Photo of the Day

Pentax MV1, SMC Pentax-M 40mm f/2.8

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Photo of the Day

Pentax MV1, SMC Pentax-M 40mm f/2.8

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Vintage Camera Marketplace by ImagingPixel

Malaysia's Online Marketplace for Vintage Film and Digital Cameras, Lenses,
and Camera Accessories. Follow ImagingPixel on Facebook, Pinterest, and X.

Photo of the Day

Pentax MV1, SMC Pentax-M 40mm f/2.8

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Vintage Camera Marketplace by ImagingPixel

Malaysia's Online Marketplace for Vintage Film and Digital Cameras, Lenses,
and Camera Accessories. Follow ImagingPixel on Facebook, Pinterest, and X.

Pentax MV1, A Do-It-All Manual Focus 35mm SLR Camera

Analog Diary: Film photography favorites, image making with a Pentax MV1 and SMC Pentax-M 40mm f/2.8, on a quest for the do-it-all 35mm SLR kit.

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A fun and easy-to-use 35mm SLR film camera kit that you want to look at if you're starting to look at film photography is the combination of a Pentax MV1 SLR film camera and the SMC Pentax-M 40mm f/2.8 lens. The camera/lens combination is very compact and equally lightweight, with the 18mm thick lens weighing only 110 grams and a camera body that weighs 425 grams without batteries.

In use, the camera kit is not only well suited to hiking or street shooting but is equally suitable as a do-it-all general-use lens for snapshots, family outings, travel photos, urban scenes, and architectural images.

The 5-elements in 4-group SMC Pentax-M 40mm f/2.8, produced from 1976 to 1984, was the smallest SLR lens that Pentax ever made. A seven-layer SMC coating process that Pentax started using to coat the lens element in 1971 produces images that are sharp and clear, and mid-tone contrast that is always pleasing to look at.

Pentax MV1,  SMC Pentax-M 40mm f/2.8

The Pentax MV1, an update to the Pentax MV, which was launched a year earlier, is an aperture-priority 35mm SLR film camera that was a product from the 1980s. It has a shutter speed range from 1 to 1/1000 second, which is set automatically by the camera, and an  ISO speed range from 32 to 1600.

Pentax MV1,  SMC Pentax-M 40mm f/2.8

The camera is as good as any to start you off in film photography. It is a well-constructed camera, a smooth operator with a well-damped mirror flap action that produces little, if any, camera body shake. The compact and lightweight body is easily available on the auction market, most at very affordable prices, and has been known to be reliable and worth the keep.

Vintage Camera Marketplace by ImagingPixel

Malaysia's Online Marketplace for Vintage Film and Digital Cameras, Lenses,
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Olympus Zuiko OM 21mm f/3.5, Cropped Close-Ups

Digital Moments: Image making with an Olympus OM Zuiko 21mm f/3.5, in the garden, cropped close-ups.

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Cropping is a technique that you may want to apply, especially for close-ups, if you are faced with circumstances that make you unable to fill up your frame with the subject you are shooting. This may include stepping back from your subject to gain depth of field and sharpness, or removing distracting background elements.

As in my case here, I was testing the ultra-wide-angle Olympus Zuiko OM 21mm f/3.5, which I had mounted on the 2x crop-sensor E-P5, which effectively makes the lens a 42mm equivalent on full-frame cameras. Even at the lens's closest focusing distance of 0.2 meters, subjects seen by the almost 'perfectly normal' equivalent focal length lens are only as the eyes see it, with no magnification.

Olympus E-P5, Olympus OM Zuiko 21mm f/3.5

Some of these elements are necessary, as close-ups may tend to pick up and reflect the colors of their surroundings more than other images. Being a single subject matter, close-ups may tend to be monochromatic as well, and this is where it makes it pertinent to post-process for contrast adjustments.

Vintage Camera Marketplace by ImagingPixel

Malaysia's Online Marketplace for Vintage Film and Digital Cameras, Lenses,
and Camera Accessories. Follow ImagingPixel on Facebook, Pinterest, and X.