[edo]

This thread is to inform which legacy lenses are good buy.

For best bang for the buck:
- Pentax A 28mm 2.8
- Pentax A 50mm 1.7
- Pentax A 100mm 2.8

Really nice kit/collector:
- Pentax A 20mm f2.8
- Pentax A 28mm f2
- Pentax A 50mm f1.2
- Pentax A* 85mm f1.4

Balanced priced kit:
- Pentax A 24mm f2.8
- Pentax A 28mm f2.8
- Pentax A 35mm f2
- Pentax A 50mm f1.4
- Pentax A 100mm f2.8
(And Pentax K 85mm1.8) without A contacts, but for a portrait lens, it's fine in the field.

Any ideas for good legacy zooms?
I am waiting for A 24-50mm g4 and A 70-210mm f4.

Have no clue if I'll be happy with K1 and those zooms while I am completely confident about the primes.

Happy waiting! In France delivery for me is on the 29th April!

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Last edited by edo; 04-11-2016 at 03:38 AM.

[Adam]

Samyang lenses are also great alternatives to expensive AF lenses. They might be able to outperform many of these legacy lenses, too.

[Wild Mark]

For your balanced kit I would suggest the following

Balanced priced kit:
- Pentax A 24mm f2 Pentax FA20/2.8
- Pentax A 28mm f2.8 Pentax F28/2.8 OR K30/2.8
- Pentax A 35mm f2 No argument
- Pentax A 50mm f1.4 F50/1.4
- Pentax A 100mm f2.8 No argument
(And Pentax K 85mm1.8) without A contacts, but for a portrait lens, it's fine in the field I would go for the killer lens - either FA77 limited or FA*85


There are always challenges in making the right choice

[pathdoc]

For best bang for the buck:
- Pentax A 28mm 2.8
- Pentax A 50mm 1.7
- Pentax A 100mm 2.8

You wouldn't consider a 135mm? Or is this based purely on what you own? (I seem to have accumulated a lot of lenses in the 28/50/135 trinity)

[edo]

You are right, the A 135mm f2.8 is a gem. And should be nominated for the balanced kit.

I always preferred 100mm as a limiy for a short tele. I prefer zoom for longer FOV. The A 70-210 f4 looks nice and not that much bigger than A 200mm f4.

[Caat]

You are right, the A 135mm f2.8 is a gem. And should be nominated for the balanced kit.

I always preferred 100mm as a limiy for a short tele. I prefer zoom for longer FOV. The A 70-210 f4 looks nice and not that much bigger than A 200mm f4.

The A 70-210 f4 is a lovely lens. I used it a lot on my *ist DS. It has nice rendering and smooth bokeh. On a 6 Mp sensor it was also sharp enough. I don't know how well it will stand up to a 36mp FF sensor though.

One of its neat party tricks is it's 1:4 close focus mode. That's a very nice thing to have in a zoom of that focal length range.

[Paul MaudDib]

Samyang lenses are also great alternatives to expensive AF lenses. They might be able to outperform many of these legacy lenses, too.

Yes, most of the Samyang lenses are quite fantastic and many allow you to replace many of the rare/expensive star-series lenses. 135mm f/2, 35mm f/1.4, and 24mm f/1.4 lenses fill some important but expensive niches in many kits. There are a few duds however - the 85mm f/1.4 and 50mm f/1.2 don't produce the same image quality as the rest of their line. And obviously you have to be willing to deal with manual focus. A split-prism focus screen will make this much easier.

Anything in the Sigma Art series is also fantastic, they're on the pricier side but you get what you pay for. The DG Art 50/1.4 is a major step forward from the basic Planar 50 design that dominates the first-party lineups, and the 35/1.4 also outperforms the first-party lineups.

The K35/3.5 is also a real gem on film, and the K28/2 reportedly is as well. YMMV on old lenses, some sensors tend to be sensitive to the tele-centricity of the lens and don't perform as well as they do on film. In general it's safer to opt for newer lenses that are optimized for this characteristic.

[jsherman999]

I'd really like to know how the FA 20 f/2.8 performs on the K-1, and the F/FA 50 1.7.

[bilybianca]

I'd really like to know how the FA 20 f/2.8 performs on the K-1, and the F/FA 50 1.7.

A couple of weeks, and then I can tell you. Aaaaarrrrgggghhh — the waiting kills me!

Kjell

[i5_david]

The wait is literally unbearable.

Btw, are we at pentaxforums will have a kinda Laboratory too? There is soooo much third party legacy glass that is not being part of Ricoh's Lab. Would be really cool to have a place to check shots of these lenses on a full frame sensor.

[Adam]

Anything in the Sigma Art series is also fantastic, they're on the pricier side but you get what you pay for. The DG Art 50/1.4 is a major step forward from the basic Planar 50 design that dominates the first-party lineups, and the 35/1.4 also outperforms the first-party lineups.

Gotta agree there- I'm ordering the 35mm F1.4 as soon as the K-1 comes in!

[Adam]

We have the lens sample photo archive, and there are plans to maintain an index of K-1 test shots as well

[Paul MaudDib]

Gotta agree there- I'm ordering the 35mm F1.4 as soon as the K-1 comes in!

Too rich for my blood but I love my Samyang 35/1.4. A 35/1.4 is really a must-have IMO, it's a fast-normal on APS-C and a fast-wide on FF. A very necessary FL on both formats.

[Mothballs]

LAOWA 15mm f/4 Wide Angle 1:1 Macro Lens Is a good candidate for any Kit. Ultrawide with Shift and 1:1 macro? Don't need AF for either of those. Also in a good spot budgetwise.

[dcpropilot]

Here's a lineup for ya: FA 20-35 (a little pricey at ~350-400), F 35-70 (under $75), F 70-210 (under $100), then throw in a F 50 1.7 (for about $100).