Using K lenses on E mount

Jmhsnk · 09-10-2016, 02:06 PM

Hi all,

I have returned from my trip to Iceland where I had the misfortune of ending up with a malfunctioning K-3 and ending up with a new Sony a6000. I was really hoping that once I got home I'd be able to acquire a K to E adapter so I could at least use the a6000 as a backup body with my existing lenses, but my searches are not yielding any smart adapter results, only ones for manual control. While I do sometimes(rarely) shoot with manual lenses, most of my lenses, including those I use most, are not manual lenses, so those options aren't sufficient for me. Forum search isn't yielding many discussions on this either.

Are there no good options for a smart adapter? Am I stuck with just the kit lens on the Sony for now? Honestly then the question becomes, do I send my K-3 in for an expensive fix and sell the Sony at a huge loss, or give up and sell off my Pentax gear and go E mount? Investing in Sony lenses without selling off the Pentax gear isn't an option for me right now, and I don't think I'll be happy keeping around a second body to use with just its kit lens.

**clackers** · 09-10-2016, 02:16 PM

There aren't even any smart adapters, Jmhsnk.

CarlJF · 09-10-2016, 02:20 PM

Originally posted by Jmhsnk

Are there no good options for a smart adapter?

No, they're all manual. Sony likes to tell you "you can mount any lenses you want on our camera" but conviently forget to tell about the downsides...

Originally posted by Jmhsnk

Am I stuck with just the kit lens on the Sony for now?

Yes.

Originally posted by Jmhsnk

Honestly then the question becomes, do I send my K-3 in for an expensive fix and sell the Sony at a huge loss, or give up and sell off my Pentax gear and go E mount? Investing in Sony lenses without selling off the Pentax gear isn't an option for me right now, and I don't think I'll be happy keeping around a second body to use with just its kit lens.

You also have to take in consideration that you will have to spend much more money to get E lenses comparable to your K mount ones... The Sony system, may be good, but it's one of the most expensive on the market.

Adam · 09-10-2016, 02:43 PM

Yup, all the adapters are manual. But on mirrorless it's not that big of a handicap. Focusing is probably what will give you the most trouble.

Adam
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reh321 · 09-10-2016, 03:23 PM

Originally posted by Adam

Yup, all the adapters are manual. But on mirrorless it's not that big of a handicap. Focusing is probably what will give you the most trouble.

I have used various older MF lenses on my K-30, including a day on vacation when I disciplined myself to use only a Soviet-built M42 lens the entire day and another day on the same trip when I used only an AdaptAll lens; I didn't have significant issues, even though I was kind of out of practice. Now, I do tend to stay away from thin DoF aperture settings, but even so, MF is do-able. If Sony provides "help", such as focus peaking, it becomes all the much easier.

Na Horuk · 09-10-2016, 03:25 PM

If you want to use Pentax K-mount lenses on Sony camera, it might be best to buy old Pentax lenses, like Pentax M 50mm f1.7 and similar. That will be the cheapest, still give decent optical quality, and you can use them on Pentax SLR and DSLR cameras. Lenses like the modern DA ones.. really not much point to adapting them, as you pay for features that you will not be able to use (AF, WR,..). And lack of aperture ring makes things even more difficult.

Originally posted by Jmhsnk

Honestly then the question becomes, do I send my K-3 in for an expensive fix and sell the Sony at a huge loss, or give up and sell off my Pentax gear and go E mount?

Depends on what Pentax K gear you already have. Maybe most of it will be good enough for your needs with adapter on the Sony camera. Or you can move to Sony E mount but use old lenses that can be adapter more easily, with more automation. I don't really know much about Sony E and adapting modern AF lenses, though. Those adapters alone usually cost quite a bit.

Another option might be to do a trade. So you trade your Sony for a K-3 (or K-5IIs?) and this way you both minimize losses. Just have to find someone who wants to do this.

The biggest reason for me to stay away from Sony was the lenses. They are relatively big and expensive, even though Sony cameras are very compact and some are priced very fairly. Its like buying an affordable printer, only to spend a bunch on ink.

stevebrot · 09-10-2016, 04:50 PM

Originally posted by Jmhsnk

Honestly then the question becomes, do I send my K-3 in for an expensive fix and sell the Sony at a huge loss, or give up and sell off my Pentax gear and go E mount?

Price an E-mount kit and you might decide to just simply buy a new K-3 at current clearance prices.

Steve

rr1736 · 09-10-2016, 06:04 PM

While getting the K3 repaired may seem expensive if the shutter count is not outrageous it sure beat buying a new camera. I had to have one of my K3's repaired and I must say when it came back it was as good as new they even gave it a good cleaning .

Jmhsnk · 09-10-2016, 06:48 PM

Thanks for your replies everyone. It's sad that there aren't any smart adapters for the K mount; I was led to believe that that would be an option.

Originally posted by Adam

Yup, all the adapters are manual. But on mirrorless it's not that big of a handicap. Focusing is probably what will give you the most trouble.

Unfortunately my most used lenses do not have aperture rings, so it's not just a matter of focusing

Adam · 09-10-2016, 06:57 PM

Originally posted by Jmhsnk

Thanks for your replies everyone. It's sad that there aren't any smart adapters for the K mount; I was led to believe that that would be an option.

Unfortunately my most used lenses do not have aperture rings, so it's not just a matter of focusing

Good adapters have an aperture ring, so you can still use DA lenses. I.e.:

Amazon.com : Fotodiox Lens Mount Adapter w/Aperture Dial, Pentax K Lens to Sony NEX E-mount Mirrorless Camera e.g. Sony Alpha a7 & NEX-7 : Camera & Photo

audiobomber · 09-10-2016, 08:17 PM

Originally posted by stevebrot

Price an E-mount kit and you might decide to just simply buy a new K-3 at current clearance prices.

The K-3 is twice the camera the a6000 is. And good luck finding the lenses you want in E-mount. Selection is very limited.

pinholecam · 09-10-2016, 09:52 PM

Originally posted by Jmhsnk

Hi all,

I have returned from my trip to Iceland where I had the misfortune of ending up with a malfunctioning K-3 and ending up with a new Sony a6000. I was really hoping that once I got home I'd be able to acquire a K to E adapter so I could at least use the a6000 as a backup body with my existing lenses, but my searches are not yielding any smart adapter results, only ones for manual control. While I do sometimes(rarely) shoot with manual lenses, most of my lenses, including those I use most, are not manual lenses, so those options aren't sufficient for me. Forum search isn't yielding many discussions on this either.

Are there no good options for a smart adapter? Am I stuck with just the kit lens on the Sony for now? Honestly then the question becomes, do I send my K-3 in for an expensive fix and sell the Sony at a huge loss, or give up and sell off my Pentax gear and go E mount? Investing in Sony lenses without selling off the Pentax gear isn't an option for me right now, and I don't think I'll be happy keeping around a second body to use with just its kit lens.

Sorry to hear about the breakdown during the travels.

There is no smart adapter for PK to E-mount.
What there is however is a M-mount to E-mount semi AF adapter (not cheap).
If you couple this to E>M>PK, then you get AF up to a certain extent.
Not worth the cost and trouble imo.

What to do from here?
1. Keep the NEX as a backup and repair the K3 (sounds right to me).
2. Get 2nd hand cheap f2.8 primes for the NEX (Sigma 19, 30) - don't over invest imo (don't know where NEX is going as a system with the emphasis on the A series)

It does sound drastic, selling off your Pentax stuff.

Jmhsnk · 09-16-2016, 03:43 AM

Originally posted by Adam

Good adapters have an aperture ring, so you can still use DA lenses. I.e.:

Amazon.com : Fotodiox Lens Mount Adapter w/Aperture Dial, Pentax K Lens to Sony NEX E-mount Mirrorless Camera e.g. Sony Alpha a7 & NEX-7 : Camera & Photo

This one's reviews say that the aperture control only works with lenses that already have aperture rings, so I bought https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00FAAK1UY/ instead. It didn't have enough reviews to ensure that it'd work, but I'm happy to report that it does! It has an extremely short turning radius for aperture control, but at least it works!

**clackers** · 09-16-2016, 04:22 AM

Originally posted by Jmhsnk

This one's reviews say that the aperture control only works with lenses that already have aperture rings, so I bought https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00FAAK1UY/ instead. It didn't have enough reviews to ensure that it'd work, but I'm happy to report that it does! It has an extremely short turning radius for aperture control, but at least it works!

But it's clickless, right?

A pain in the rear ... 😀

**UncleVanya** · 09-16-2016, 06:30 AM

I have used click-less adapters like those mentioned on m43 and they are mainly annoying if your workflow is based around pre selecting a particular f stop.

Using the camera a different way and letting constant preview features (not my preferred method) you get a good idea of depth of field. The main issue in my opinion is manual flash since repeatable exact aperture control is nonexistent in this model. But you can chimp.

My first foray into mirrorless was m43 and I used the adapted k lenses occasionally - the gx7 was my backup camera at that point. It is clunky and slower to use adapted lenses without aperture rings but you do get better at it.

09-10-2016, 02:06 PM	#1
Jmhsnk Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Photos: Gallery Posts: 61	Using K lenses on E mount Hi all, I have returned from my trip to Iceland where I had the misfortune of ending up with a malfunctioning K-3 and ending up with a new Sony a6000. I was really hoping that once I got home I'd be able to acquire a K to E adapter so I could at least use the a6000 as a backup body with my existing lenses, but my searches are not yielding any smart adapter results, only ones for manual control. While I do sometimes(rarely) shoot with manual lenses, most of my lenses, including those I use most, are not manual lenses, so those options aren't sufficient for me. Forum search isn't yielding many discussions on this either. Are there no good options for a smart adapter? Am I stuck with just the kit lens on the Sony for now? Honestly then the question becomes, do I send my K-3 in for an expensive fix and sell the Sony at a huge loss, or give up and sell off my Pentax gear and go E mount? Investing in Sony lenses without selling off the Pentax gear isn't an option for me right now, and I don't think I'll be happy keeping around a second body to use with just its kit lens.

09-10-2016, 06:57 PM	#10
Adam Administrator Site Webmaster Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Arizona Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 51,593	Originally posted by Jmhsnk Thanks for your replies everyone. It's sad that there aren't any smart adapters for the K mount; I was led to believe that that would be an option. Unfortunately my most used lenses do not have aperture rings, so it's not just a matter of focusing Good adapters have an aperture ring, so you can still use DA lenses. I.e.: Amazon.com : Fotodiox Lens Mount Adapter w/Aperture Dial, Pentax K Lens to Sony NEX E-mount Mirrorless Camera e.g. Sony Alpha a7 & NEX-7 : Camera & Photo Adam PentaxForums.com Webmaster (Site Usage Guide \| Site Help \| My Photography) PentaxForums.com server and development costs are user-supported. You can help cover these costs by donating or purchasing one of our Pentax eBooks. Or, buy your photo gear from our affiliates, Adorama, B&H Photo, KEH, or Topaz Labs, and get FREE Marketplace access - click here to see how! Trusted Pentax retailers:

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09-10-2016, 02:16 PM	#2
clackers Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Melbourne Photos: Albums Posts: 16,397	There aren't even any smart adapters, Jmhsnk.

09-10-2016, 02:20 PM	#3
CarlJF Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Quebec City Posts: 1,185	Originally posted by Jmhsnk Are there no good options for a smart adapter? No, they're all manual. Sony likes to tell you "you can mount any lenses you want on our camera" but conviently forget to tell about the downsides... Originally posted by Jmhsnk Am I stuck with just the kit lens on the Sony for now? Yes. Originally posted by Jmhsnk Honestly then the question becomes, do I send my K-3 in for an expensive fix and sell the Sony at a huge loss, or give up and sell off my Pentax gear and go E mount? Investing in Sony lenses without selling off the Pentax gear isn't an option for me right now, and I don't think I'll be happy keeping around a second body to use with just its kit lens. You also have to take in consideration that you will have to spend much more money to get E lenses comparable to your K mount ones... The Sony system, may be good, but it's one of the most expensive on the market.

09-10-2016, 02:43 PM	#4
Adam Administrator Site Webmaster Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Arizona Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 51,593	Yup, all the adapters are manual. But on mirrorless it's not that big of a handicap. Focusing is probably what will give you the most trouble. Adam PentaxForums.com Webmaster (Site Usage Guide \| Site Help \| My Photography) PentaxForums.com server and development costs are user-supported. You can help cover these costs by donating or purchasing one of our Pentax eBooks. Or, buy your photo gear from our affiliates, Adorama, B&H Photo, KEH, or Topaz Labs, and get FREE Marketplace access - click here to see how! Trusted Pentax retailers:

09-10-2016, 03:23 PM	#5
reh321 Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: South Bend, IN, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 23,175	Originally posted by Adam Yup, all the adapters are manual. But on mirrorless it's not that big of a handicap. Focusing is probably what will give you the most trouble. I have used various older MF lenses on my K-30, including a day on vacation when I disciplined myself to use only a Soviet-built M42 lens the entire day and another day on the same trip when I used only an AdaptAll lens; I didn't have significant issues, even though I was kind of out of practice. Now, I do tend to stay away from thin DoF aperture settings, but even so, MF is do-able. If Sony provides "help", such as focus peaking, it becomes all the much easier.

09-10-2016, 03:25 PM	#6
Na Horuk Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Slovenia, probably Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 11,186	If you want to use Pentax K-mount lenses on Sony camera, it might be best to buy old Pentax lenses, like Pentax M 50mm f1.7 and similar. That will be the cheapest, still give decent optical quality, and you can use them on Pentax SLR and DSLR cameras. Lenses like the modern DA ones.. really not much point to adapting them, as you pay for features that you will not be able to use (AF, WR,..). And lack of aperture ring makes things even more difficult. Originally posted by Jmhsnk Honestly then the question becomes, do I send my K-3 in for an expensive fix and sell the Sony at a huge loss, or give up and sell off my Pentax gear and go E mount? Depends on what Pentax K gear you already have. Maybe most of it will be good enough for your needs with adapter on the Sony camera. Or you can move to Sony E mount but use old lenses that can be adapter more easily, with more automation. I don't really know much about Sony E and adapting modern AF lenses, though. Those adapters alone usually cost quite a bit. Another option might be to do a trade. So you trade your Sony for a K-3 (or K-5IIs?) and this way you both minimize losses. Just have to find someone who wants to do this. The biggest reason for me to stay away from Sony was the lenses. They are relatively big and expensive, even though Sony cameras are very compact and some are priced very fairly. Its like buying an affordable printer, only to spend a bunch on ink.

09-10-2016, 04:50 PM	#7
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by Jmhsnk Honestly then the question becomes, do I send my K-3 in for an expensive fix and sell the Sony at a huge loss, or give up and sell off my Pentax gear and go E mount? Price an E-mount kit and you might decide to just simply buy a new K-3 at current clearance prices. Steve

09-10-2016, 06:04 PM	#8
rr1736 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Chicago Illinois Photos: Albums Posts: 203	While getting the K3 repaired may seem expensive if the shutter count is not outrageous it sure beat buying a new camera. I had to have one of my K3's repaired and I must say when it came back it was as good as new they even gave it a good cleaning .

09-10-2016, 06:48 PM	#9
Jmhsnk Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Photos: Gallery Posts: 61 Original Poster	Thanks for your replies everyone. It's sad that there aren't any smart adapters for the K mount; I was led to believe that that would be an option. Originally posted by Adam Yup, all the adapters are manual. But on mirrorless it's not that big of a handicap. Focusing is probably what will give you the most trouble. Unfortunately my most used lenses do not have aperture rings, so it's not just a matter of focusing

09-10-2016, 08:17 PM	#11
audiobomber Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Sudbury, Ontario Photos: Albums Posts: 6,806	Originally posted by stevebrot Price an E-mount kit and you might decide to just simply buy a new K-3 at current clearance prices. The K-3 is twice the camera the a6000 is. And good luck finding the lenses you want in E-mount. Selection is very limited.

09-10-2016, 09:52 PM	#12
pinholecam Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: North Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,706	Originally posted by Jmhsnk Hi all, I have returned from my trip to Iceland where I had the misfortune of ending up with a malfunctioning K-3 and ending up with a new Sony a6000. I was really hoping that once I got home I'd be able to acquire a K to E adapter so I could at least use the a6000 as a backup body with my existing lenses, but my searches are not yielding any smart adapter results, only ones for manual control. While I do sometimes(rarely) shoot with manual lenses, most of my lenses, including those I use most, are not manual lenses, so those options aren't sufficient for me. Forum search isn't yielding many discussions on this either. Are there no good options for a smart adapter? Am I stuck with just the kit lens on the Sony for now? Honestly then the question becomes, do I send my K-3 in for an expensive fix and sell the Sony at a huge loss, or give up and sell off my Pentax gear and go E mount? Investing in Sony lenses without selling off the Pentax gear isn't an option for me right now, and I don't think I'll be happy keeping around a second body to use with just its kit lens. Sorry to hear about the breakdown during the travels. There is no smart adapter for PK to E-mount. What there is however is a M-mount to E-mount semi AF adapter (not cheap). If you couple this to E>M>PK, then you get AF up to a certain extent. Not worth the cost and trouble imo. What to do from here? 1. Keep the NEX as a backup and repair the K3 (sounds right to me). 2. Get 2nd hand cheap f2.8 primes for the NEX (Sigma 19, 30) - don't over invest imo (don't know where NEX is going as a system with the emphasis on the A series) It does sound drastic, selling off your Pentax stuff.

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09-16-2016, 03:43 AM	#13
Jmhsnk Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Photos: Gallery Posts: 61 Original Poster	Originally posted by Adam Good adapters have an aperture ring, so you can still use DA lenses. I.e.: Amazon.com : Fotodiox Lens Mount Adapter w/Aperture Dial, Pentax K Lens to Sony NEX E-mount Mirrorless Camera e.g. Sony Alpha a7 & NEX-7 : Camera & Photo This one's reviews say that the aperture control only works with lenses that already have aperture rings, so I bought https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00FAAK1UY/ instead. It didn't have enough reviews to ensure that it'd work, but I'm happy to report that it does! It has an extremely short turning radius for aperture control, but at least it works!

09-16-2016, 04:22 AM	#14
clackers Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Melbourne Photos: Albums Posts: 16,397	Originally posted by Jmhsnk This one's reviews say that the aperture control only works with lenses that already have aperture rings, so I bought https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00FAAK1UY/ instead. It didn't have enough reviews to ensure that it'd work, but I'm happy to report that it does! It has an extremely short turning radius for aperture control, but at least it works! But it's clickless, right? A pain in the rear ... 😀

09-16-2016, 06:30 AM	#15
UncleVanya Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2014 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 28,385	I have used click-less adapters like those mentioned on m43 and they are mainly annoying if your workflow is based around pre selecting a particular f stop. Using the camera a different way and letting constant preview features (not my preferred method) you get a good idea of depth of field. The main issue in my opinion is manual flash since repeatable exact aperture control is nonexistent in this model. But you can chimp. My first foray into mirrorless was m43 and I used the adapted k lenses occasionally - the gx7 was my backup camera at that point. It is clunky and slower to use adapted lenses without aperture rings but you do get better at it.