Manual lens on K100D

leaton · 10-14-2006, 09:50 PM

I have an old Kalimar 500mm mirror lense with t mount that I had an
old Minolta mount for to fit my X370. I found a t mount adapter on ebay for $10 to make it work on the pentax.
Works like a charm. I'm so impressed that the camera will accept it.
It has a fixed f stop as I understand all mirror lenses do, so the camera doesn't know what F stop it's set to - but happily shows a dash for the setting and in manual mode I set whatever I like for a shutter and it's happy and will take the shot. It does make some kind of funny sound if I do something that makes it want to set the aperture automatically, but figures it out quick that nothing is happening.
The metering handles it well, and the antishake even insists I enter the focal length and it's happy.
Pentax knows how to keep this customer happy. Flexibility. This is one of the reasons I didn't get a digital Minolta - they don't support all that glass I invested in before autofocus came along, so I don't support them!
Who ever heard of wildlife photography with autofocus anyhow, except at the zoo - but that's not 'wild' anyhow.
I'll post some photos using the lense as soon as I can find something to snap a shot of that will stay still long enough to get a decent shot at 500mm @ f8 - LOL

Larry

Ole · 10-14-2006, 10:02 PM

You probably have found out but if you use the optical preview switch then you can check exposure in the finder. The bar graph will show how much you're off.

On the *istDS2, if you press the AE-L button in manual mode the camera will set the appropriate shutter speed. You may want to try that; perhaps it also works on the K100D. In any case I'd like to know what you find.

leaton · 10-15-2006, 06:53 AM

Thanks Ole - that's cool, didn't know you could do that.
The K100D doesn't have a scale, but it does show the exposure error numerically - aka - -1.5 for instance, which tells me what I need to do. You do hear the motor trying to change aperture to stop the lense down, which doesn't work obviously - kinda funny actually,
since it has no idea what the aperture really is!

The AEL button does set the proper shutter speed in manual as you mentioned, which is what I'd tried before.

Ole · 10-15-2006, 10:03 AM

It must be the autofus motor you can hear. Check that you have the camera set to manual focus, and the noise should go away.

mawz · 10-17-2006, 07:32 AM

It's probably the stop-down lever making the noise.

Note with a mirror lens you can use Av mode just fine (As it's always wide open anyways).

leaton · 10-18-2006, 07:13 PM

It's the aperture control that's making the noise - trying to figure out what f stop I've selected - and comes up blank.
Stay tuned - I found what appears on the surface to be a bargain.
A Soligar 200mm prime 2.8 manual focus on ebay.
I'll keep you in on it.
I'm just the sort to try this - advertised as a pentax K mount with auto f - 30 years old, but glass is glass, right. Manual focus - like that's a chore or something.
Wonder if there's a multiplier for it - ............ fun gamble here.

leaton · 10-23-2006, 05:50 PM

I just got my ebay special. An obscure brand (Spoligor) that aparently has not been making lenses for quite some time.
I expected aperture priority to function normally, but it doesn't.
I get F-- . I presume this is because the lens doesn't have an 'A' position.
No problem, I can twist the lens rings and love this lens.
It is by far the fastest lense I have ever owned, and I got it for less than $90! A 200 f2.8 for a bargain! It even has a cool shade that slides onto the lense for storage and stays there.

okto · 10-23-2006, 07:09 PM

Pictures of the lens! We need gear pr0n!

leaton · 10-23-2006, 07:51 PM

Nuf said
I'd love to post, but have to do it later. I took pix, but system rejected em because of size and I can't figure out how to resize them this late in the evening and after a shot of rum.
Will do tomorrow.

10-14-2006, 09:50 PM	#1
leaton Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Buford Georgia Photos: Gallery Posts: 91	Manual lens on K100D I have an old Kalimar 500mm mirror lense with t mount that I had an old Minolta mount for to fit my X370. I found a t mount adapter on ebay for $10 to make it work on the pentax. Works like a charm. I'm so impressed that the camera will accept it. It has a fixed f stop as I understand all mirror lenses do, so the camera doesn't know what F stop it's set to - but happily shows a dash for the setting and in manual mode I set whatever I like for a shutter and it's happy and will take the shot. It does make some kind of funny sound if I do something that makes it want to set the aperture automatically, but figures it out quick that nothing is happening. The metering handles it well, and the antishake even insists I enter the focal length and it's happy. Pentax knows how to keep this customer happy. Flexibility. This is one of the reasons I didn't get a digital Minolta - they don't support all that glass I invested in before autofocus came along, so I don't support them! Who ever heard of wildlife photography with autofocus anyhow, except at the zoo - but that's not 'wild' anyhow. I'll post some photos using the lense as soon as I can find something to snap a shot of that will stay still long enough to get a decent shot at 500mm @ f8 - LOL Larry

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10-14-2006, 10:02 PM	#2
Ole Administrator Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Copenhagen, Denmark Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 4,408	You probably have found out but if you use the optical preview switch then you can check exposure in the finder. The bar graph will show how much you're off. On the *istDS2, if you press the AE-L button in manual mode the camera will set the appropriate shutter speed. You may want to try that; perhaps it also works on the K100D. In any case I'd like to know what you find.

10-15-2006, 06:53 AM	#3
leaton Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Buford Georgia Photos: Gallery Posts: 91 Original Poster	Thanks Ole - that's cool, didn't know you could do that. The K100D doesn't have a scale, but it does show the exposure error numerically - aka - -1.5 for instance, which tells me what I need to do. You do hear the motor trying to change aperture to stop the lense down, which doesn't work obviously - kinda funny actually, since it has no idea what the aperture really is! The AEL button does set the proper shutter speed in manual as you mentioned, which is what I'd tried before.

10-15-2006, 10:03 AM	#4
Ole Administrator Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Copenhagen, Denmark Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 4,408	It must be the autofus motor you can hear. Check that you have the camera set to manual focus, and the noise should go away.

10-17-2006, 07:32 AM	#5
mawz Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 166	It's probably the stop-down lever making the noise. Note with a mirror lens you can use Av mode just fine (As it's always wide open anyways).

10-18-2006, 07:13 PM	#6
leaton Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Buford Georgia Photos: Gallery Posts: 91 Original Poster	It's the aperture control that's making the noise - trying to figure out what f stop I've selected - and comes up blank. Stay tuned - I found what appears on the surface to be a bargain. A Soligar 200mm prime 2.8 manual focus on ebay. I'll keep you in on it. I'm just the sort to try this - advertised as a pentax K mount with auto f - 30 years old, but glass is glass, right. Manual focus - like that's a chore or something. Wonder if there's a multiplier for it - ............ fun gamble here.

10-23-2006, 05:50 PM	#7
leaton Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Buford Georgia Photos: Gallery Posts: 91 Original Poster	I just got my ebay special. An obscure brand (Spoligor) that aparently has not been making lenses for quite some time. I expected aperture priority to function normally, but it doesn't. I get F-- . I presume this is because the lens doesn't have an 'A' position. No problem, I can twist the lens rings and love this lens. It is by far the fastest lense I have ever owned, and I got it for less than $90! A 200 f2.8 for a bargain! It even has a cool shade that slides onto the lense for storage and stays there.

10-23-2006, 07:09 PM	#8
okto New Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 20	Pictures of the lens! We need gear pr0n!

10-23-2006, 07:51 PM	#9
leaton Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Buford Georgia Photos: Gallery Posts: 91 Original Poster	Nuf said I'd love to post, but have to do it later. I took pix, but system rejected em because of size and I can't figure out how to resize them this late in the evening and after a shot of rum. Will do tomorrow.