camera query

[Jeremy Marchant]

Thanks for these comments. Very interesting.

I should have made it clear I'm after a digital camera. I'm happy to buy secondhand. I would like the flexibility that multiple lenses offer and, although it's a drag to carry them around, that's what I am used to.

My old cameras were Pentaxes. Do we think that their K and M mount lenses would fit their digital bodies?

Hamish, thanks for your ideas in particular. I'll do the research you suggest. It'll be a background task for me, so I may not come back immediately. Sounds like a full SLR is what I need. Decades ago, I was advised to buy the camera which felt easiest in the hand - hence the purchase of the Pentaxes.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

as well as doing photography for a living i also have worked in camera sales for about 4 years now (although nowadays only a day a week) i am as obsessed with cameras and photography as most people on here are about hifi (belive it or not hifi is my secondary hobby) so i am more than very happy to help

i have just mentioned this on another thread about scanners but if you would like me to help more, pm me, and i could give you the number of the shop and let you know the day i am there for some no obligation proper advice!
a good few people on this forum have been very good to me of late and i would like to be able to put something back into the "community" and as i know more about cameras it seems to me a good way of helping out!

old pentax lenses fit on modern cameras but you have to guess the esposure as they dont relay any info to the camera not even what apeture its set to.. it can be a fiddle, but sometimes worth the trouble
one thing to point out of great importance is you will also have to multiply you focal length by 1.5 (50mm becomes 75mm) as the sensor is smaller than the surface of 35mm film. a standard lens on on a digi slr is 30mm ish, so when you see a 18-55mm lens on a dslr its actually, in film terms, aprox a 28-82mm

[Alex_UK]

That's interesting, the multiplier is 1.6 with Canon, (50mm becomes 80mm) when using EF (35mm) rather than EF-S lenses, so a slight difference there between the others, though not really that significant!

Good to know we have a specialist onboard, I might be after some of your expertise if I ever have any money left after I've spent it all on hi-fi!

[The Vinyl Adventure]

That's interesting, the multiplier is 1.6 with Canon, (50mm becomes 80mm) when using EF (35mm) rather than EF-S lenses, so a slight difference there between the others, though not really that significant!

Good to know we have a specialist onboard, I might be after some of your expertise if I ever have any money left after I've spent it all on hi-fi!

i have never been 100% sure if there i a difference in size between the canon "aps-c" format and nikons "dx" format... i gave up worrying about it a long time ago and have just decided to stick to the rough idea that for the most part the entry level brands are aprox 1.5x, apart from the 4/3rds that are 2x

i have an idea that it is more like 1.56x for both canon and nikon and its just diffent marketing in the early days of the format that has created confusion, but i might very well be wrong!!

still, in my world 1.5x isnt going to be too far off... and the maths is easier

just to add a bit more confusion

canon also used to have the aps-h sensors which were 1.3x
leica m8 is also 1.3x (i think)


i was so happy when i got my d3 with its full frame 24x36(ish) sensor... i stoped having to worry about it. my 85mm 1.4 actually became a 84 1.4 ..happy days!!


some light reading -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_lens
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crop_factor

[The Vinyl Adventure]

just had a quick mooch around the internet and i still cant find a conclusive answer as to weather canons sensors are slightly smaller... like i said for the difference it makes in real terms i gave up giving a toss a long while ago
i have literally just seen respectable webs site giving contradictory info on the subject...

[Alex_UK]

Canon itself says 1.6 - Canon Sensor Info - but like you said, I wouldn't worry about it when comparing cameras.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Canon itself says 1.6 - Canon Sensor Info - but like you said, I wouldn't worry about it when comparing cameras.

good old canon website the only place i didnt think to look!

i found some facts:

Nikon DX 23.6 mm × 15.8 mm (d300) 1.5x ish
Canon aps-c 22.3 mm x 14.9 mm (50d) 1.6x ish

so canon are slightly smaller

but yeah it makes no odds, in real terms very few people would ever notice a difference