Carl Zeiss 50mm f1.4 Planar T* ZK on Pentax K5 & Pentax K1

Clever people,

I'm considering getting a Carl Zeiss 50mm f1.4 Planar T* ZK lens (Pentax K mount).

Being manual focus, will it communicate exif, priority & shutter values to the camera body on the K5 and the K1? I have its cousin, the Milvus with my Nikon D3 where all values are passed on to the camera, so I would assume it's the same with th K mount version even if it's an older model.

Huge thanks in advance,

Kasper

I don't think most of those things are properties of the lens (whatever it might be) so there is nothing for it to communicate. They are all generated by the body. What the body will not record is the f value set on the lens (unless it has an 'A' setting.

Thank you for the swift reply. So basically the Zeiss lens would work the same way as my 77mm 1.8 limited in manual mode? So that auto mode would function - and the camera beep (if set to do so) when objecsts are in focus for example?

Makes sense - thank you for the feedback - it's appreciated

Unless the lens has an A setting on the aperture ring, which I don't think it does, it will not communicate anything to the camera. You set the focal length and the camera will write shutter speed and ISO to the EXIF but the camera won't know the setting of the aperture so won't be able to write it.

The AF beep is a guide and to set exposure use either the green button to tell you a setting (also a rough guide) or chimp as necessary. Make sure the camera is in M mode.

Thank you for the feedback, appreciated! It does have a values from 2 to 22 and a 'A' setting at the end of the dial. So I guess it should work in the same way as my current go to lens, the 77mm 1.8, but without autofocus. There's a 35mm 2 in the same series, it looks amazing.

Lucky me! & thanks again for the feedback

To expand slightly on David’s last post, the use of the ‘A’ setting in the aperture ring provides all functionality apart from auto focus. This makes for a lens that is quick and simple to use in one the camera programme modes.

I have a copy of the 35mm f/2 model: it is one of my two favourite lenses. As it happens, I often use it with the camera in manual exposure mode and the Pentax ergonomics make this a breeze.

There’s one on eBay (UK) at the moment. Not promoting the sale nor do I have an affiliation with the seller, simply to point out a copy of the lens that isn’t easy to find unless you buy from Japan. Very pricey mind, even taking into account the relative rarity.

Thank you for the feedback & your personal recommendation of this lens - out of curiosity: What's the other?

I checked out the one for sale, very nice glass. I'll need to check up on VAT handling post-Brexit - but I think additional costs would be the same as ordering from Japan (but these listings seem higher, but, on the other hand, some of them offer refunds & guarantee). What remains clear, I think, is that one of these will be mine some day not too long into the future

Hello again - by great chance three 35mm lenses were listed previously today on eBay ex-demo from Rare & Mint in Austria (meaning no added VAT versus the one listed for sale from the UK).

Ordered one 5 minutes ago. Looking very much forward to receiving it

I can imagine you're excited

Let us know how you get on with it when you've had chance to use it.

You asked earlier what what my other favourite lens is, well it does depend upon my mood ... it is usually either a Voigtlander 58mm f/1.4 on the occassion I need a slightly narrower field of view than the Zeiss 35mm f/2, or when a moderate telephoto is needed I use a Voigtlander 180mm f/4. The advantage of this mix of lenses is that they feel and handle very similarly, indeed they are all made by Cosina of Japan.

For my style of photography, a manual focus lens with auto-exposure (the green 'A' setting on the aperture ring) is perfect. When taking pictures of the youngsters in the family, use of the catch-in-focus feature as mentioned by Yves works very well.