[Edmunds]

I have recently returned from a 2 month trip in the Canary Islands where I had my Pentax 645N + 35mm + 75mm lenses. This was my first trip with a film camera only, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Honestly, I had fallen out of love with photography, and shooting film has massively renewed my interest.


I did, however, find that
1) I'm really missing a longer lens. I am more of a 35mm+85mm person, than a 50mm one.


2) There are certain situations, mostly including wide angles and sunsets, where I find a digital camera is indispensable.


I have a Pentax 645Z, but its a crop camera (), and for wide angles, I need a lens for it as the 35mm is not wide enough. The 645Z with the 25mm f/4 weighs 2,5kg which is quite frankly a massive piece of kit. Then you add a 645N, 35mm, 75mm and 150mm lenses and you're looking at about 5kg+tripod+filters+bag. While not a problem for car trips, this is not something I'm willing to take on flights, and my next vacation I have planned includes 8 flights.


As I was buying some 120 film in Seville, I noticed a Pentax MZ-S in the shelf of the analog camera store. I held it in hand, and my god, that thing was TINY compared to my 645N. It was for sale for a ridiculous price, but I saved an ebay search for it. Two months later something popped up and I snapped it up. At the same time, somebody in Spain put up the Pentax limited trinity for sale, could do a package deal. Its unlikely these lenses will lose massive amounts of value, so in a bout of GAS, I bought them all as well


So now I'm a proud owner of a Pentax MZ-S + 31mm + 43mm + 77mm. In order to fulfill my requirements, I also need a full frame digital camera (I guess choice is between K1 or K1 II) and a wide angle that will work on both digital and film.

K-1 II + MZ-S + 31mm + 77mm clock in at 2,1kg, same weight as a Pentax 645N+35mm+75mm.


Am I barking mad with GAS? Is the switch to full frame a bad idea after MF? Should I suck it up an carry the 5kg MF kit?


Which wide angle would you suggest? AF not a big deal for a wide angle landscape lens. Mostly looking to shoot at f/8 on a tripod. I'm thinking of getting an FA 20mm f/2.8, but I do notice there's older 20mm f/4 versions, and an 18mm f/3.5, there are also some Samyangs and wider Laowa lenses. What is the lens of choice for wide angles that would have excellent sharpness at f/8 and work on both K1 and MZ-S?

[UncleVanya]

What will you display the images with? Prints? On screen? On web? What do you tend to shoot? Are you a working pro?

From what I’ve seen MF has some advantages in look and ultimate resolution over the k-1 series and over 35mm film. But the question is more about matching the amount carried to the task at hand and results desired. Optimizations require compromises…

The k-1 with a 31 has a nice wide view a bit narrower than 28 but nice. The 77 is a nice portrait lens also. I don’t think you’re nuts but you should think about the output requirements before deciding.

[ChristianRock]

If you want something wider with an aperture ring that would perform well in film and relatively well in digital, I think a lot of people here find the Pentax FA 20-35mm f4 to be quite good. Others prefer the SMC-A (and SMC-FA) 20mm f/2.8.

Sigma and Tamron made 17-35mm f/2.8-4 lenses. I think the Tamron is a bit sharper wide open but both would be quite good stopped down which would be your typical use for these kinds of lenses.

[RICHARD L.]

The FA 20-35 mm f/4 does not compare to an FA 20 mm f/2.8 at any aperture on a FF camera. The zoom is not too bad at 35 mm but edges are very soft at 20 mm. The FA 20-35 mm fares much better on APSc. The FA 20 mm is the "Master of space" in FF.

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[Edmunds]

What will you display the images with? Prints? On screen? On web? What do you tend to shoot? Are you a working pro?

From what I’ve seen MF has some advantages in look and ultimate resolution over the k-1 series and over 35mm film. But the question is more about matching the amount carried to the task at hand and results desired. Optimizations require compromises…

The k-1 with a 31 has a nice wide view a bit narrower than 28 but nice. The 77 is a nice portrait lens also. I don’t think you’re nuts but you should think about the output requirements before deciding.

I just shoot for my enjoyment with whatever I feel is cool at the moment. There are no requirements. I feel I can print or display on screen anything taken with any camera. However, medium format has a certain feel to it that I'm not sure can be replicated with full frame. But I'm not certain if I have that opinion because it is like that or because I had to justify a rather expensive purchase of another nice camera I haven't used both side by side yet.

I need something far wider than 31mm. Something like the 25mm on 645Z or 35mm on 645N. So around 20/21mm. But also wider is OK.

If you want something wider with an aperture ring that would perform well in film and relatively well in digital, I think a lot of people here find the Pentax FA 20-35mm f4 to be quite good. Others prefer the SMC-A (and SMC-FA) 20mm f/2.8.

Sigma and Tamron made 17-35mm f/2.8-4 lenses. I think the Tamron is a bit sharper wide open but both would be quite good stopped down which would be your typical use for these kinds of lenses.

Are those zooms full frame?


I'm surprised about the 20-35mm, Optical Limits has a comparison of both, and it looks like the 20-35mm is just as sharp as the 20mm, while being the same weight. However, all of these tests look very old. I am going to have to do more digging to see how all these lenses perform on a modern 36MP full frame camera.

The FA 20-35 mm f/4 does not compare to an FA 20 mm f/2.8 at any aperture on a FF camera. The zoom is not too bad at 35 mm but edges are very soft at 20 mm. The FA 20-35 mm fares much better on APSc. The FA 20 mm is the "Master of space" in FF.

Thanks!

[RICHARD L.]

However, medium format has a certain feel to it that I'm not sure can be replicated with full frame.

The Basilica with a 645Z + 645 FA 33-55 mm f/4.5 on tripod. In reality, FF produces very nice images too. Deciding between FF and MF depends on your level of stamina ... lol! MF weighs more.

[ChristianRock]

Are those zooms full frame?


I'm surprised about the 20-35mm, Optical Limits has a comparison of both, and it looks like the 20-35mm is just as sharp as the 20mm, while being the same weight. However, all of these tests look very old. I am going to have to do more digging to see how all these lenses perform on a modern 36MP full frame camera.

Yes these are all film era lenses. There are others that are not quite as well rated (like the Pentax SMC FA J 18-35mm) and some rare manual primes like the Tokina (and Vivitar) 17mm f/3.5

I don't think these will be as good as the more modern DFA 15-30mm f/2.8 or DFA 21mm f/2.4 Limited, but I'm not sure the aperture in those can be controlled by the MZ-S.

[kypfer]

Sigma and Tamron made 17-35mm f/2.8-4 lenses. I think the Tamron is a bit sharper wide open but both would be quite good stopped down which would be your typical use for these kinds of lenses.

My Sigma 17-35mm f/2.8-4 fills the viewfinder of a film camera without any apparent vignetting … it seems to be very good, but I'll admit to only having used it on APS-C.
My Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 only shows vignetting in the film camera viewfinder below about 14mm, so quite possibly an option worth considering

[RICHARD L.]

I found this image taken with a K1 + FA 20-35 mm f/4 zoom at 35 mm FL. It performs satisfactorily at 35 mm but exhibits unacceptable edge performance (to my taste) at 20 mm in landscape pictures.

[gofour3]

Yes these are all film era lenses. There are others that are not quite as well rated (like the Pentax SMC FA J 18-35mm) and some rare manual primes like the Tokina (and Vivitar) 17mm f/3.5

I don't think these will be as good as the more modern DFA 15-30mm f/2.8 or DFA 21mm f/2.4 Limited, but I'm not sure the aperture in those can be controlled by the MZ-S.

The DFA 21mm f/2.4 Limited won't work on any film camera other than wide open. (No AF or aperture control will work)

The DFA 15-30mm f/2.8 is not a good fit on the MZ-S, as it can't control the aperture of a lens with no ring or a lens in the "A" position. (The Z-1p or *ist film cameras can.) The MZ-S can only use this lens in Program AE or Shutter-Priority AE modes. AF will also not work.

Phil.

[wadge22]

FA*24 came to mind, although it's not a ton wider than 31. Others have already mentioned FA20. You should also take a gander at Venus Laowa and Samyang/Rokinon, which both have some very well regarded offerings that go very wide. Those brands will be manual focus only.

[TwoUptons]

I really like my Tokina 20-35mm zoom, but part of that was the affordability...
I'm sure the FA20 clobbers it...
But it works with basically everything with a K-mount...

-Eric

[cnarchitect]

I had FA20-35mmf4 for more than 10 years, since I had a MZ-S and had bought FAJ18-35 and Sigma 12-24mm f4-5.6 last year for a trip to Amalfi Coast planned in Dec 2021. In the end I picked FA20-35 along with FA*28-70f2.8 with my K-1mark2. After the trip I have to say the result from FA20-35 is a bit disappointed, although the color rendering is close to the FA*28-105, the strong distortion and CA has finally persuade me to buy a Leica R 21-35f3.5-4 for Pentax conversion. There are some manufacturers in China provide DIY Leica R to PK conversion mount. The Leica R 21-35lens I bought shows very promising results on SONY a7 ii via an adaptor with lovely color rendering and light distortion and CA. It possibly will be the Premier ultra-wide zoom lens you can get for a Pentax DSLR. I attach a picture I took in Procida Island using FA20-35 on 24mm at f16. It has been distortion corrected in DCU5.

[JensE]

For f/8, as an alternative to the FA20 f/2.8, I'd consider the Voigtländer 20mm f/3.5 pancake. The very best corner performance is actually reached only at f/11, but it has lovely rendering and is as compact as it can possibly be. There are examples in the Voigtländer LBA lens club (search the thread for 20mm) and the 20mm Lens Club. There, you'll find that also the M20/4.0 and especially A20/2.8 perform very well stopped down a bit in capable hands.

[pinholecam]

The Pentax M20/4 is nicely compact and to me a good performer all things considered. (ie. age of lens, sharpness for what it does, general size of viewing )