[alan_smithee_photos]

alan, brilliant shot and i'm even more impressed if you tell me that is in Puget Sound.

Ha! No, Lake Washington on an 80+ degree day. After all, it's a 50 so I had to be in the water too! Thx

[Jewelltrail]

Because they are excellent and inexpensive--take that Da.

[8540tomg]

Why do I use MF lenses? It was pretty simple in my case. I had a dozen or so Pentax lenses left over from my film days. It is the reason I stayed with Pentax when I went digital. I can still use them all with no new investment required for AF glass. It would cost many thousands of dollars to replace my collection with newer lenses and some focal lengths such as the 400mm don't have a modern equivalent.

Unlike some other firms Pentax has made a commitment to backward compatibility with their optics. As a result we (I) have all these great old MF Pentax lenses available for use on digital. The quality of the images above and found in the various clubs: Takumar, K, M and A speak for themselves.

Tom G

[GeneV]

Why do I use MF lenses? It was pretty simple in my case. I had a dozen or so Pentax lenses left over from my film days. It is the reason I stayed with Pentax when I went digital. I can still use them all with no new investment required for AF glass. It would cost many thousands of dollars to replace my collection with newer lenses and some focal lengths such as the 400mm don't have a modern equivalent.

Unlike some other firms Pentax has made a commitment to backward compatibility with their optics. As a result we (I) have all these great old MF Pentax lenses available for use on digital. The quality of the images above and found in the various clubs: Takumar, K, M and A speak for themselves.

Tom G

Tom, I stayed with Pentax when it came to getting a DSLR for a similar reason--and the fact that the K10d was a nice camera for the money compared to the competition. I wish I had that 400mm, though.

[macTak]

I shoot M lenses because I don't have a full range of Takumars....

Just kidding, but I do love the Takumars (even the old preset ones) too. I think most everything has been said about them already. But to be brief: I simply love the IQ they give me, along with very manageable size, build, and especially price. I have shot a number of fast moving objects (trains) with these lenses and while it can be a little hit or miss, with some practice (don't forget catch-in-focus with these lenses, which often works great, even more useful than regular AF) I get good results, and will do even better once I get a spit-prism focusing screen.

[8540tomg]

Tom, I stayed with Pentax when it came to getting a DSLR for a similar reason--and the fact that the K10d was a nice camera for the money compared to the competition. I wish I had that 400mm, though.

Gene,

Looks like we followed a similar path including the K10. Great minds think alike?

The M 400/5.6 is a lot of fun. I've had mine for a little over 2 years now and it is my most used lens at this time. If it fits the budget by all means get one. I've got some excellent results with my K10 and the 400 combo but the new K5 with its much higher ISO capabilites is looking very attractive to me. The thought of using the M 400 at f 16 and higher with a fast shutter speed is very appealing. Saving for one as I write.

Tom G

[jsherman999]

.

Because they are fun, inexpensive, plentiful, and are still optically better at the same apertures than all but the most expensive zooms.

And they're very, very small. (except for some of Tom's lenses. )

M 100 f/2.8


M 28 f/3.5


M 135 f/3.5


M 20 f/4


M 50 f/1.4


M 200 f/4


M 85 f/2


M 28 f/2.8

---

Last edited by jsherman999; 02-18-2011 at 02:43 PM.

[MrZeroPing]

I use my M's because they are hand me downs from my father. I have a range of 28mm, 50mm, and 135mm. However, there are times when they make me want to pull my hair out. I'm not very good at focusing with them and can't consistently get good shots. So I would like to ask some questions.

How do you get consistently good pictures with manual focus? Practice? Skill? Any tips? I'm using the K20 with a *ist screen for good exposure.

Also aside from pressing the green button for taking exposures are there any other ways? Any insight would be quite appreciated!

[GeneV]

Nice work, Jay. A good example from one of my favorite M film lenses, the M20/4 and one of my favorite crossovers, the M200/4. Because the 200 gets used most in the F4 to F8 range, it works well for grab shots and doesn't seem to need much compensation from the green button exposure on the K10/K20d. It is light and often with me on a hike. This was at 1/125 and F4, so it is not tack-sharp when blown up big as a house, but I enjoyed catching this little hen in the wild and in the shade without giving myself a sore shoulder.

[jsherman999]

I use my M's because they are hand me downs from my father. I have a range of 28mm, 50mm, and 135mm. However, there are times when they make me want to pull my hair out. I'm not very good at focusing with them and can't consistently get good shots. So I would like to ask some questions.

How do you get consistently good pictures with manual focus? Practice? Skill? Any tips? I'm using the K20 with a *ist screen for good exposure.

Also aside from pressing the green button for taking exposures are there any other ways? Any insight would be quite appreciated!

.

Hello MrZeroPing!

I often use a type of focus bracketing; your K20D has focus confirmation, and it takes the form of a light that comes on in the viewfinder when it's 'aquired' a focus target, and then a green hexagon when it's determined that the image is in focus. Problem is, this hexagon usually stays 'on' through a certain degree of lens focus throw (meaning, you can turn the focus ring slightly further after the hex appears, and the hex will still be there.)

What I often do is to take a snap right when the hex first appears, focus all the way 'through' the hex appearance to when it disappears, focus back a bit and snap. Sometimes, if it's a relatively long throw, I'l also focus right about to the middle of the hex appearance and snap. This will give me two or three shots of the subject, and one of them will have the subject razor sharp, or two or all three depending on the DOF.

Later you may see patterns in the way a certain lens performs. For example, I know my M85 f2 on my K20D usually achieves best focus right at the end of the green hex appearance, so I usually just snap there and skip the bracketing with that one. (I think if that copy were an AF lens, it might be a notorious front-focuser )

With your wider lenses, you can often just take advantage of the hyperfocal focusing, which is a different aperture and distance with each lens... with your M 28, you can set it at f/8, focus to infinity, and then anything farther away than about 15 feet (IIRC) is in focus. That's how that duck/lake shot was taken. Using them like that makes the wides very easy-to-use walkabout lenses.



Hope this helps!


.

[jsherman999]

Nice work, Jay. A good example from one of my favorite M film lenses, the M20/4 and one of my favorite crossovers, the M200/4. Because the 200 gets used most in the F4 to F8 range, it works well for grab shots and doesn't seem to need much compensation from the green button exposure on the K10/K20d. It is light and often with me on a hike. This was at 1/125 and F4, so it is not tack-sharp when blown up big as a house, but I enjoyed catching this little hen in the wild and in the shade without giving myself a sore shoulder.

.



It's amazing how well that camouflage works, isn't it!

& I would love to use the M 20 f4 on film or a FF Pentax...

.

[GeneV]

.



It's amazing how well that camouflage works, isn't it!

& I would love to use the M 20 f4 on film or a FF Pentax...

.

She went right for that spot when she sensed I was around, so she knew just how her camouflage worked.

The M40 is great fun on film.

[kiwao]

How do you get consistently good pictures with manual focus? Practice? Skill? Any tips? I'm using the K20 with a *ist screen for good exposure.

Also aside from pressing the green button for taking exposures are there any other ways? Any insight would be quite appreciated!

If you are interested in improving your manual focusing technique the following link may be useful.

Happy shooting

manual focusing [Page 1]: Pentax SLR Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

[selar]

Why do I still use M lenses - I don't. I havent used a M lens since 2007. But I would use a M lens again for the same reason that I did 4-5 years ago - if I couldn't afford a newer lens.

[SteveM]

We've seen a few threads like this lately. I'd have to go searching but one response was certain films resolved to approximately 60MP. As far as the overall assumption that goes with these types of threads, which lenses are you comparing?

Manual focus lenses are sometimes cheaper and sometimes more expensive. An A*300/2.8 is going to be 2 to 3 times the cost of a DA*300.

Many manual focus lenses will out resolve a standard DA lens. The K28/2 is one that comes to mind but then again it is probably more expensive as well.

I've sold my DA* 16-50 and DA*300 for better manual glass and couldn't be happier.