Hi Newbie/oldie advice require help appreciated.

Hi I'm hoping to compliment (after reading other threads I thought I better pick my words carefully!) my Pentax MZ-50 with a K10D. I do own a Pentax Sn5 compact which does a decent job but flexibility is just not there. What I'm confused about is the compatibility of the lenses I own. I have an old 50m 1.7 from my P30 days (I learnt everything on that camera) and a 35-80 from the MZ-50. The question is will this lenses be compatible with all the functions the K10 offers (besides the auto focus on the 50mm). Will the auto focus work with the 35-80 etc. Or is buying new lenses a better option. I have been out of the loop for so long I really am getting slightly confused. Thanks in advance for any replies.

Welcome to the board "Pug"!

First of all - every bayonet mount lens ever made by Pentax will work on all their DSLRs... with some functions restricted.

Bear these points in mind:

* The sensor on the digital is smaller than a 35mm frame. You get an effective crop of 1.5x. So, a 50mm lens behaves like a 75mm, etc.

* If the lens is manual, then it is easier to use if it has an "A" on the aperture ring. If it doesn't have this "A" setting, you have to do stop-down-metering to get correct exposure (unless you only shoot wide open).

* All autofocus lenses will operate as AF on all Pentax DSLRs. On manual focus lenses the DSLR will show a focus indicator - giving you the best of both worlds

As regards your question about the lenses... personally I would say the 50mm/f1.7 is definitely worth using, especially if it is an "A" version. It's extremely sharp and contrasty.

However, I would suggest at least getting the 18-55mm kit lens (which gives you effectively 27mm-82mm coverage). If you can afford it, the SMC-DA 16-45mm is a better (but larger) lens.

You can, of course, still use your 35-80, but I think you'll find there are sharper/more flexible lenses around

Hope that helps!
Matt

MattMatic,

Thank you for the quick response. The 50M 1.7 does have an A setting so i'm glad this lense will be of use. Thanks for the expliantion regarding the compatibility issue and explaining the crop effect you get with the focal lenghts. The 18-55mm lense looks very tempting the 16-45mm could have the wife leaving through the front door though! Just a quick question though are there specific Digital lenses available where the 1.5x crop doesn't apply or is all to do with the sensor on the digital camera?

Thanks again

The sensor is effectively a smaller format than 35mm. Therefore, lenses will act as though they were 1.5x their nominal focal length, thinking in 35mm terms.

So a 50mm lens, whilst still being a 50mm lens in terms of depth of field and so on, will act as though it were a 75mm lens.

This is great for extending your telephoto coverage, but it then means very short focal lengths are needed to get any ultra-wide coverage. A 12mm lens acts as though it were an 18mm-equivalent, for example.

The whole digital range from Pentax is superb, the results are staggeringly good and I think there is a very exciting photographic future.

Have fun...

johnriley,

Thanks again for the quick response. I must admit I'm looking forward to to getting an SLR D and I just wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing.

Cheers

Multi segment metering aint available with some older lens's.

Pug said:
"Hi I'm hoping to compliment (after reading other threads I thought I better pick my words carefully!) my Pentax MZ-50 with a K10D"

The easiest way is to put both of them on a table, and tell them how good they are. Be sincere - they may be sensitive little fellows.

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Just kidding - I couldn't resist posting this after you mentioned picking your words carefully! Hope you don't mind.

Frank

Hello I'm new to the forum.

I take it that the digital lenses will work on my LX? I'm thinking of buying the

PENTAX K10D SLR Digital Camera (10.2MP) inc 16-45mm but I may buy the lens first and the camera body later if the 16-45mm will work on my LX.

Regards
Wrighty

The DA lenses will not work on your LX because they lack an aperture ring, and the LX, unlike most later cameras, cannot set the aperture from the body.

However, the D FA lenses will work.

G

Hey, with one less mouth to feed you could afford even more gear!

That 50mm A series lens is rubbish, you need to dispose of it very quickly, you need to PM me and offer me it for a fiver.....

lol 'spider!
need I remind you that the "Miranda" in "miranda rights" was probably the authors wife?
"ANYTHING you say can and WILL be held AGAINST YOU"...

If you are interested in doing any Macro photography it's worth picking up a 49mm reversing ring. You can get these on Ebay for about a fiver. The 50mm is the classic lens to use with such a ring and works well, and if your 35-80 is the same as mine then you'll be surprised how good a macro lens it makes when reversed.

I took a few macro shots with my 35-80 reversed a while back and several of my photog friends were truely shocked to find out the lens I had used.

Thank you for the reply.

Wrighty

Hi, Luckily I did get the K10 just after Xmas, slightly late Xmas present. Bought from the camera centre in Cardiff, they actually had enquires for 20 camera's but only were supplied with 1! I was lucky enough to walk in on the day they received it. Anyway bought it with the 18-55 and a 2gig card and a small case for £699, pretty happy with that. I must admit I'm amazed at the differences between Digital and Film SLRS.

Getting used to camera is only half of it (its bloody heavy). It took me a while to fully understand why everyone was going on about RAW etc but I'm slowly getting there with the terms and the software. Since I had the camera the weather has been awful so I haven't been able to use it half as much as I had hoped. Hopefully this week end I will be able to make my way up to the Brecon Beacons and make myself more familiar with all the functions by using it more. Thanks for all the help. Oh by the way going by the quality of the pictures posted by various members I think I will hold back posting any of mine!