New to the forum...

Hi all, New to the forum.. Joined as today I dug out my Pentax MZ-50 film SLR and want to re-use it! It was bought for me in 1997 for my 13th birthday, since then I've gone onto Canon DLSR's and just bought a 1D Mk2, and currently have a 350D everyday camera...

I'm after some new bits for this MZ-50, grip, lenses (pref wide angle), so if anyone wants to suggest me anything, id be greatfully thankful!

A picture of it today when I got it out, Still looks brand new! Site looks good, hopefully get some photos up soon!

Oh you poor thing,

But welcome to the forum anyway, I bought my MZ7 about the same time, unfortunately I was a lot older than 13

Welcome to the forum. You did post this twice, so I've removed the other one. Otherwise you will have two confused threads.....

Fatspider, Gotta move on with the times and I choose Canon, but won't get rid of this Pentax

John, cheers.. wasn't meant to have had all of this in other post!

Which lens(es) do you have already and what sort of a budget are you thinking of?

Also, how important are things like AF, etc? Your camera can use pretty much any Pentax lens dating back to 1957 with varying degrees of automation - if you add in all the third party lenses that's a lot of options! Prices can range from a couple of pounds to several thousand so help narrow it down a bit.

Well i've tried to look on the net for a range of options, but struggling to find anything

I have a 35-80mm and a 80-200mm, both Pentax.

I'd like something from about 16mm (with no vignetting) up to 40mm, maybe 50mm.

Also, i'm after a 50mm 1.4

Budget, anything up to £300 if I can get anything for that, Don't want to spend loads as I spent most my money on the Canons....

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

G'day and welcome. Not sure about how a 1D Mk II fits with the 'moving with the times' theme though - you'll surely find that Pentax gear will do everything you want, just as well.

Well there are no zooms that go down to 16mm other than those designed for APS-C sensors (so they will vignette at the wider end), however, there's the Pentax FAJ 18-35/4-5.6 AL which is a "full frame" model designed for film cameras. Apparently this lens is still in production but to get a new one you'd have to make a special order from Japan (no idea how much that would cost), alternatively they're plentiful on the second hand market and a quick search on eBay (UK) turns up seven of them with prices from £96 - £185 all on Buy-It-Now.

Another one to consider is the Cosina 19-35/3.5-4.5 (sold under various brand names) which is also quite plentiful and around the same sort of price. SRS currently have one in stock for £129 and they'll give you free UK postage if you mention you're a forum member. Actually they've also got the Pentax lens I mentioned above for £99 - bargain!

If you're after a 16mm prime lens then there are more choices around that focal length, but none of them are cheap (other than the Zenitar fish eye) and I doubt they'd get under your £300 budget.

So assuming you get the 18-35 from SRS at £99 that leaves you £200 for a 50/1.4, which happens to be about the going rate for the current model Pentax FA 50/1.4. At the risk of sounding like a stuck record, SRS also happen to have one of those for £229 so you might be able to haggle them down to £300 for the pair...

If you'd rather not spend quite so much on the 50 then consider moving back a couple of generations. The "A" series lenses are manual focus but retain communication with the camera to allow you to use it's program modes (shutter priority, etc) and the f/1.7 versions only give up half a stop of speed yet are still excellent lenses in their own right. Guess who happens to have an A 50/1.7 in stock for £89 right now?

Happy shopping!

Welcome to the forum.

Welcome to the forum. Looking forward to seeing some photos.

Regards,

Stephen

Hi and welcome to the forum