pentax p30t
Posted 04/06/2004 - 21:52
Link
Hi,
The A and F lenses have a "A" setting on the aperture ring. This is linked to a set of eletrical contacts on the mount which is what the camera needs for the modes you are talking about. The best lenses to use would be the A series lenses. the F series are the autofocus ones. These will work in manual mode on the P30T but the manual focus rings tend to be very small and fiddly as they are designed for auto use. You will find that there is a multitude of older manual focus lenses on the secondhand market and these will be a lot cheaper than the F versions. My advice would be to stick with the Pentax ones. These are much better quality than the independents. The only exception to this is a budget range that Pentax did called Takumars. These don't have the same level of coating that Pentax is famous for.
A good souce of information is here http://www.bdimitrov.de/kmp/
The 2 lenses you have cover most of the range you are likely to need for everyday photography. I would be tempted to perhaps to get a prime lens or 2 rather than another zoom. The standard 50mm lenses give fantastic quality and can be picked up quite cheaply. The Miranda lenses are not very good. You might want to try and get a 70-210 A series lens to replace this which is very good lens.
Hope this helps
Regards
Kim
The A and F lenses have a "A" setting on the aperture ring. This is linked to a set of eletrical contacts on the mount which is what the camera needs for the modes you are talking about. The best lenses to use would be the A series lenses. the F series are the autofocus ones. These will work in manual mode on the P30T but the manual focus rings tend to be very small and fiddly as they are designed for auto use. You will find that there is a multitude of older manual focus lenses on the secondhand market and these will be a lot cheaper than the F versions. My advice would be to stick with the Pentax ones. These are much better quality than the independents. The only exception to this is a budget range that Pentax did called Takumars. These don't have the same level of coating that Pentax is famous for.
A good souce of information is here http://www.bdimitrov.de/kmp/
The 2 lenses you have cover most of the range you are likely to need for everyday photography. I would be tempted to perhaps to get a prime lens or 2 rather than another zoom. The standard 50mm lenses give fantastic quality and can be picked up quite cheaply. The Miranda lenses are not very good. You might want to try and get a 70-210 A series lens to replace this which is very good lens.
Hope this helps
Regards
Kim
Posted 04/06/2004 - 21:58
Link
thanx for that information kim just one more thing lol where would be the best place to find these lenses you mention and what exactly will i be looking for?
cheers steve
p.s. i also have a selection of m42mm screw fit lenses would it make sense to get an adaptor mount and use these on my p30t some of these lenses are real quality?
cheers again
cheers steve
p.s. i also have a selection of m42mm screw fit lenses would it make sense to get an adaptor mount and use these on my p30t some of these lenses are real quality?
cheers again
Posted 05/06/2004 - 00:42
Link
Hi Steve,
eBay is a good place to start looking, certainly to get an idea on prices. I have also found that some local camera shops are very good. I sometimes find that they are cheaper than eBay. The larger stores advertising in AP etc tend to have inflated prices. One good shop though is Jessops. Have a look at their website, ring and if you like to sound of it they will transfer it to your local branch with no obligation. This way you can get a good look at the lens before buying it.
Some of the screw lens are very, very good. Many of the "K" series lenses were based on the later coated optics and many people consider tese to be the best lenses Pentax produced. I still use them on my SPII and SPF!!!! The ones to use are the super multi coated or SMC ones. The earlier ones didn't have to coating. If you have some, it's certainly worth trying them. You should be able to pick up an adapter on eBay for about a fiver. The only trouble is that you will be in full manual mode and you will have to stop the lens down manually before taking a photo. You could try focusing with the lens stopped down but it will be dark and more difficult because of the greater depth of field. It may seem daft but they are actually much easier to use on an old munual body such as the spotmatic and especially the SPF than on a modern all singing and dancing camera!
Regards
Kim
eBay is a good place to start looking, certainly to get an idea on prices. I have also found that some local camera shops are very good. I sometimes find that they are cheaper than eBay. The larger stores advertising in AP etc tend to have inflated prices. One good shop though is Jessops. Have a look at their website, ring and if you like to sound of it they will transfer it to your local branch with no obligation. This way you can get a good look at the lens before buying it.
Some of the screw lens are very, very good. Many of the "K" series lenses were based on the later coated optics and many people consider tese to be the best lenses Pentax produced. I still use them on my SPII and SPF!!!! The ones to use are the super multi coated or SMC ones. The earlier ones didn't have to coating. If you have some, it's certainly worth trying them. You should be able to pick up an adapter on eBay for about a fiver. The only trouble is that you will be in full manual mode and you will have to stop the lens down manually before taking a photo. You could try focusing with the lens stopped down but it will be dark and more difficult because of the greater depth of field. It may seem daft but they are actually much easier to use on an old munual body such as the spotmatic and especially the SPF than on a modern all singing and dancing camera!
Regards
Kim
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22 years
cheers