Full Frame Lenses

I know that a lot of the old glass is tempting, and there's a nostalgia to the look and feel of it .... But really, this new FF is about more than just a bigger sensor with a 'wider image circle' . It's going to represent the latest and greatest Pentax have offered, a quality package of the highest image recording technologies ... The autofocus system, integrated lens corrections and image processing features will be all part of that.

Is it really going to be prudent to invest in all of that, only to then handicap the whole thing with manual focus and stopping down to meter ...or is there something new and enhanced , some particular opportunities, that the FF will bring to manual focus working?

The bigger viewfinder will make manual focus easier, but to be honest I would be sticking to AF lenses. I feel that, nice though they are, the time for manual focus lenses is way past, at least for me it is.

A possible exception would be the macro lens, where manual focus is often the best option anyway.

I'm moving in that direction as well John .....

I think one key factor to consider in our choices is the real motivation ..... Are we choosing an old manual focus option mainly because the modern alternative is beyond the budget? Or are we choosing it truly because it still offers something unique and special that cannot be replaced by the latest and greatest?

Personally, I've only got one manual focus lens that falls into that second, special, category (the Samyang 14mm, but that's actually a modern lens). My others, frankly, really fall into the first .....

Until I decided to buy a digital dslr (a k100d) all of my SLR's had been manual focus. Sometimes I will go out with manual focus lenses only. If you use just manual focus lenses for some time using them just becomes normal/2nd nature. Must admit I'd love to try my lenses through a large full frame view finder.

All my lenses bar one are FF and manual focus, Pentax 50mm f1.7M, 24mm F2.8M, 28mm F2.8A, 35-70mm F4, 135mm F3.5M, 200mmF4M, Tokina SD SZX 70-210mm F4.0-5.6. Odd man out is my 18-55mm DA. I'm happy with my K10 though.

What the 5D'ers see in SMC-Takumars is a mystery to me - they're awkward enough to use on a Spotmatic.

I'm currently shooting more film than digital, I need aperture rings for my film bodies and AF lenses need to have the screwdrive for my AF film bodies. I often travel with both film & digital bodies and don't want to duplicate lenses so I mostly use FA lenses (mostly primes).

Perhaps it's down to the quality of the Canon lenses
Switching to old Takumars gives them great build quality & the optics we're used to getting on all our lenses!

SMC Takumar lenses are superb and I would have thought dead easy to use on a Spotmatic, which is where I started some little while ago. Other marques from the same era are generally clunky and awkward, but the Asahi Pentax range was beautifully elegant.

I seem to be addicted to old manual focus lenses with the exception of the DA35 limited and DA *300 F4 they are all I seem to use. They just seem better to use to me, A/F has a hint of point and shoot to me. And i agree with with John the SMC taks are just class.

johnriley wrote:

.

I concur with everything John said. I also started of with the Spotmatic. All I had to do is look trough the viewfinder, focus, switch on the light meter, if required , set the speed or aperture and shoot. It was just as automatic a function as changing gears in a car.

To use a Takumar lens on a K5 is no problem either. It is even easier Set your camera to AV or TV
Focus, and set the diaphragm to what suits you and press the button. The camera automatically sets the speed for you.

The Takumar lenses where superbly made. The focusing mechanism was that smooth, that it got a reputation. when rotating the aperture ring, the click stops where smooth and soft to operate.
later Pentax lenses are nothing like it in this respect. When turning the aperture ring, there is a rough and hard feel. Even my 77 can not match the build of the Takumars.
Finally, the images these lenses created where super. They may be different to modern lenses, but they had something special which is hard to try to explain. ( At least for me).

The Takumars , manual focusing and manual diaphragm may not be to every ones temperament, but to say the lenses and the cameras where awkward to use , I have to disagree.
This where the lenses which made Pentax. For good reason.

Regards, Horst