[crabe919]

Hello,

I'm new here on the forum, but have lurked around some time before buying my first dslr. After some research and looking out what i wanted as a budget start i found a Kr second hand in pristine conditions. I have the camera for about 3 weeks, and i'm very satified with my decision to go pentax.

Along with the kr i got also the 18/55 and 50/200 kit lenses. Before the dslr i've used a p&s olympus XZ-1 as my main camera.
I really like the picture output of the kr, but in dim light (read indoor evening/night) the kit lenses do the kr no justice. The olympus beats the pentax seriouly on this domain.

Therefore i've bought an SMC 50.1,7 A and a sigma 28.2,8 mini wide II. This way it's possible to get some decent (way better than with the olympus) pictures in these conditons. I really like the very narrow DOF with the 50.17 for portraits.

The sigma does a good job also at night, but when i use the lens in daylight conditions, i do find it lacking in sharpness (focus at ininity after 3meter). I'm searching a wide A lens on a budget, that i can use for my main walk around lens (landscapes/street with prefocus).

I've seen the lens database, so i know where to start looking, but are there non pentax A lenses out there as well that are recommended? How do i "find" non pentax A lenses, this is something that is not clear in the database.

I prefer using the A lenses above the M lenses (have some old pentor/fujica glasses with an M42 adaptor around, but like to ste the appeture on the camera).

Summary:
Can someone guide me in the right direction for:
a) which wide (24/28 or evt 35) fast lens (evening indoor possibilities, f2.8min) resonabely sharp
b) are there other marks that have the A possibility and how can i recognise them.

Regards,

Adam

[Adam]

Hello,

I'm new here on the forum, but have lurked around some time before buying my first dslr. After some research and looking out what i wanted as a budget start i found a Kr second hand in pristine conditions. I have the camera for about 3 weeks, and i'm very satified with my decision to go pentax.

Along with the kr i got also the 18/55 and 50/200 kit lenses. Before the dslr i've used a p&s olympus XZ-1 as my main camera.
I really like the picture output of the kr, but in dim light (read indoor evening/night) the kit lenses do the kr no justice. The olympus beats the pentax seriouly on this domain.

Therefore i've bought an SMC 50.1,7 A and a sigma 28.2,8 mini wide II. This way it's possible to get some decent (way better than with the olympus) pictures in these conditons. I really like the very narrow DOF with the 50.17 for portraits.

The sigma does a good job also at night, but when i use the lens in daylight conditions, i do find it lacking in sharpness (focus at ininity after 3meter). I'm searching a wide A lens on a budget, that i can use for my main walk around lens (landscapes/street with prefocus).

I've seen the lens database, so i know where to start looking, but are there non pentax A lenses out there as well that are recommended? How do i "find" non pentax A lenses, this is something that is not clear in the database.

I prefer using the A lenses above the M lenses (have some old pentor/fujica glasses with an M42 adaptor around, but like to ste the appeture on the camera).

Summary:
Can someone guide me in the right direction for:
a) which wide (24/28 or evt 35) fast lens (evening indoor possibilities, f2.8min) resonabely sharp
b) are there other marks that have the A possibility and how can i recognise them.

Regards,

Adam

There are LOTS. See this DB (you will have to sift through the manual lenses yourself):

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/userreviews/

Believe it or not there are some that are still in production. This lens is an extremely good value:
Rokinon 85mm f/1.4 Aspherical Lens for Pentax B&H Photo Video

[crabe919]

adam,

Thanks for the fast reply, but your link isn't working.
Will check the reviews if the link is working.

Regards,

also adam!

[boriscleto]

adam,

Thanks for the fast reply, but your link isn't working.
Will check the reviews if the link is working.

Regards,

also adam!

This is the correct link...

Pentax Lenses by Sigma, Tamron, Zeiss, and more - Reviews and Specification Database - Pentax Lens Review Database

These are currently in production.

Samyang Lenses for Pentax: Prime Lenses - Pentax Lens Review Database

This is the only third party A prime I currently use. I really should get around to writing a review...

Sigma 50mm F2.8 Macro Lens Reviews - Sigma Lenses - Pentax Lens Review Database

[lytrytyr]

Can someone guide me in the right direction for:
a) which wide (24/28 or evt 35) fast lens (evening indoor possibilities, f2.8min) resonabely sharp

Adam, welcome to the forum!

I use Pentax A24/2.8, Zeiss ZK 25/2.8, and Zeiss ZK 35/2,
but those aren't exactly budget lenses.

b) are there other marks that have the A possibility

As our host mentioned, Samyang (alias Rokinon, Bower, etc.) are still in production.
They offer a 24/1.4 and 35/1.4.

and how can i recognise them.

If you look at the aperture ring, you'll usually see an "A" along with the numbers.
Or sometimes the smallest aperture will have a distinctive color to it.
There will also be a lock button to hold the "A" setting on the aperture ring.
Of course, if you can find a review, that's a better guide.

[crabe919]

@boriscleto

thanks for the correct thread, i've already searched the db. To bad that there is no specific "tag" in the third party lenses which indicates if they are fully manual or have the A setting

@lytrytyr

thanks for the tip on the A indication
will check the samyang/rokinon/bower lenses out

Adam

[Just1MoreDave]

I have Tokina, Vivitar, Kiron and Sigma lenses with KA mounts. Tamron made a KA adapter for its Adaptall-2 lenses, which adds a whole line of primes and zooms to your search. Sears had a few, Cosina, etc. There are a couple of Takumar-A lenses, close or distant cousins.

A few years ago, high-end lenses were sold under the Voigtlander brand, no longer available new. I think the same was true for Zeiss.

Samyang makes a whole line currently and sells them under lots of brand names: Rokinon, Vivitar, Bower, Opteka, etc. They are all well-regarded except maybe the mirror lens, 500mm f6.3, which isn't that popular.

The typical used lens sources like eBay, the marketplace here, KEH, Adorama or B&H used, even Craigslist, have them. The main issue is being sure that the mount is what you think it could be. Some sellers won't know or care whether the lens is a Canon or Miranda or whatever, and you'll be squinting at a 400 pixel badly exposed image to see maybe an A - or is that something else? If you're not sure, move on. Third-party makers were making lenses for everyone they could, and Pentax was not the only brand to use the letter A. There's also Ricoh pins, a minor issue until it happens to you. A lot of lenses in this class have some version of the pin but only a few are problem lenses.

At 24mm, I like the Sigma Super-Wide II 24mm f2.8. There are rare KA versions of the Kiron 24mm f2.0, sometimes under the Vivitar brand (make sure the Vivitar serial starts with 22). The Tamron Adaptall-2 24mm f2.5 is supposed to be good. The Sigma should be the cheapest, maybe $100.

At 28mm, there are many more choices. Sigma replaced the Mini-Wide with a High-Speed Wide 28mm f1.8, and there are Vivitar 28mm Close-Focus lenses in f2.8 and f2.0 versions. I like a Tokina EL 28/2.8, a Vivitar/Cosina and even a Vivitar/Bauer that I tried, not the ultimate but decent lenses on a budget.

[crabe919]

@Just1MoreDave

thanks for taking the time for your extended reply.If i'm correct, you had or still have the sigma 28 1.8 aspherical II in manual version. Is it a lens that you would recommend? or would you go for the super wide 24 f2.8 if the price is the same?
The 1.8 is appealing to me but, it looks like a big lens compared to my mini wide.

Regards,

Adam

[Just1MoreDave]

@Just1MoreDave

thanks for taking the time for your extended reply.If i'm correct, you had or still have the sigma 28 1.8 aspherical II in manual version. Is it a lens that you would recommend? or would you go for the super wide 24 f2.8 if the price is the same?
The 1.8 is appealing to me but, it looks like a big lens compared to my mini wide.

Here's the 28 next to the 24. The 28 gets a few mm shorter when it's focused to infinity. This Sigma 28/1.8 is not as big as the current autofocus version. It looks big compared to all the 28s I have but it's not that bad. There is a version that cosmetically resembles the later 24mm Superwide II, I believe identical optically.

Both these Sigmas have some flare, not as bad for the 28mm. Both are the sharpest or as sharp as anything I've tried at those focal lengths, but I stay on the cheap end, so that doesn't mean best ever. I use the 24mm more but that's because I have two tendencies: I don't get along that well with 28mm as a focal length and I like the smallest possible lens. If I knew what I was doing at 28mm, I'd use them about the same.



Here are the lens mounts for the Sigmas:


Here's some Tokina examples. These Sigmas and Tokinas all have Ricoh pins that can be left in place. The left lens is the EL 28/2.8, on the right is the 400mm f5.6 SD:


Here is the Tamron Adaptall-2 P-KA adapter. It's not really a great example because it's on a mirror lens where it doesn't actually do anything. Other Adaptall-2 lenses have an AE marking on the aperture ring next to f22, that works like the A position.

[crabe919]

Thanks for posting the pictures! Comparing to size they make the difference really clear. The 28 1.8 certainly looks like a big lens. It looks as it will be bigger than the kitlens that came with my kr. I like the small size more, i think it's better suited for candids/streets that the bigger sigma. Otherwhise it hope that the sigma 24 f2.8 is sufficient sharp when used full open for night pictures indoors.

Would like to stay on the cheap side also, but with a decent result (the 50 f1.7 A certainly delivers!).

Tamron will be of because of the difficult, and pricey, to find adaptor, and the fact i think it isn't better than the sigma.
Why do you like the tokina el so much? Can't find much info on the lens.

One other question, i can't seen to find the notorius ricoh pen on the pictures, where do i need to look? Are these P lenses also usable as A lenses on pentax?

all the best,

adam

[johnyates]

At 24mm, I like the Sigma Super-Wide II 24mm f2.8.

I wholeheartedly concur. This is a great lens for "walking around", and is very sharp. You should be able to find a manual focus one for ~$100 or so, and an auto-focus version for maybe twice that.

[boriscleto]

Thanks for posting the pictures! Comparing to size they make the difference really clear. The 28 1.8 certainly looks like a big lens. It looks as it will be bigger than the kitlens that came with my kr. I like the small size more, i think it's better suited for candids/streets that the bigger sigma. Otherwhise it hope that the sigma 24 f2.8 is sufficient sharp when used full open for night pictures indoors.

Would like to stay on the cheap side also, but with a decent result (the 50 f1.7 A certainly delivers!).

Tamron will be of because of the difficult, and pricey, to find adaptor, and the fact i think it isn't better than the sigma.
Why do you like the tokina el so much? Can't find much info on the lens.

One other question, i can't seen to find the notorius ricoh pen on the pictures, where do i need to look? Are these P lenses also usable as A lenses on pentax?

all the best,

adam

Not all 'Ricoh' pins are dangerous...







If it's a pin it is dangerous. If it is a nub with rounded edges it is not. The reason it is dangerous is it lines up almost exactly with the Pentax AF screw drive. A narrow pin with flat edges will get stuck. The Vivitar in the first picture has a small pin that retracts when you move the aperture ring off A, so it won't really get stuck. The Sigma in the second picture has a nub that is too wide to fit into the screw drive.

The Vivitar also has the 'Vivitar' aperture shield that prevents it from mounting on a KAF2 mount, but that is another matter.

[crabe919]

Thanks for the explanation of the famous ricoh pin.
Need to say that i din't expect such a reply to my questions!
This thread is very informative(especially with the pics) for me being new to pentax and i think it will be for others also.

I think the direction is set, and i will start looking out for the super wide. Although i would like an af lens to capture my moving newborn, i think to stick with the manual for the moment price-wise.

In the future i'm evt thinking to get me the DA 35 f2.4 as in between the 24 and 50. To bad it has no manual scale.

adam

[Pontax]

I wholeheartedly concur. This is a great lens for "walking around", and is very sharp.

Absolutely a great lens, fast AF and sharp. I have the later AF version. Though the "Perfect Fit Hood", as it says on the hood, is crap.

[crabe919]

pontax,

are you happy with the af? i've read mixed comments on the af of the sigma.

regards,

Adam