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07-11-2011, 12:42 PM   #61
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Are they Pentax Lenses?

QuoteOriginally posted by derelict Quote
So, I have a few different lenses that I use (80-200, 50mm which is my favorite walk around, and a 70-300) on my SLRs and even though they are AF capable, I use manual focus only.

So, here is the question: I am looking to pick up a K100D Super, K200D or a K10D and will the lenses I have work with the DSLR body? Im looking at those three because I will be looking in the used market as they will be more in my price range. I just want to make sure that the lenses that I currently have will work on these new(ish) DSLRs without any issues. Thanks.
If they are Pentax Lenses, or were made for Pentax, then the answer would be yes.

If they are Canon lenses, I'm not sure they would work without some type of adapter if there is one. I do know that a lot of Canon users are buying Pentax lenses and using an adapter because Pentax makes great lenses.

07-13-2011, 11:56 AM   #62
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Incidentally, on my *istDS there's no 'green button' - you use the AE-L button which does a very snappy stopdown metering job and automatically sets the shutter speed. If you use the DoF lever, as someone suggested, you have to squint at the over/under exposure indicator at bottom right of the viewfinder then operate the thumbwheel to manually adjust the shutter speed. Fiddly.
07-14-2011, 10:13 AM   #63
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QuoteOriginally posted by derelict Quote
First post so please excuse the ignorance and probably the fact that this has been brought up already
Well yes - it's the whole point of this thread. Read the first post for instructions on how to use manual lenses on a DSLR. If they are AF lenses, they don't even count as old - they work normally.
07-22-2011, 05:37 PM   #64
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Can't find the "custom function menu" in which I need to allow manual lenses. Camera: K-x. Thank you in advance for your kind support.

07-22-2011, 06:38 PM - 1 Like   #65
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QuoteOriginally posted by gruniongrady Quote
Can't find the "custom function menu" in which I need to allow manual lenses. Camera: K-x. Thank you in advance for your kind support.
I have a K20D and I'm not sure of the Kx's exact details, but if you press the MENU button, one option should be CUSTOM. Select that, and you should see the USING APERTURE RING setting -- on the K20D it's nearly the last custom setting. This should explained be in your user manual.
_________________________________________

EDIT: I've started a thread https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/152802-help-re-usi...ring-info.html for a list of where to look in user manuals for the APERTURE RING info. Hope this helps!

Last edited by RioRico; 07-22-2011 at 08:29 PM.
07-23-2011, 10:02 AM   #66
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THANK YOU! That did the trick! Only problem is, no more using internal meter for the bellows, but, that's photography! Thanks again! Will post some pix when some get done.
GG
07-23-2011, 04:05 PM   #67
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QuoteOriginally posted by gruniongrady Quote
THANK YOU! That did the trick! Only problem is, no more using internal meter for the bellows, but, that's photography!
Huh? Internal metering is there! With a bellows or non-A-type manual lens on your camera, it should default to Av mode, aperture priority. Set the aperture, aim, focus, shoot, and the camera picks the shutter speed. Or switch to M(anual) mode and hit the Green button. All thru-the-lens (TTL) metering, no problem.

I often use a simple PK or M42 bellows with some longish (90-160mm) enlarger lens for non-macro work, just general photography. It feels very liberating! I'll often set the mode dial right next to M -- on my K20D it's Tav mode, I'm not sure how the Kx is set up, maybe Av is there. Anyway, it's just one quick flick from Av (with automatic shutter) to M (with manual shutter), depending on how I want to finesse the light.

I plan to write an article about using bellows for non-macro shooting, and all the optical materials that can be stuffed into bellows -- lenses, fresnels, prisms, magnifiers, etc. Some tips: By scraping the paint off a PK bellows base or a flanged M42-PK adapter, Catch-In-Focus can be used -- very handy. Lenses on extension (bellows and/or tubes) usually need hoods. And using a bellows rig for street-shooting can attract attention to the rig, and distract attention from what you're aiming at.

07-23-2011, 05:01 PM   #68
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Problem with focus to infinity

I have bought a couple of K-mount manual lenses: Chinon 50/1.9 and Porst 28/2.8, both in excellent shape. While shooting everything closer than infinity it's OK.
When I try to shoot landscapes or distant objects it looks like both are out of focus.
I faced the same problem when using M42 lenses with adapter on Canon EOS but thought that it won't happen with K-mount on Pentax KR.
Am I doing something wrong?
Can anybody help?
07-23-2011, 08:05 PM   #69
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I only use manual mode. Thanks for the tips. I think I need more light. Can't see a thing; and how do I set the aperture? Thank you in advance.
07-23-2011, 08:51 PM   #70
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QuoteOriginally posted by vlad2304 Quote
Can anybody help?
I really don't know. You should post this question in the SLR LENSES forum here; it will be read by more people there.

QuoteOriginally posted by gruniongrady Quote
...how do I set the aperture?
Twist the aperture ring. Say if your lens is is a SMC-A 50/1.7, the f/1.7 setting admits the most light, and the f/22 setting lets in the least. If that lens is mounted on bellows and you have the setting on A (just past the 22) then the aperture is all the way down at f/22 -- way too dark. Again, this kind of question will get more responses on the BEGINNERS or SLR LENSES forums. Cya there!
07-24-2011, 07:16 PM   #71
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thanks, but I'm not a "beginner;" some "beginners" will benefit from this advice, I'm sure.
07-25-2011, 02:36 AM   #72
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Gruniongrady, let's get this straight. You're using a Kx body with bellows and an old screw-mount prime lens? There is no direct link between body and lens and you are viewing through the bellows with lens wide open (i.e. at max aperture) because you can't stop down?

First, you lose massive amounts of light through bellows (depending on extension) so unless your target is very brightly lit it's going to look dim. Secondly, you're going to have to stop down - to say f/11 or f/16 - to get any worthwhile depth of field. Normally, with this set-up, you'd have a twin cable release with one cable screwing into the camera's shutter button or somewhere else on the camera body (a feature that's sadly lacking on nearly all today's cameras) and the other screwing into the front panel of the bellows unit to actuate the lens's diaphragm pin. However, not all bellows units have a cable connection, so there are two choices - buy a cable tube (it's like a short extension tube but incorporates a cable-operated aperture pin actuator) or use a lens with a cable thread built into the rear of the barrel which allows for remote diaphragm operation. German lenses in particular, such as Schneider and Schacht, had this excellent facility. I used to have a 90mm Schacht Travenar for this and general purpose short tele work on my old Spotty. Auto and Super Taks incorporated an auto-manual lever to switch between wide-open and preset apertures but working it could disturb careful framing so not ideal.

Olympus OM users were laughing. OM lenses featured a stop-down button that was great for this sort of thing.

I don't suppose the Kx has a cable thread, so the idea would be to use a single cable at the bellows/lens end (or a screw-in pushbutton) to give you stop-down preview and metering. There's plenty of advice on this thread about metering. When set, you press the stop-down cable/button fractionally before pressing the shutter release on the camera. You get used to it.

Unless you have nice bright lights you'll almost certainly need off-camera flash, in which case any metering you can achieve is purely academic. Most bellows units include a magnification or extension scale and you need to do a bit of maths to work out the combinations of flash strength, flash-to-subject distances and usable apertures. That's a whole different can of worms.

A simpler and much less bulky way of getting big magnification is to use an old 50 or 35mm prime reversed onto the camera body (using a filter thread-to-Kmount adapter) and fitting the aforementioned cable tube to the rear of the lens (i.e. now forward pointing) with pushbutton instead of cable. This is neat. It provides shade and protection for the rear element of the lens and finger operated stop-down. You can add an extension tube for greater effect but you don't need too much extension.
07-28-2011, 05:52 PM   #73
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QuoteOriginally posted by vlad2304 Quote
I have bought a couple of K-mount manual lenses: Chinon 50/1.9 and Porst 28/2.8, both in excellent shape. While shooting everything closer than infinity it's OK.
When I try to shoot landscapes or distant objects it looks like both are out of focus.
I faced the same problem when using M42 lenses with adapter on Canon EOS but thought that it won't happen with K-mount on Pentax KR.
Am I doing something wrong?
Can anybody help?
Most people think that you need to focus at an infinity point for landscape shots when in fact you don't because anything before the hyperfocal point would be out of focus. If you are using the 28mm wide angle lens for example, you would focus a "reasonable distant but not that far out" object which is easy to achieve with the 28mm focal length, anything beyond that point would be nicely in focus. The hyperfocal point varies with the focal length and aperture, which means if you stop down the hyperfocal point will be closer. Manual focus with wide angle lens is a joy for landscape photography.
07-28-2011, 06:23 PM   #74
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QuoteOriginally posted by shooz Quote
No comments?
Should I give up on M42?
No, you shouldn't give up on M42 lens especially the nice ones. Yes, there are some m42 lenses that were made without the A/M switches as some of the old film cameras have level mechanisms built in the lens mount to act as M/A switch. So, instead of putting the A/M mechanism in the lens, they put it in camera.

There are several things you could try. The simplest one would be to use a small screw driver to push the pin in and then to the side until the pin get stuck inside the lens. This is not a permanent but safe way, as sometimes when you juggle the lens many times, it may come out again (if it does, you just have to repeat the same procedure). But it generally works without altering or damaging the lens. I have two beautiful lenses just like that (one Mamiya/sekor 50/1.4 and the other Auto Rikenon 50/1.7).

The second method is to use the m42 adapter with a flange (as some poster have already suggested) so when the lens is fully inserted/screwed into the lens mount, the pin is automatically pushed in by the flange acting as a switch to M mode. However, finding one such adapter could be a little hard as it is not easy and since they don't sell too many to justify for vendor to keep them in stock.

The third method is somewhat drastic and depending on the situation. For example, I have the T4/m42 mount, that does not have the A/M switch, I unassembled the T4 mount and put some rubber styrofoam against the spring to stop the mechanism to push the pin up (again, with non-destructive in mind). Other people have tried another methods such as using solder to plug the hole or some even remove the pin or spring from the mount entirely. These other methods to alter the mechanism require more skills to get the job done properly. Depending on your comfort level and how much you value the lens, you can definitely give it a try and find good use of a nice m42 glass.
08-07-2011, 04:25 AM   #75
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Choosing the right adapter

Hi guys, im new to the world of dslr's and chose pentax partly because of the possibility to use the m42 lenses (friends and family have a few i could use)
I've had a look around the site and seen the advice not to get the adapter with a flange on but when on amazon I found two which look identical, one makes no mention of infinity focus, the other says it is not possible, could anybody recommend one that will defiantly do the job? (there are non on amazon uk that guarantee they will work and have had some bad luck buying items off of eBay)
Wurbledood
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