lens type

Hi every one
I am a bit confused about the different type of lens

What kind of lens "is" on a ISTDS ? A, J, K : other

I guess it is an easy question for all of U

Thanks

Cristophe,

You can use them all on the *ist-D and *ist-DS
(Pentax has one of the best designs in compatibility).

The "M" series lenses are manual focus, manual aperture. Tricky to use on the *ist-D/DS, but perfectly possible.
The "A" series are manual focus but can do auto aperture. Easy to use, and very cheap second hand
The "F" series are auto focus, the first series.
The "FA" series are auto focus and are the more modern.
The "FAJ" series do not have an aperture ring on the lens. You can use them on older bodies, but only in auto modes.
The "DA" are digital-only lenses. They have an APS-C size field of view. They will function perfectly well on film bodies, but with some vignetting on the edges (I've used the SMC-DA 16-45 on an MZ10 with great results!)

The page for info on lenses is here: http://www.bdimitrov.de/kmp/index.html
Hope that helps!!
Matt

Just to add to Mattmatic's fine summary, the current FAJ (and DA) lenses are of limited backward-compatibility. As they have no aperture ring, they wont work at all on some of the older manual-era SLRs (K1000 or earlier). Also, if you focus manually you'll find they have teeny-tiny focus rings, which is a pain.

If you like auto-focus or you're new to photography it wont be a problem, but if you're a dyed in the wool manual junkie with an extensive collection of old pentax kit you may find it quite annoying. The 18-35 FAJ that came with my istD has seen very little use, and in retrospect I'd have been better off buying the body on its own, and putting the extra cash towards my ebay lens-hunting obsession.

Steve
http://www.siblingmedia.com/
http://www.siblog.co.uk/