A short walk with Pentax-A lenses on K-1

To put the record straight: I am mostly a Nikon and Sony user. A friend of mine has recently kindly lent me a photographic bag full of wonders - an LX body and several manual focus Pentax lenses - he has not used in years. As I was loaned a Pentax K-1, I decided to mate the full-frame flagship DSLR with some classic lenses and give the combination a try. And I am hooked. This has been one of the most rewarding manual focus experiences I have had in a long time - both focusing with the OVF and with the rear LCD screen in LiveView.
I picked three of the lenses and used them both at and around home.


The three are extremely rare here in Poland: SMC Pentax-A 15mm f/3.5, SMC Pentax-A* 85mm f/1.4 and SMC Pentax-A* 135mm f/1.8. It always amazes me how forward-looking the engineers of Asahi Opt. Co. were when they gave A-series lenses electric contacts. I just set "A" position on the aperture rings, put the lenses on K-1 and switched it on. The camera "asked" me about the focal length and fed it into sensor stabilization system; moreover, I could control aperture from the camera. But all of you Pentax lovers know that very well. Excuse my enthusiasm, but in comparison the way Nikkor lenses of the same vintage work on modern DSRLs seems truly lame. Enough talking. Here are some photos I took.
Best
Jarek
You can see more photos at my Polish blog:
https://towarzystwonieustraszonychsoczewek.blogspot.com/2017/11/pentax-stara-mio...

What an exciting set of lenses! And some great images have come out of it.

Many thanks for taking the trouble to share.

These are super images and your comments do indeed echo what Pentaxians know. Leave the "in Poland" out of it. These particular ones are scarce lenses - anywhere. The simple A 135mm is a nice lens but an A*135 !! ( envy, envy). The other point about them is that from the time they were made, right up to today, nearly all Pentax lenses fit on all Pentax cameras - as you discovered. It's a pity you will have to return them to their owners

It is a genuine pleasure to share my humble thoughts and photos here as - compared to many other busy and buzzy photographic websites - this is a temple of tranquility. I used to be a Pentax user and proud of it.
Best
Jarek

Thank you for posting.
A nice set of photographs.
I may be looking to purchase my first Pentax A lens.
Manual focussing with an M lens has been a challenge.

Regards

There is some hope. I still have somewhere in a closet (shame on me!) my own LX body from days long gone, which I have never had the heart to part with. I decided to bring it back to service and the friend says we can permanently share his lenses between us. After seeing the photos I took with K-1 and his lenses and reading my blog entry he decided to save towards the purchase of a K-1 and some more Pentax lenses. And I have just ordered FF-1 for my LX. So its seems that Pentax stuff is likely to stay longer with me, and offset the current glaring imbalance favoring Nikon and Sony equipment.
Best
Jarek

Focusing those lenses on K-1 was a real pleasure but perhaps this is attributable to two facts: K-1 is a superb camera and the lenses I used are top-notch in workmanship, finish and optical properties.
Best
Jarek

You mean we have only a handful of members...!! But small can be beautiful.
Lovely images and some very nice lenses. As has been sais. It will be a shame to return them..

I mean it is a civil and constructive forum.
The prospect of returning the lenses saddened me but I have already said in one of the replies that, there is hope. I will bring my LX back to service and the friend promised to share his lenses between us infinitely. To say I am happy would be an understatement.
Best
Jarek

Jarek, 'Quality' always shines through...in more ways than one.

Lovely images you've taken.

Regards

Karlo

One more general comment. The Polish title of my blog translated literally into English means something like:
"The Company of Fearless Lenses". Today it dawned on me that nothing is better described by the term "fearless lenses" than some of the vintage glass - like the optics I used here - that defies passage of time and continues to show its magic on successive generations of cameras. Just such a gushy thought of mine.
Best
Jarek

Thanks. I am no great photographer so my photos do not give proper justice to the lenses.
Best
Jarek

I enjoyed your post. The K-1 and LX show an evolution in Pentax.

Some very fine glass you have there too.

An enjoyable post (and Blog images) - As others have said these are pretty rare lenses and they still hold up well against modern lenses in many situations. The A*135/1.8 is probably the rarest, but my favourite is the A*85 - I've had several copies over the years and I keep selling them off after convincing myself I only need the FA*, but inevitably I trip over an over-priced A*85 and the memories flood back

Please keep posting

A great story and some lovely images to go with it. I also enjoyed the images on your blog that you provided the link to. I think that many (most?) of the members here have various 'old' Pentax lenses that they use on a regular basis simply because they are really good quality and lovely to use.

I look forward to seeing more of your images.

Phil