George, I think you take yourself far too seriously. If I were you I would also consider how you word your forum posts as you can be very condescending (I suspect I am not alone in this view). I am not an idiot so please do not treat me like one and I am not in the least bit interested in your view on lenses either modern or old. I don't need to 'save up' for any lenses and I am quite capable of judging the merits of good and bad equipment.

As for my comments above on Eddy's post, if you could read between the lines (which clearly you can't) I was trying to give encouragement to a new member who has just got his first DSLR. You then proceeded to kick him in the teeth.

Please don't bother responding as I will not rise to yor bait.

Regards
David

P.S. I already have several dictionaries and can speak, read and understand English perfectly well thank you.

I have a Sigma 50mm F2.8 Macro (Manual Focus) lens that is very sharp and works well on my K-x. It has 1:1 (lifesize) macro ability and I have used it 'stand alone' and with a 2x Teleconverter with excellent results in both cases. See sample image link below.

link

I have recently had this lens up for sale and I may still consider parting with it if you are interested. Please PM me if so.

Regards
David

Fabulous shots Alan, I am very jealous!

Regards
David

Thanks Dr. O, that comparison really is an eye-opener. If the comparative noise performance gap continues to widen the higher up the ISO range one goes, then the difference will be massive once you hit ISO 1250 and higher.

Regards
David

Dr. O, could you please post the comparison images you have just referred to? I'm sure a lot of the members would be interested to see them, myself included.

Regards
David

Congratulations to you Martyn on the results you are achieving with your K-5. The shots on your Flickr stream are stunning. I've just bought a K-5 so I'm looking forward to seeing what difference it makes (currently I use a K-x and a K-m).

Regards
David

No problem Becky, it is a pleasure to assist. I'm sure you will find others are also very helpful on here.

Best wishes,
David

Eddy

I would tend to ignore what George is saying and find out for yourself by testing the lenses. He seems to be losing his memory judging by a post he made previously about the very same Pentax A 28-80 zoom. See below for a direct quote 'the performance of these lenses can be quite reasonable'.

Sounds like an endorsement to me for a lens that has cost you nothing. Hope your lenses are good and that you take some great pictures with them.

Regards
David

Posted 08/10/2007 - 13:11
The non-coated (or, to be precise, not fully SMC-coated) lenses are different from normal lenses primarily for that reason. In situations where the light is not going to cause flare problems, the performance of these lenses can be quite reasonable.

G
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Retarded lemming - too tardy to make it to the cliff.
Quote this post

Hi Becky, the simple answers to your questions are 'Yes' and 'Yes'!

Pentax have kept the same lens mount for many years so all of the old K-mount lenses will work, including the one you have mentioned. As a bonus, this is an 'automatic' lens so will work on your K-x in 'Av' mode where the camera automatically sets the lens aperture.

With regard to Macro, you will need to buy a set of Extension Tubes (v. cheap on ebay or Amazon); these fit between the lens and camera and enable you to focus much more closely, hance you get a bigger image and true macro performance. You will lose the automatic function of the lens aperture if you use the tubes, but this is not a massive issue. When using the tubes, be sure your K-x is set to allow a manual lens to be used, this is item no 22 in the 'Customer Functions' menu and is the very last setting on your K-x menu. Set it to number '2' and always leave it on this setting. Your camera will then work with all the old lenses, whether or not they are 'automatic'. Just use your camera set to 'manual' mode on the top dial.

Hope this helps.
Regards
David

Hi & welcome - your shots are great and you should get even better clarity and sharpness with your new K100D. Hope you enjoy it!

Regards
David