Questions about legacy glass on K-3 II

sarge · 02-18-2016, 10:44 AM

It is my understanding that any K mount lens will work on the K-3 II.
My questions are.
1. Will shake reduction work with SMC-A lenses? Is it like the Olympus bodies where you have to manually set the focal length of the lens?
2. Will focus peaking work with the SMC-A lenses? Do they have any electrical contacts to communicate with the camera?

I am hoping yes on both counts, there are a plethora of SMC-A lenses you can get for a song out there. I spent years focusing manually so I am not opposed to it in the least.

**jatrax** · 02-18-2016, 10:48 AM - **1 Like**

1) Yes. Yes.
2) Yes. Yes.

excanonfd · 02-18-2016, 10:54 AM - **1 Like**

Yes to both. Focus Peaking doesn't need to communicate with the lens, I don't have K-3II but FP works on my Q and Panasonic G6 with non-native lenses very well.

sarge · 02-18-2016, 11:30 AM

Awesome! Thanks!

pathdoc · 02-18-2016, 11:35 AM

The A lenses are much better on this count than the K and M, because the aperture can be controlled from the camera rather than having to turn the aperture ring. This is both convenient and also helpful, because some of those aperture rings can become a bit wonky after many years and react a lot better to being parked in A mode and left there for the camera to control (or you to control through the camera). But if you ever dabble with extension tubes that don't have A connectors or with reversing rings, having the manual aperture capability helps a lot.

Some people will argue that the K and M lenses are better build-wise and optically, and that may be so. There are certainly some lenses that never came out in SMC-A. But the zoom range and performance had improved markedly by then and sometimes the convenience is nicer, including having your apertures written into the EXIF data, so it's a call for the individual.

The FA lenses offer the best of all worlds, with full compatibility across the spectrum from K-1 to K-1000, but unless you get lucky they are significantly more expensive.

**boriscleto** · 02-18-2016, 11:45 AM

The contacts on the A series don't really 'communicate' with the body. The 'A' contact on the lens simply makes an electrical contact with the 'A' contact on the body. This lets the body know the lens has is an A lens and the aperture ring is set to A. The other pins set up a pattern that is decoded as the lens' narrowest aperture and the number of f-stops.

Features and Operation of the Ka Mount

02-18-2016, 10:44 AM	#1
sarge Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Illinois Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 460	Questions about legacy glass on K-3 II It is my understanding that any K mount lens will work on the K-3 II. My questions are. 1. Will shake reduction work with SMC-A lenses? Is it like the Olympus bodies where you have to manually set the focal length of the lens? 2. Will focus peaking work with the SMC-A lenses? Do they have any electrical contacts to communicate with the camera? I am hoping yes on both counts, there are a plethora of SMC-A lenses you can get for a song out there. I spent years focusing manually so I am not opposed to it in the least.

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02-18-2016, 10:48 AM - 1 Like	#2
jatrax Site Supporter Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cascades Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,991	1) Yes. Yes. 2) Yes. Yes.

02-18-2016, 10:54 AM - 1 Like	#3
excanonfd Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 1,421	Yes to both. Focus Peaking doesn't need to communicate with the lens, I don't have K-3II but FP works on my Q and Panasonic G6 with non-native lenses very well.

02-18-2016, 11:30 AM	#4
sarge Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Illinois Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 460 Original Poster	Awesome! Thanks!

02-18-2016, 11:35 AM	#5
pathdoc Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2015 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,381	The A lenses are much better on this count than the K and M, because the aperture can be controlled from the camera rather than having to turn the aperture ring. This is both convenient and also helpful, because some of those aperture rings can become a bit wonky after many years and react a lot better to being parked in A mode and left there for the camera to control (or you to control through the camera). But if you ever dabble with extension tubes that don't have A connectors or with reversing rings, having the manual aperture capability helps a lot. Some people will argue that the K and M lenses are better build-wise and optically, and that may be so. There are certainly some lenses that never came out in SMC-A. But the zoom range and performance had improved markedly by then and sometimes the convenience is nicer, including having your apertures written into the EXIF data, so it's a call for the individual. The FA lenses offer the best of all worlds, with full compatibility across the spectrum from K-1 to K-1000, but unless you get lucky they are significantly more expensive.

02-18-2016, 11:45 AM	#6
boriscleto Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: North Syracuse, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,475	The contacts on the A series don't really 'communicate' with the body. The 'A' contact on the lens simply makes an electrical contact with the 'A' contact on the body. This lets the body know the lens has is an A lens and the aperture ring is set to A. The other pins set up a pattern that is decoded as the lens' narrowest aperture and the number of f-stops. Features and Operation of the Ka Mount

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