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08-05-2015, 11:32 AM   #1
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M42 vs 645?

There's a chance for me in the near future of a windfall and I'm thinking of purchasing a new K-3 at that time... but what to do with my current K-50?

There's nothing wrong with it at all, but I was thinking of keeping it and making it my fully manual camera - essentially mounting an adapter on the K-50 and shooting only manual lenses with it.... but which lenses?

Do I go M42 and the plethora of old pre-K-mount lenses.... or go a little further off the rails and mount a 645 to K adapter and take advantage of the line of legacy 645/6x7 lenses out there?

08-05-2015, 12:09 PM   #2
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I think you are considerably better off investigating a collection of 35mm format lenses from M42 up to A series. The 645/6X7 manual lenses are wonderfully made and prices are great but for APSC camera use they are heavy and can feel somewhat awkward except for occasional use. Quality Pentax adapters for the medium format lenses are not inexpensive and go for north of $200. Image quality has been disappointing to some depending on their final image needs. Many of these large lenses were not designed to resolve an image that can stand up to as much magnification as we often expect of smaller formats. There is a trade off in that we are only using the central portion of the image circle but the lenses are mostly older designs.
Those of us who already have a substantial set of lenses find it can be interesting and certainly fun to experiment with them on the smaller cameras for no more than the price of the adapter but I would never advise anyone to invest in 645/6X7 lenses solely for APSC use.
08-05-2015, 12:12 PM   #3
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I think you will find the medium format lenses to be somewhat disappointing on APS-C....bulky and heavy too. I own the K-3 and have shot quite a bit with the K-50 and have been sorely tempted to buy one if for no other reason to have the option of a lighter kit for hiking and such. If I were you, I would simply buy a genuine Pentax M42 adapter, keep the K-50 and accumulate M42 glass as you desire.


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08-05-2015, 01:59 PM   #4
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Unless you plan to move up to a 645D I see no point I going for MF lenses.

There are a lot of great M42 lenses out there

08-05-2015, 02:19 PM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by pepperberry farm Quote
There's a chance for me in the near future of a windfall and I'm thinking of purchasing a new K-3 at that time... but what to do with my current K-50?

There's nothing wrong with it at all, but I was thinking of keeping it and making it my fully manual camera - essentially mounting an adapter on the K-50 and shooting only manual lenses with it.... but which lenses?

Do I go M42 and the plethora of old pre-K-mount lenses.... or go a little further off the rails and mount a 645 to K adapter and take advantage of the line of legacy 645/6x7 lenses out there?
I do have the K3 and a few 645 and M42 lenses. The best M42 lens I have is the Takumar 50mm f1.4. It is a great lens but for me the CA and the soft corners put a damper on its otherwise stellar reputation.

As far as the 645 lenses, the bargain of the century is the A120 macro. I have seen them for sub $200 price tag. For the life of me I do not know why it is so cheap. I just shot a series of studio table tops with it and the images are spectacular. I also shot the FA 45-85 for some wide angle shots and that lens too is challenging the K3s sensor to keep up. The 645 lenses are heavy but manageable. The M42s will be a lot lighter if weight is a consideration.

As to the adapter for the 645 to K mount, I got mine from Fotodiox. It is well below $100 and it works perfectly. I tried eBay adapters but they were not focusing to infinity. Fotodix is a little pricier but they offer better warranty and service, not to mention the all important infinity focus.

If you shoot macro work, get the A120. You will not regret it.

BTW, when I owned the K5IIs, I shot some macro work with the A120. We ended up using some of the pictures to blow up to mega sizes for trade show work. I was pleasantly surprised as to how well the "tiny" 16MP sensor held up to such mega blowups. It kind reinforced the saying I had heard a long time ago. "It is not the MP count but the quality of those pixels." In that regard, Pentax gives you the best bang for the buck. At least for still photo work.

I think you got a good sensor in the K50. Just put some high quality glass in front of it and enjoy the results.
08-05-2015, 03:39 PM   #6
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thank you for both viewpoints so far....

I did expect that 645 lenses would be larger/heavier than M42 lenses, I just see all the 645's when I'm on eBay and reading the reviews of them here in the PF database and the price vs quality of them is amazing...
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