[femto]

I am really happy for all the responses I got so far. But just to clear things up a bit, I am not looking to change systems or buy modern lenses for a non Pentax camera. The whole idea is to bridge the time until prices normalize a bit. I am eager to play around with swirly bokeh which is not really happening on apsc, or turning 135mm into a more useful focal range for example. So getting a cheaper camera and an adapter sounded like a good idea, because I can easily resell it later for about the same price and even save some money just by waiting the current situation out. Since I do not care too much about state of the art technology, I might as well get an outdated pro camera to do the job. Why not? I understand that those are typically heavily used, but they were built to last long and offer some interesting features in addition to certainly not being too small. So the question remains which one would be suitable to use mit K mount lenses? Is adapting to Nikon really such a big deal, because some extra glass is needed? Or would I simply need a high quality adapter? I also like the D700 idea. It seems to offer a lot its price.

[Adam]

Is adapting to Nikon really such a big deal, because some extra glass is needed?

Yes, there wouldn't be much of a gain in doing that. If you want to adapt I'd say Sony is the way to go. We actually have a review which talks about the general user experience when using Pentax lenses:

Sony A7 with Pentax Full-frame Glass Review - Introduction | PentaxForums.com Reviews

[biz-engineer]

Pentax K-1 can be bought used for not that much money, especially for the pictures it takes, since it's not a mirror-less it's very underrated.

[repaap]

I'll agree with Biz.

If you are not going to invest in other camera brand, and you don't 'need' mirrorless, then used K-1 could be a good way to go. It'll give to you true Fov of your good old lenses. Image quality is still very nice compared to anything out there. they are quite afordable too now a days.

[Wasp]

I would say a Nikon Z5. It has better image quality than the Canon EOS RP, which is also an option. Niikon glass is however more expensive than Canon glass, which makes it a difficult decision. In this case the price of glass is not really an issue, since the OP will only be using it with Asahi Optical Company's finest.

Sony's vast A7 range might also offer some solutions, but I don't have an opinion on that. The word on the web is that the menus are complicated. The best answer might be a lightly used K1.

I have also been looking at the going over to the dark side as a K1 is eye watering expensive in South Africa and used ones are nowhere to be found. I could import a new or used K1 for a slightly better price but support for grey market products is a bit of a grey area.

[AfterPentax Mark II]

Thank you everyone for clicking on my thread!

I currently only own aps-c bodies, but I would love to use some of my older primes (K mount + M42) on a full frame digital body.

However, while the K1 is almost exactly the camera I want, I simply cannot afford it right now. Used market prices have spiked for higher end gear and Pentax alternatives do not exit. So the only thing I can do at the moment is to look at other manufactures older offerings and get a K1 later. Or wait it out, but that is no fun at all.


Are there any cheap options that I should consider?

My goal is to enjoy the process of taking pictures with manual lenses, being creative and feeling involved, and maybe do some portraits. Not so much photographing moving objects. The best image quality or highest megapixel number is not needed. Video capabilities are also not needed. Instead, what I care more about is usability with said old lenses, for example being able to easily adjust exposure when stopping down without having to fiddle around in menus, having a big and bright viewfinder that ideally offers some sort of focussing help, maybe ibis and preferably a bigger body with a deep grip over a small one. To give you a better idea, my K-50 almost feels too small for my hands.


Nikon is propably out of the question due to adaptability reasons. Sony has tiny bodies and is still a bit too expensive for what I am looking for.

So far I came across the Canon 1Ds mk i/ii (Big pro body, lots of af points that could hopefully help with manual focussing?) as well as the 5D mk i/ii (Even cheaper and / or better iq / dust removal).

Would these bodies be good options for me or should I be looking at something else?
What have other people or maybe you been using before the K1 was available?

I am glad for any helpful advice.

What do you think the advantages are when acquiring a K-1 body? Because the vintage glass also works with your aps-c and you will have the same problems like having to use the green button instead of light metering when you push the exposure button.

[Papa_Joe]

My goal is to enjoy the process of taking pictures with manual lenses, being creative and feeling involved, and maybe do some portraits. Not so much photographing moving objects. The best image quality or highest megapixel number is not needed. Video capabilities are also not needed. Instead, what I care more about is usability with said old lenses, for example being able to easily adjust exposure when stopping down without having to fiddle around in menus, having a big and bright viewfinder that ideally offers some sort of focussing help, maybe ibis and preferably a bigger body with a deep grip over a small one. To give you a better idea, my K-50 almost feels too small for my hands.

I really would suggest a film camera, preferable a Pentax MX or a Cosina CT-1A and perhaps a lightmeter for incident light metering. Or a Spotmatic for the M42.
There is nothing better to simplify photography. On the other hand, using film is quite expensive.

The K-1 does not make such a big difference to your K-50 in handling. Sure it has a lot of direct controls and it is really fun to use it, but you still have to deal with whitebalance, ISO, JPEG profiles and so on. And manual focusing is not always on the spot with it either. I get better results with my K-70 and istD*.

[Fogel70]

I like using my Sony A7 for vintage lenses. IMO vintage lenses on A7 feels more like using an old film SLR because it is sized like one. More than if using these lenses on a Pentax DSLR.
With K-mount lenses it is also nice to not having to use stop down metering, but to use Av-mode without any restrictions.

One advantage of using mirrorless is that it offer better aids for manual focus (than DSLR), and the EVF does not go darker when stopping down the lens as the EVF adjust the brightness.

[robgski]

A K-1 really makes vintage lenses show off their quality, IMO, it's worth waiting and saving for the time when you can afford one.
You can often find a K-1 here for under $1400, which might seem step, but if you put aside $127 dollars aside each month for a year, you'd have that amount.

[UncleVanya]

I am really happy for all the responses I got so far. But just to clear things up a bit, I am not looking to change systems or buy modern lenses for a non Pentax camera. The whole idea is to bridge the time until prices normalize a bit. I am eager to play around with swirly bokeh which is not really happening on apsc, or turning 135mm into a more useful focal range for example. So getting a cheaper camera and an adapter sounded like a good idea, because I can easily resell it later for about the same price and even save some money just by waiting the current situation out. Since I do not care too much about state of the art technology, I might as well get an outdated pro camera to do the job. Why not? I understand that those are typically heavily used, but they were built to last long and offer some interesting features in addition to certainly not being too small. So the question remains which one would be suitable to use mit K mount lenses? Is adapting to Nikon really such a big deal, because some extra glass is needed? Or would I simply need a high quality adapter? I also like the D700 idea. It seems to offer a lot its price.

Adapting to Nikon isn’t going to work. The glass type adapters act as a teleconverter, so you end up with 1 stop of light lost and essentially the same or close to the same field of view as a cropped apsc body would give. On top of which the image quality degrades. Honestly other than mirrorless I don’t know of a good option to adapt Pentax lenses to. The mirrorless options are viable due to the short flange focal distances involved - the dslr options all are either too close to adapt (Nikon, Sony A Mount) or have mirror fouling issues like Canon.
Changing systems is viable for some people, but you have said that doesn’t fit your needs. You really have four options: 1) stay with apsc for now and wait for money to be saved and proceed to drop, 2) get a Sony A7 series Body and a passive adapter, 3) increase the budget and get a k1 now, 4) despite what you really want, change systems.

[femto]

I really would suggest a film camera, preferable a Pentax MX or a Cosina CT-1A and perhaps a lightmeter for incident light metering. Or a Spotmatic for the M42.
There is nothing better to simplify photography. On the other hand, using film is quite expensive.

The K-1 does not make such a big difference to your K-50 in handling. Sure it has a lot of direct controls and it is really fun to use it, but you still have to deal with whitebalance, ISO, JPEG profiles and so on. And manual focusing is not always on the spot with it either. I get better results with my K-70 and istD*.

Giving it a try cannot hurt. When I bought some lenses they came bundled with a Spotmatic and ME Super that both seem to work. Looking through those viewfinders however made me wanting the K1 even more. And I also wonder if there are old fashioned focussing plates available. The ones that let you manually find the center focus. As for handling these older lesens, the K-50 feels perfectly fine for me with green button and five stops of exposure correction available on a dial of my choice. If that does not change then I feel rather happy.

[BigMackCam]

I shoot most of my vintage glass with a Sony A7 MkII. It was inexpensive when I bought it, and they're positively cheap now. It was the first A7-series camera to support uncompressed raw files (instead of the lossy, compressed raw produced by the original A7 and Sony's SLT cameras of the time). With the optional battery grip fitted (a good idea even if only to extend the relatively poor battery life) it handles well, and the 24MP sensor is more than ample for most vintage glass; indeed, it may even be an advantage, as very high resolution sensors can really show off all the optical aberrations at their very worst.

Mirrorless cameras are generally good choices if you're going to shoot vintage lenses with a range of different mounts, due to the shorter flange focal distance. I shoot K, A, F, EF, M42, M39 and LTM lenses on mine, and there are adapters for numerous other mounts (all the common ones, and most of the obscure too),,,

[Jonathan Mac]

TBH if you've ruled out the K-1 then I wouldn't consider and other DSLR, only mirrorless. You'll have trouble adapting K-mount lenses to either Canon or Sony and Nikon would not allow infinity focus even if an adapter exists. All four of the big FF mirrorless makers (Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic) have cheaper models available now but I'm not sure they'll be all that much cheaper than a K-1, unless you go used, in which case the vast majority of what's available will be older Sony models as they've been around for much longer.

Personally I use Fujifilm and would love them to bring out a FF model for my old lenses but that's never going to happen. Fujifilm are the closest to Pentax in terms of design principles and designing cameras for photographers.

[vector]

I really like my K1 and would echo the recommendations to shoot for that but I don't use my older glass on it much to be honest, mainly because precise manual focus through the viewfinder is a pain. I have figured out how to use the focus fine adjustment with my manual glass so that focus confirmation works correctly but it just isn't as precise as an AF lens. I have a fujifilm X-T1 I use some of that glass with but have considered a full frame mirrorless for exactly this purpose. I think I if were to run out today and just get something new it would be the Nikon Z5 or Z6 but there are lots of older Sony bodies available. I just took a look on mpb.com and right now they have a bunch of A7, A7R, A7II at about $550-$750USD range.

[jlstrawman]

Sony's vast A7 range might also offer some solutions, but I don't have an opinion on that. The word on the web is that the menus are complicated.

Nonsense! I have owned and used the K-1. I have also used Sony a7 series cameras since 2014. The a7 series menus aren't complicated, just a lot of parameters that can be adjusted. If that is too difficult, there are custom settings buttons, allowing one to set up the camera to your liking, and access multiple different set ups (landscape, portrait, video, etc.) via a single button.

If custom buttons are still too difficult one could always hire someone to take the photos for you.