"Just got computerised, but thankfully not digitised".

You've got a bit of catching up to do, Peter, and we look forward to your sig in, say, five years time;

"Just got digitised. Wish I'd done it sooner."

G

Every cloud has a silver lining! Kim's suggestion was a good one.

http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/news/articles/story_2553.html

G

At the back of my cupboard is a Sigma 28-200mm. That's where it stays. Quite dreadful. I haven't the gall to put it on Ebay.

On another Sigma lens I had, the front part came loose, and the lens wouldn't focus. I discovered that it was attached not by screws, but by some sort of double-sided tape!

The Tamron design was indeed taken up by Pentax, but it is not quite the same lens. The Pentax version has SMC coating.

G

For the K1000 there is little reason to stray away from Pentax lenses, because there are so many good second-hand Pentax manual lenses available at low/reasonable prices.

Furthermore, the build quality of the K and M lenses is only rivalled today by lenses from Zeiss and Leitz, and if you could afford those you presumably wouldn't be using a K1000 (fine camera though it is).

If you don't already know it, here is a good source of information:

http://stans-photography.info/

So-called "K lenses" are the first Pentax bayonet lenses. After a couple of years, most were replaced by the smaller M lenses. M lenses are marked "SMC Pentax-M" on the lens, but K lenses are just marked "SMC Pentax".

Good, cheap Pentax M lenses to look for are the 28mm f2.8, the 100mm f2.8, the 135mm f3.5, and the 200mm f4. I assume you already have a 50mm. If not, they are all (very, very) good.

If you want a macro, the M 100mm f4 is wonderful. 100mm is more useful than 50mm, and the Pentax 200mm macro requires a lottery win.

There are other equally good or better Pentax lenses, but they tend to be less common, and more expensive.

Don't buy a Takumar. The name was originally applied to the wonderful screw-mount lenses, but after the bayonet lenses came out, Pentax's marketing people thought it would be a good idea to devalue a great brand name by applying it to cheap non-multi-coated bayonet lenses. One can only weep.

And don't buy a screw-mount lens. Although they can be fitted to the K1000 with an adapter, you have to use stopdown metering, and it's all a bit of a pain.

G

Joerg,

The 50mm 1.4 can be had on Ebay for less than $200, and the 28mm lenses for rather less (my 28mm cost me about $70). These are equivalent to 75mm and 42mm FOV in 35mm terms, which is not far from the 50mm and 85mm you were talking about.

If you can do without autofocus, then the M lenses are available for much less money.

Furthermore, if you do have compatibility/quality problems with third party lenses on Pentax, then it is highly likely that you will experience similar problems with other makes of camera.

Very few people regret switching to digital. If you use quite a lot of film, then a DSLR will pay for itself quite quickly.

G

I have heard that Sigma refuse to pay a royalty to camera manufacturers to obtain information on the data which the lens passes to the camera. As a result, when a new camera comes out, older lenses may not be as compatible as they might be.

I don't know how true all this is, but I have also heard that Sigma has been known to re-chip older lenses where a problem has been observed.

I haven't heard anything similar in relation to other lens manufacturers.

Bear in mind too, that this alleged problem with under-exposure seems only to affect a very few people, but of course they will make a noise about it. You won't hear from people saying "guess what, I bought a camera and the exposure system works". Just as you don't hear people saying that their new car starts first time (unless they are former Trabant owners).

My point about the make of lens being used was one of a list of possible causes of an infrequent problem. If you don't plan to use Sigma lenses, then the point is probably completely irrelevant. If you do want to use Sigma, my advice would be to do some research, and if possible check out the lens on the camera before buying.

Coming to your choice of lenses, I think it is true that Pentax's affordable zooms don't tend to have very wide apertures, and I also think you'll find this is true of all the camera manufacturers. If you want a good, wide aperture, zoom from a camera-maker, it will not be cheap.

Personally, I would also be inclined to look at prime lenses in your position, given not only that you want wide apertures, but also that zooms invariably perform least well at extremes of the range, and also at wide apertures. Primes will be cheaper, sharper, smaller and often capable of one or two stops more than any f2.8 zoom. The quality will be much better. If you haven't tried a really good prime lens, you will be amazed at the difference.

Try for instance the Pentax-FA 20mm 2.8, the Pentax-FA (or F, though I believe the FA is better) 28mm 2.8, the Pentax-FA 35mm 2.0, the Pentax-F/FA 1.4/1.7, the Pentax-FA 77mm 1.8, the Pentax-FA 100mm 2.8,
and the Pentax-F/FA 135mm 2.8. I have several of these (bought mainly on Ebay without completely breaking the bank), and they are superb, especially the 50, 77 and 100. The 24mm 2.0 is also a magnificent lens, as are the various 85s.

Cheaper second-hand manual-focus versions can be found on Ebay. The Pentax M lenses, in particular, are very small, and it is no great hardship to carry two or three around with you.

G

If you'll cast your eye down a couple of messages, you'll see Linus beat you to it by a few days. DPReview isn't always first with the news.

It's a major upgrade, with much more functionality. However, some people are reporting bugs. I haven't had time to have a good look at it yet. There's much more to it than the old version.

I agree with JR. SLRs have a choice of settings because the camera can't get it right all the time.

If you are shooting indoors without flash, and especially if you have a mixture of light sources, it's a good idea to use manual white balance.

Using MWB allows for some creativity, too. The camera (they are very trusting) will believe that whatever you show it when setting MWB is white or grey. So if you show it a white card with a bit of blue on it, it will compensate by adding a little yellow, thus giving you a slightly warmer picture.

G