[malinku]

So I have some Minolta md and canon fd lenses that I would like to adapt them to a mirrorless system. as I'm not always up for shooting my film cameras.

since used 4/3s cameras are out of my budget I'm looking at the Q line. I'm wondering how the Qs handle with heavy old lenses. would it be too front heavy or does it work ok. As the main two lenses are a 90mm macro and a 135 close focusing lens.

[reh321]

So I have some Minolta md and canon fd lenses that I would like to adapt them to a mirrorless system. as I'm not always up for shooting my film cameras.

since used 4/3s cameras are out of my budget I'm looking at the Q line. I'm wondering how the Qs handle with heavy old lenses. would it be too front heavy or does it work ok. As the main two lenses are a 90mm macro and a 135 close focusing lens.

Just to expand on what Professor Batty has already said:my mother left a Canon FD kit behind when she moved to a retirement community, so I had to adopt it, of course; I already had a Canon EF kit, so I have experience with adapting several different 35mm kits to the Q. I bought adapters for both lens systems (the picture below shows the FD adapter). Each adapter I got has a tripod foot (on top in the picture) that allows you to mount the adapter on a tripod (most likely, you wouldn't want that much force pulling down on the Q's lens mount). Think of hanging a camera from the lens rather than hanging the lens from a camera; I did take a few pictures hand-holding my Mother's 70-210mm lens, but that was way too much work, and so I quickly got a walking-stick / monopod, which made the entire process much easier. Part of the problem is that you will have to hand-focus the lens, as well as manually set the aperture (*), and keeping it steadily on one spot while you do that is virtually impossible without the monopod - remember, as Professor Batty indicated, because the Q's sensor is so small, the lens will act as though it is much longer than it did on the original camera.

I chronicled some of my early adventures here
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/136-pentax-q/284804-baby-steps.html


(*) incidentally, part of the adventure is picking the best ISO / aperture combination; because the Q's sensor is so small, conventional wisdom says you should keep the aperture around f/5.6 or wider to avoid diffraction, but there seems to be at least some evidence that diffraction does less harm than other effects do, so you might be better off going as high as f/8 or even f/11; experimenting is a part of the adventure

[UncleVanya]

Anyone using the Canon FD 85 f1.8 SSC on a Q?

[Jim P]

While I would recommend the adapters wth a tripod mount, I have used my Q with numerous m42 and K mount lenses without a problem. I was all set to sel my Q as it had not been getting much use. But when I took a recent picture of the moon with the Q and a Pentax 100-300 Powerzoom lense I was convinced it was worth keeping. Even the low res version I posted on Instagram gives an idea of what you can do. https://instagram.com/p/8OiIKQl8aW/
A tripod is essential for anything over 90mm (for me anyway) and a remote is extremely useful.

Enjoy!
Jim

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Last edited by Jim P; 11-03-2015 at 01:39 AM.

[sprocketdog23]

I have a Mitsuki 135mm f2.8 lens with FD mount and adapter for my QS1. The lens weighs about three times the camera, though it's a pretty compact lens. The quality is impressive, with no discernible issues even at f2.8. The hardest thing with this setup is keeping steady, but a lens brace helps loads. I just use a simple leather strap around the lens for handheld shots. Just don't expect to do fast action with the ease of a modern AF stabilised telephoto on a heavier DSLR.