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10-07-2019, 01:36 PM - 4 Likes   #1
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Best K mount lens for black and white photography

I want to start exploring black and white photography again... on digital and possibly on film (cost is an issue). I find a lot of B&W pictures a bit boring honestly, especially some street photography that seems to have boring light and boring subjects... I'm talking about the current crop of artsy street photographers, not the fine people in this forum of course But on some pictures, if the light is right, the focus on luminosity makes it seem like you're almost in there in the picture, even though it doesn't really look like the scene. It can be quite engaging in that way.

Interestingly, I find that modern lenses don't look quite as interesting for B&W as film-era lenses, but that might be because I've had some great film-era lenses and have always have more budget-oriented digital-era lenses. Also, it seems like I get better results from some non-Pentax lenses. The 4 that have given me the best results in my short black and white photography journey are:

1. Tokina 19-35mm f/3.5-4.5 -this lens seems to show luminosity differently, it's very sharp but also delicate at the same time. It also seems to naturally give more detail into darker areas - that is probably because the contrast is not so high.


2. Vivitar (Cosina serial number starting with 9) f/2.8 - a very nice focal length for black and white photography and the lens seems to give a bit of a nice dramatic look to the pictures.


3. Rikenon P 50mm f/1.4 - also a favorite for color, there's really nothing this lens isn't good at. An old-school lens that has sharpness in spades without hard edges, and gives out details and nuances so well. This is at f/1.4.


4. Sigma 30mm f/1.4 Art - Now this is a modern lens with an old soul, for sure. It is super sharp but not overly corrected, which caused a lot of people to frown on it because it has CA wide open. To me it's basically a perfect lens optically, and B&W hides the CA that it has at f/1.4...


Pardon me for the boring shots...

I haven't experimented with filters, like the orange, red and yellow filters a lot of people use for B&W. I guess for digital those aren't needed.

So I'd like to know everyone's favorite lenses to shoot black and white, IF black and white is something you enjoy.

10-07-2019, 01:53 PM   #2
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have you looked through this thread and determined what photos you like?

Just Black and White-ur B/W Monochrome photos here - PentaxForums.com
10-07-2019, 01:54 PM   #3
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have you looked through this thread and determined what photos you like?

you could check the EXIF to see what lenses were used

Just Black and White-ur B/W Monochrome photos here - PentaxForums.com
10-07-2019, 02:02 PM - 1 Like   #4
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I really like Pentax-M 40/2.8 for BW. But two Rikenons I own (50/2 and 28/2.8) are also OK.

10-07-2019, 02:04 PM - 1 Like   #5
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Some photographers prefer single coated lenses for increased tonal rendition for B&W film, as such most SMC lenses may not be the best choice.

Coloured filters shouldn't be used on digital. They affect the RGB balance of the Bayer filter - e.g. use a red filter and you only get the red pixels (a quarter of those available).
10-07-2019, 02:04 PM - 4 Likes   #6
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I tend to like the 31 for mono. Here's a few with it on the K1, hope they aren't too artsy for ya:







10-07-2019, 02:04 PM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by aslyfox Quote
have you looked through this thread and determined what photos you like?

you could check the EXIF to see what lenses were used

Just Black and White-ur B/W Monochrome photos here - PentaxForums.com
I am familiar with that thread, I've posted in it a few times.

I am curious as to what people think their favorite black and white lenses are and why...

10-07-2019, 02:04 PM - 1 Like   #8
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I stink at B&W, but I've read a number of Sigma Foveon users claim it's great for B&W photography.
10-07-2019, 02:14 PM - 1 Like   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by ChatMechant Quote
I tend to like the 31 for mono. Here's a few with it on the K1, hope they aren't too artsy for ya:







That last picture is what I do like about black and white photography - if you have good composition it really works, if composition is bad, it really sucks. In this case, it works The black and white really emphasizes the difference between the dark and bright areas, and the leading line takes you to the focal point of hte picture.

I've had a love/hate relationship with black and white in the past, but it's probably because I can't hide behind color and all the components of the picture just have to work. It's a lot harder to make a black and white picture work, so if I spend more time with it, I think it's going to be the best school towards turning me into a better photographer.

QuoteOriginally posted by johnha Quote
Some photographers prefer single coated lenses for increased tonal rendition for B&W film, as such most SMC lenses may not be the best choice.

Coloured filters shouldn't be used on digital. They affect the RGB balance of the Bayer filter - e.g. use a red filter and you only get the red pixels (a quarter of those available).
That is a very helpful tip.Thank you!
10-07-2019, 02:15 PM - 10 Likes   #10
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My favorites are:

100mm WR Macro


50mm Zeiss Makro-Planar




and Zeiss 28mm f/2 Distagon
10-07-2019, 02:18 PM   #11
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Dude, that first pic with the 100 Macro... whoa
10-07-2019, 02:19 PM - 4 Likes   #12
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I don't have any problems shooting b&w with any of my lenses. I like good contrast and sharpness so most modern lenses do the trick. Its more the scene, lighting, and composition that effect whether the image works in black and white rather than the lens itself.
10-07-2019, 02:40 PM - 5 Likes   #13
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A lot of my black and white involves using infrared photography, which I don't use Pentax for. So I don't do much black and white work with Pentax lenses. But I have done some, and prima facie, I would have assumed my favorite black and white lenses would be the limiteds, because I do prefer a contrasty look even in black and white, but I couldn't find any black and white images taken with limited lenses in my flickr library. It turns out that most of my black and white images taken with Pentax cameras use my Tamron 70-200, and that has more to do, not that it's particularly great black and white lens, but sometimes it's a lousy color lens, I turn images from it to black and white because I gave up on the color version. There are some strange color casts in terms of blues and greens with that lens that sometimes screws up landscape images. I therefore, by default as it were, have to accept the Tamron 70-200 as my favorite black and white lens, because it's my least favorite color lens (at least for landscapes — it's fine with everything else).

In the following image, I couldn't make the colors look natural or real so I turned it into a black and white:

10-07-2019, 02:46 PM - 1 Like   #14
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I don't really have much to add other than from what I have seen the look of FA 31 and FA 77 seem to convert pretty well to B&W.

I would have thought that any lens with good contrast would be suitable and then it comes down to OOF rendering.

BTW - really enjoying the photos posted here!
10-07-2019, 02:49 PM - 1 Like   #15
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Yes, some nice pics, although the vignetting is a little OTT for my taste.
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