Third party lenses, am I missing out

stevebrot · 12-30-2020, 09:59 AM

Originally posted by Jonathan Mac

Well, Sigma no longer make K-mount lenses

Someone should tell Sigma USA that...

Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens for Pentax K 340109 B&H Photo

(...what I might consider buying if I did not already own the FA 35/2.0...)

Steve

stevebrot · 12-30-2020, 10:03 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Serkevan

I have already managed to photograph my own fingers with the M20/4, I don't wanna know how the 10-17would go

I have been giving my Samyang 14/2.8 a go on film this last week and dealing with the FOV is a challenge. My feet are safe for the time being, but composition is so very hard. I tend to "see wide", but 14mm is another thing entirely.

Steve

**pres589** · 12-30-2020, 10:48 AM

I think I've used my Sy 14mm on full frame once. It's bonkers how wide that view is. Between my 14mm, 17mm, and 20mm prime lenses, I prefer the field of view afforded by the 17.

If I was really smart I'd have my Tamron 17mm, my Sigma 28mm, a Voigtlander 40mm, and my Tamron 90mm Macro with a Ricoh XR7 and call it done. That would be a very high performing kit, especially on film, and the only Pentax aspect is the k-mount that marries it all together. Maybe my M 75-150 sneaks in there to give me some extra reach.

Jonathan Mac · 12-30-2020, 10:56 AM

Originally posted by Cerebum

There was a letter in one of the papers, with pictures, where an old dear complained that her hotel and surrounding restaurants in Benidorm had too many Spanish people in them. She wanted a refund! It was laughably pathetic and she was rightly held up for ridicule!

Ha ha - I saw that a while back. Too many Spaniards around, spoiling her otherwise nice holiday in Spain.

**hjoseph7** · 12-30-2020, 07:59 PM

Other than Tamron and Sigma it is really hard trying to find exotic third-party lenses for Pentax cameras these days. Back in the day(15-20 years ago ), you could purchase lenses such as Zeiss, Voigtländer etc. with K-mounts, but not anymore. These manufacturers cater only to Nikon, Canon and maybe Sony these days. You might be able to find these lenses on the used market, but it will probably be difficult, or very expensive. The good thing is that Pentax has some gems of their own, for example the Limited lenses are hard to beat, also the Takumar line has some exceptional lenses, but you have to do your research on which ones are truly exceptional. Tamron and Sigma usually try to fill holes in the Pentax lens line-up, but their lenses except for the recent 'Art lenses', usually don't match up with Pentax build quality, or optics.

Jonathan Mac · 12-31-2020, 06:01 AM

There are newer manufacturers who produce lenses for Pentax, though they're all manual focus: Samyang*, Laowa etc. Some of them are very highly regarded and they tend to produce lenses that are outside what the better-known manufacturers would produce.

* Yes, I know Samyang has been around for a long time but I'm not counting their very poorly-regarded slow zooms from the film days.

**pres589** · 12-31-2020, 06:13 AM

Samyang hasn't introduced a new lens to k-mount in a few years now. I think the 135mm f2 was their last lens to come to Pentax. Since their move to AF lenses nothing is coming here and they never produced an "XP" higher-perf manual focus lens for k-mount either.

Not trying to be negative, just a bit more accurate; Samyang isn't much different from Sigma at this point from a k-mount shoppers perspective.

12-30-2020, 07:59 PM	#50
hjoseph7 Site Supporter Join Date: May 2014 Location: Minnesota Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,046	Other than Tamron and Sigma it is really hard trying to find exotic third-party lenses for Pentax cameras these days. Back in the day(15-20 years ago ), you could purchase lenses such as Zeiss, Voigtländer etc. with K-mounts, but not anymore. These manufacturers cater only to Nikon, Canon and maybe Sony these days. You might be able to find these lenses on the used market, but it will probably be difficult, or very expensive. The good thing is that Pentax has some gems of their own, for example the Limited lenses are hard to beat, also the Takumar line has some exceptional lenses, but you have to do your research on which ones are truly exceptional. Tamron and Sigma usually try to fill holes in the Pentax lens line-up, but their lenses except for the recent 'Art lenses', usually don't match up with Pentax build quality, or optics. Last edited by hjoseph7; 12-30-2020 at 08:04 PM.

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12-30-2020, 09:59 AM	#46
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by Jonathan Mac Well, Sigma no longer make K-mount lenses Someone should tell Sigma USA that... Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens for Pentax K 340109 B&H Photo (...what I might consider buying if I did not already own the FA 35/2.0...) Steve

12-30-2020, 10:03 AM - 1 Like	#47
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by Serkevan I have already managed to photograph my own fingers with the M20/4, I don't wanna know how the 10-17would go I have been giving my Samyang 14/2.8 a go on film this last week and dealing with the FOV is a challenge. My feet are safe for the time being, but composition is so very hard. I tend to "see wide", but 14mm is another thing entirely. Steve

12-30-2020, 10:48 AM	#48
pres589 Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Wichita, KS Photos: Albums Posts: 4,529	I think I've used my Sy 14mm on full frame once. It's bonkers how wide that view is. Between my 14mm, 17mm, and 20mm prime lenses, I prefer the field of view afforded by the 17. If I was really smart I'd have my Tamron 17mm, my Sigma 28mm, a Voigtlander 40mm, and my Tamron 90mm Macro with a Ricoh XR7 and call it done. That would be a very high performing kit, especially on film, and the only Pentax aspect is the k-mount that marries it all together. Maybe my M 75-150 sneaks in there to give me some extra reach.

12-30-2020, 10:56 AM	#49
Jonathan Mac Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Madrid, Spain Posts: 10,894	Originally posted by Cerebum There was a letter in one of the papers, with pictures, where an old dear complained that her hotel and surrounding restaurants in Benidorm had too many Spanish people in them. She wanted a refund! It was laughably pathetic and she was rightly held up for ridicule! Ha ha - I saw that a while back. Too many Spaniards around, spoiling her otherwise nice holiday in Spain.

12-31-2020, 06:01 AM	#51
Jonathan Mac Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Madrid, Spain Posts: 10,894	There are newer manufacturers who produce lenses for Pentax, though they're all manual focus: Samyang, Laowa etc. Some of them are very highly regarded and they tend to produce lenses that are outside what the better-known manufacturers would produce. Yes, I know Samyang has been around for a long time but I'm not counting their very poorly-regarded slow zooms from the film days.

12-31-2020, 06:13 AM	#52
pres589 Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Wichita, KS Photos: Albums Posts: 4,529	Samyang hasn't introduced a new lens to k-mount in a few years now. I think the 135mm f2 was their last lens to come to Pentax. Since their move to AF lenses nothing is coming here and they never produced an "XP" higher-perf manual focus lens for k-mount either. Not trying to be negative, just a bit more accurate; Samyang isn't much different from Sigma at this point from a k-mount shoppers perspective.