[LensBeginner]

Bad mistake there. You forgot to use the alias The Innominato...now the guy gets a few more google hits, a few more clicks on his site to feed his family

No, not this again, please...

[KDAFA]

That's me--a Pentax newbee... The features and especially body shape drew me to the K-1, and I've preordered it along with the Limited 43 and 77. We'll see!

Welcome to the world of Pentax, and from the looks of it, you've arrived in rather grand style - with the Full Frame body and two legendary lenses, the FA43 & 77.

The latter, apart from superb sharpness, have the ability to cast images with a beautiful, magical rendering - in the Pentax community we say that they're sprinkled with "pixie dust". Enjoy! There's also the FA31 Limited; together with the FA43 & FA77 you ordered, they form a trio often called the "Three Sisters" or the "Three Amigos".

Trust you'll find this forum a helpful resource, and a friendly community.

[Parallax]

Bad mistake there. You forgot to use the alias

Fixed.

[jeffreybehr]

Get the 31mm. I think it will do more for you.

Well, I've had 28s and 21s and 16-35s, and...


...and I LOVE doing multiframe panos from vertical frames shot with 50s and close to that, which I hope the 43 will be. I believe the 77, too, will be useful for that.

[jacharles50]

Welcome to the world of Pentax, and from the looks of it, you've arrived in rather grand style - with the Full Frame body and two legendary lenses, the FA43 & 77.

The latter, apart from superb sharpness, have the ability to cast images with a beautiful, magical rendering - in the Pentax community we say that they're sprinkled with "pixie dust". Enjoy! There's also the FA31 Limited; together with the FA43 & FA77 you ordered, they form a trio often called the "Three Sisters" or the "Three Amigos".

Trust you'll find this forum a helpful resource, and a friendly community.

Hello--I have just registered for this site, specifically to learn about the Pentax K-1. I'm sure like many of you, my first (film) camera was a Pentax (ME) Because I couldn't bear to throw it or its lenses out, I still have them after 30+ years! Anyway, when the digital revolution hit, for reasons that had nothing to do with Pentax's offerings, I moved in Nikon's direction. (it was a gift.) I now have a Nikon D600 with 3 lenses that I really like: the 17-35 2.8, the 50 1.8, and the 80-200 2.8. I was thinking it was time to upgrade, and I was thinking the Nikon D810. But I have always in my heart a soft spot for Pentax, and when the K-1 was announced, I thought this sounds like a better camera than the 810, and certainly cheaper, and it would be great to get back to Pentax! But I am worried about lenses, since it is a very long time that I have looked at Pentax lenses. Could someone recommend a similar 3 lenses to the Nikon ones listed above that I should be looking for when I buy the K-1? (If I should be asking this question in the lenses section just tell me and I will do so. Thanks from a oldie (Pentax film) and a newbie (Pentax digital.)

[reh321]

Hello--I have just registered for this site, specifically to learn about the Pentax K-1. I'm sure like many of you, my first (film) camera was a Pentax (ME) Because I couldn't bear to throw it or its lenses out, I still have them after 30+ years! Anyway, when the digital revolution hit, for reasons that had nothing to do with Pentax's offerings, I moved in Nikon's direction. (it was a gift.) I now have a Nikon D600 with 3 lenses that I really like: the 17-35 2.8, the 50 1.8, and the 80-200 2.8. I was thinking it was time to upgrade, and I was thinking the Nikon D810. But I have always in my heart a soft spot for Pentax, and when the K-1 was announced, I thought this sounds like a better camera than the 810, and certainly cheaper, and it would be great to get back to Pentax! But I am worried about lenses, since it is a very long time that I have looked at Pentax lenses. Could someone recommend a similar 3 lenses to the Nikon ones listed above that I should be looking for when I buy the K-1? (If I should be asking this question in the lenses section just tell me and I will do so. Thanks from a oldie (Pentax film) and a newbie (Pentax digital.)

Welcome!

I wouldn't dream of telling you what lenses are similar to Nikon offerings - I'm sure others here can do that better than I can - but I was wondering what lenses you have from 30+ years ago. One of the joys of Pentax is that those old lenses will be useable on your new camera, and some of us find a certain amount of our fun from doing that.

For example, I still have the Pentax-M 50mm f/2 from my first SLR, and I semi-regularly use the Pentax-A 50mm f/1.7 from my second one.

[jacharles50]

Hello--I have just registered for this site, specifically to learn about the Pentax K-1. I'm sure like many of you, my first (film) camera was a Pentax (ME) Because I couldn't bear to throw it or its lenses out, I still have them after 30+ years! Anyway, when the digital revolution hit, for reasons that had nothing to do with Pentax's offerings, I moved in Nikon's direction. (it was a gift.) I now have a Nikon D600 with 3 lenses that I really like: the 17-35 2.8, the 50 1.8, and the 80-200 2.8. I was thinking it was time to upgrade, and I was thinking the Nikon D810. But I have always in my heart a soft spot for Pentax, and when the K-1 was announced, I thought this sounds like a better camera than the 810, and certainly cheaper, and it would be great to get back to Pentax! But I am worried about lenses, since it is a very long time that I have looked at Pentax lenses. Could someone recommend a similar 3 lenses to the Nikon ones listed above that I should be looking for when I buy the K-1? (If I should be asking this question in the lenses section just tell me and I will do so. Thanks from a oldie (Pentax film) and a newbie (Pentax digital.)

P.s. I am sorry I should have been more specific in my post above. I assume from the answer to which I replied that the FA 43 will be a must replacement for the 50 1.8. I will get that definitely. But I do not know I can afford the new 15-30 or the Pentax 70-200. So I'm hoping for other name brands or older alternatives to be suggested. The beauty of these Nikon lenses for me is that I was able to buy them all for $1700 total used. I realize I am buying a new 36mp camera, so I need newer lenses, but any value suggestions would be appreciated!

[jacharles50]

Welcome!

I wouldn't dream of telling you what lenses are similar to Nikon offerings - I'm sure others here can do that better than I can - but I was wondering what lenses you have from 30+ years ago. One of the joys of Pentax is that those old lenses will be useable on your new camera, and some of us find a certain amount of our fun from doing that.

For example, I still have the Pentax-M 50mm f/2 from my first SLR, and I semi-regularly use the Pentax-A 50mm f/1.7 from my second one.

Thank you so much for your reply! I have the 50mm 1.7--an incredible lens, but probably not so good for a new digital camera, and then two--you will laugh-- the Vivitar 70-205 f 3.5 and the spiratone 400mm 6.3. (at the time, I was trying but always failing to shoot birds. I don't know why I got those lenses, but I'm sure it had a great deal to do with price!

[KDAFA]

Hello--I have just registered for this site, specifically to learn about the Pentax K-1. I'm sure like many of you, my first (film) camera was a Pentax (ME) Because I couldn't bear to throw it or its lenses out, I still have them after 30+ years! Anyway, when the digital revolution hit, for reasons that had nothing to do with Pentax's offerings, I moved in Nikon's direction. (it was a gift.) I now have a Nikon D600 with 3 lenses that I really like: the 17-35 2.8, the 50 1.8, and the 80-200 2.8. I was thinking it was time to upgrade, and I was thinking the Nikon D810. But I have always in my heart a soft spot for Pentax, and when the K-1 was announced, I thought this sounds like a better camera than the 810, and certainly cheaper, and it would be great to get back to Pentax! But I am worried about lenses, since it is a very long time that I have looked at Pentax lenses. Could someone recommend a similar 3 lenses to the Nikon ones listed above that I should be looking for when I buy the K-1? (If I should be asking this question in the lenses section just tell me and I will do so. Thanks from a oldie (Pentax film) and a newbie (Pentax digital.)

Hi, and welcome.

Ha ha, asking for lens recommendations can be a little tricky in the sense that you can ask 10 people and you get 10 answers! That's because there are many possible approaches.

I'll try to help you. And you can also just re-post your question in the forum in general, and I'm very sure many will come in to help you.

OK, here's my take. When you ask for lens recommendations, I presume your are trying to replicate the focal length of those three Nikon lenses, right? Plus I presume that your existing old Pentax lenses don't match your needs?

Ok, with the launch of the K-1, Pentax also launched two zooms with focal lengths that match your needs, the DFA 70-200 f2.8; and DFA 15-30 f2.8. These are optimised for digital use, full frame compliant, are weather resistant, and have silent focus.

If you prefer film-era lenses, they are also available, but only second-hand. Of course, being film-era lenses, they will cover the full-frame digital sensor, and would also tend to render images in a more "film-era" manner, which you may or may not desire, that is a matter of taste. There may be some issues with purple fringing, but can usually be handled in post-processing. One that comes to mind is the FA*80-200 f2.8.

As regards your standard, fixed-focal lens, 50 1.8, there are many equivalents in Pentax. There is the FA50 f1.4, FA50 f1.8, DA*55 f1.4, FA43 f1.9 Limited; and many older film-era manual focus lenses second hand.

---------- Post added 03-06-16 at 06:17 PM ----------

Oops, sorry I just saw your newer posts giving more specific information.

Regarding the FA43 Limited, if you are confirmed buying that, you certainly have my recommendation. I use it regularly - incredible glass. It is a film era lens still in production. Lovely colours and micro-contrast, superb sharpness stopped down, and possessing that magical pixie-dust "look".

I should mention that the DA*55 f1.4 is also very highly regarded. You may want to check that out as well; it is a digital-era lens and renders differently than the FA43 Ltd, so check their respective "looks" before you decide.

---------- Post added 03-06-16 at 06:34 PM ----------

Regarding the FA43 f1.9 Limited and the FA*80-200 f2.8 which I mentioned, note that the K-1 has built in lens-corrections for these lenses (plus several other film era lenses as well). This should help take care of the purple fringing I mentioned, which can sometimes appear when using film era lenses on digital bodies.

[jacharles50]

These are great suggestions--very helpful. That DA 55 1.4 sounds particularly good. I'd love to have a lens that fast. Thanks for taking the time to reply!

[reh321]

These are great suggestions--very helpful. That DA 55 1.4 sounds particularly good. I'd love to have a lens that fast. Thanks for taking the time to reply!

Remember that you can use your old K-mount lenses as you used them before. If I were in your position, I would map available lenses against my current "needs" and see how far my money will stretch, remembering that the old lenses could still be used to "fill in" until you complete what you want {assuming you're willing to go back to manual focusing}