lens interchangeability

I've a good collection of K-mount lenses to fit an old Pentax K2 and an even older ME body. I've been looking at SLR digitals, and I wonder if anyone out there can tell me whether my K-mount Pentax lenses will function with the new Pentax *ist-D camera.

Yes they will. You enable the custom function to allow use of the aperture ring for pre-A lenses. Lenses from the A series onwards operate with all camera functions.

Having said that, my personal opinion is that K and M lenses work, but aren't really the best choice for the digital bodies. I prefer to use the A series and later lenses, which allow more verstaility.

But do buy a Pentax DSLR, they are superb photographic tools.

Let me clarify this.

The Pentax digital SLRs behave rather like manual exposure cameras when using K and M lenses.

You press a button to take a meter reading, and this sets the correct shutter speed for whichever aperture you have selected. If the light then changes, you will have to press the button again to get a new reading and reset the shutter.

In practice it's very quick (quicker than using a KX or MX because you only press one button; you don't have to twirl a dial). But, it's not automatic, as it would be on a camera like the Z1-P.

Furthermore, if you press the DOF preview button you will get a proper over/under exposure indication in the viewfinder.

So John is right to say that A and later lenses are better, in that they provide full automation, but if you have a load of K&M lenses, then it's a no-brainer. They'll do you very well on a D or DS. I have two D bodies and nine K and M lenses, and they're not for sale.

I also have several AF lenses, of course, but it's nice to use the older lenses when I am in a more contemplative mood and want to think about what I am doing. I like to think it results in better pictures.

G

Hi George

The contemplative approach is probably right and I'd agree that it can lead to better photographs. The same argument used to be used by users of TLR Rolleiflexes, and in many ways that was true as well.

Do you think we are over-automated so much these days that the actual basis of the techniques is becoming lost on some modern photographers? I certainly have friends who produce excellent work, but they rely totally on automation and have no idea what the camera is really doing. When they do understand a technique it is a revelation and they do improve.

My biggest problem is having too many different sorts of camera, but that's a different story!