Voigtlander 90 on a hike

The K5iis doesn't have a manual-lens setting for the Voigtlander 90 I discovered when I got out there. The settings available went from 85 to 100. So what should I use, 85 or 100? I chose to use 85 for most of the hike but shot a few at 100. Back at home in Lightroom it seems the 85 was the better choice. But I do wonder how important the manual lens setting is.

I had the K5iis set for MF at home but by the time I took it out of my bag, the lever had moved to "C." Since there is a manual focus override, I assume I was still okay, but I didn't discover the setting malfunction until after I had been shooting for a while; so now I had two reasons for fearing my shots for the day weren't going to turn out well.

A third reason was the OVF. The day was bright and I wasn't seeing the info in the OVF clearly. I went by the beep of flashing red focus setting most of the time. I got away with that with the Samyang lenses (35mm & 85mm) but may not have with the Voigtlander. There were more out-of-focus shots when I was editing in Lightroom than I expected. So the next time I take this lens out I should not take a shot until I see the solid focus dot (if I can see it).

Ken Rockwell has a review of this lens at http://www.kenrockwell.com/voigtlander/90mm-f35.htm Notice that he writes, "The Voigtländer 90mm f/3.5 SL-II is a high performance tele and macro lens that comes in versions forNikon, Canon EOS and Pentax mounts. The Pentax mount has been discontinued from lack of interest." I wonder if this "lack of interest" is evidenced by Pentax not providing a 90mm manual lens setting.

I read "As you may have guessed the Voigtlander 90mm f/3.5 is a full-format lens . . ." on another review: http://www.photozone.de/Reviews/266-voigtlander-sl-90mm-f35-apo-lanthar-nikon-re... -- Perhaps this will weigh on the side of my getting a K1 later on. How heavy that weight will be will depend on better results next time out.

I did like the results I got from "close focusing," (Voigtlander's term for "macro") of a tree stump: https://lawrencehelm.smugmug.com/RiverPhotography/Dec-2015/i-vJhzkBJ/A and some cactus: https://lawrencehelm.smugmug.com/RiverPhotography/Dec-2015/i-wWrT6V4/A

This lens exasperated Ken Rockwell. His emphasis was Nikon (as was the other review above) but the same sort of exasperation probably exists in Pentax. As for me, although I was exasperated today, I like its size as a lens to have in a bag with other primes on a hike. As to the other problems, I hope they are just mine and not the lens's.

Lawrence

There's no 90mm option because Pentax have never made a 90mm lens. I would set to 85mm, which is close enough. It does matter as it guides the SR system into knowing how much camera shake compensation might be needed. This will vary with different focal lengths.

I'm not sure Ken Rockwell is the best place to go for Pentax advice.

Optical viewfinders like the Pentax pentaprism finders are ideal in very bright conditions, so I'm guessing that you're not pressing your eye right up to the viewfinder but are letting in extraneous light. Don't forget to set the dioptre correction for your eyesight. Point the camera at a blank wall or sky and adjust until the etched lines in the viewfinder are sharpest. This is best done with an unfocused, blank image, so you can see the lines clearly.

Well, I tend to switch eyes depending on the extraneous light -- plus I was using sun glasses at the time. I manage well enough with other lenses -- eventually. I had trouble initially with the Samyang lenses initially but finally adjusted to them.
Lawrence

Had one of the Voigtlander 90s for a while a couple of years back, I would not rely on the focus beep, you're better off dialling in via the OVF or Liveview. Still @f/3.5 it is not the most difficult to focus with
If I did have an issue with it was to do with how intermittant the metering was using the Green button approach, it really jumped all over the place, I think in the end I used to take test shots and dial in the exposure to suit. So tricky to use but when the stars aligned it will produce a wonderful image.