[jimr-pdx]

Pretty much all of these were around my $50 auction limit, give or take shipping.

My best bargain zooms:

• Vivitar 28-105 f/3.5-4.5 (kobori, s/n 77xxxx) - other than zoom creep, an excellent walkabout with 'A' aperture (paid $80± for this one)
• Rikenon-P 35-135 f/3.5-4.5 - almost as good as the Vivitar, but not quite
• Rikenon 70-150 f/4 XR - great in all conditions except into strong light; internal zoom, 'macro' and a case - looks new

I also had an absurdly good Sakar 28-200 f/4-5.6 but at 800 grams it was too much for me; $25 got me that and a 28-105 Kiron (canon mount, sadly) via shopgoodwill.

My best bargain primes: so many it's hard to count!
Rikenon-Ps 28mm f/2.8 and 50mm f/1.7 (the f/2 was good also but longer min. focus), Sears (looks like a Rikenon XR to me ) 50/1.4, Rikenon 135/2.8 XR, Pentax SMC-M 135 and 150mm f/3.5.

Yes I like the old Ricoh nearly as much as the new and I've been tempted by that Rikenon 35-70 more than once. The 70-150, 28 and 50/1.4 are still in my bag (as is the SMC-M 135); the rest of these have gone on to new homes.

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Last edited by jimr-pdx; 02-16-2012 at 05:39 PM.

[jimr-pdx]

p.s. Another vote for that quantaray 28-90, a decently sharp featherweight AF. I had it in my Sony days (cost $9 at a Ritz store closeout) but not a Pentax copy.. yet

[rbefly]

Oh, man, a thread for the diehard bargain hunter!!
OK, I just snagged (but haven't received it yet) an M 50mm f/1.4. $51.00, free shipping. Condition described as "Excellent" and the glass and outside look very good in the photos.
Lenses I DO have and like;
A great AF cutie, the F 35-70mm f/3.5-4.5. $40.00. Sharp and blindingly-fast AF.
Another AF fun and useful lens, the Tamron/Pentax/Promaster 28-105mm f/4.0-5.6. I have the Promaster version, with a Tamron hood, used on a Pentax body. $59.00.
My M 100mm f/4.0 Macro cost exactly $100.00, and is worth every penny and more. Razor sharp, fast enough for macro and handy for driving nails.
FA 100-300mm f/4.7-5.8. Yes, it's got the tacky FA plastic finish but the optics are great and it performs like a lens costing much more. One of the best budget long tele zooms around. $91.00, shipping included.
Last but not least, the M 50mm f/1.7, $54.00, small, sharp and clean, a fantastic fifty!
Great thread, keep' em coming!
Ron

[Lowell Goudge]

If you make the requirement my favorite under $100 I would say my takumar 200/3.5 preset, but I have quite a few lenses under $100 specifically Vivitar / Kiron 24/2 and 28/2, tamron 28/2.5, sigma mini wide II 28/2.8, Vivitar 28/2.5 in both k and M42, M28/2.8, SMC tak35/2 , tak 50/1.4 version 1, SMC macro tak 50/4 , Helios 55/2 , SMC tak 55/1.8 and 55/2, 105/2.8 Vernon edonar preset, 135/2.8 tele lentar preset, SMC tak 135/3.5, SMC-m 135/3,5, SMC tak 200/4, SMC-FA 28-85/3.5-4.5, DA 18-55, just to name a few. .....

[PPPPPP42]

I prefer the Pentax SMC-A series though its sheer luck to find one worth owning under $100, the cheap ones are too slow or just cheap. The M would be just as good but the big ass beak on the front of the K20d that I think engineers put there just to spite us totally blocks the aperture ring, you have to sorta work it from the side, thus I like the A series better because I can Just put it in A and work the aperture from the wonderful dial on the camera body super fast and easy if I want manual, or just leave it in auto and only worry about focus. Plus the camera will give me advice on exposure when in A without fiddling around with green buttons.

I did just get a SMC-A 70-210 F4 for about $130 shipped in like new condition off ebay.

Personally I would boost your budget to $150 shipped per lens, it REALLY opens up a lot more options without resorting to luck.
Good idea to check the lens reviews on this site though, some lenses in a good series aren't so good.

[briankemper]

Some really great info in this thread so far!
One question about the M42 Screw Mount lenses. I was testing one out yesterday with a K adapter ring. It went on with no problem, but the adapter was quite a pain to remove. Is it possible/easy to tighten the adapter on the lens enough that it will stay with the lens?

[JVi]

Some really great info in this thread so far!
One question about the M42 Screw Mount lenses. I was testing one out yesterday with a K adapter ring. It went on with no problem, but the adapter was quite a pain to remove. Is it possible/easy to tighten the adapter on the lens enough that it will stay with the lens?

Did you remove the flange lock tab on the adapter? If so, then maybe, but otherwise the adapter will stay with the body until removed separately with an official Pentax removal tool (aka a ball point pen) or a firm finger nail.

To stay on topic; got a Pentax A 35 / 2 for $90 last year and that is my most for the least.

[paperbag846]

K 55 f1.8 - Portrait
Viv 28mm f2,8 / A 28mm f2.8 (no preference).- Normal
Kit lens - Wide

[stevebrot]

Dang...I have quite a few sub-$100 lenses in Pentax-compatible mount, but here are my favs (in order) for the K10D:

• KMZ Helios-44M 58/2 (about $15 USD)
• Auto-Rikenon 50/1.8 (was attached to $25 Ricoh Singlex TLS)
• LZOS Jupiter-9 85/2 ($80 new from Russia a few years back)

...Hmmm all M42 and all "off-brand"...hmmmm...

If you throw 35mm film into the mix, I would add my Tamron 28/2.5 (02B) (more than $100 new in 1982, but somewhat less now).

Those are my favs, but my BEST cheap lens is my Pentax-K 55/1.8...


Steve

[RioRico]

OK, more detail. My best cheapest (eat your hearts out!) are:

Under US$5 shipped:

* Sears (Tomioka) 28/2.8, 55/1.4, and 135/2.8
* Tamron BBAR (02B) 28/2.5 w/PK adapter
* Argus Cintar (Chinon) 55/1.7
* Vivitar (Komine) 90/2.8 macro

Under US$10 shipped:

* Super-Paragon PMC (Cimko) 24/2.8
* Focal (Makinon) and Soligor (Tokina) 28/2.8
* Enna Sandmar 35/4.5 and Tele-Sandmar 100/4.5
* CZJ Tessar 50/2.8 (12 iris blades)
* Super-Takumar 55/1.8
* Rikenon Auto 55/1.8 **
* Nikkor 85/2 (modded for PK)
* Focal (Tokina) 200/3.5

* Tamron AF 28-80/3.5-5.6 **
* Tokina SD (PK-A) 35-200/4-5.6 **
* Sears (Tokina M42) 55-135/3.5
* Takumar-A 70-200/4

Under US$15 shipped:

* pancake Meyer Helioplan 40/4.5
* planar Yashica ML 50/1.4
* Meyer Oreston 50/1.8
* Rikenon Auto 135/3.5 **
* Spiratone Telephoto 400/6.3
* Sakar 500/8 mirror

* Tamron AF 28-70/3.5-4.5
* SMC-F 35-70/3.5-4.5

Under US$20 shipped:

* Vivitar (Komine) 28/2 CFWA and Vivitar (Kiron) 28/2.5
* Chinon 28/2.8 and 45/2.8
* Petri CC 35/2.8 ** and CC 55/1.8
* Mamiya-Sekor (Tomioka?) 55/1.8
* Helios-44 58/2 of course
* Isco Westar 100/4.5 **
* Soligor CD (Komine) 135/2.8

* Quantaray 28-90/3.5-4.7 **
* Tamron (PK-A) 60-300/4-5.6

Asterisks ** mean recent purchases. This doesn't include a bunch of no-name brands (Toyo, Accura, Hanimex, Rokinon, etc), nor any enlarger-projector-copy-process-xray-etc lenses -- they're often much cheaper.

[hoanpham]

I have to beat RioRico's list:

Super Tak 55/1.8 w both caps + case = free
Super Tak 135/3.5 w both caps + hood + case = free
Pentax M50/1.7 lens only = free
Pentacon 29/2.8 lens only = free
Pentax M50/2 lens only = free, not my fav, but ok

personal delivered.

3 first are among fav.
Pentacon 29 is a good copy too.

I still have to pay shipping for other free lenses, and they wont count in...

[ripit]

overall I don't think I can compete with some of the deals RioRico has gotten but I have done decent enough, here are a few

vivitar 28-85mm 2.8-3.8 stovepipe 5.49$
kalimar 35-70mm 2.8 constant 17.49$ with ricoh camera body and vivitar 70-200 that had issues (only the vivitar lens had issues)
vivitar 90mm 2.5 bokina 45$ canon mount in very nice shape
five star 75-200mm with hoya hmc filter and case 7.86$
sigma 28-200mm 3.8-5.6 us auto focus 14.02$ (dirty element but I cleaned it with minimum disassembly, minor issues)
vivitar 28-200mm 3.5 constant, had fungus but cleaned up decent enough, 13.07
vivitar 35-200mm 3-4.5 5.50$ minolta mount, already converted to k mount
vivitar 62mm skylight 1a 15$ (was actually a vivitar series 1 70-210mm 3.5 constant ver 2 in olympus mount, converted to k mount)
vivitar 28-210mm 3.5-5.6 12$ minolta mount converter to k mount, cosina I think but a very good sample is excellent condition
PENTAX SMC 28-80mm f/3.5-4.7 FA Power Zoom 8.20$, broken power zoom switch (who cares, manual zoom and auto focus work fine)
vivitar 90-230 4.5 constant 5.99$
tou five star 500mm 8.0 23$
ricoh rikenon 50mm 2.0 6.99$

Thats just some of them. A few are not the hottest lenses but they were cheap ans a few were excellent lenses for a great price. Any that say converted were converted from whatever mount to k mount by me.

[Kennod]

F 50/1.7 for $60
DA 18-55 WR for $84
M 135/3.5 for $45
DA 40 Limited for $140 - over $100 but worth a mention

These are in Aussie dollars so bit higher in USD these days !

[RioRico]

I have to beat RioRico's list:

Oh, well if freebies are on the list, like totally free with no shipping, I can add:

* Vivitar (Tokina) 35/2.8
* EL-Nikkor 50/2.8 (the good one)
* FA 28-80 PX (thanks, Dave Dan!) [CORRECTED]

Those are what I've kept. Freebies I've sold include:

* a pile of MD Minoltas (28/2.5, 55/1.7, 100/2.5, 300/4.5)
* Lentar (Tokina) 25/3.5
* CZJ Pancolar 50/2.8
* Fujinon ECB 55/2.2
* Petri CC 55/1.8
* Sigma 70-300/4-5.6

There were piles of other ultra-cheap lenses I've sold too, including some very fancy glass. The list would be tedious. Suffice to say that bargains still abound.

[hoanpham]

Oh, well if freebies are on the list, like totally free with no shipping...

You win old man: You make money from them.

As I have the sony nex with different mounts, it's even harder to sell...