 75mm short telephoto lens. When mounted with the A-switch set, the K-m will trigger the inquest for a focal length input which, once set, will permit you to use the camera in its various exposure modes, with the lens triggering the In-Focus button intermittently to indicate that the subject in the frame is in focus. Focusing is still manual though.

Testing was done among the greens of my mini garden, and as you can see, even when the shots were taken wide open, the images were as sharp as you wanted them to be. The color rendition is great and the contrast is excellent. Focusing is smooth, and with the aperture ring set to the 'A' mode, there is no more reason for you to do any adjustments to the plastic aperture ring itself. This lens has an overall rating of 8+ on PentaxForums, but personally, I'll give it a solid 10.

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Pentax K-m, SMC-Pentax-DA 1:3.5~5.6 18-55mm AL, A Morning Bloom

Re-Living The CCD Sensor - Five frames with a Pentax K-M Digital and SMC-Pentax-DA 1:3.5~56 18-55mm AL, catching a morning bloom in the garden.

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Testing out my latest GAS pickup, a 10MP CCD sensor Pentax K-m, or the K2000 in the US, for the claim that CCD sensors, the standard for digital cameras from the mid-90s to early 2010s, are known for their high-quality, accurate colors, and low noise film-like images. The verdict? Well, you be the judge here.

Pentax K-m, SMC-Pentax-DA 1:3.5~56 18-55mm AL

The Pentax K-m was launched as a compact entry-level model with a 10MP CCD sensor by Pentax in 2008. The camera has a non-weather sealed lightweight body built on a lightweight and high-rigidity stainless-steel chassis, an AF system with five sensors, a very comprehensive and user-friendly set of menu functions and features, and shares the same viewfinder and LCD screen with the 10MP CCD sensor K200D and the 14.6 CMOS sensor K20D.

The camera was also designed to be adaptable to the plastic mount Pentax DA-L-series lightweight kit lenses, the first to be fitted with the KAF2 Mount, an adaptation of the standard Pentak K-mount system for adding auto-focus features to lenses on cameras with APS-C sensors. The K-m is powered, however, by 4x AA batteries (Lithium, Ni-MH Rechargeable, or Alkaline) which put it at a slight weight disadvantage when compared to other cameras using lithium battery packs.

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Five Frames With An Olympus VR-330, Night Scene Zoom-In

Re-Living The CCD Sensor - Zooming in on a night scene in Program Auto mode with the Olympus VR-330.

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Another session with the Olympus VR-330, one of a pair of super compact VR-series cameras launched by Olympus in 2011. The VR-330 is fitted, among others, with a 14MP CCD sensor, a 24-300mm equivalent zoom lens, dual image stabilization, 720p HD movie capture, a 3-inch LCD screen, 1cm super macro mode, Olympus Magic Filters, auto-focus tracking, and Intelligent Auto Mode. The camera is also particularly light and small, making it one of the handiest options within the super compact digital camera category.

Olympus VR-330

The camera is designed to be a simple point-and-shoot. All you have to do is to switch it on, zoom in to the desired image frame, and press the shutter. The Menu System, selectable from the LCD display, lists Program Auto, iAuto (Intelligent Auto), Scene, Magic, Panorama, and 3D as selectable or intelligent options, each with their own selection of subset variables and available as pew-sets. The iAuto (Intelligent Auto) mode, for example, switches itself to the iAuto Macro or Super Mode depending on the subject distance.

For the Night Scene Zoom In images here, I tried the camera both with the Night Scene and Program Auto mode setting, and took two identical sets of images. The selection, however, goes to the selection captured with the Program Auto setting, where the images, though more subdued, are more likely to the scene itself. Images shot with the Night Sceme mode are slightly overblown and washe out.

Looking forward to more images next, on the CCD sensor of course!

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Five Frames With An Olympus VR-330, In iAuto Micro Mode

Re-Living The CCD Sensor - A quick look at the Olympus VR-330, an ultra-compact superzoom with a 14MP CCD sensor with images in iAuto Macro Mode.

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I am accentuating my interest in vintage digital cameras with CCD sensors with the addition of a compact superzoom from Olympus to the collection. The camera, an Olympus VR-330, is one of a pair of VR cameras launched by Olympus in 2011, and it comes fitted with a 14MP CCD sensor. Features include a 24-300mm equivalent zoom lens, dual image stabilization, 720p HD movie capture, 3-inch LCD screen, 1cm super macro mode, Olympus Magic Filters, auto-focus tracking, and Intelligent Auto Mode.

Olympus VR-330

The VR-330 is also fitted with a 3D mode that merges two consecutively shot images, where the second image is taken from a slightly different perspective. The data is processed in-camera to an.MPO file, the universal industry 3D format for easy display on 3D televisions or laptops. The VR-320, on the other hand, does not have the 3D mode feature. Both are available at very low prices on the auctions and for CCD sensor enthusiasts, this could be a very strong bet.

Testing the point-and-shoot was straight and simple. The Menu System of the VR-330, selectable from the LCD display, lists Program Auto, iAuto (Intelligent Auto), Scene, Magic, Panorama, and 3D as selectable or intelligent options, each with their own selection of subset variables. For example, the iAuto (Intelligent Auto) mode switches itself to the iAuto Macro Mode for the close-up shots posted here. 

A very intelligent start, and with the impressive set of images captured by the CCD sensor, it looks like the camera is in for the long run.

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Five Frames With A JCPenny Auto Lens 135mm 1:2.8, Take II

Digital Moments - Vintage lens test with a JCPenny 135mm 1:2.8 on an Olympus E-P5.

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An extension to my previous images with the JCPenny Auto Lens 135mm 1:2.8, a manual focus prime telephoto lens from the 80s. While many comments and reviews mentioned that the lens was made in Korea, mine comes with a 'Lens Made in Japan' stamp, and no mention of it having multi-coated (MC) optics. So I am assuming here that the lens is an earlier version made before its production was moved to Korea.

Olympus E-P5, JCPenny 135mm 1:2.8

The (MD Mount) lens is a solid glass and metal construction, has a 55mm filter ring, and comes with a built-in lens hood. Nice and handy in the hand, it is a bit of bulk though, and tips my kitchen scale at 390 grams The lens was mounted on my E-P5 with a common variety lens adapter that comes with a tripod support.

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