[DafTekno]

Hi Pentax People,

Does anyone know of good brands of auto-focus prime / non-zoom telephoto lenses for the K-series digital SLR's?

And the best place to buy them?
I.e. decent prime lens stores?

I have a manual focus Sigma 28mm f1.8 which has auto iris, but was wondering who else makes compatible lenses.

I currently have Pentax lenses:
35mm f2.4 (?)
50mm f1.8 (?)
18 - 55 zoom
55 - 200 zoom

I've heard the Limited series are good, but they're expensive!

Thanks - D

[DonV]

Most if not all 3rd party lens mfgs. have discontinued Pentax AF mount lenses of all types; most didn't bother with primes.

My answer would be to stay with Pentax AF prime lenses, as there are few or no AF alternatives/substitutes in the prime lenses; if they were they would likely not be better and may suffer from incompatibility quirks. JMHO.

[pschlute]

I've heard the Limited series are good, but they're expensive!

Quality never comes cheap.

My advice is to concentrate on photography, not gear.

[robgski]

I agree that improvement in technique is better than buying gear if you want to have better results in the images .

The best place to buy is here on PF.

[aslyfox]

. . . The best place to buy is here on PF.

I agree that here is a great place to look for " experienced " gear

you can sort the forums' marketplace by country

The Pentax Marketplace | Buy & Sell Pentax Cameras and Lenses (Canada) - PentaxForums.com

[jumbleview]

Where? New at B&H or Adorama. Used: this forum, KEH, MBP. eBay may be risky but so far I had good experience with lenses from Japan (just read the description carefully).

[Paul the Sunman]

The Tamron 90mm f/2.8 macro (old version) is still available new for K-mount, and is excellent for general (non-macro) mild telephoto duties. At wide angle, the Sigma 35mm Art f/1.4 is a stellar performer, and is also still available.

Slim pickings these days unfortunately, and with DSLR dropping off the radar, no chance of that improving. Indeed, it is remarkable that so many fine 3rd party manual focus lenses are still available for Pentax, with more being released (e.g. Irix 21).

The DFA 100 macro and DA* 200 and 300 are the best current telephoto primes for K-mount, and you can add the DA 70 Limited and FA 77 Limited at the short telephoto end.

---

Last edited by Paul the Sunman; 03-18-2022 at 04:40 PM.

[BigMackCam]

Hi Pentax People,

Does anyone know of good brands of auto-focus prime / non-zoom telephoto lenses for the K-series digital SLR's?

And the best place to buy them?
I.e. decent prime lens stores?

I have a manual focus Sigma 28mm f1.8 which has auto iris, but was wondering who else makes compatible lenses.

I currently have Pentax lenses:
35mm f2.4 (?)
50mm f1.8 (?)
18 - 55 zoom
55 - 200 zoom

I've heard the Limited series are good, but they're expensive!

Thanks - D

Since you're shooting APS-C, if you're jonesing for primes I recommend picking up one or more of the Pentax DA Limited lenses, or possibly the D FA100 f/2.8 Macro WR... If you're patient and canny, you'll pick these up new at very reasonable prices during discount events, or else used here in PF's Marketplace (or eBay - but be careful and discerning)...

The Marketplace and eBay are also good places to pick up third party lenses. Sigma made some decent primes for Pentax before pulling the plug - though it's fair to say not all of them were without their AF problems, and not all are significantly cheaper than their Pentax equivalents. I bought a like-new Sigma 50mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro - boxed with its original case - on eBay a few months back for GBP £120, and it's as good as any 50mm macro could possibly be, IMHO. The Sigma 30mm f/1.4 is one of my favourite lenses because of its rendering, and I bought mine for GBP £249 (if I remember correctly... it may have been a bit less) brand new a few years ago... but it's not known for reliably accurate AF (though mine is pretty good in this respect)...

[garywakeling]

Well here on the marketplace, your local buy/sell websites or eBay have been places I like to look. As a lens recommendation I would like to recommend an F or FA 135mm Pentax prime lens, wonderful quality, not currently available as a new lens but works well with all the current APS-C and Full frame cameras, it would fit in nicely with your other lenses. Another thought is the same series F or FA 28mm lens, easy to reverse and use as a macro lens and the slightly wider angle is a very usable focal length. I am not sure of Canadian stores, other than a positive experience I had with mail order from a store called Henry's, hopefully they are still going. There is a seller here on marketplace who is based in Canada called MightyMike, I have also had very good experience with lenses from him, well described and reasonably priced. Enjoy your search and fun with photography

[hcc]

You already received some great advice. I may add or reword a few more suggestions.

+Prime lenses are plenty for Pentax mount and there are great MF and AF prime lenses from 15 mm up to 100 mm and few up to 300 mm, but not always cheap.

+A good lens is a good investment and will not loose value over time, in particular compared to camera bodies. Thus, consider any good lens purchase as a investment , not a straight loss. As a result, it well worth to consider buying second hand lenses, e.g. from the PF Marketplace here, from keh.com, even Adorama and B&H (No vested interest).

+A good relatively cheap AF prime is indeed the Tamron 90 mm. It is a good mid-tele lens as well as a macro. The Pentax DA Ltd (eg 15 mm, 21mm, 70mm) are also great options IMHO. The pancake design makes these very small and easy to use. The AF is also very fast IMO as a result of the pancake design. The 'plastic fantastic' DA50mm f1.8 and DA35mm f1.8 are also two great-value-for-money options IMHO.

Personally, I shot mostly with prime lenses. While less flexible than zoom lenses, a prime forces the photographer to use his feet and body to compensate for the lack of zoo, And it helps me a lot to improve my photography. . I have the Tamron 90mm, a few FA limited and several MF prime lenses. I would encourage you to consider a prime lens, at some stage, because there are fabulous MF prime lenses for Pentax Mount, eg the Pentax A series, the Voigtlander lenses, the Carl Zeiss lenses....
I hope that the comment may help.

[mlag]

Tamron and Sigma were the typical alternative brands with autofocus lenses, but both stopped recently producing pentax variants in the shrinking dslr market... you might find some stock here and there .
Samyang, Venuslens Laowa, Irix, Mitakon and Lensbaby still have manual focus lenses for pentax, typical lenses with some specific purpose like ultra wide, macro, portraits, ...

Next is the secondhand market where you can stay with reputed stores with a return policy or visit the online flea markets...you can find all brands here.

For new autofocus telephoto primes the choice isn't abundant, pentax 77 85 100 200 and 300, and a very expensive 560mm.
The pentax zooms like the 50-135, 70-200/210 and 150-450mm are pricey but excellent quality, these zooms could replace and match performance of 2 cheaper primes...
Manual alternative brands new primes exist mainly in the range 70..150mm.

Secondhand, good telephoto lenses are much sought-after, if you spot one don't hesitate too long...
Secondhand, there is wider choice if you accept manual focus and even more manual metering.

PS: consult the lens database here Pentax Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database

[janosh]

Which Tamron 90 is being praised here? I'm looking...

[RICHARD L.]

I just bought a like-new Pentax FA 135 mm f/2.8 on eBay Japan for 300 $. Very nice purchase !

[Paul the Sunman]

Which Tamron 90 is being praised here? I'm looking...

Tamron SP AF 90mm F2.8 Di Macro (272E) Lens Reviews - Tamron Lenses - Pentax Lens Review Database

It is cheaper and of comparable optical quality to the Pentax 100 macro, but has a somewhat funky push-pull MF/AF mechanism that can be annoying. Overall though, an excellent lens.

[BigMackCam]

Which Tamron 90 is being praised here? I'm looking...

The Tamron 90mm f/2.8 SP Di macro. Cracking lens... I own it in Sony A-mount for use on full-frame, but it's just as good on crop...