Lots of Lenses - Help!

Hi guys, been a while since ive been on here but am a bit stuck
Have been scouring Ebay for a new lens for my K1000 but am coming across loads of lenses other than Pentax and havent got a clue if there any good, some are really cheap Would appreciate you help with any of the makes below (there all zoom lenses)
Prinzflex, Sirius, Tamron, Takumar.

Cheers!

Takumar (Pentax) lenses are great but don't forget you need K-mount versions!
You can't go wrong with Tamron (my favourite independents) and some Sigma, Tokina and Vivitar lenses are also good.

I'd steer clear of Prinzflex and Sirius and any makes I've not heard of.

It's not fair to belittle any lens that gives a decent image, the focal length range that you require and comes at the right price but you should do a bit of research before shelling out for something expensive.
Less well known brands could be optically the same as their better known counterparts but why take the risk - go for Pentax.

The perfect companions for your K1000 wil be, IMHO, the SMC Pentax-M and SMC Pentax-A lenses. On the latter, you will not be able to use the A setting, but otherwise they have the same function as the M series lenses.

As the K1000 is a manual exposure camera, it is useful to choose lenses that have a constant aperture value. So the best zooms will not change aperture when zooming (otherwise you will have to meter after zooming) and some excellent performers would include:

SMC Pentax-M 24-35mm f3.5
SMC Pentax-A 24-50mm f4
SMC Pentax-A 35-70mm f4

All these take 58mm filters, and this is useful consistency!

All the prime lenses have constant apertures and all will give excellent results.

What is your view on 'prime' Tamron adaptall lenses? I have 2 cameras, 1 with PK mount and the other with M42 mount, for which I currently only have a 50mm lens, so adaptall would suit me perfectly.
What issues would I likely encounter with the ist d or ist ds?

Thanks

Well, I simply can't fault Tamron - especially the SP range!
With a PKA mount, you'll have the same functionality on an ist camera as you would with a Pentax A series lens.

For me, if you can't find or afford a Pentax, then go for a Tamron.

The Tamron 90mm f2.5 Macro lens has an excellent reputation, and I am just trying one out now. Also the Elicar 90mm f2.5 Macro and the Kiron 28mm f2.

However, once you stray from the pentax range things do become less certain, and aperture rings may operate in the reverse direction as can focus rings. This causes some degree of confusion and reduces operational speed and certainty. Also, you may find you need to buy even more filters of different sizes.

I only need 49mm and 58mm filters for almost all my Pentax lenses, which does reduce expense.

For the K1000 there is little reason to stray away from Pentax lenses, because there are so many good second-hand Pentax manual lenses available at low/reasonable prices.

Furthermore, the build quality of the K and M lenses is only rivalled today by lenses from Zeiss and Leitz, and if you could afford those you presumably wouldn't be using a K1000 (fine camera though it is).

If you don't already know it, here is a good source of information:

http://stans-photography.info/

So-called "K lenses" are the first Pentax bayonet lenses. After a couple of years, most were replaced by the smaller M lenses. M lenses are marked "SMC Pentax-M" on the lens, but K lenses are just marked "SMC Pentax".

Good, cheap Pentax M lenses to look for are the 28mm f2.8, the 100mm f2.8, the 135mm f3.5, and the 200mm f4. I assume you already have a 50mm. If not, they are all (very, very) good.

If you want a macro, the M 100mm f4 is wonderful. 100mm is more useful than 50mm, and the Pentax 200mm macro requires a lottery win.

There are other equally good or better Pentax lenses, but they tend to be less common, and more expensive.

Don't buy a Takumar. The name was originally applied to the wonderful screw-mount lenses, but after the bayonet lenses came out, Pentax's marketing people thought it would be a good idea to devalue a great brand name by applying it to cheap non-multi-coated bayonet lenses. One can only weep.

And don't buy a screw-mount lens. Although they can be fitted to the K1000 with an adapter, you have to use stopdown metering, and it's all a bit of a pain.

G

Hi guys, thanks for the info looks like i'll stick with Pentax then or Tamron Have just came accross a Sigma 28-200 Super zoom though and just wondered what you thought? Looks a bit modern but should fit a k1000 (i think)

Cheers.

Sigma are ok but I've never been very impressed by the build quality. Most I've handled have been demo models and have probably had a lot of heavy use, so new ones are likely to be better.
Image wise, I think most people are happy with Sigmas until they try something better - cameras are often packaged with Sigmas from retailers such as Jessops and appear to be good value.
I believe that some Sigmas are very good but most are budget priced and that is reflected in the overall quality.
Regardless of make, most prime and moderate zoom lenses will give decent results but you shouldn't expect too much from a 'super-zoom', there are just too many optical compromises!

Interestingly, the Tamron 28-200 is pretty good and was actually marketed by Pentax (at a much higher price).

At the back of my cupboard is a Sigma 28-200mm. That's where it stays. Quite dreadful. I haven't the gall to put it on Ebay.

On another Sigma lens I had, the front part came loose, and the lens wouldn't focus. I discovered that it was attached not by screws, but by some sort of double-sided tape!

The Tamron design was indeed taken up by Pentax, but it is not quite the same lens. The Pentax version has SMC coating.

G

Well, most of the Sigmas I've handled felt loose and sloppy and I put it down to demo wear and tear.........perhaps I was being generous!

SMC is renowned but Tamron's BBAR is excellent too, I don't think I'd pay the extra for SMC and a Pentax badge. Also, you'd be stuck with a fixed mount on the Pentax variant and not have the advantage of the adaptall system (a selling point virtually unique to Tamron).

Hi,
I have tried many of the 3rd party lenses. Sigma, because they focused to "correct" way, Tokina, Vivitar and Tamron. They have all gone because I think Pentax glass is worth the extra - especially at todays secondhand prices. I just picked up a near mint 135/F3.5 M for £10 as a spare. The only non Pentax I ever liked was the 400/F5.6 Vivitar partly due to being unable to afford a Pentax equivalent. Even that has now gone as I can get as good results from my 200/F2.5 with an A 2x-S convertor and gain 1/2 a stop. I would always stick with Pentax.

Regards
Kim