[henryjing]

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I have three Super Tarkumar from my father, 35/3.5, 55/1.8, and 135/3.5.
Now I am using the K-x.
I am wondering what PK adapter is good in this situation.

I notice, on B&H, there are 49mm and 52mm adapter, are they different? However on Amazon, no adapter mentions whether it is 49mm or 52mm. So I am confuesd.

And I found somebody complained about B+W adapter, can anybody tell me which brand is better?

[GoremanX]

If they're all Super Takumars, what you want is an M42 to K mount adapter. Many people on this forum would tell you to only buy a genuine Pentax M42 adapter. Personally, I have a generic one and it works fine, but I know a lot of other people have had issues with the generic ones. There are many threads on this in the forum, look up "M42 adapter" using the search feature.

[henryjing]

Thanks.
I also wanna know where did you get these adapters?
The reviews on B&H for the generic one is not so good. It seems likely to be stuck on the camera.

[GoremanX]

The Pentax Store has them right here:
PentaxWebstore Mount Adapter K(35m m Screwmount to Bayonet)

At $30, they're not given away. I frequently see them listed on eBay too, and the marketplace of this forum.

The generic one I have is this one:
Amazon.com: Fotodiox M42 Lens - Pentax K/PK Mount Camera Adapter for Pentax K-7, K2000D, K200D, K20D, K10D Super, K10D, K110D, K100D, *ist, D, DL, DL2, DS, DS2, Samsung GX-20, GX-10: Electronics

[JeffJS]

Thanks.
I also wanna know where did you get these adapters?
The reviews on B&H for the generic one is not so good. It seems likely to be stuck on the camera.

If they're all Super Takumars, what you want is an M42 to K mount adapter. Many people on this forum would tell you to only buy a genuine Pentax M42 adapter. Personally, I have a generic one and it works fine, but I know a lot of other people have had issues with the generic ones. There are many threads on this in the forum, look up "M42 adapter" using the search feature.

If you can find previous reliable knowledge of a generic working reliably, then it's probably fine. I have no reason to think people would lie about it. However, I've had One generic and will never buy another. It got stuck on my K10d and I nearly didn't get it off. When I finally managed to remove it, there were metal shavings around the lens mount and a few inside the mirror box. Oddly enough, it went ON just fine. At $30, the real deal is a bargain compared to having the camera repaired. You only need one.

[RioRico]

This is argued endlessly. The Official Pentax adapter is safe, expensive, and slightly tedious. It's easy to mount on the camera body, and slightly tricky to remove.

The generic adapters are cheap, but need slight work. DO NOT put such an adapter on a lens or camera body until you have REMOVED the screw and clip. (They cause endless grief!) Now screw the adapter onto the lens. Put a rear lens cap on the adapter, and twist it down until it is quite snug. The rear lens cap saves wear and tear on your fingers, and ensures a tight fit. When you are ready to remove the adapter, use the rear lens cap again. It's no big deal.

Then there adapters with flanges -- these DO NOT allow the lens to focus to infinity. There are reasons for such flanged adapters, but most users won't need one.

Have fun.

[wlank]

This is argued endlessly. The Official Pentax adapter is safe, expensive, and slightly tedious. It's easy to mount on the camera body, and slightly tricky to remove.

The generic adapters are cheap, but need slight work. DO NOT put such an adapter on a lens or camera body until you have REMOVED the screw and clip. (They cause endless grief!) Now screw the adapter onto the lens. Put a rear lens cap on the adapter, and twist it down until it is quite snug. The rear lens cap saves wear and tear on your fingers, and ensures a tight fit. When you are ready to remove the adapter, use the rear lens cap again. It's no big deal.

Then there adapters with flanges -- these DO NOT allow the lens to focus to infinity. There are reasons for such flanged adapters, but most users won't need one.

Have fun.

RioRico is a highly experienced user. He did not learn the stuff he knows by reading books. Go here and read all this stuff. https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/92646-bower-m4...tml#post945628
When you get through reading, order a GENUINE Mount Adapter K(35m m Screwmount to Bayonet) here. PentaxWebstore - SLR Lenses Get some experience how the correct adapter works, and if you need more that one adapter then start experimenting with the off brand stuff. Just remember, if as and when you ruin a nice camera or lens, some of us are mean enough to say "I told you so."

[causey]

I have several of these (no flange):

http://cgi.ebay.com/M42-Lens-to-PK-Adapter-for-Pentax-K10D-K20D-Km-K7_W0QQit...item414bf3ab77

They are cheap and allow focus to infinity. They have a little locking mechanism that can be easily removed (in order to avoid using the dubious unlocking key). I use my Taks with these adapters on, as if in K mount. (Usually, they fit tightly, so there's no need to glue them to the lens.)

(Another member of this forum gave me this excellent piece of advice, and I thank him again.)

[henryjing]

I have several of these (no flange):

M42 Lens to PK Adapter for Pentax K10D K20D Km K7 - eBay (item 280447134583 end time Apr-04-10 20:08:56 PDT)

They are cheap and allow focus to infinity. They have a little locking mechanism that can be easily removed (in order to avoid using the dubious unlocking key). I use my Taks with these adapters on, as if in K mount. (Usually, they fit tightly, so there's no need to glue them to the lens.)

(Another member of this forum gave me this excellent piece of advice, and I thank him again.)

It seems nice and similar to the Pentax one. Thx a lot!

Henry

[RioRico]

RioRico is a highly experienced user. He did not learn the stuff he knows by reading books. Go here and read all this stuff. https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/92646-bower-m4...tml#post945628

Are you implying that I don't read books?!?!?!? I read MANY books! All twelve of them!! Actually, my house is pretty much a technical library. But yes, I do have a bit of hands-on history. And as I've said: when one has an assortment of lenses, it's GOOD to have an Official Pentax adapter, and it's GOOD to have off-brand adapters, and it's GOOD to know when and where and how to use each.

My weirdest adaptation: I bought online some cheap Russian enlarger/projector lenses for bellows use. One was an Industar-58U 75/3.5 on some odd mount. When it arrived, I thought it was a black tweeter horn (audio). The whole horn must be twisted to change the f-stop. After much experimentation (and cursing) I fitted it into a PK macro tube, with a fixed focus of about 1.5m (5 feet). I use it for portraits. Bizarre, but it works, and stimulates some interesting expressions. Imagine a black bugle emerging from your camera...

[causey]

It seems nice and similar to the Pentax one. Thx a lot!

Henry

You're welcome--but don't forget to remove the locking clip, as indicated in RioRico's previous post and mine.

[RioRico]

It's time to throw in a PS here. PS: If you don't need infinity focus for a shooting session, like portraits and close-ups and macros, there's a good reason to use a flanged, non-infinity-focus adapter. The reason: it shorts the electrical contacts on the lens mount. That means you can use M42 lenses with CATCH-IN-FOCUS (must be enabled in the CUSTOM menu).

With either an Official Pentax or third-party thin adapter, for CIF (aka trap-focus) to work, you need to short the contacts with tinfoil (aluminium actually). Some German and Russian M39 and M42 lenses have very thin bases, and they don't hold the foil in place. And you might not have that dab of foil on hand when you need it. And you might lose that dab of foil if you change lenses on a windy day.

So what's the big deal with trap-focus? It's your slow manual autofocus, is what it is. Enable CIF, switch to AF.S, mount the lens with the flanged adapter, approach your not-too-far-away subject, hold the shutter down, bring it into focus, and... SNAP! Your subject is crisp and everything else has nice bokeh (I hope). Hmmm, I wonder if this will work with my 500mm and 1000mm mirrors...

[Ira]

Are there two different Bowers from B&H? Because that's what I seem to have, bought a year apart (in addition to the Pentax one, endorsed by major league baseball.)

One is brushed metal, and the other is polished aluminum.

My 8mm Peleng is in surgery right now having the polished one epoxied on, because this one slips all the way down on the lens collar, while the brushed one doesn't and won't allow the rear element to get close enough to the mirror/sensor.

Cross your fingers for me, or if you prefer, just use one.

[GoremanX]

Are there two different Bowers from B&H? Because that's what I seem to have, bought a year apart (in addition to the Pentax one, endorsed by major league baseball.)

One is brushed metal, and the other is polished aluminum.

Bower buys stuff from random Chinese manufacturers and resells then as their own. Their manufacturers change all the time, so their products can too.