You can use all Pentax lenses.

You can also use nearly all other K mount lenses, though if you buy a Ricoh lens with a "P" on the aperture scale (like the "A" on Pentax lenses), you should remove the little pin that sticks out of the bottom and can foul the AF screw on the body.

Secondly, there were one or two early lenses by Vivitar (I think) where the curved flange that goes inside the body (when you mount the lens) can also get in the way on more modern bodies.

The solution is to remove the bottom plate on the lens and get out your trusty Dremel. However, not many lenses were affected, and you would be unlucky if one or both of yours caused this problem. And if your old SLR is an AF model you will be fine.

G

I have a theory that having less automation helps you to take better pictures. It imposes a more deliberate approach to picture-taking. You can't just fire off a quick shot and hope for the best.

Everyone should have at least one K or M lens for this reason. Even an A is "cheating"!

G

There are two ways to encourage people. One is to be honest, and the other isn't.

To each his own.

G

Almost all online sellers are good most of the time. What differentiates them is how they handle the situation when things go wrong.

Experience on this forum suggests that nobody does better in this respect than SRS, though in fairness I have never heard a bad word about Park either. I have bought from both.

I'm happy to buy a washing machine from Currys and other box-shifters, but when it comes to cameras and expensive lenses I tend to stick to SRS.

G

As Col says, you will probably find 100mm to be a more useful focal length for macro than 50mm, especially for live subjects.

Don't be afraid to stray from the Pentax fold, as almost all macro prime lenses are good, and, being primes, old lenses are little worse than modern ones.

All the Pentax 100mm macros are very good indeed.

G

Let me know your address, Mr Storm, and I will send you a dictionary. There is a world of difference between "excellent" and "quite reasonable", and your suggestion that the two are in any way comparable is simply bizarre.

Furthermore, I finished by saying: "However, if they are free, then you have nothing to lose. It'll be interesting to try them."

What part of what I wrote are you suggesting the OP should ignore?

As for the Vivitar, I have the legendary Series 1 70-210, made by Komine. It's good, but most modern Pentax zooms are as good or better. Some are hugely better. When reading contemporaneous reviews, you need to remember that what was great 30 or 40 years ago is often merely OK by the standards of today.

This is particularly true of zooms. Primes have not improved nearly so much.

I would suggest that you save up and buy yourself a really good modern lens. You will then have a yardstick by which to judge yesteryear's lenses, and will be less likely to indulge in unhelpful hyperbole.

G

I do acknowledge that 135-format will give you a bigger viewfinder, and greater wide-angle. The other things you mention are a result of paying more.

I would have suggested using a 12-24 for your assignment, but if that is not enough, then you do need the larger format.

G

No, it doesn't help. What you have is PDCU4, not Silkypix. There are differences.

In Silkypix, you don't "save to a JPEG". You "develop" the image using options from the Development menu, and Silky then produces a JPEG based on your adjustments to the RAW image.

I suspect that you are somehow skirting round this process, and simply making a JPEG copy of the original RAW file.

G

The term "full-frame" shows sloppy thinking. Pentax's DA lenses are designed for APS-C sensors, so for them (which is most current Pentax lenses), and for all Pentax DSLRs, "full-frame" means APS-C.

If people who use this term are referring to a sensor with the dimensions 24x36mm, then the correct term is 135-format.

So let's forget "full-frame" shall we, and use the correct terminology?

And I personally wouldn't buy a 135-format DSLR. It just isn't necessary for me or for the vast majority of people, and will only increase the cost and weight of one's kit.

G

PS: Of course, I do realise that all these 135ers will take MUCH better pictures when they have a 135-format body. It's just the APS-C format that's holding them back from realising their full potential. Poor dears.

Are you talking about Silkypix, or the Pentax bundled software? Although the latter is supplied by the company that makes Silkypix, they are different things.

G