[micromacro]

If you disable the auto-lever on a K lens you can use stop-down metering on the K2 in the same manner as you would a screw-mount lens. Set the camera to auto then all you have to do is simply arrange the picture, select the aperture (or not) and just - click - that's all.

Of course with the green button all you have to do is set the DSLR to Manual, simply arrange the picture, select the aperture (or not) and press the green button and just - click - that's all. One more button press.

I recall using film cameras where you you had to press a release to advance the film, cock the shutter separately, estimate or use a tape measure to get the focus, use a hand held meter or the sunny 16 rule to get the exposure settings. Then have to press release to rewind the film after 12 shots then reload the camera etc.

And one extra button push is too much...

Thanks for the explanation, I feel better now, not like a complete idiot

I always shot in manual with manual lenses. And I rarely use green button because I usually know what aperture I want, what ISO I can set, and can figure out what speed will be, or I set the speed and adjust ISO. Shot-adjust settings (It's not film camera!). Am I doing it all wrong? It's not really complicated. And I use external flash in manual mode as well.

And, compare to Canon, I also get pretty accurate focus confirmation and in camera stabilization. And no adapter needed.

[npc]

That isn't actually the case though. Pentax is the most legacy friendly platform in existence.

Sony E-mount is the most legacy friendly platform in existence.
Or if by "legacy" we consider only lenses made for the same mount/platform , then it must be Leica M.

[grispie]

Yeah, that's definitely a deal breaker!

depending on the lenses you have i guess..?
I mean, i have several & some of them are real beauties. the green button is a small price imo. You are in a manual process anyhow. I don't see how the green button can be too much.. it's exactly where your thumb is & usually in a certain light scene, i only measure once.. & all my pics are fine.

[Blue]

Sony E-mount is the most legacy friendly platform in existence.
Or if by "legacy" we consider only lenses made for the same mount/platform , then it must be Leica M.

How long has the Sony E-Mount been around? Since 2010? That is a heck of a legacy. Legacy refers to that companies historical products, not universal.

See this Zebra 55/1.8 on my Asahi Pentax from 1957? I can use it on any of my digital Pentax bodies with the Green Button. Even the M42 Asahi lenses are the same registration distance as the K-mount. The only company that even comes close is Nikon.


However, all that is moot because he was blabbing about Canon and mutilation a K-mount lens to work on it. Some of the previous Canon bodies also had mirror clearance issues which had to be dealt with as well.

[Stratman]

Do the recent Pentax DSLRs work better with the green button than the older ones? My K10D is horrible. If you stick to F4 you are good, any other aperture, and the exposure is well off.

[vonBaloney]

Do the recent Pentax DSLRs work better with the green button than the older ones? My K10D is horrible.

Yes, definitely. You still might have to dial-in some EV compensation with some lenses, but it is much more consistent, yeah.

[UncleVanya]

Do the recent Pentax DSLRs work better with the green button than the older ones? My K10D is horrible. If you stick to F4 you are good, any other aperture, and the exposure is well off.

I find a need to do some exposure compensation but it is reasonable consistent with a given lens. I also find that FA lenses give me this same issue. I have wondered if it is more related to a lack of Matrix metering vs. Center weighting.

[Jimfear]

That isn't actually the case though. Pentax is the most legacy friendly platform in existence.

I think that is a factoid. You don't get full functionality before the A lenses in 1983. Nikon on the other hand has (as far as I can understand as I haven't tried it myself) full functionality from AIS lenses from 1977.

This is a thing that has been annoying me for many years, why not just make the old lenses work perfectly again?! Stop down metering and green button works, but it's nowhere close to as good as using the lenses on a K, M, or LX body. I think this should be a no-brainer for Pentax, just give us full functionality! I'm sure the publicity of actually having a system functioning perfectly with lenses from 1975 would be enough to motivate the cost. Imagine, over 40 years of lenses working as they were designed to work, but on a digital body! But I guess they want to sell new lenses, so we have to suffer for it. It is really bad of Pentax not to go back to the non crippled mount, bad idea from the beginning, still a bad idea. And it simply cannot be that expensive or complicated to implement again, they should have the blueprints after all.

[normhead]

If i would be a Canon guy, i could take photographs - with manual Pentax(!!) lenses

Oh, do tell....

[Ian Stuart Forsyth]

I think that is a factoid. You don't get full functionality before the A lenses in 1983. Nikon on the other hand has (as far as I can understand as I haven't tried it myself) full functionality from AIS lenses from 1977.

This is a thing that has been annoying me for many years, why not just make the old lenses work perfectly again?! Stop down metering and green button works, but it's nowhere close to as good as using the lenses on a K, M, or LX body. I think this should be a no-brainer for Pentax, just give us full functionality! I'm sure the publicity of actually having a system functioning perfectly with lenses from 1975 would be enough to motivate the cost. Imagine, over 40 years of lenses working as they were designed to work, but on a digital body! But I guess they want to sell new lenses, so we have to suffer for it. It is really bad of Pentax not to go back to the non crippled mount, bad idea from the beginning, still a bad idea. And it simply cannot be that expensive or complicated to implement again, they should have the blueprints after all.

Anything before 1977 all you need is 30min and a file to make (or 30 buck to have someone do it) fully compatible with the D800 and such.
This means autoiso, AV, TV and recording the AV in the exif.

[Digitalis]

it must be Leica M.

Leica M mount appeared in 1953 with the debut of the Leica M3.

Asahi Pentax from 1957?

You can use any Leica M mount lens on a Leica body with AE metering* no matter how old it is.

*though there are some superwide angle lenses that project too far into the shutter box that the metering cells are incapable of taking a reading from the shutter curtains - under these conditions accurate metering isn't possible.

[geofferiah]

FWIW just putting in my vote for the aperture coupling too, and this is my first post in years.

To me, the purpose of FF was to be able to use FF lenses as they were intended, and this falls short. Of course there is the green button, and also the trick of using exposure comp to compensate for the stop-down aperture so you don't have to keep pressing the green button before each shot (as long as you're shooting close to open). But this detracts from the experience, and the experience is the whole point. I don't want to use old lenses for superior images, but for enjoyment.

There are good business reasons to leave it out, and Ricoh would have expected to lose a few potential customers with this decision. I am one of them. If you're not, that's great.

Apart from this, the camera looks fantastic and I'm genuinely excited for all its future users.

[normhead]

All through this whole argument over the years, my only thought, has been "I have never once wanted to do what these guys want to do." I'm guessing the huge majority of Pentax users are like me Don't even play the age thing, I'm 67 years old and owned an SV and a Spotmatic, I also have a Super Tak 35mm ƒ3.5. It has just not an issue for me.

[vonBaloney]

All through this whole argument over the years, my only thought, has been "I have never once wanted to do what these guys want to do." I'm guessing the huge majority of Pentax users are like me Don't even play the age thing, I'm 67 years old and owned an SV and a Spotmatic, I also have a Super Tak 35mm ƒ3.5. It has just not an issue for me.

Yep. I love using old lenses, but many of the are older still than the original K-mounts, so I'm not going to get auto aperture function on most of them I use anyway (m42). Not getting auto-aperture on old manual lenses does seem a strange deal-breaker. Yeah, it would be a nice for that subset of non-A K lenses, but there is a workaround and it isn't too bad. But ONLY having interest in the K-1 if it has a non-crippled mount? That's an extreme position. I mean, if you really aren't in it for the images but solely the experience of turning an aperture ring and having something happen, just use a film camera with no film but the meter turned on, and you can turn the aperture ring and have it meter like the good old days.

As far as who is better for back-compatibility, Pentax vs Nikon? That's probably a tie, or maybe even edge to Nikon if you are going to stay within the system. But there is that whole universe of m42 lenses that don't adapt to Nikon without an optical adapter so Pentax has the overall old lens advantage I think...

[forest_bear59]

I cannot understand, how one can say that using old PK-lenses with a Canon body is better / more comfortable than using them on a Pentax.
Imho you have to decide, if you like focusing with the f-stop wide open and stop down only for (a second of) metering or have it always stopped down to the selected value (as it would be when using a Canon or a mirrorless cam).
If you want to have this 'feature' with your Pentax, you can easily 'Dremel' off the aperture lever and enjoy the same way of working that you get f.ex. with a M42 lens via adapter.


Have fun