{"id":49012,"date":"2025-06-23T22:19:59","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T14:19:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/blog\/49012"},"modified":"2026-04-08T07:57:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T23:57:19","slug":"ep256-%e5%9b%9b%e6%9c%88%e4%bb%bd%e7%9a%84%e5%b0%8f%e7%90%89%e7%90%83%ef%bd%9casahi-pentax-mx-%e8%88%87-kodak-vision3-200t-5213-%e9%99%a4%e7%a2%b3%e9%9b%bb%e5%bd%b1%e5%ba%95%e7%89%87","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/blog\/49012","title":{"rendered":"EP256: April on Liuqiu Island \u2014 Asahi Pentax MX with Kodak Vision3 200T\/5213 (Remjet Removed)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\nRoll #256 \u2014 that iconic Vase Rock formation is probably Liuqiu Island's most recognizable landmark.<\/p>\n

Film: Kodak Vision3 200T\/5213, remjet removed (Reflx Lab 200T repackaged version)
\nDeveloped & scanned: DEP Lab, 2025\/4\/24
\nCamera: Asahi Pentax MX
\nLenses: Pentax-M 40mm f2.8, Pentax-M 50mm f1.4<\/p>\n

-<\/p>\n

We joined some friends on a group trip to Liuqiu Island \u2014 my first time there. Having been to Okinawa twice, I could never quite picture what the island would actually look like. All I knew was that there were sea turtles.<\/p>\n

Apparently my knowledge of history has some gaps, because I only just learned that back in the Yuan Dynasty (1260\u20131368), Taiwan and Okinawa were considered one and the same \u2014 both called \"Ryukyu.\" When the Ming Dynasty came along (1368\u20131644), the name \"Ryukyu\" went to Okinawa, and Taiwan's side of things got rebranded as \"Little Ryukyu.\" Then the Dutch arrived in Taiwan (1624\u20131662), started calling the main island Taiwan, and the name passed down to the small island it refers to today.<\/p>\n

We went at the end of April \u2014 before the summer heat sets in and before the rainy season starts. The timing made all the difference. My impression of the island was genuinely great, and I suspect it would have been a very different experience in July or August.<\/p>\n

-<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#1
\nThe Pentax MX I bought came broken \u2014 or more accurately, intermittently broken. The shutter curtain would occasionally jam and the mirror would refuse to return. Some sellers will tell you something \"works\" without mentioning reliability. The seller wasn't wrong. The fault lies with the part of me that just wanted to buy a camera. \u2014 This is the first frame I shot on the Pentax MX. Since it's near the leader I expected some light leak, so I fired two frames of this same scene. This is the one with the leak. The next shot is clean. Honestly, I prefer this one.
\nPentax-M 40mm f2.8 (30s, f2.8)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#2
\nVase Rock \u2014 the island's most famous natural landmark and the closest one to town. Search for it online and you'll find thousands of photos, most of them perfectly composed and completely forgettable. That's why I keep coming back to the light-leaked version from the previous frame.
\nPentax-M 40mm f2.8 (30s, f2.8)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#3
\nWhile shooting Vase Rock, I was alone on the beach with just a headlamp. Genuinely a little nerve-wracking \u2014 it was pitch dark out there.
\nPentax-M 40mm f2.8 (30s, f2.8)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#4
\nThe little pool at our guesthouse. I really love how the Kodak Vision3 200T\/5213 tungsten-balanced stock renders daylight.
\nPentax-M 40mm f2.8 (1\/500, f8)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#5
\nMy son and a friend's kid. \u2014 There's a popular opinion that the Pentax MX pairs best with the 40mm f2.8 pancake for the ultimate compact setup, and I bought into it to find out for myself. I wanted to compare it against the Olympus OM system. Short verdict: the Olympus OM wins on focusing feel and metering interface, and it's not particularly close.
\nPentax-M 40mm f2.8 (1\/1000, f4)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#6
\nHeading out on a glass-bottom boat to look for sea turtles. I'm from the internet, but I'm not from the internet.
\nPentax-M 40mm f2.8 (1\/1000, f2.8)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#7
\nSpotting a sea turtle through the glass floor of the boat. Honestly, it was fine. Just fine.
\nPentax-M 40mm f2.8 (1\/125, f4)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#8
\nI'd rather just stand on the deck and look at the ocean.
\nPentax-M 40mm f2.8 (1\/1000, f8)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#9
\nYou can spot turtles from the deck too \u2014 and that's actually the better surprise.
\nPentax-M 40mm f2.8 (1\/1000, f8)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#10
\nIf you want your ocean shots to run bluer, shoot tungsten film. Right now there are really only two options: the Vision3 200T and 500T. The 500T can push too far into blue territory \u2014 the 200T gives you richer, more balanced color.
\nPentax-M 40mm f2.8 (1\/1000, f8)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#11
\nView from the boat.
\nPentax-M 40mm f2.8 (1\/1000, f8)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#12
\nPart of our group \u2014 a few people had gone off to dive.
\nPentax-M 40mm f2.8 (1\/1000, f8)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#13
\nWugui Cave \u2014 considerably more unsettling once you know the history.
\nPentax-M 40mm f2.8 (1\/1000, f8)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#14
\nDeep blue water. \u2014 My Pentax-M 40mm f2.8 had a serious haze problem, so I brought it to a camera repair shop to have it cleaned. The technician ended up rubbing off the coating entirely, leaving a bare patch right in the middle of the element. I was speechless. Does it affect image quality? I genuinely don't know \u2014 I don't have another 40mm f2.8 to compare it against.
\nPentax-M 40mm f2.8 (1\/1000, f8)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#15
\nAperture test series for the Pentax-M 40mm f2.8. First up: wide open at f2.8.
\nPentax-M 40mm f2.8 (1\/1000, f2.8)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#16
\nStopped down one stop to f4 \u2014 you can see the edges tighten up noticeably. That said, f2.8 is perfectly usable; it's not loose in any obvious way. But in a direct comparison at f2.8, the Olympus OM Zuiko 40mm f2 still edges it out. If I had to crown a king of 40mm pancake lenses, my vote goes to the Zuiko.
\nPentax-M 40mm f2.8 (1\/1000, f4)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#17
\nThe Pentax-M 40mm at f5.6 feels about equivalent to the Olympus OM Zuiko 40mm f2 at f4.
\nPentax-M 40mm f2.8 (1\/1000, f5.6)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#18
\nOn the odds of running into a sea turtle on the beach.
\nPentax-M 40mm f2.8 (1\/250, f2.8)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#19
\nThat close. Absolutely wild.
\nPentax-M 40mm f2.8 (1\/125, f2.8)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#20
\nAdding a human for scale.
\nPentax-M 40mm f2.8 (1\/125, f2.8)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#21
\nWhat sea turtles eat, for reference.
\nPentax-M 40mm f2.8 (1\/30, f2.8)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#22
\nVase Rock in daylight \u2014 massive in person, and genuinely strange-looking up close.
\nPentax-M 40mm f2.8 (1\/1000, f8)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#23
\nThe horizon on our last morning.
\nPentax-M 40mm f2.8 (1\/1000, f8)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#24
\nThere are temples everywhere on the island. Makes sense \u2014 most residents make their living from fishing, and the sea has a way of making people pray.
\nPentax-M 40mm f2.8 (1\/125, f8)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#25
\nA familiar-looking bus stop. I don't think I actually saw a bus the entire time I was there.
\nPentax-M 40mm f2.8 (1\/1000, f4)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#26
\nLast stop of the trip: the parking lot at Yanliou Pier in Pingtung.
\nPentax-M 40mm f2.8 (1\/1000, f8)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#27
\nThis roll wasn't dropped off at Ilford Taiwan Lab \u2014 I just happened to be there picking up a previous order.
\nPentax-M 50mm f1.4 (1\/1000, f2.8)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That's the full roll \u2014 Asahi Pentax MX with Kodak Vision3 200T\/5213, remjet removed. Thanks for reading.<\/p>\n

-<\/p>\n

Next up: EP257 Olympus Mju II 35mm f2.8 with Ilford XP2 Super 400<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Roll #256 \u2014 that iconic Vase Rock formation is probably Liuqiu Island's most recognizable landmark. Film: Kodak Vision3 200T\/5213, remjet removed (Reflx Lab 200T repackaged version) Developed & scanned: DEP...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46814,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1878,2015],"tags":[2046,2025,2028,2045],"class_list":{"0":"post-49012","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-kodak-vision3-200t-5213","8":"category-asahi-pentax-mx","9":"tag-pentax-m-50mm-f1-4","10":"tag-deplab","11":"tag-iso-200-color-film","12":"tag-pentax-m-40mm-f2-8"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/000833150002.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49012"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49012\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49014,"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49012\/revisions\/49014"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}