What camera do I buy? / general gear talk

Yeah that's a fair and sensible option, just need to find a nice bumbag / sling thats a good size.

My old Pentax ME Super has broken and with the cost of buying and developing film I want to find a digital camera . A bit of research and lots of YouTube videos has me leaning towards a Fujifilm camera. What’s the best pocketable option for under £500ish quid? Have been looking and the X10/20/30 and the XE range but struggling to pinpoint the best option. I’d like to get as close to the Pentax and a 50mm prime lense as possible….

Looking at photos of the Pentax, it seems that the 35mm f2 and an XT-20/30 would be about the same size? While an XE-3/4 and a 27mm pancake would be smaller with a slightly wider FOV. Sadly the X100 mania means the XEs are pricier second hand than they used to be, so it might be better cost-wise to go for the slightly bulkier option. The Af performance in the f2 lenses is great though, so it’s a better choice than the pancake if size isn’t an issue.

Thank you! That’s really helpful. I’m going to set up some eBay searches and do a bit more research. Ideally I want something smaller than the Pentax, so that I can keep it on me most of the time. But I want to get close in terms of the 50mm lense and am still weighing whether a fixed lense or something that I can change might be better for me going forward

If you want small, the micro 4/3 cameras with a 25mm lens or 20mm pancake would be worth looking at.

Smaller sensor, but about the most compact you’ll get for an interchangeable lens camera.

micro 4/3 cameras with a 25mm lens

This is a good shout. Absolutely love my Olympus E-m5ii. Its so small and carryable.

(Fits in a stem bag with a small lens on easily)

Which makes me think, if Panasonic issued an updated rangefinder style micro 4/3 camera with newer tech like oled viewfinder, phase detect autofocus, shutter dial, with a updated 20mm f1.7 pancake with aperture ring for sub £1000, it would be super popular?

Yeah an E-M5 varient with a 25mm 1.8 or a 17mm 1.8 would be excellent.

Only thing missing is the shutter/aperture/exposure comp printed dials.

Do any of the pancake lenses have manual controls? They have focus by wire rings, at least the 14 and 20 mm. That's fine with me, the problem with the 20/1.7 is that it's incredibly slow to focus even on a PDAF body, and it's not weather sealed.

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The Leica 15mm f1.7 is not quite a pancake, but really small, made of metal, has an aperture ring and rapid autofocus.
Absolutely fabulous lens.
Not weather sealed though, and slightly unusual 30mm focal length.

The 42.5mm f1.2 nocticron looks amazing too, and has aperture ring, but not pancake size.

The 14mm f2.5 is a great, rapid focusing pancake but not weather sealed and tiny manual focus ring.

The Pana-Leica 25mm f1.4 v2 is a great lens, and now has weather sealing. Also compared to full frame and crop sensor, still very small.

Dont think any of the Olympus lenses have aperture rings, though some have focus clutches.

Somewhat related, in that there is buying involved.
Want to get a few small landscape photo books printed, perhaps in a layflat format, like 20-25cm. Bonus if they offer formats that play nice with a 3:2 aspect.

Recommendations?

I used CEWE recently - not cheap but really excellent quality and an easy to use layout system.

That’s good to know. I’ve got a voucher for them, will get some stuff printed then!

Do like their size offerings, will give them a go, thanks!

Milk Books did a great job with my wedding album a few years back.

Anyone tried any of the “smart” adapters to use for example canon lenses on Fuji bodies? Came across both K&F and Flinger brands that have some reviews about them? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Concept-Compatible-Fujifilm-Mirrorless-X-Pro1X-M1/dp/B0B74Z7MCK/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?

Not used a smart one but I have the Fujifilm M adaptor that I use to put M-Mount glass on my X-E4.

One thing to note is that the first party adaptor has a contact that switches the camera to manual focus which these ones don’t.

The reviews of the smart ones imply that it passes through both lens and autofocus data to the body which is what seems most appealing. Have tried manual focus and just can’t get on with it personally

Ha anyone seen this before on a lens, and know what it might be? Initially thought it was dust behind the UV filter, but took that off and it appears to be behind lens glass. It’s a very old lens (from my fathers 35mm film camera!) so could it just be past it’s prime (no pun intended, it’s a telephoto) or worth trying to clean up?

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Isn't that just classic lens mould?

Having looked online it seems that is the most likely outcome. Never come across it before surprisingly on any other of my lenses. Fixable?

Yeah looks like a bad case on lens fungus - it eats the coating on the lens - pretty much nothing you can do about it but it might have less of an impact to image quality than you think

Interesting. Thanks. I always thought it was a little soft, but took that as par for the course for a 40(?) year old lens that’s been around the block a hit. Looks like there’s three set screws around the edge of the first barrel where the lens cap fits. If it’s toast regardless seems like a no regret option to see if it’ll come apart and be cleaned up at all.

I've been warned not to keep a lens with fungus with other lenses. I have one that was cleaned. It does harm the value of an expensive lens but it still takes great pictures. I've not seen one with such diffused fungus covering the whole lens though.