[magkelly]

I have an Auto-Rikenon 135MM M42 lens. From what I've read about them I'm thinking because it's an M42 and not a K mount I'm perfectly safe with the Pentax adapter putting this one on my *ist DL, but I want to make sure since this is my first DSLR and I can't stand the idea of wrecking it! I'm going to get the Pentax official M42 adapter in a week or two I think. I'm not going to mess around with the knock offs.

Also, I have several San Disk 2 GB Micro SD cards that I use in my MP3 player. I've ordered another Ultra 2 4GB card now that I've upgraded my firmware so my *ist can take 4GB cards, and I have a 1 GB one that came with the camera, but I'm also thinking that since I have a couple of 2GB extra cards I might want to sacrifice one of my Micro SD's for the *ist so I can have a good 3 card selection. Since I do shoot RAW I do like to have 3-4 cards, in different capacities usually. One or two higher for most all my shooting, then a few not so high capacity for just occasional use.

The Micro SD's did come with the micro to regular adapters but I'm just wondering if anyone has used these and how it went. Okay? The clerk at the local Target said "Yeah, they're fine so long as they're in the adapter." but I still want to double check that before I format one and throw it into the camera bag with the other one. Any problems with using the Micro SD's as SD's in an adapter scenario?

Lastly I may want to eventually try my old Vivitar M42 with the *ist. That's a T-mount that came with the M42 adapter. Could I use the T-mount adapter with the M42 adapter and mount this lens or do I really need to find a T-mount K adapter instead? That lens is like 75-250MM so on a DSLR it would give me at least a 325MM range or so I think. That's a bit more than my digital Tamron. I just may want to try that for birding at some point. Just checking. I just don't know if I am supposed to ditch the T-mount adapter entirely or if combining them can actually work too.

Right now I'm pretty busy learning to manual/auto focus with a DSLR and a digital lens but I figure I'll get around to the M42's in the next month or two and I want to be prepared and/or not do anything criminally stupid. I've been trying to do my homework on that, but still, this is my first DSLR and the adapters thing can be a bit confusing to a DSLR newbie.

Thanks!

[brofkand]

microSD is electrically compatible with SD, so all you need is the mechanical adapter. They tend to be slower than full-size SD cards (especially newer SDHC/SDXC cards), but for a *ist I wouldn't worry too much about speed. I would, however, do tests with the cards and make sure they're reliable. I do this every time I get a new card. I do a run of basically filling it and then formatting it a few times when it's new to "break it in." Might be rubber chicken foolishness, but at least it makes me feel better.

As for the T-mount lens, you could go T-mount to M42 to K mount (total of 2 adapters), or go T-mount to K-mount, negating the need for an M42 to K mount adapter. Either way should work fine; if it's more than just morbid curiosity I would recommend getting a T to K adapter. Especially if you think you may get more T-mount lenses in the future.

Takumars are nice to have, and the official Pentax adapter is a must have for those lenses. I've never used one of the knock-off adapters, only the official Pentax one (came "free" with a yard sale K1000). It seems to be fine; though I honestly just use K-mount lenses when I can. M42 is nice to have in terms of backward compatibility, but it's more hassle than it's worth for me.

[magkelly]

I still might be getting more Takumars in future, at the very least I mean to replace that 135MM Rikenon with a proper 135MM Takumar and also to get a 200MM prime. But I probably won't get any more T-mounts unless I run across a cheap wide angle maybe. I do still need an M42 one for my SPII but it's not a huge priority right now.

I've got a full Yashica SLR kit and a basics Pentax (M42) SLR kit (except for the wide angle) and while I do like my Vivitar T-mount so far I do have to get a K mount adapter for my other M42's anyway. The Vivitar T-mount came with the M42 mount. I was actually trying to avoid buying another T-mount adapter just for K as well. They do tend to be a bit pricey from what I have seen so far.

I actually tried to get an FD T-mount a while back so I could use it on my black Canon AE-1 kit which still needs a long zoom, but after looking at the hefty price tag I just decided to forget it and just sell the AE-1. In the end I just decided that I don't want to spend any extra money on that one really. It's definitely an "extra" camera at this point. I don't use it much since I'm not really crazy about it. It's a nice looking camera but it's just too hard on my hands compared to my SPII and my FRI. I find it a bit uncomfortable to use really. I have very small hands. Pentax cameras, most of them, they fit me very well size-wise which is one of the reasons I like them so much. For me they are very ergo friendly. So is the FRI. Old Canon's not so much apparently so the AE-1 is rather redundant.

I'd rather sell that and put the $$$ towards more Pentax stuff. I already have another Vivitar 300MM C/Y for my FRI. It's very comparable to that T-mount so the T-mount Vivitar will only end up on the Pentax cameras anyway. I like that lens though. It's a lot nicer than I thought it would be when I bought it.

I thought going from M42 and using the K adapter might be simpler and less expensive since I will already have one for my Takumars anyway. I just wasn't sure it could actually be done, using those 2 adapters. I actually thought it might cause vignetting? If not that makes the most sense in terms of practicality I suppose just going from M42 T-mount to K adapter, skipping the extra T-mount if I can.

I'm actually in the process of selling off a bunch of filters and some other gear, the AE-1, an old SPI, some other stuff on my local CL. I'm not giving up on my film kits, far from it, but I'm pretty set on staying with Pentax and Yashica and I am selling off the stuff I don't need to fund getting a good scanner capable of doing film strips, some lights, and a few other things my film kit still needs. It's always a trade off me buying gear. I only have so much $$$ at any given time so anything I don't really need just isn't something I can usually afford to own. If I am not going to be using a particular thing a lot then it usually has to go to fund something more important, at least until I start making some real money from my photography and can afford to indulge myself a bit more when it comes to collecting gear.

I can't really afford LBA or CBA, smile. Right now having more than two SLR's and one DSLR is kind of a luxury thing. Ditto having multiple adapters just because one step would be easier when two would still work. Or pocket full of filters that I can't just swap between all my cameras etc. I pretty much routinely streamline the gear as much as I can to keep costs down so anytime I can avoid buying another thing I do.

Thanks for the info it's much appreciated.