Great stuff Dr. O, I am a firm supporter of the older glass and I don't think it can be beaten for IQ. There is something special about the way these lenses render images, especially skin tones. I don't have a K series yet, but I will continue looking for the right ones and would love to own a couple.

I've recnetly acquired a Pentax-M 50mm F1.4 which has a similar special quality, although it's probably not quite in the same league as your 'K's'.

Regards
David

I would guess that the auto rotating of the status screen is possibly linked to the SR mechanism, and if this is the case I suspect it could be bad news. I would get it checked if I were you.

Regards
David

Superbly done, as always.

Regards
David

I think are a lot of us are quite excited about this judging by the thread so far. I for one would be eager to see what improvements in IQ would be on offer, especially for landscapes and also I would jump at the chance to use my older manual focus lenses on a FF body. Most of my lenses are FF, so lack of compatibility wouldn't worry me in the slightest.

Regards
David

I do agree that some of the later Taks and early K-mount Pentax lenses are superb, and I'm not one for judging by reviews, I like to see how they take images when I use them. For example, the SMC Takumar 135mm F3.5 doesn't seem to gain particularly high review scores but for me the images it produces are magic. The Pentax-M 50mm F1.4 is another good 'un, absolutely stunning rendition of colours and skin tones. By comparison the Chinon 50mm F1.9 is slightly too 'warm', but I still love it.

Regards
David

What camera are you using the 55-300 with? It used to do this on my K-x, but using it on the K-5 has transformed the focussing performance and I rarely have a problem now.

Regards
David

All very nice images and with your trademark sharpness! I like them all.

Regards
David

I would think it very unlikely that the lens is the cause of the issue you are describing. It is possible the autofocus is not correctly adjusted (this afflicted my first K-x very badly and it back-focussed all the time until I found out how to adjust it in the Debug Menu).

I don't know how old your camera is, but I would get it checked. As the other guys have said it would be useful for you to post some images with details of the settings and how you shot them.

Regards
David

I don't know if the Chinons are optically better than the Pentax-A 50mm F 1.7, but I certainly prefer the images my Auto Chinon 50mm F1.9 produces over those produced by the Pentax. Both lenses are sharp, but there's just something special about the images from the Chinon. These lenses are an absolute bargain (I didn't buy mine from ebay, I've had it since new, it came on a Chinon film SLR). I would recommend them without hesitation, here's one taken with this lens and some extension tubes:




Regards
David

Hi Mikey, great to see another new name on the Forum! I might have a mint Pentax-A 50mm F1.7 for sale if the K1000 doesn't come with the A lens. Let me know if you are interested (you might have to post on the Forum if you can't yet send PM's).

Regards
David