[razy]

Hi everyone ,

I am a retired mechanical engineer and a loyal user of RICOH XR/P since 83 !
Unfortunatelly the days of old 35mm films are over therefore switched to digital -- replacement of Ricoh is now Pentax,
so here I am .

I am new to this Pentax Forum and wd appreciate your advice .
Just purchased a Pentax K5 II camera fitted with the DA 15-55 SMC AL WR lens and the handler suggested also
for telezooming the SIGMA DC 18-200mm 3.5-6.3 II HSM . Understood was specially designed for Pentax AF.

My question is : besides manually zooming , if this camera , fitted with eather one of these two lenses , is having
the socalled Motor Power zooming feature ? if Yes , then pls expain how to set the Menus for this , in the Operational
Manual couldn,t find it .

Thank you and best regards ,

Razy,

[pxpaulx]

Hi everyone ,

I am a retired mechanical engineer and a loyal user of RICOH XR/P since 83 !
Unfortunatelly the days of old 35mm films are over therefore switched to digital -- replacement of Ricoh is now Pentax,
so here I am .

I am new to this Pentax Forum and wd appreciate your advice .
Just purchased a Pentax K5 II camera fitted with the DA 15-55 SMC AL WR lens and the handler suggested also
for telezooming the SIGMA DC 18-200mm 3.5-6.3 II HSM . Understood was specially designed for Pentax AF.

My question is : besides manually zooming , if this camera , fitted with eather one of these two lenses , is having
the socalled Motor Power zooming feature ? if Yes , then pls expain how to set the Menus for this , in the Operational
Manual couldn,t find it .

Thank you and best regards ,

Razy,

Powered zooming is a feature of point and shoot cameras - you won't find that on a digital slr.

[Docrwm]

Welcome Aboard.

Power zoom was a feature back a few generations ago in initial offerings among Pentax dSLRs but they were unreliable and cumbersome as well as a power suck from what I have read about them.
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-k-30/225242-power-zoom-k30.html

My advice is that you read the lens review section here
for Pentax Lenses: Pentax Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database
and for non-Pentax Lenses: Pentax Lenses by Sigma, Tamron, Zeiss, and more - Reviews and Specification Database - Pentax Lens Review Database

Some of your old Ricoh lenses will fit the K-Mount and work on the new K-5II, but be careful of the dreaded Ricoh pin (it will cause the lens to become stuck on the camera):
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/195730-ricoh-p...rs-itself.html

A good overview of using older lenses is here:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-lens-articles/59245-pawnshop-lense...ers-guide.html

and you might want to look at posts in this section Pentax SLR Lens Discussion - PentaxForums.com

[RobA_Oz]

Hi everyone ,

I am a retired mechanical engineer and a loyal user of RICOH XR/P since 83 !
Unfortunatelly the days of old 35mm films are over therefore switched to digital -- replacement of Ricoh is now Pentax,
so here I am .

I am new to this Pentax Forum and wd appreciate your advice .
Just purchased a Pentax K5 II camera fitted with the DA 15-55 SMC AL WR lens and the handler suggested also
for telezooming the SIGMA DC 18-200mm 3.5-6.3 II HSM . Understood was specially designed for Pentax AF.

My question is : besides manually zooming , if this camera , fitted with eather one of these two lenses , is having
the socalled Motor Power zooming feature ? if Yes , then pls expain how to set the Menus for this , in the Operational
Manual couldn,t find it .

Thank you and best regards ,

Razy,

Hi Razy, and welcome to the Forums.

Power zoom on Pentax SLRs is only available, to the best of my knowledge, with the older FA* zooms. I have the FA*80-200/2.8, which certainly does have power zoom. It's a feature some of us would like to see included again on at least the DA* zooms.

[karpati]

Hi everyone ,

I am a retired mechanical engineer and a loyal user of RICOH XR/P since 83 !
Unfortunatelly the days of old 35mm films are over therefore switched to digital -- replacement of Ricoh is now Pentax,
so here I am .

I am new to this Pentax Forum and wd appreciate your advice .
Just purchased a Pentax K5 II camera fitted with the DA 15-55 SMC AL WR lens and the handler suggested also
for telezooming the SIGMA DC 18-200mm 3.5-6.3 II HSM . Understood was specially designed for Pentax AF.

My question is : besides manually zooming , if this camera , fitted with eather one of these two lenses , is having
the socalled Motor Power zooming feature ? if Yes , then pls expain how to set the Menus for this , in the Operational
Manual couldn,t find it .

Thank you and best regards ,

Razy,

There are several film era lenses that featured powered zoom:

-SMC Pentax-FA 28-80mm F3.5-4.7
-SMC Pentax-FA 28-105mm F4-5.6
-SMC Pentax-FA 70-200mm F4-5.6
-SMC Pentax-FA 100-300mm F4.5-5.6
-SMC Pentax-FA* 28-70mm F2.8 AL
-SMC Pentax-FA* 80-200mm F2.8 ED [IF]
-SMC Pentax-FA* 250-600mm F5.6 ED [IF]

Source: Re: Pentax power zoom lenses?: Pentax SLR Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

You will still find most of these lenses on the used market and in my limited experience often even quite cheaply. Nevertheless, many of their functions will not operate on a digital SLR. See: Pentax Lens Power Zoom

Powered zoom will also not work on all digital SLRs. As far as I know, the latest model to have some power zoom support is the K7. You might search around on the forum. I'm sure it's come up in discussion before.

[LaurenOE]

Also, the "SDM" contacts in current bodies were originally created for the power zoom function. The power zoom contacts were appropriated for SDM and are part of the problem with after market lens makers.
I'm not sure what Pentax "allows" or actually licenses to lens makers to "use" those contacts as the power zoom was a pretty big thing for Pentax when it came out.
Technically the specification is still "power zoom" as I don't think Pentax has released the full spec as to how the camera's firmware switches to screw drive if a lens has the power zoom function built in - which only legacy Pentax lenses have - as mentioned in previous responses above.

As an owner of a FA*28-70 and K5, there is definitely legacy support as the lens auto "unzooms" when you turn the camera off. The autozoom works pretty well too.

[Docrwm]

Also, the "SDM" contacts in current bodies were originally created for the power zoom function. The power zoom contacts were appropriated for SDM and are part of the problem with after market lens makers.
I'm not sure what Pentax "allows" or actually licenses to lens makers to "use" those contacts as the power zoom was a pretty big thing for Pentax when it came out.
Technically the specification is still "power zoom" as I don't think Pentax has released the full spec as to how the camera's firmware switches to screw drive if a lens has the power zoom function built in - which only legacy Pentax lenses have - as mentioned in previous responses above.

As an owner of a FA*28-70 and K5, there is definitely legacy support as the lens auto "unzooms" when you turn the camera off. The autozoom works pretty well too.

Lauren,
How is the power consumption with PZ vs non-PZ on the camera?

[LaurenOE]

Lauren,
How is the power consumption with PZ vs non-PZ on the camera?

With the K5 and grip, I never saw a problem.

The only "problem" with the FA* 28-70 is that when in my camera bag, to grab the lens, the quick shift ring is what your fingers naturally grab as you lift the lens up and out. Over time, this could contribute to wear and tear if you are not careful.

The lens itself is a technical marvel. Beautiful (heavy) lens that will never be made again it's so complicated! I scored one from Hong Kong last year in preparation for the FF that never came.

I took the lens with me to the UK last year and loved it.

I don't use the lens much anymore since I use the DA*16-50 and DA*50-135.

It's a keeper for sure, but I baby it because if it ever breaks, I don't know who could fix it.

[Docrwm]

With the K5 and grip, I never saw a problem.

The only "problem" with the FA* 28-70 is that when in my camera bag, to grab the lens, the quick shift ring is what your fingers naturally grab as you lift the lens up and out. Over time, this could contribute to wear and tear if you are not careful.

The lens itself is a technical marvel. Beautiful (heavy) lens that will never be made again it's so complicated! I scored one from Hong Kong last year in preparation for the FF that never came.

I took the lens with me to the UK last year and loved it.

I don't use the lens much anymore since I use the DA*16-50 and DA*50-135.

It's a keeper for sure, but I baby it because if it ever breaks, I don't know who could fix it.

Thanks. The power with the grip is pretty considerable and I've never had to change batteries with it on the camera so I can understand how it would work well with that lens.

[Cynog Ap Brychan]

Darn, I had that lens years ago when the Z-1 came out.... and sold it!

[RobA_Oz]

Thanks. The power with the grip is pretty considerable and I've never had to change batteries with it on the camera so I can understand how it would work well with that lens.

I hardly ever have the battery grip on my K-5, and haven't noticed an excessive drain with using the FA*80-200/2.8 over a period of several hours. Obviously, it depends on how much the PZ is used, and what range it's used over, on average. Whatever drive motor is used, it's clearly quite muscular, and in that respect superior to, if somewhat noisier than, the SDM in some of the DA* lenses.

As I've said, I quite like PZ, and it's something that could be considered for inclusion in future Pentax premium lenses, but fine motor speed control might be useful for greater precision.

[gaweidert]

razy

Welcome aboard!! Glad to see somebody else that missed film. A still far superior and much more robust imaging media. I had two Ricoh XRM's that I pretty much wore out. They made some very good SLR's. A lot of bang for the buck with those cameras. I wondered about auto zoom too, but since I am so used to manual focus and manual zoom lenses never gave it much thought. In fact, I just got my first auto focus lens. The 12 - 24mm Pentax DA zoom lens. Got it to fill a void in my range.

I am perfectly happy to use my old manual focus lenses with my K5 and K5-IIs. One of my favorite lenses to use is my 55mm F.18 SMC Takumar screw mount lens. That little lens is pure gold. Heading out west later this summer and that lens is definitely going along for the ride. I am even tempted to bring along my Pentax ZX-5n and use film for the really critical shots. I still have about 100 rolls of Ektachrome, and even a few rolls of Kodachrome, sitting in the freezer.

[razy]

Hi everyone ,

Thank you very much for your support , means a lot to me .
Meantime went again to FRA to a photshop , met a trustful Pentax rep who clearly mentioned
this camera has NO PZ function based on two grounds :
- manual zooming is more accurate
- eats up a lot of batteries power
No matter what lenses will to attached to it . Attaching will old AF generation lenses will/might bring addl pitfalls .So that,s the end .

But , surprisingly , just saw a LEICA D-LUX 4 , on same price level ca.890eur - lens included , repeat LEICA ?! which caught my eyes ,
which had AF & PZ , so ??? how about the other two reasons above ? and again we talked abt a LEICA .
When saying LEICA first thing which pups in , besides high , quality is its high price . So maybe is now a different market approach
also from this big price producers. K5 at its beginning was also high , very high in ptice , now k5II is a market oriented event .

Anyway , I am very happy with K5II , to general purposes , saw a lot of galleries and others opinions about K5 II and K5IIS
and I stay with my choice K5II . Most I like the colors and its fast AF . I do indoor but mostly outdoor pics.
I have no problem with the settings , going through all the menus ; I find them logical and all in all , the features this camera
offer are logical . Hope the LCD will not get scratched too soon , its tough but kind of protection would have helped as most of the
time camera rests on its back (= LCD !) .

Regards to all ,

Razy

[Adam]

Hi everyone ,

Thank you very much for your support , means a lot to me .
Meantime went again to FRA to a photshop , met a trustful Pentax rep who clearly mentioned
this camera has NO PZ function based on two grounds :
- manual zooming is more accurate
- eats up a lot of batteries power
No matter what lenses will to attached to it . Attaching will old AF generation lenses will/might bring addl pitfalls .So that,s the end .

But , surprisingly , just saw a LEICA D-LUX 4 , on same price level ca.890eur - lens included , repeat LEICA ?! which caught my eyes ,
which had AF & PZ , so ??? how about the other two reasons above ? and again we talked abt a LEICA .
When saying LEICA first thing which pups in , besides high , quality is its high price . So maybe is now a different market approach
also from this big price producers. K5 at its beginning was also high , very high in ptice , now k5II is a market oriented event .

Anyway , I am very happy with K5II , to general purposes , saw a lot of galleries and others opinions about K5 II and K5IIS
and I stay with my choice K5II . Most I like the colors and its fast AF . I do indoor but mostly outdoor pics.
I have no problem with the settings , going through all the menus ; I find them logical and all in all , the features this camera
offer are logical . Hope the LCD will not get scratched too soon , its tough but kind of protection would have helped as most of the
time camera rests on its back (= LCD !) .

Regards to all ,

Razy

The K-5 II does support power zoom with FA-series lenses that have this feature, but the feature is no longer being introduced on modern lenses. Short zoom throw is the way to go.