Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-08-23)

subscribe 0330 333 1113 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI 17 August 2019 13

is a limitation for some,

and cost is a limitation

for others, so it’s good

that there are plenty

of alternative options

available – Nigel

Atherton, editor

Better latte

than never

Here’s a way for

photographers to help

protect the environment.

Recently I bought a new

lens but was disappointed

that no lens bag came with

it. However, in a coffee

shop my wife spotted a

collapsible, reusable coffee

mug supplied with a neat

bag and a free fi rst coffee.

So I gained the bag for

my lens, she gained a free

coffee and discount on

future purchases, and the

environment gained from

fewer cups in landfi ll!

Adrian Johnson

Nice case, Adrian, but

you can’t say it didn’t

cost you a bean – Nigel

Atherton, editor

Tripod

disappointment

I read Amateur

Photographer with interest

and particularly enjoy

reading other readers’

letters, and Back in the day,

which looks at editions

from years gone by. But I

found the tripods feature

(Stick ‘em up, 22 June)

specifi cally of note. I have

just bought a Manfrotto

190 Go! set of legs and a

8041 Mark 2 pan-head

to go with it, because

I recently bought a

Canon-fi t Sigma 150-

600mm. The lens I love,

the tripod not so much.

I’d thought of buying the

Sigma lens for a year or so,

and when my dad passed

away last year I made the

decision to spend some of

the money he left me on it,

and I don’t regret it at all. I

did have to use some of

my sewing skills though to

make a padded bag for it,

as none of my camera

bagsarelongenoughto

holdit whileit’sattached

toa camera.

I alreadyowneda

reasonablypricedtripod

butI thoughtI should

upgradeit, owingtothe

weightof thenewlens.In

theshopI explainedthatI

wasaftersomethingsturdy

butlightweight.I was

ideallylookingforcarbon

fibrebuttheshopdidn’t

haveit in stockandinstead

recommendedthe

190/8041in aluminium

fromthelimitedstockthey

carried.ButI nowregret

thepurchasebecauseI

strugglewiththetwist

legs.Untwisttoofarand

thelegsfallout,soI don’t

trustit andI didn’thave

thebestexperiencewhen

buyingit soI wouldsay

toanyotherreaders,it’s

probablyworthdoing

someresearchfirstbefore

buyinganythingunfamiliar.

I shallpersevere,however,

asit wasa significantoutlay

and I do need to get the

hang of it.

Jane Boswell

Pentax reliability

Like Mike Gosling (Inbox,

6 July), I too suffered the

so-called aperture block

failure on a Pentax K-

when it was about two

years old. I contacted

Ricoh UK who requested

I send the camera for

investigation. Initially they

quoted £250 for repair

but I challenged the price,

pointing out several

discussions on Pentax

forums indicating there

was a pattern failure, and

asked for a second review.

Within a few days I had an

email offering a reduced

cost of £90 as a goodwill

gesture, which I accepted.

I’ve used it for two more

years without incident and

have just acquired a new

Pentax KP at the special

anniversary price of £699.

I didconsidersellingall

myequipment,buthaving

ownedvariousPentax

camerasoverthepast

40 yearsI stuckwiththem,

andhopefullywillgetmany

moreyearsof use.Sadly

themodernageis allabout

electronicsandtherewill

alwaysbefailures,many

of whichcostmoreto

repairthanthecostof the

camera.In contrastI now

ownmylatefather’sDiax

IIbwhichis 55+years

oldandextremelywell

travelled;otherthana

cleantoresolvea sticky

shutter,it hasalways

performedfaultlessly.

I doubtmanyof today’s

cameraswillstillbe

workingin 55years’time.

NickBarnett

For his lens, Adrian uses the free bag from a reusable mug

Back in the day

A wander through the AP archive. This

week we pay a visit to August 2004

APhadanin-depthinterviewwithJillFurmanovsky

PEDALLINGfuriouslybackto 2004 givesanother

reminderof howfarcameratechnologyhasleapt

forwardin thepast 15 years.Sixmegapixelsis easily

outgunnedbya cheapsmartphonethesedays,though

someof theearlydigitalcompactsfeaturedin this

issuewerenicelymadeandcanbepickedupfora

songoneBayorat bootsales.Thisissuealsocarrieda

movingobituaryonHenriCartier-Bresson,who

passedawaythatyear.Asthen-editorGarryCoward-

Williamsremindsus,‘Onemarvelsat thesimplicityof

hiskit:anoldLeicarangefindercamera,a standard

50mmlensanda rollof black& whitefilm...(Henri)

provedbeyonddoubtthatequipmentwillalwaysbe

secondarytoone’sabilityto“see”a greatpicture.’

Anotherhighlightwasaninterviewwithtopmusic

photographerJillFurmanovsky,famedforherimages

of theever-feudingGallagherbrothers.Britpopmay

seemdated,butJill’ssuperbphotographsneverwill.

2004

EnterthecodebelowviaPhotocrowdtoget

one free entry to Round Six – Street Life

APOY

YOUR FREE ENTRY CODE

LoyalAPreaderswanted

APis lookingforlong-time

readers,sogetintouchby

2 Septemberif youqualify

orknowanyonewhomight.

© ADRIAN JOHNSON