[stefanor]

Hello, I'm new to this forum.
After many B/W film years (Leica, Rolleiflex, Pentax 67 ...) I've decided to jump to the dgt world, and I've decided to do it by stepping in through the main door. The K1 seems to be the perfect choice for me.
I would love to take color pictures (primarily closeup, nature and portrait) with a prime lens that recall the nuances and the film character as much as possible.Do you think that the limited series (31-43-77) could be a good option ?

thanks in advance for your answer

Stefano

p.s.
sorry for my english

[ddamski]

Hi Stefano,

First of all, welcome to the forum!
check this article which is a review of the K-1 with the 31mm.

Pentax K-1 and the FA 31mm Limited - Hands-On Tests | PentaxForums.com

If you want film like pictures you will need to practice your skills in lightroom/photoshop. Though the easiest way would be to find film presets for lightroom Check the VSCO film presets. I am sure there are many options out there.
By the way the 31mm is my favorite lens on the K-1! the 77mm goes second for fantastic portrait shots!

[Auzzie-Phoenix]

If you want oldschool feel for nostalgia's sake, and some similar color rendering you can get the M42 to K adapter and use some nice Super Takumars. A radioactive 50mm that is a bit yellowed can add some extra warmth to a sunset image.

[stefanor]

Though the easiest way would be to find film presets for lightroom Check the VSCO film presets.

Ok I will ! thanks
p.s
the 77mm please me very much

[eurostar]

I use them on the K-5, so I don't know really how they perform on K-1, but I have found that the Pentax K 28/2, 50/1,2 and 85/1,8 have a wonderful film era rendition.

[LensBeginner]

I second Auzzie-Phoenix, best way to get a film-like rendering is to start with a film lens ;-)
M- and A- series offer good performances, a wide choice and low prices.
Some zoom lenses are among those who offer the most vintage-y renderings, mainly due to limitations in zoom design at the time.
Also look at Russian-made lenses, like Zenit Helios and the like.

[stefanor]

M- and A- series offer good performances, a wide choice and low prices.

This was also a good chance ... thanks

[Adam]

I agree- these days, most of those effects should primarily come from PP. I'd get a nice sharp prime with an aperture that suits your creative needs

[banep]

Stefano, welcome to forum.
Please define what "film like" means to you.
You could find on second hand market excelent old manual film era lenses for Pentax but despite similarities they won't have the same look on K-1 digital camera like as an example on K-2 film camera.
For film like exposure, color palettes, grain you should use custom Lightroom presets for that purpose.

[BigMackCam]

Hi Stefano, and welcome to the forums

One of the most important aspects in achieving a film look is to ensure you shoot with the most neutral profile possible in your camera. Colour reproduction, contrast and sharpness are key features of many old lenses, and you want to reproduce these as naturally as possible. You should avoid altering these aspects too much (if at all) in post-processing, too, as it's easy to lose the character of a lens by doing so.

Having captured your images with a neutral colour / contrast / sharpness profile, you really need to do a bit of post-processing if you want to emulate the look of film. Google Nik Collection is a powerful and free suite of plug-in tools for Lightroom, Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. Of these tools, Analog Efex Pro 2, Color Efex Pro 4 and Silver Efex Pro 2 are excellent for achieving both colour and monochrome film-like processing. The key is to use them fairly subtly - too much processing can lead to very extreme and artificial-looking results (some of the presets are way too heavy-handed, but they provide a good starting point).

The above steps will allow you to capture the rendering character of a lens accurately, and emulate the effects of film on the final processed image.

As for choosing a lens... Many modern lenses, such as those you've mentioned, have much better resolution, far greater contrast and fewer aberrations than old film-era glass. You can, of course, soften and reduce contrast in post-processing - that's certainly an option. Personally, though, I think it's better to use old film-era glass. That way, you're getting the authentic look of the lens right from the start.

[Na Horuk]

The FA limited lenses are good choices for almost anything!
For portraiture and similar people usually use at least 55mm lens, but more like 85mm up to 135mm. To start off with a decent lens that's not too expensive you might want a FA 50mm f1.4.

I would love to take color pictures (primarily closeup, nature and portrait) with a prime lens that recall the nuances and the film character as much as possible.

For closeups and similar I would recommend a macro lens like DFA 100mm macro or Tamron 90mm macro. These both produce stunning, sharp photos, but with a modern type of rendering. Honestly, the DFA 100mm might be a good place to start, despite not being very "film-like" - it is okay for portraits and nature and macro. Great all around lens, truly stunning optics, some top features (WR, QS), and fairly priced.

For final "film look" you should use something like Topaz, Nik Efects Analog Efects,.. Alien skin or one of the other things. Most photography software has some presets to make photos look more film-like. If you shoot jpeg (and not raw dng or pef) then you can also do some in-camera adjustments to make something similar to the film look. Jpeg mode, contrasts, just adjust those things.

Tl;dr: FA limited lenses are great. DFA 100mm macro is great and FA 50mm f1.4 is a very versatile lens (even the budget DA 50mm f1.8 is not bad).

[pathdoc]

If you want oldschool feel for nostalgia's sake, and some similar color rendering you can get the M42 to K adapter and use some nice Super Takumars. A radioactive 50mm that is a bit yellowed can add some extra warmth to a sunset image.

Definitely this. Some people like the yellow cast, especially if they shoot monochrome, and others don't - or feel it isn't appropriate for all circumstances. I don't know if they kept it on the K-1, but in the K-5 there are various in-camera preset image filters, and the "muted" filter does a very good job of removing the yellow cast on my 50/1.4 Super Tak and rendering the colours as my eyes see them.

[stefanor]

Thanks everybody !!!

After many many years of all manual settings at this point I would like to experience the thrill of autofocus and maybe also aperture priority Wow !!!

So I think that I'll start with a short tele like the 77mm ... later, I know, I'll begin to look on the bay for beautiful old manual lenses.

[VoiceOfReason]

The 31 is the first prime I really like. I have had plenty of primes before and sold most (only keeping my 40 and 50) but this one has something different about how it renders. It is sharp and it is nice and works great with the K1.

[stefanor]

this one has something different about how it renders

thanks ... 31mm may be too wide for me but it's also an option