[PauloMRadicchi]

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Hey guys!

I'm looking forward to buy some MF lenses for my pentax k-x, and I found a few options on ebay and I'm not sure about which one I should buy. So cold you help me?

Tokina 80-200M
TOKINA 80MM-200M PK FIT , FOR FILM OR DIGITAL on eBay (end time 03-Sep-10 10:55:22 BST)

Tokina 100-300mm
RMC TOKINA 100-300 MM ZOOM LENS PENTAX .K. BAYONET on eBay (end time 08-Sep-10 16:40:53 BST)

Tokina 70-210mm
Tokina 70-210mm f4-5.6 Pentax K Manual Lens on eBay (end time 09-Sep-10 18:16:44 BST)

Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm
VIVITAR SERIES 1 70-210 mm F3.5 Pentax PK fit on eBay (end time 24-Sep-10 12:03:12 BST)

Vivitar 75-300mm
Vivitar - f4.5/5.6 70-300mm zoom lens Pentax fit on eBay (end time 03-Sep-10 21:40:34 BST)

Vivitar 70-210mm
PENTAX K-Fit 70-210mm f4.5 Lens For ME MX K1000 LX Etc on eBay (end time 13-Sep-10 13:14:56 BST)

So, what you guys say about this?

Ps.: Sorry for any grammar mistake (I'm Brazilian) and you are welcome to correct me

[hangu]

Frankly, I wouldn't buy any of them. Gun to my head, I'd choose the VIVITAR SERIES 1 70-210 mm F3.5, which is actually a pretty good lens. I just know it can be had for cheaper.

[RioRico]

I'll second Hangu. By far the best of the lot is the Vivitar Series 1. That price isn't *too* terrible -- mine was US$33 a couple years ago. That Viv is a real classic. It's also quite heavy at 880g / 2 lbs. IMHO none of the others is worth more than US$15, shipping included. But I'm not real excited about old manual zooms. Of the ~100 lenses I can stick on my K20D, only 8 are manual zooms-- and I want to sell half of those. (My Viv S1 is a keeper!)

Technology *does* improve. With a few notable exceptions (like the Viv S1, versions 1-2-3), contemporary zooms are usually better, often *much* better, than zooms of the last century. Better materials, better software, etc. Ultra-wide-angle designs have improved greatly too. Old manual primes longer than 15mm are a different story, and some great ones can be bought quite cheap.

[Ira]

The first manual lens to go onto any digital Pentax DSLR has to be a manual Pentax Takumar prime.

M42 preferable.

[opiet70]

I agree with the RioRico and hangu. I spent the last 18 months going through this and purchased a bunch of lenses that I wish I had not. I'm not saying don't do it - I'm saying spend some time researching before you buy a lot.

There's a bunch of resources out there - but the best I've seen thus far is on this very forum. The process I went through was:

1) Find out what I liked to shoot
2) Figure out what lenses are best for what I like to shoot
3) Figure out how to shoot manual lenses (there is no auto-focus that'll work for every situation)
4) Research, research, research
5) Rent the big dollar lenses I wanted to see if they were as they were billed
6) Prioritize the lens list and start buying

I've purchased Amazon, ebay, this site, goodwill/pawn shops, etc. You just gotta know what you want, what a good copy should cost, how to id a good copy (if buying used), and places to go get them. Everything I've done to get lenses I've found on this very site.

[PauloMRadicchi]

Thanks for the advices!

[bdery]

I can vouch for the Series 1. Clearly the best of that lot. I had one (version 1, yours seems to be version 2:

http://www.robertstech.com/vivitar.htm

All three first versions are desirable. Version 2 the lest of the 3, because it lacks the auto aperture of the 3, and the macro capabilities of the 1. But it's still an excellent lens, actually probably the rarest of the 3.

Apart from more visible CA than recent lenses, these lenses have no real flaws. Amazing sharpness, impressive contrast, built like tanks, quite fast. I sometimes regret selling my version 1.

[Marc Sabatella]

As a general rule - which of course has exceptions - don't be looking at zooms for your first (or even subsequent) MF lenses. Older zooms are usually not as good as modern ones, plus SR won't be as effective because it won't know the focal length as you zoom in and out. Plus, it's just tough for a lens to be so much cheaper than, say, the DA50-200 or Tamron 70-300 to make it worth hassle.

In general, it's primes where the biggest bang for the buck is with MF lenses, as you can get a lens that is much faster, better, or cheaper (well, at least one of these, sometimes two) than a modern lens. Hmm, maybe not "better" very often, but certainly faster and/or cheaper.

There are a few older MF zooms - mostly "faster" ones (constant f/2.8, or at least f/4) - that can actually offer something above and beyond a modern consumer zoom for the same or less money. But there aren't a whole lot of those.

[Nass]

^^ Kind of tend to agree with Marc here, good advice.

[taiweitai]

Vivitar S1 is the obvious choice on your list. This forum provided a good section covering old lens and new lens, u can try reserach some background n feedback from there

[paperbag846]

I bought an old MF zoom to play around with... not a particularly good one. Takumar Bayonet 80-200 f4.5. I paid 30 dollars and it has been great fun for the money, but this lens is by far the most challenging to take a good picture with, and is by far my least used lens. I pretty much have to either use it as a prime (at either the 80 or 200mm end) or else I need to turn shake reduction off. With a dSLR viewfinder, focusing is REALLY hard at these focal lengths. The keeper rate of in focus pictures is very low... like 1 in 10. Now factor in the number of actual good poses and you can see that aside from the fun factor, it's not a great buy.

Add stop down metering on top of that in time-sensitive situations.....

I bought it for taking pictures of jumpy animals, so the frustration associated with the MF/stop down metering can be a big deal.

I would not spend any more than 30 dollars (20 pounds) on a MF telephoto zoom. Ideally, the lens should at LEAST have an A setting on the aperture ring. If you re spending more, I believe Marc is right in directing you towards a modern zoom.

[Lloydy]

I've got one of the Vivitar 70-210 lenses ( not the Series 1 ) and it's an OK lens, I've used it and had some decent pictures from it.

But I paid £5 for it in mint condition, not £17 and £13-99 for the postage to Brazil.


The Series 1 has a damaged filter ring and is described as "NOT PRISTINE".
If your excellent English hasn't come across the word 'pristine' the seller is saying it's not in good condition.
I've seen very nice examples of these selling for £25.

I'd walk away from all those lenses even at UK prices.

I like manual focus lenses and use them a lot, but I buy cheap because there are a lot about in the UK. Which makes some people think they can make a quick profit on Ebay.

I don't know if it's ok to link to another forum, but here goes anyway -

Manual Focus Lenses :: Index

Is a great source of information on manual focus lenses.

[stover98074]

Takumars seem to always work, even the ones that have less coatings (Takumar and Auto Takumar). Takumar, Auto Takumar, Super Takumar, SMC Takumar - you will enjoy any of these and marvel at how these M42 lenses were built.

Takumar 135 3.5 Preset (Lens from about 1964) - Waves on Pacific Northwest Coast

[Nick Siebers]

As Marc said, AF zooms, MF primes - that's the way to go! And while Takumars are almost uniformly nice, the K, M and A series of Pentax lenses have their jewels as well.