Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
07-29-2016, 12:44 PM   #1
Site Supporter
Site Supporter




Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Posts: 150
Best Manual Focus Lens to start with ...

Hi All!

I would like to get started on using manual focus only lenses. My problem is which one. I've seen some nice reviews on the Sears 55mm f1.4 and thought that might be a
good starting point. For now, all I want is a good general purpose manual focus lens which i can use walking around town as well as learning to do portrait shots.

Thanks for all the anticipated replies ....

07-29-2016, 12:53 PM   #2
Veteran Member




Join Date: May 2016
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 538
My advice, Start with what you already have and just turn off the AF.

If you're going the art of manual, the quickest and cheapest way to get started is use what you already have. A full manual lens will (probably but not always) have a better focus ring but other than that, they’re no different from AF lenses. The difference is just getting used to the procedure of manually focusing.

Last edited by serothis; 07-29-2016 at 01:02 PM.
07-29-2016, 01:08 PM - 1 Like   #3
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
mattb123's Avatar

Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Colorado High Country
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 10,867
Manual focus lenses are much nicer to manually focus than AF lenses with AF turned off!
They are also often relatively inexpensive. I had an old A series 50/1.7 that has worked well. It was about $100 and has a nice rendering with smooth bokeh most of the time. 50mm is not bad for portraits but often people prefer lenses that are a little longer. It seems the 85mm lenses are rarely cheap but they are generally all pretty nice. Beyond that 100mm is a good length and I have a M100/4 macro that's not bad but also not as fast as those 50's. I also have a Sears Auto 135/2.8 macro and it makes a good portrait lens as long as you have enough space to get back a reasonable distance. I got my 135/2.8 for $40!
If you do buy an older lens I recommend getting A series Pentax lenses or the Sears Auto series for controlling the aperture from the camera. The M lenses add a step to meter and set exposure and if you are beginner you may not want to deal with that.
07-29-2016, 01:09 PM   #4
GUB
Loyal Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter
GUB's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Wanganui
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 5,735
Probably the best is the M42 primes like 55mm Takumars. They need the adapter but once in place you can use AV mode. Otherwise the A50s series are good. The M series are just a little trickier because you have to use the green button to meter.

07-29-2016, 01:58 PM   #5
Loyal Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter
Quartermaster James's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Anchorage, Alaska
Posts: 653
Well, what is the focal length with which you currently most often shoot? Seems like that would be a good point at which to start.
07-29-2016, 03:14 PM   #6
Digitiser of Film
Loyal Site Supporter
BigMackCam's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: North East of England
Posts: 20,571
I'd suggest a Pentax-A 50mm f/1.7... It's cheap, fast, IQ is great and it's more useful than the M lenses because of the auto aperture capability. Also, 50mm is a nice focal length for portraiture on APS-C (assuming that's what you're using) - it's handy for everything from head-and-shoulders to full body shots. The f/2 version is even cheaper, and still a nice lens although I'd go for the f/1.7 if you can. It's surprisingly decent wide open
07-29-2016, 03:16 PM   #7
Loyal Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter
robgski's Avatar

Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Shenandoah Valley, Virginia
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 8,759
QuoteOriginally posted by Quartermaster James Quote
ell, what is the focal length with which you currently most often shoot? Seems like that would be a good point at which to start.
Agreed!

Otherwise, look for some good used glass, often available for under $100. Mentioned above, the A 50mm F1.7 is a good one, I also have a Pentax M 40mm, 28-135mm, my most exve manual focus lens is a Takumar 17mm.

Most importantly, use the "catch In Focus" feature on your DSLR. It makes a huge difference between being not-quite-in-focus and in-focus

07-29-2016, 03:32 PM   #8
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
wtlwdwgn's Avatar

Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Billings, MT
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 13,790
I'd vote for the A 50mm f/1.7 as well. BTW, what camera body do you have?
07-29-2016, 03:35 PM   #9
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
paulh's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: DFW Texas/Ventura County, CA
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 33,086
For walking around *and* portraits, I would suggest a zoom, if you are open to that. Something like an A35-70 might fit the bill. There are a couple iterations of 35-70's out there, one is a variable aperture & the other is a constant f/4. These have very nice IQ, although probably not quite prime quality.
07-29-2016, 03:49 PM - 1 Like   #10
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
gofour3's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Posts: 8,083
The A50/1.7 is a nice lens if you never have to move the plastic aperture ring!

Get the K55/1.8 it's built like a tank and has better optics.

Phil.
07-29-2016, 03:54 PM - 1 Like   #11
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
mattb123's Avatar

Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Colorado High Country
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 10,867
QuoteOriginally posted by gofour3 Quote
The A50/1.7 is a nice lens if you never have to move the plastic aperture ring!

Get the K55/1.8 it's built like a tank and has better optics.

Phil.
I never even noticed mine was plastic. It certainly worked well enough to put it in the A position and leave it there.
07-29-2016, 03:56 PM   #12
Veteran Member
AquaDome's Avatar

Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: New Carlisle, IN
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 1,475
Any M or A 50, whether it be f/2, f/1.8, f/1.4
I really like a 28mm or 24mm f/2.8 for a walk-around manual-focus prime on my K-50. There are lots of 28mm manual focus lenses cheap. 24mm is a little more difficult to find. Look for Sigma or Vivitar for introductory-level pricing on a 24mm. An A lens lets you use Av mode. With an M lens, it's green-button metering.
07-29-2016, 03:57 PM - 1 Like   #13
amateur dirt farmer
Loyal Site Supporter
pepperberry farm's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: probably out in a field somewhere...
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 41,257
I'd suggest two lenses to start: a 28mm and a 50mm, both with an 'A' ring preferably (to make the manual workflow a bit easier)....
07-29-2016, 04:07 PM   #14
Digitiser of Film
Loyal Site Supporter
BigMackCam's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: North East of England
Posts: 20,571
QuoteOriginally posted by mattb123 Quote
I never even noticed mine was plastic. It certainly worked well enough to put it in the A position and leave it there.
+1
07-29-2016, 04:09 PM - 1 Like   #15
Veteran Member




Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: South West UK
Photos: Albums
Posts: 1,493
Once you've decided, check out fleabay or equivalents for broken old film cameras with lenses attached...keep fingers crossed on the condition of the lens and drop the broken body back on fleabay for 99c/99p and you're done.
I got my A50 f1.7 for £16 ($20) nearly perfect, save the usual simple aperture ring repair required - with a Pentax A5 attached. The body worked actually, but the seller didn't bother testing it. The body fetched nearly £10 when I sold it, so I got a cracking lens for £6, plus a blob of epoxy and 30 mins of time. Much more rewarding than spending 10x that on the same lens from a dealer.
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
50mm, aperture, aps-c, dslr, focus, focus lens, k-mount, length, lens, lenses, offer, pentax lens, plastic, slr lens
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
how to focus perfectly with manual focus lens? ghiaauto Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 17 09-30-2014 02:37 AM
Best manual focus travel lens galaxytab Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 28 05-12-2014 05:28 AM
What is the best method to use to capture slow moving subjects with a manual lens? Vantage-Point Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 8 01-28-2012 01:34 PM
Best macro lens to start with? jeremy_c Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 7 12-17-2008 09:59 AM
Best basic Zoom Lens to start with? lastdodobird Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 11 12-27-2007 12:44 PM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 08:24 AM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top