Pentax 45 - 125 mm K series zoom

Amongst the lenses I have managed to collect over the years for my manual focus 35mm system, I have a K series 45 - 125 mm zoom. When I bought the lens it didn't have a lens hood, does anyone know if Pentax made a specific lens hood for this zoom?

Hi Stephen,

I suspect your lens requires a 67mm lens hood. Pentax do have two 67mm round metal lens hoods on their pricelist. We have put the list on this web site for everyones convenience and the relevant link is:

https://www.pentaxuser.com/pages/pricelist/pl_mfacc.htm

However unfortunately neither mention being compatible with your particular lens.

Have you tried ringing Pentax? Sorry I can't be of more help.

Kind regards,

Will Smith

(Edited by Will at 3:18 pm on Jan. 10, 2002)

Hi Will,

Thanks for the response. Unfortunately the lens in question (being K series) is far too old to feature in the current price list.

Maybe it would be possible to run something in a future edition of Pentax User on some of the older optics, rather than the older cameras? Just a thought.

Steve

This lens is listed in the the Pentax publication "The Eyes", which indicates that it takes 67mm filters. There is no mention of a specific lens hood, but I will check my older information and see if I can find anything.

Thanks John, I have managed to obtain dedicated hoods for all my 'M' and 'K' series lenses with the exception of this one - it would be nice to know if I am on a wild goose chase!!

Just like yourself, I always use the proper dedicated Pentax lens hoods, usually they clip on which saves a lot of messing about. Even the screw-in hoods are made to such high standards that they put the standard generic hoods to shame.
As regards the zoom you mention, I can't find any reference to the specific hood at all. The lens started life as a late screw-thread model and was carried on into the first run of K mount lenses, probably with no change to its design. I would be very surprised if there were no dedicated hood - every other lens has one - so keep searching!

Thanks for that John - you have set me off on a new quest now though! Up to now I have only collected prime lenses for my M42 mount cameras, now I will have to see if I can track down the 45-125mm in the M42 fitting (would go very nicely with my ES11)

Stephen.

I have found Bojidar Dimitrov's site to be of great help, also the Pentax Digest (http://www.pdml.net).

Derek

Derek,

Thanks for the reply, Bojidar Dimitrov's site is certainley a wealth of information. The Pentax Digest was interesting but not quite as informative.

I know this is an old topic, but as a new boy, I was reading through the old topics and it raised a conumdrum. John Riley talked about the "eyes" quoting a 67mm filter. I rushed next door and looked at my 45 - 125 because that didn't seem right and confirmed that the front filter thread is 58mm! I looked in an early version of the SMC Lens manual to check. (This is the same one as on the Pentax USA site). It also quotes a 67mm filter. However under the hoods section it says there was a specific hood for this lens which has a 2 part construction. (At least that answers that question!) Now this leaves me with a problem. Is my lens a fake? I don't think this is the case. Unless I am reading it wrong, I get the impression that the filter is supposed to go in the middle of the hood. If anyone else has one of these lens's could they just check what the filter thread is on the lens to put my mind at rest.
Cheers
Kim

Hi Kim,

Since this thread started I have been able to obtain the correct Pentax Hood for this lens. The lens does have a 58mm filter size (so you can rest assured on that point!) The hood is in two parts, the first bit effectively being a stepping ring up to 67mm. This seems over engineered as on the outside rim of the hood is printed "SMC PENTAX ZOOM 1:4 45~125mm" and the filter size "58mm" - so the hood is only intended for this lens.

As an aside this is a superb lens and matches the K2 and KX camera I use with it brilliantly - a real joy to use.

Regards

Hi,

I've resurrected this thread from the vast wasteland because I've managed to get the front part of the lens hood for the 45-125, but not the inner part.

Anyone have any idea where one can be found? I'm in the States, so anybody from either side of the pond feel free to chime in.

I actually found the an old manual on the Pentax site describing the lens. It referrs to the "lower frame" of the hood as the part closest to the lens.

I bought what I thought (and the store probably also thought) was the whole hood, but it's only the large 67mm piece. This ought to be interesting!

The usual reason for a two part hood is to enable the use of either filters or hood that are wide enough to prevent vignetting. I think you will find that using 58mm items on this lens will run the danger of corner darkening - it's all to do with the optical design.

eBay is the obvious hunting ground for rare items, but also any camera fairs. Searching camera fairs for an odd item like this could take a long time....

Looking at the photo, it seems as if the "lower frame" of the hood is a step-up ring, 58mm to 67mm. These are pretty common items. If there was any width to the item in the photo, I'd say hold out for the real thing.

But if you look carefully at the photo, there doesn't seem to be any depth to the "lower frame" so get a step-up ring and just keep an eye out for the specific part.