[Tad]

So i just got a q,
great little camera.
alittle dissapointing that the sensor is so small.. but hey, whatcha gonna do.
its dynamic range is great and pictures are pretty!

so anyways, I feel like the stock lens is kinda.. well.. suck.

I'd like to adapt a pancake lens from a nother manufacturer onto it.
but I want the entire package to still be small enough to fit in a pocket.

SOOOOOOooo.. any advice for you on which manufacturers pancake lens I should get would be great.
i'm looking for optimal image quality (minimal distortion and greater sharpness).

advice would be great thanks.

[hnikesch]

Well any lens you adapt will be manual focus and work in Manual or AV only. I would recommend native Q lenses the 01 and 06 are sharp and the 06 is a great Tele. The 02 stock lens is actually quite good per photozone.com . I just ordered the 03 so I will comment on that later

Hans

[JinDesu]

Which stock lens do you have?

[Tad]

I have the 2 kit lens
It's not completely terrible but I do artist photography. So I need it to look right.
Not really judging it by point and shoot standards. My previous cams were canon and Sony dslr.

The 2 has a hazy softness that floats over images in certain situations. It is also not as sharp as I might like and the bokeh is honestly... One of the worst I've seen.

I don't trust website reviews much. Rather what I can see.
Also manual focus is fine. Im just hoping to fit pancake lens on a pancake size adaptor and have it be pocket friendly.

[hnikesch]

I have the 01 and think it's the best lens on the Q

Hans

[grahame]

I have the 01 and think it's the best lens on the Q

Hans

Agree! I think any Q system should have a 01 lens. Q is a real Q when 01 is mounted. small and capable, that is Q!
i have 01, 02, 03, and 06. 01 is on the camera 90% of time. I bought a case that fits Q+01, and through it in my message bag I carry everyday.
I wish pentax can come up with a revised 02 with retractable design, as the title said.

[Tad]

ok so anyways, question still stands
thanks

[bluefoam]

Well the obvious answer is either the 01 Prime or the 07 Pancake, depending on what type of viewing angle you want...

[hnikesch]

SOOOOOOooo.. any advice for you on which manufacturers pancake lens I should get would be great.
i'm looking for optimal image quality (minimal distortion and greater sharpness).

advice would be great thanks.

Ok to your question, any pancake lens from other manufactures will not work as expected on your Q because of the crop factor. A Micro 4/3 pancake will turn into a telephoto on the Q. You will need a 8 to 5mm or smaller lens in a C or D mount that covers a 1/2" sensor. I have been looking for that animal for a year and have yet to find one. I have adapted several CS mount lenses to an altered D mount adapter but the IQ has been poor. Adapting lenses to the Q results in super telephotos, a 28mm turns into a 154mm EFL lens. I believe your best bet is to look for 16mm movie CINE lenses they are C mount.

Hans

[Tad]

Well the obvious answer is either the 01 Prime or the 07 Pancake, depending on what type of viewing angle you want...

this is why I love the internet. No offense to you sir. You're no different than any other person

But it's just funny how people pay no attention to what's going on and just focus on saying whatever they want.

ie: it's only an obvious answer if you choose not to read my post and answer my actual question

[Tad]

Ok to your question, any pancake lens from other manufactures will not work as expected on your Q because of the crop factor. A Micro 4/3 pancake will turn into a telephoto on the Q. You will need a 8 to 5mm or smaller lens in a C or D mount that covers a 1/2" sensor. I have been looking for that animal for a year and have yet to find one. I have adapted several CS mount lenses to an altered D mount adapter but the IQ has been poor. Adapting lenses to the Q results in super telephotos, a 28mm turns into a 154mm EFL lens. I believe your best bet is to look for 16mm movie CINE lenses they are C mount.

Hans

Thank you. what kind of problems, specifically, have you run into while trying to adapt these lenses?

I understand now about the crop factor. So that might hamper my hopes of a pancake prime working, as its focal length might be too deep.

I am lucky though. As a huge portion of what I hope to shoot is wildlife, birds specifically.
so getting that huge crop factor to make a monster zoom would actually be a great benefit!!

[hnikesch]

We as a group have adapted hundreds of lenses and Thanks to Larry "crewl1" a database is located at the following link:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-q/209474-adapted-lenses-tested-q-r...ml#post2215835

As for problems, CS lenses mount very close to the Q's sensor so caution is in order, also most C and CS CCTV lenses are designed for a smaller sensor than the Q so you get the corners knocked off your image and they are designed for a sensor of lower resolution so they are not as sharp as native Q lenses. Check out the link above for the best lens for your needs.

Hans

[GibbyTheMole]

As for problems, CS lenses mount very close to the Q's sensor so caution is in order, also most C and CS CCTV lenses are designed for a smaller sensor than the Q so you get the corners knocked off your image and they are designed for a sensor of lower resolution so they are not as sharp as native Q lenses. Check out the link above for the best lens for your needs.

Yeah, for the reasons you described, finding a C mount lens in the appropriate focal length that's better than the 02 may be a tall order. For starters, the 02 is actually pretty good.

If I were wanting an upgrade in quality over the 02, I'd try finding an 01 or just use a DSLR or larger sensor MILC.

[theeggplanthunter]

You want a tiny "pancake" with IQ equal to the 01, which is pretty much the premier std. prime for this sensor.

Here's the problem Tad, the Q has a tiny sensor with a super high resolution and that comes with very specific limitations. I think this is why the previous posters seem unhelpful. One cost is that we can easily out-resolve most consumer lenses, period. In the 8-25mm focal length, there may be some very expensive D/cine mount lenses on ebayfor 16mm film, but we are talking $500+ for a lens that probably has a soft focus anyway.

The CCTV lenses available in C mount vary too much in quality and lack coatings. One of the better options is Pentax's own 8.5mm f1.5, but it's the same size as the 02, weights more than the body, and needs an adapter, which adds bulk.

The smallest lens I can think of is the 07 body-cap. The next smallest would be the 22mm Pentax auto 110 lens. It's a little thinner than the 01 and is about 1.1" in diameter at the largest point. That said, you still need an adapter, which adds .8-.9" to the length. It also has a eq. focal length of ~123mm. And IQ is not the greatest. Film grain on the 110 format is larger than the pixel sites on the Q's sensor, leading to fuzzy images at 100%, even when focused.

Another problem is that you would need a lens with a manual aperture ring. I can't think of too many pancakes with a manual A ring.
The last issue, as some have pointed out, is flange distance. Look inside the Q and take note of how far the sensor is from the mount. Now look at a full dslr, or even a 4/3 camera. The depth is considerably different, and that means the lens won't focus on the Q unless it is moved away from the sensor. hence the need for thick adapters I mentioned earlier.

The 01 really is the best compact lens for the Q system to date. I'm not sure why you think it is not worth looking into, seeing as the lens itself scores pretty well in DXOmark and is a brilliant performer, as can be witnessed by the huge array of images in the forums here. The 02 isn't that poor of a lens either. The haze is a common problem even on dslrs. You want to get a lens hood, it helps a lot with the lens flare on the 02 lens. You may also have a bad lens, or you may be using a sub-optimal combination of settings(sharpness, noise reduction, contrast, saturation). And finally, you may be trying to take images outside the Q's considerable ability. High ISOs cause significant noise, due to the sensor size, and bokeh in any form is not really possible due, again, to the sensor size. Bokeh on the new 07 is much better due to the larger sensor.

You have a unique and rather amazing compact camera; YMMV.

But it's just funny how people pay no attention to what's going on and just focus on saying whatever they want.

Also, if people keep saying the 01 is the lens you want, and it fits the requirements you set forth (IQ, size, distortion), you might try listening and thinking about what they are saying instead of dismissing their answers. Just sayin ;P

[verdigris]

and bokeh in any form is not really possible due, again, to the sensor size.

This is just not true. You can do quite fine with fast (1.4 or better) aperture quality c mounts from tamron, fujinon or pentax, and depending on the focal length they are more compact than the 01. Old Cine lenses can also be found for far far less than $500 dollars, more like $50, if you're willing to do your homework and look around. My most used lenses are 17mm machine vision c-mounts and various cine lenses. That said it's still hard (perhaps impossible) to beat the 01 for a 'normal' focal length Q lens, but I prefer c mount primes over the Q zooms.