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ME-Super / P30 which lenses?

john monaghan
Posted 22/07/2004 - 19:38 Link
I have just inherited a ME-Super body and bought a P30 with Pentax A zoom 28-80 lens. Both are lovely cameras and my one lens seems to work fine on both cameras. These are my first pentax cameras after many years with Praktica / Zeiss gear.
Which are the best (affordable) lenses to use on these cameras, in terms of mount? What is the difference between K bayonet and KA etc?
Thanks in advance for your help.
mattie
Posted 22/07/2004 - 20:31 Link
Hi John

The mounts for all pentax lenses are essentially the same (expect for M42 which is a screw mount).

The following prefixes are used to denote certain features:
K - the 'original' bayonet mount, aperture controlled by ring around throat of lens
KA - Very similar to K, 'upgraded' with electrical contacts to provide info regarding lens settings. Includes facilities for camera body to control aperture.
F/FA - both denote autofocus, may be considered as autofocus versions of KA. I'm not sure of differences, I think F might be earlier versions and FA might have improved MTF (essentially the electronics that communicate with the camera body)
FAJ - Similar to FA but with no aperture ring, hence cannot use on vast majority of older cameras (camera body must have facility to control aperture). very recent type.
DA - designed for digital, no ideas, have managed to steer clear of digital so far!

In terms of suitability, all lenses that are K, KA, F and FA will work fine, and these constitute pretty much all of the currently available second-hand lenses. Neither the ME-Super or P30 are autofocus bodes, so there is no point spending extra on AF lenses as they can only be used in manual focus mode anyway. Also, I gather use of K series lenses on the P30 might cause problems as certain information provided by the electrical contacts on KA lenses is needed - the metering can be problematic wthout this. In light of this, I'd suggest , for cheapness and simplicity, go for KA lenses if you can find them, although you can use F and FA lenses in manual focus.

Hope this helps

Matt
john monaghan
Posted 22/07/2004 - 22:32 Link
That's great Matt, thanks very much.
john

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