Older manual/auto lens

Hi,merry Xmas to all.

I've just recently moved back to the Pentax brand equipment ,bought myself K10 and kit lens for now.

Basically i'm after some pointers regarding sourcing the excellent older lenses pentax produced ,ie.. 50mm ,200mm and in between these ,also i wouldn't mind trying out other Pentax fit lenses ,longer zooms/primes .I used to have a list of sites for this, alas i no longer do ,so any advise on what will work,and what's not worth bothering about .Whilst i'm on here,are the mirror lenses worth a punt ,i'm on a tightish budget for now .

Thanks for looking

There are hundreds of suitable lenses on eBay all the time. The first I'd recommend is a Pentax-A 50mm f1.7.

On digital cameras, older manual-focus lenses without an 'A' on the aperture ring have to be used in M mode for all apertures, or Av with the largest aperture. They're not worth the bother when 'A' versions are plentiful and affordable, but can save lots of money for 100 and 135mm lenses, for examples.

Info: http://www.bdimitrov.de/kmp/lenses/index.html#data

Comments (somewhat elderly): http://stans-photography.info/LongComments.html#50%20mm%20Lenses

ps. Don't bother with older zooms unless really special. Even modern budget zooms tend to be much better, as well as more practical. With an MF lens, you have to enter the focal length manually for the Shake Reduction to work well, and of course that changes every time you zoom.

Primes is what I suggest concentrating on when it comes to old lenses.

I would second the suggestion of the Pentax-A 50mm f1.7. Also worth a look at the slightly more expensive 28mm f2.8 from the same series. Both are nicely compact on a DSLR.

The Pentax-M 135mm f3.5 is worth having as it's faster and more compact than zooms in the same focal range. Same probably goes for the 200mm F4 - I would like one of those but have yet to find one in good condition.

Thanks everyone for the swift replies .

Yep the Pentax-A 50mm f1.7 looks like it'll find it's way into my bag,had the 50mm f2 before was impressed by it greatly.I imagine the The Pentax-M 135mm f3.5 would make a great portrait lens .What about between these two anything you'd recommend . Just looking for general information just now so i can do a bit of research ,these lenses are one of the main reasons i moved back to Pentax ,just love the idea of the 20/30 yr old lens working on a modern DSLR and getting great if not better results than the modern day equivalent ,i'm the same with the old hand tools and machinery ,it fascinates me no end .

Bear in mind that there is a crop factor when using film lenses on a DSLR (due to the size of the sensor). Generally you should multiply the lens by around 1.5 to find the 35mm equivalent - the 50mm becomes a 75mm on digital for example, and the 28mm a 42mm.

The 135mm is a bit long therefore for portrait work. I plan to use it for motorsport and anything involving distant subjects in low light, such as concerts.

Even the 50mm F2 that came out standard with the K1000 is worth a try.

Yeh was toying with the idea of trying the 135mm for motocross and rally

Even second-hand 70, 85, 90 and 100mm primes are often quite expensive, unfortunately. The availability-to-demand ratio is not so favourable for those (for buyers!) as it is for 28, 50 and 135mm.

Prices have definitely jumped since i last had Pentax kit thats for sure

The price of used lenses will be directly related to how many were sold. 50mm f2s will be the most common, followed by f1.7 then f1.4 and f1.2 versions. Genuine Pentax 28mm and 135mm are slightly less common as many people bought cheaper 3rd party lenses or zooms.

It's also worth looking at some complete cameras - the Program A/Super A/A3/A3000 and P30 series were sold with these lenses, so you might find a bargain from someone clearing out their wardrobe.

There are usually a few A series 50mm f2s on ebay for around £25, they're decent enough lenses. Not as good as the f1.7 but if you want to try a manual focus prime without spending much it's worth a look.

Excellent replies folks ,let the research and hunt begin

Is it worth persuing the 6 7 and 645 lenses ,just out of interest .




Regards Sean

Only if you already have a collection of them, otherwise they won't give any better results on digital than a 35mm lens of similar specification (but will be heavier and less wieldy).

Ok cheers hefty