[pinholecam]

I did some shooting with the K135/2.5 on the K5. I'm just not the type to notice if its accurate or not. If my first shot is not exposed correctly, I just dial in the exposure compensation and meter again (based off the histogram). AFAIK from my 1 day walk about, it seems to operate as like my K7.

As for the focus screen, yes, the latch assembly is the same one as the K7. I've not bothered to put on my K3 screen though, as it FF just slightly on my K7, and I rely on the Pentax 1.2x eyepiece more anyway.

Some sample shots from K5 and K135/2.5

[macTak]

What I'd like to know is for the K-r with M/K-series lenses, does the mirror flip up when pressing the green button to achieve stop down metering? In the K-x, as I recall, it did.

[pinholecam]

What I'd like to know is for the K-r with M/K-series lenses, does the mirror flip up when pressing the green button to achieve stop down metering? In the K-x, as I recall, it did.

If you mean the aperture closing down when the green button is pressed, yes. That is still there. AFAIK, manual lens usage is similar to my K7.



One good news for catch-in focus users. I had a quick 5min try out of this, and the faster AF does mean that even catch-in focus is faster.

[virgilr]

Not quite sure why there was mention of such a dump of manual glass- I'm no expert, but is it possible that the resolution of the K5 sensor is so high that a FF designed manual lens of high quality will not resolve to a fine enough resolution to be usable?

I know some FF Canon shooters who adore using Russian M42 lenses for the quality of images they capture. Pinholecam- when you look at shots you've taken at 100% zoom, do you feel this is happening? I LOVE my manual glass, and am thinking of a K5 in the next couple of years.

I've tried to stick with quality manual glass as much as possible, and I plan on upgrading my walk-around AF super zoom in the near future, but the only lens that I currently own that I could see being just too "average" for the K5 is the el-cheapo 80-210mm adaptall 103A. Just can't attest to any of this, since I'm still using a 6mp 100DS, which I don't think I'll ever sell since it's about worthless now in terms of price vs the images it captures.

[8540tomg]

+1 to this...
I'll definitely be junking all the manual focus lenses that I have eventually... shot with the few that I have and they just cannot make it in both resolution and contrast... With AF now a quantum leap ahead in Pentax terms, there's just little reason to play with old manual focus lenses, and I'm not getting any younger. I'm not the sentimental type, if something is outmoded, it's just time to let it go...

I'm not sure I follow the reasoning on older MF glass here Creampuff.

"Will not make it in both resolution and contrast."

What old MF lenses have you tried? I've got a lot of old Pentax glass (see signature) and I would hope to be able to use it with a K5. I don't mind playing with the old lenses and actually I kind of enjoy it. I'm just curious as the K5 will probably be my next purchase.

Will you be "junking" all your manual focus glass because it doesn't work very well or because you just don't want to bother with a cumbersome process any longer.

Tom G

[jheu02]

Will you be "junking" all your manual focus glass because it doesn't work very well or because you just don't want to bother with a cumbersome process any longer.

It seems he's saying the lenses just don't give the sensor a good enough image, i.e. the new sensor needs a better/higher quality image to work with. But looking at the pics posted by pinholecam from the SMC-K 135mm 2.5 (which I fortunately have) I can't see anything wrong with them. Looks like great color, contrast and resolution! Great glass is great glass IMO.

[opiet70]

I'm not sure I follow the reasoning on older MF glass here Creampuff.

"Will not make it in both resolution and contrast."

What old MF lenses have you tried? I've got a lot of old Pentax glass (see signature) and I would hope to be able to use it with a K5. I don't mind playing with the old lenses and actually I kind of enjoy it. I'm just curious as the K5 will probably be my next purchase.

Will you be "junking" all your manual focus glass because it doesn't work very well or because you just don't want to bother with a cumbersome process any longer.

Tom G

Bring them my way Creampuff! I'll take the contrast and 'snap' of pics shot with my 45 year old lens to my 60-250. The K-5 may be better in almost every way (from what everyone is saying...) to my K10D, but the light has still gotta go through the lens to get to the sensor. I love my 60-250, but it (like everything) has it's place and usage in my lineup of lenses.

[Transit]

nice avatar jheu02


My Takumars and I watch this thread with bated breath

Pete

[SteveM]

I have been unloading my modern lenses to make way for MF glass, and in particular the A* series glass. I'm sure someone could point out scientifically how modern lenses perform better, but I like the results from the K and A* lines better than the DA*s or DAs I've had.

The high ISO from the K-5 matched with an A*300 or longer lens sounds perfect to me.

[8540tomg]

I think I'll be hanging on to my old glass for a while. I'm sure we shall see some results from the K5 and old lenses shortly. I suspect they shall be very good.

Tom G

[Mike Cash]

With AF now a quantum leap ahead in Pentax terms, there's just little reason to play with old manual focus lenses

"manual focus" = "optically inferior"

But for this I would have ended my day not having learned something new.

[darioStClair]

Hello,
i'm new in this forum, and a happy k100D super user (maybe K-r user soon ?)
I tend to become fully manual, so i would also be interested in reading some 'experiences' from Kr/K5 user with old manual lenses.
I guess we can use MF lenses the same way we can do with others pentax bodies ?
And about focusing : is the improved AF system on Kr/K5 could be helpful in manual use ? i mean is it only faster or also more accurate (ie in low light)? If yes, do you think it could be a plus for manual mode ?

[pinholecam]

It seems he's saying the lenses just don't give the sensor a good enough image, i.e. the new sensor needs a better/higher quality image to work with. But looking at the pics posted by pinholecam from the SMC-K 135mm 2.5 (which I fortunately have) I can't see anything wrong with them. Looks like great color, contrast and resolution! Great glass is great glass IMO.

I have no doubt that we'd all have to go through our manual lenses to find out which are the ones which don't make the cut on the new 16mp sensor.
The K135 is a good lens and fortunately imho, it does have the resolution till this point.

All samples unprocess from my JPEG shots.

100% crop from the photo of the lady



Another sample (perhaps better focused)


100% crop



The new and much improved AF, does bring up the temptation to change from the to a DA*50-135 though, just to increase the keeper rate and occasional laziness to be the focusing 'motor'

[macTak]

If you mean the aperture closing down when the green button is pressed, yes. That is still there. AFAIK, manual lens usage is similar to my K7.

Actually, that's not what I meant . On the K-x, with the button press not only did the aperture close down momentarily, but the mirror flipped up as well momentarily (the explanation floated here was that the same motor was being used for both), so I was wondering if that was still the case.

[Adam]

I've been reading all these new threads about K-R and K-5 and so far havent seen any reports on how they handle legacy glass.

I think many of us manual focus users would like to hear about how accurate is stopdown metering. And also if there's any improvement on Av mode with M42 lenses when compared to older bodies.

How about the viewfinders, is there any improvements there? Are the focusing screens still easily replacable?

The K-5 uses the K-7 body, so no changes there. And since both cameras still use the same mount, there won't be any improvements for manual lenses. I don't think the K-r has a replaceable screen, but don't quote me on that. You can check the camera database/comparison.