[cyberjunkie]

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exactly - if I did own an SMC 24/2.8, there would have been no need for the 01B; this was the cheapest way I could find to a sub-28mm lens for the M42 body...

I don't know if you need to shoot film with an M42 camera, in that scenario there would be a few more lenses to choose from, and many PK options that would be taken out of the equation.
Speaking of PK lenses, I believe the Tamron is a worthy performer. iIn all sincerity I don't see the Pentax 2.8/24mm as clearly superior.
I own the Pentax-A version since long, and I have used it on film before digital times. I agree with the prevailing opinion: the 2.8/24mm is not among the most outstanding Pentax lenses.
This is why a recently bought an SMC Pentax 3.5/24mm. It is believed to be somewhat better, but I still have to clean the haze and a touch of fungus, so I had no way to compare it with the Tamron and the Samyang.
If it's anywhere close to the performance of the great SMC Pentax 3.5/28mm I'm sure I will be glad I found it!
Unfortunately K and M lenses need the green button procedure, which slows down shooting and opens the way to operator errors (like forgetting to hit the green button after a pause).
This is why I like so much Adaptall-2 lenses. When the PK/A adapter works, it works great.
I have the goal to dedicate an adapter to each and every lens, cause I found that when an adapter works flawlessly, it's better left mounted on the host lens on a stable basis, and not fitted and removed all the time.
A couple of my PK/A rings didn't show the working aperture on the top display, so I scratched the tip of the screw with a scalpel, and removed a minimal amount of (transparent) thread locker that prevented the data pin on the camera from being shortened.
Now all of the adapters work fine. Two of them are quite finicky, it took forever to make them work. No way I will remove them again!

---------- Post added 04-12-18 at 11:17 AM ----------

F50/2.8 Macro! It IS already cleaned up, been mounted to the K5IIs, and it works like a charm. Wow, what a steal of a deal and unexpected!

I have an identical one in my bag, ready to be put to good use if I find any subject that needs to be shot close range.
Sharpest Pentax lens ever, with the possible exclusion of the last D FA*.
The MTF chart is impressive, especially considering the age of the original design.
I'm sure you will be amazed by the sharpness.
The only drawback is the usability in manual focus.
The hidden plus is the build quality. Under the (rather ugly) plastic shell it's built at a very high standard for an AF lens.

---------- Post added 04-12-18 at 11:38 AM ----------

Waiting to get a confirmation about the purchase of a lens I've dreamt of for a number of years, here is my latest humble purchase:



It's a 58mm foldable rubber hood for tele lenses, that will come very useful to tame the worst defect of my late "silver" Pentax-FA 4.7-5.8/100-300mm: lack of punch/veiling flare.
I can wholeheartedly recommend the late line of FA zooms (mostly silver but also released in black).
I've been very positively surprised by their quality. Even the humble 35-80mm with plastic mount is actually much better than I expected.
The one that really amazed me is the FA 3,2-4,5/28-105mm AL. It is faster and apparently quite close to the performance of the new D-FA. Stopped down a little it provides great colours and very good overall contrast.
Unfortunately the 100-300mm "silver", albeit sharper than the Pentax-F version, lacks the same punch of the 28-105mm.
I gave it a good thought, and I realised that all the pictures shot with the 28-105 were taken using the original petal hood, while the 100-300 (that has a very exposed front glass) was always used without hood.
Soon I will have the chance to see if the hood makes a difference. I guess it will

[aurele]

The one that really amazed me is the FA 3,2-4,5/28-105mm AL. It is faster and apparently quite close to the performance of the new D-FA. Stopped down a little it provides great colours and very good overall contrast.

I second that ! it's indeed a good lens ! it's so light (a dream !). the rendering is very consistant with nowadays Pentax lenses.
I almost regret of never using it extensively !

[pepperberry farm]

I don't know if you need to shoot film with an M42 camera, in that scenario there would be a few more lenses to choose from, and many PK options that would be taken out of the equation.
Speaking of PK lenses, I believe the Tamron is a worthy performer. iIn all sincerity I don't see the Pentax 2.8/24mm as clearly superior.
I own the Pentax-A version since long, and I have used it on film before digital times. I agree with the prevailing opinion: the 2.8/24mm is not among the most outstanding Pentax lenses.
This is why a recently bought an SMC Pentax 3.5/24mm. It is believed to be somewhat better, but I still have to clean the haze and a touch of fungus, so I had no way to compare it with the Tamron and the Samyang.
If it's anywhere close to the performance of the great SMC Pentax 3.5/28mm I'm sure I will be glad I found it!
Unfortunately K and M lenses need the green button procedure, which slows down shooting and opens the way to operator errors (like forgetting to hit the green button after a pause).
This is why I like so much Adaptall-2 lenses. When the PK/A adapter works, it works great.
I have the goal to dedicate an adapter to each and every lens, cause I found that when an adapter works flawlessly, it's better left mounted on the host lens on a stable basis, and not fitted and removed all the time.
A couple of my PK/A rings didn't show the working aperture on the top display, so I scratched the tip of the screw with a scalpel, and removed a minimal amount of (transparent) thread locker that prevented the data pin on the camera from being shortened.
Now all of the adapters work fine. Two of them are quite finicky, it took forever to make them work. No way I will remove them again! [COLOR="Silver"]

I agree - the adapters can be finicky; my solution has been to mate a lens with an adapter and never remove once it works with that lens...

it can be expensive, but I have only a handful of Adaptalls that I've kept (01B, 01BB, 72B, 55BB, 44A, and soon to be a 52B) over the short time I've been involved in this hobby...

[ivanvernon]

Pulled the trigger on a nice-looking copy of the Pentax 67 120mm f 3.5 soft focus, from Roberts. Looking forward to trying this lens on the 645Z with adapter of course.

[WPRESTO]

I've been meaning to post in this thread for some time now. My job recently gave me the Sony A7III along with the 35mm 1.4 which both ended up surprising me. I picked up the Sony 85mm 1.8 to replace my beloved FA 85 on the Pentax. Snagged a Fujifilm X-T3 with the grip and the 18-55 kit lens over the Black Friday weekend. Just received the Fujifilm 56mm 1.2 today. Also got the Zhiyun Weebil stabilizer for more video work. Had a special accommodation from my other job to get $100 off the GoPro Hero 7 Black as well (mostly for quick BTS videos).

Lots of new gear and lenses to learn! So little time!

Christmas comes early for the ladies' man. Find many models to try out your new gear. Post the images - many, many of them - so we can properly evaluate the equipment, from every angle . Good stuff.

[cyberjunkie]

Pulled the trigger on a nice-looking copy of the Pentax 67 120mm f 3.5 soft focus, from Roberts. Looking forward to trying this lens on the 645Z with adapter of course.

It will be useful on smaller formats too, if you have the adapter.
I love soft focus lenses, and the 120mm for 6x7 is the one I loved the most.
The best portraits I have ever shot were taken with the same lens, on 120 film, using my old trusted Pentax 6x7.

[ivanvernon]

It will be useful on smaller formats too, if you have the adapter.
I love soft focus lenses, and the 120mm for 6x7 is the one I loved the most.
The best portraits I have ever shot were taken with the same lens, on 120 film, using my old trusted Pentax 6x7.

Thank you for your comments. I wanted this lens because of the idea of using soft focus capability on the 645Z as I have been using my F85mm soft focus on the K-3 and K-1. Of course, I will try the 120 out on the K-1 of course to compare its results to kthose of the F85.

[Jean Poitiers]

Some stuff that I just got around to making a mug shot ... from the CamerHack, a kit to shoot 135 film in my Pentax 67. This should be a lot of fun ! FAK 135 – 135 to 120 Film Adapter Kit – CamerHack



And for less than 7€ purchase price off of fleaBay out of the UK, another Soviet bellows for my projector lens and Franken-lens projects. Nice to have the box and all, but the postage turned off to be a bit too pricy ... oh, well. No biggie ... c'est la vie.

[Arjay Bee]

A friend passed on to me a piece of kit that had been included in an 8mm movie camera purchase he had made some decades ago - didn't fit the movie camera so sat on the shelf for years. He said he new I had some old gear and had meant to pass it on - I have known him for about a decade so it has been on the shelf for a long time. Has a bit of aluminium erosion and a bit of fungus but not too bad considering it has been on a shelf in the tropics since the 1980s.

Ebay image of identical (cosmetically better) item is here

It is the lens head of the Novoflex T Noflexor 400mm 5.6, complete with lens caps. Irony is that I used to own the Novoflex C modular system with 600mm lens head, grips and shoulder mount adapted to K mount. Could have used the 400mm head with it as they are interchangeable. The T model has three lens elements and is quite well favoured for this age of lens - Will clean up and resell to a Novoflex user.

[ivanvernon]

Some stuff that I just got around to making a mug shot ... from the CameraHack, a kit to shoot 135 film in my Pentax 67. This should be a lot of fun ! FAK 135 – 135 to 120 Film Adapter Kit – CamerHack



And for less than 7€ purchase price off of fleaBay, another Soviet bellows for my projector lens and Franken-lens projects. Nice to have the box and all, but the postage turn off to be a bit pricy ... oh, well. No biggie ...

Jean, I understand that you can now shoot 135 film in your Pentax 67. Please explain why you would wish to do so. Doesn't this negate the main advantage of using a medium format camera? Not criticizing, just seeking knowledge and clarification. Ivan

[timw4mail]

Jean, I understand that you can now shoot 135 film in your Pentax 67. Please explain why you would wish to do so. Doesn't this negate the main advantage of using a medium format camera? Not criticizing, just seeking knowledge and clarification. Ivan

One of the neat effects is exposing the entire height of the 35mm film, sprocket holes included.


You can also expose more width on the 35mm film, so you can get mildly panoramic photos too.

[Jean Poitiers]

Jean, I understand that you can now shoot 135 film in your Pentax 67. Please explain why you would wish to do so. Doesn't this negate the main advantage of using a medium format camera? Not criticizing, just seeking knowledge and clarification. Ivan

It's just for the "fun" and the experience of doing it.

I should have some neat "panoramas" and "tall" shots in the other direction that cover ALL of the film base.

EDIT : Below are not my images ... but mine will come later. J

[Jean Poitiers]

An early "combination X-mas joint B-day" gift from me-to-me. I had been eyeing this lens at my local B&M shop ... so I went and got it today for my recently acquired Mamiya 645.

A very nice Sekor C 80/1.9 with a generic hood for 190€. It's the one attached to the 645 and my 80/2.8 is to the left to give an idea of the size diameter difference. The f/1.9 is not much "taller" that the f/2.8 and it is supposed to be one of the fastest medium format lenses around depending on the source cited, etc. Should be fun and this rig is A LOT lighter than carrying about the 67 with the S-Tak 105/2.4 ...

[Racer X 69]

It's just for the "fun" and the experience of doing it.

I should have some neat "panoramas" and "tall" shots in the other direction that cover ALL of the film base.

That’s pretty cool John.

Does the curl of the film affect the focus on shots made at wider apertures?

[Docrwm]

That’s pretty cool John.

Does the curl of the film affect the focus on shots made at wider apertures?

Wouldn't the film be pressed flat by the caseback?