[Uncle Jaque]

The 28, 35, & 135 are probably T-mount. Get a cheap T-ring adapter and see if they fit...

It sound like the 400 might already have a T-mount to M42 adapter attached...see if the piece at the end unscrews.

I wound the little adapter tube on to the 400mm in that picture just to show that it was a compatible thread. If the tele adapter is indeed an M42 thread, then the 400mm ought to fit into my M42 adapter ring... right?

Both of the WA lenses fit that TP ring/tube as well; the only lens that does not fit and we might assume is a "T-Mount" is the 135mm.

Do you think that the 135mm is worth buying a T mount adapter ring for, since I've already got a Takumar 135mm with an integral Pentax bayonet mount?



I get the impression that it's as good if not a better lens than the Spiratone - is it? On my K100D it's like taking pictures through a keyhole or a rifle scope.

Right now I'm running the 50mm on it, setting the focal length in the box, and still having a very restricted field of view. I'm hoping that the WA lens might compensate for that a little. Which one should I try first?

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Last edited by Uncle Jaque; 08-28-2013 at 03:58 PM. Reason: Photo URL didn't take.

[Uncle Jaque]

.... you might want to look into is buying lens hood if you don't have them already, because a lens hood can improve the IQ, especially of older lenses with less-modern coatings.

I have an old lens hood in the K1000 camera bag which I could try. It has a velvet textured inside which has collected quite a bit of dust, lint, and fiber junk over the years and does not want to give it up. What's a good way to clean it?

[boriscleto]

The 135 probably isn't any better than the Takumar bayonet. But it could be a lens worth trying. How many aperture blades does it have?

[Uncle Jaque]

...How many aperture blades does it have?

Quite a few.



I counted 17.

To get this shot I wound on a little PENTAX "Close Up Lens" No. 1 on to the end of my ASAHI PENTAX-M 1:2 50mm.
It goes on like a filter and isn't much thicker.

Getting focus on those leaves through another lens while trying to illuminate it with a reading lamp is a little tricky. The shutter speed set down to about a half a second and I had to squeeze and follow through on the shutter like the trigger on a flintlock. That's how my ol' Pappy taught me to do it many years ago.

I dug out the lens hood and wound that on the 135mm too.



It's pretty crudded up.

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Last edited by Uncle Jaque; 08-28-2013 at 06:25 PM. Reason: Remembered something...

[boriscleto]

I would say it could definitely be an interesting lens...

T-mount Spiratone 135mm f2.8 TC Preset lens

[Uncle Jaque]

I would say it could definitely be an interesting lens...

Thanks 4 the link. At least now I have an idea of about how much it's worth!

Since I have another 135 which is probably at least as good a lens, I'll probably use this one for trading material. There must be DSLRs out there that take a T-mount,... aren't there?

I'll bring it to my photography class next month and see if anyone there is interested in it.

Got an e mail from Amazon.com; my M42 adapter ring has shipped and should be here by Sept. 4. I'll post how it works. Really looking forward to trying one of those WA lenses. Still waiting to hear if anyone can address distinctions / differences between them.

[boriscleto]

Since I have another 135 which is probably at least as good a lens, I'll probably use this one for trading material. There must be DSLRs out there that take a T-mount,... aren't there?

Got an e mail from Amazon.com; my M42 adapter ring has shipped and should be here by Sept. 4. I'll post how it works. Really looking forward to trying one of those WA lenses. Still waiting to hear if anyone can address distinctions / differences between them.

Any slr can take a T-mount, it's a universal mount.

On an APS-C DSLR the 28mm the FoV will be equivalent to a 42mm on FF, the 35mm will be equivalent to a 52mm. The only real difference between the 2 is likely the FoV.

35mm wide angle lenses were something of an anachronism by the time SLRs came about. It was the original wide angle focal length for the Leica Schraubgewinde in 1930. 135mm was the original telephoto focal length and was the longest focal length available for rangefinder cameras. Somehow these focal lengths, along with the 50mm, became the standard kit for SLRs as well as rangefinders. Though 28mm became the more common wide angle. By the mid-1980s the 135mm was usually replaced by a 80-200mm zoom.

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Last edited by boriscleto; 08-29-2013 at 05:06 AM.

[Uncle Jaque]

Any slr can take a T-mount, it's a universal mount.

With, I assume, an appropriate adapter if the body is not made to accept a T-mount, right?

On an APS-C DSLR the 28mm the FoV will be equivalent to a 42mm on FF (Film camera?), the 35mm will be equivalent to a 52mm. The only real difference between the 2 is likely the FoV.

OK; so in order to get that same FoV that I can get with my little pocket PENTAX W-80 snapshot camera, what lens would I have to use?



There is a huge difference, I've noticed. I have to stand at least twice as far away to get someone into the frame with the DSLR as I do with the Optimo. That's a little tight for taking decent landscapes - like this one I took near our quarters here in Maine with the Optio:



With the K-100D and the 50mm lens I'd have been lucky to have fit just the maple trees on the left of the road in.

It is very frustrating now that I can't get the 100D to take nearly as good shots as I can get with the little pocket snapper.
Most people could probably do better with their bloomin' cell phone.

I know I'm doing something wrong, but have yet to puzzle out what it is. I've tried various settings, stopping down the arpeture with the power switch set over to the little donut icon, and pushed the AE-L button - all to no avail. Have read where we should be able to get a meter reading scale up on the LCD screen, but I have yet to find it.
The stupid little whiz-wheel on the back doesn't seem to do much of anything that I can tell.
If I get a decent exposure it's an anomaly and a pleasant surprise. Right now I get a few on the Tv setting, although I have no clue as to why. Frequently when I shoot indoors everything comes out all orange and I cant even correct it in my editing program - I just convert it to grayscale as the best I can do.
This thing is more like working a computer than a camera IMHO - and i'm no computer whiz.

Oy; why can't they just make a K-1000 that shoots digital??!!

Thanks for your lens history lesson - very interesting!

[JimJohnson]

so in order to get that same FoV that I can get with my little pocket PENTAX W-80 snapshot camera, what lens would I have to use?

You need to look up the angle of view (in degrees) for your W-80, then match that with a lens that has a comparable angle of view when mounted on your SLR.

The angle of view is a combination of the sensor size and the focal length of the lens. A smaller sensor decreases the angle of view and a shorter focal length increases angle of view. And today, it would be simpler if lenses were marketed according to their viewing angle rather than just by focal length.

You can also compare "35mm equivalent" numbers if provided. This is just an alternate way of comparing angle of view. Personally this is a horrible metric because it allows many folk to think this number has more significance in terms of lens properties than angle of view, and it doesn't.

As for learning how to tame your SLR's controls, a lot of people recommend the book "Understanding Exposure". In addition, I'll recommend spending some time playing on this web site:
CameraSim simulates a digital SLR camera - SLR Photography Demystified

[Na Horuk]

With, I assume, an appropriate adapter if the body is not made to accept a T-mount, right?

Well the idea behind the T mount is that no camera accepts it directly, but any camera can use it without optical adapters and focus to infinity. The lens should come with the "adapter." A quick search found that Adorama sells them for $9, and you can also use the forum code to get extra benefits.

[monochrome]

I have an old lens hood in the K1000 camera bag which I could try. It has a velvet textured inside which has collected quite a bit of dust, lint, and fiber junk over the years and does not want to give it up. What's a good way to clean it?

Wrap some scotch tape around your fingertips sticky side out and gently dab the lint away. If necessary, make a ball of it on the end of a cotton swab to get in crevices. Take care that the "gunk" isn't deteriorating flock lining from the inside of the hood - which could be sticky and get on your lens' front element. If that is the case I'd consider not using the hood.

[Just1MoreDave]

OK; so in order to get that same FoV that I can get with my little pocket PENTAX W-80 snapshot camera, what lens would I have to use?

An 18-95mm would cover it. There isn't one of those exactly. The Pentax 18-135mm is popular but won't focus with your camera unless it is a K100D Super. The regular K100D doesn't have the right contacts for SDM or DC lenses.

It is very frustrating now that I can't get the 100D to take nearly as good shots as I can get with the little pocket snapper.
Most people could probably do better with their bloomin' cell phone.

I know I'm doing something wrong, but have yet to puzzle out what it is. I've tried various settings, stopping down the arpeture with the power switch set over to the little donut icon, and pushed the AE-L button - all to no avail. Have read where we should be able to get a meter reading scale up on the LCD screen, but I have yet to find it.
The stupid little whiz-wheel on the back doesn't seem to do much of anything that I can tell.
If I get a decent exposure it's an anomaly and a pleasant surprise. Right now I get a few on the Tv setting, although I have no clue as to why. Frequently when I shoot indoors everything comes out all orange and I cant even correct it in my editing program - I just convert it to grayscale as the best I can do.
This thing is more like working a computer than a camera IMHO - and i'm no computer whiz.

Oy; why can't they just make a K-1000 that shoots digital??!!

Thanks for your lens history lesson - very interesting!

Getting the lenses to work is one problem. You have to enable the aperture ring first. In the Custom Setting menu, go down until you see [Using aperture ring] and change that setting to [Permitted]. The Pentax-M 50mm f2 is a basic K-mount lens, so it mounts just like any other K-mount lens, no adapter, and doesn't communicate anything to the camera. You'll never see an aperture displayed like you do with a modern lens. When you're using SR, you have to choose 50mm to tell the camera what the lens focal length is.

Your camera will only use this lens at f2 in all modes except M mode, no matter where you set the aperture ring. If you switch to M mode, the camera will stop down the lens when you shoot, to the aperture you have chosen on the lens's ring. You can get the camera to suggest a meter reading by pressing the AE-L button* or using the far right position on the power switch. That will stop down the lens temporarily, measure the light and set a shutter speed that should work. The e-dial will change the shutter speed if you want something different.

The center AF sensor can still be active and useful if you want. It will still detect focus and light up a green hexagon in the viewfinder when it does. The default settings won't fire the shutter in AF-S mode unless that hexagon is lit. Sometimes this is useful and sometimes it isn't.

In practice, I pick up the camera and make sure I'm in M mode, SR has the right focal length, I turn the AF-MF switch to MF, set an ISO and a starting aperture. I will try to set the meter in advance, by finding a scene with similar lighting or maybe taking a test shot. If I am really paying attention or the light doesn't change a lot, I don't need to meter every shot. Then I can just focus and shoot. The metering uses the same system that the K1000 uses, center weighted. You don't have to relearn that. The basic digital rule is not to overexpose because those parts are lost forever. At first, the system is awkward and fussy, but does get better with practice.

The second problem is focal lengths. Reading about them is just confusing, and different people like different focal lengths. Again, practice is really useful. One method is to just use one lens for a while, until you start to see photos that work with that focal length. Now at first, many of your photos will be crap, but when you get past that, you will not even attempt the photos that won't work, and see better shots that will work. One challenge here does this for a month. By that time you ought to learn something. Some focal lengths will be more natural than others. Maybe you could start with something you're used to and like from the K1000 at first.

Your M42 and T-mount lenses introduce a third problem, because they don't have any aperture connection with the camera at all. Whatever the aperture ring is set to, it will stay there. Even trickier, some of them are preset aperture lenses. The main complication is with when you do your focusing and when you meter. Focusing is best done wide open because the viewfinder is brighter and you can see the point of focus better. Then you can meter. You can still use the AE-L button, or switch to Av mode instead. This works because the camera doesn't have to move the aperture blades; you are doing that. It helps a little with the "I need three hands" feeling. Some people complain about accuracy, which depends on the camera model.

The fifth problem is white balance. The camera sees color casts that you are missing. What I did is shoot in RAW, get Adobe Elements and fix it later. You can also use the camera's white balance presets or set a custom white balance. After a while, you will notice light that will give you trouble.

*a lot of newer cameras have a "Green" button but the K100D uses the AE-L button for this purpose. If you read advice here about using the Green button, try the AE-L button instead.

[Lowell Goudge]

Thanks 4 the link. At least now I have an idea of about how much it's worth!

Since I have another 135 which is probably at least as good a lens, I'll probably use this one for trading material. There must be DSLRs out there that take a T-mount,... aren't there?

I'll bring it to my photography class next month and see if anyone there is interested in it.

Got an e mail from Amazon.com; my M42 adapter ring has shipped and should be here by Sept. 4. I'll post how it works. Really looking forward to trying one of those WA lenses. Still waiting to hear if anyone can address distinctions / differences between them.

Before you go out and trade the preset 135mm lens, you should play with it a little. The aperture and optical arrangements of preset lenses are different and have some very interesting out of focus rendering that more modern design lenses do not retain.

I have a tele-lentar 135/2.8 preset lens, and I tested it side by side against my SMC takumar 135/3.5. At every equivalent aperture, while the depth of field was the same (as it should be) the out of focus rendering of the preset what much softer than the tak, yielding an impression of more separation of foreground and background

Play with the lens a little, you may decide it is worth keeping

Also check out these threads, dedicated to preset lenses only

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/lens-clubs/172417-preset-lens-club.html

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/87425-definite...h-society.html

[Uncle Jaque]

"Preset"? Really?? I'm not at all familiar with the term nor fully understand what it implies.
Not to be confused with "automatic" I assume...???
Will have to check out link provided and try to get educated.

Have read where the "Green button" has to be set to function a certain way on some Pentax cameras. Do I need to set my Av +/- or AE-L buttons like that? If so - How?

On the "simulatror" site (thanks 4 the link BTW) I notice a bar exposure meter on the bottom of the viewfinder display, which makes life a lot easier to set exposure. Also settings are a piece of cake on that game - why doesn't my 100D work like that? My 100D lacks these features, or at least I don't know how to access them, so I'm pretty much blind about what settings I should be using and really can't figure out - other than adjusting the apeture ring - how to set them.

Setting the f stop on the lens seems to be a waste of time, as I can't get the shutter to fire when it's stopped down. Using the AE-L button to sample and set usually results in a black screen for a picture. I'm not sure if the whiz wheel is setting the shutter speed or what it's doing - if anything. I did manage to set the arpeture allow etc. to the point where it will take a picture, and on the Tv setting I get a decent one now and then if the light is right. Flash is a waste of time as it wipes the shot out completely, and diminishing it in settings does not help.

Focus is harder to set than with the K1000 and it seems to want to focus a little behind where the viewfinder and the little blinking red square says it's focused.



Tv set on dial, M on lens mount, Arp. stuck wide open (I assume).

I focused on the front of the 135mm lens on the K-1000 just behind the little Optio hoping to get the Optio inside the DoF, and as can be seen it actually focused the shot on the K1000 body about 4" behind the intended subject. Range about 1m.
Is my auto focus indicator off? can it be adjusted?
I guess I'll have to back the focus ring or camera range off a little after it looks to be in focus, amount tbd by t&e.
Never had to fudge it like that with the K1000.

Is this camera defective, or am I just stupid? (I'm finally getting old enough so as to have an excuse for the way I've always been)

As much as I have become addicted to the instant gratification of digital, I certainly do miss the rugged simplicity of that old 35mm rig.

[boriscleto]

"Preset"? Really?? I'm not at all familiar with the term nor fully understand what it implies.
Not to be confused with "automatic" I assume...???
Will have to check out link provided and try to get educated.

M42 Lens Aperture Control on Modern DSLRs