Note: You might consider this part of a series that also included Photographing “Yoga Truck” with an Epson RD1. In this case I’m photographing a vintage firetruck with an equally vintage Pentax K-30 DSLR.
Today’s Post by Joe Farace
“When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that firefighters usually use water.– Anonymous*.
How I made this shot: One of the digital filters that’s included in the Pentax’s K-30’s menus is Toy Camera that produces a Holga-like effect that worked quite well for this image of a vintage fire truck.
The camera was used with the Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR lens at 42mm; the exposure was 1/640 sec at f/9 and ISO 400. The white glow behind the truck’s red light is actually sunlight that’s reflected on the truck’s windshield and not part of the effect. It was clearly visible in the viewfinder, so I positioned myself to be in a spot where it emphasized this look.
About the camera: Yes, this is another old camera and it was announced on my birthday May 21 in 2012. The K-30 had a 16-megapixel APS-C sized CMOS image sensor along with a 77-segment multi-pattern metering system that produces accurate measurements under all kinds of shooting conditions. The sensor has a “shake your booty” dust removal system to remove debris from the sensor’s surface. The K-30’s three-inch LCD screen neither swivels nor flips. Atypical, these days anyway, is the camera’s ability to accept interchangeable focusing screens with optional screen such as AF Divided Matte and Scale Matte types.
Happy snappers will appreciate the K-30’S Auto Picture mode, which analyzes a scene and selects the most appropriate shooting mode from Portrait, Landscape, Macro or one of the others that are available. The camera also offers 19 scene modes, including Night Scene Portrait, Pet, Backlight Silhouette as well as a Custom Image function, which lets users add the final touch by choosing from 11 settings including Bleach Bypass and Cross Process. The K-30 includes a choice of 19 creative digital filters like the one used to create the above image. Most photographers either love or hate these kinds of features but I had lots of fun using them.
New cameras on Amazon—which I am amazed are still available— can cost almost five hundred bucks. You used to be able to pick up a used Pentax K30 really cheap but prices have jumped with used cameras selling from the usual suspects between $150 to $300, which doesn’t sound too bad.. It seems that many people. especially Pentaxians, seem to have figured out that these are pretty cool and useful cameras. One big reason may be that the K30 works with every one the 24 million Pentax K-mount lenses that have been manufactured since 1964.
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