[froeschle]

Then why not just get an uncrippled K-mount SLR? They can be found everywhere.

Because it is not so easy to attach a digital sensor to them ("Databack D") .

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[ossy59]

Because it is not so easy to attach a digital sensor to them ("Databack D") .

I also have different old SLR, but not one of them can compare to my K-5.

Please Pentax, uncripple the K-mount.
It´s only a few Cent or Dollars, and will help us (old) Pentaxians a lot. And if there will be a FF-DSLR, you must not be afraid that you do not sell your FF-lenses.
Because there are nearly no lenses available, and upcoming lenses can more than the old ones (flash, AF, ...)

Dear Pentax, DSLR for 1000-1500 Dollars CAN have an uncrippled mount without making them really more expensive ...

For me the uncrippled K-mount is more interesting than a FF-DSLR!

[mattiag]

Please Pentax-Ricoh de-cripple the K-mount!
With this simple modification of the newer cameras we (pentax fond) can use old gears with all their potentialities, and you can increase your selling!
This can be one of the most important new features in the upcoming cameras, more than FF.

[GibbyTheMole]

Yep... I'm for de-crippling the mount.

[Mace]

the ability to program max and min aperture and shoot like an A series has been hashed to death, it won;t work reliably because before A lenses the lever was an on off switch with the aperture linkage movement proportional to the diameter of the aperture not the area, so resolution would be sketchy at best. it would also not help on M42 lenses

What about lens profiles stored in the camera. Program a lens setting in the camera for each of your K/M/M42 lenses and when you put on a lens, the body cannot read just choose it from the monitor, like currently with the focal length.

I am also pro a de-crippled K-mount.

[aurele]

But then I'd still use the green button because the actual light measurement should be way more accurate then the information received from ~30 year old worn mechanics.

and this is a wrong assumption !

in fact the K mount lever just tell the SLR how much stop difference there is between full aperture (what you see in the VF) and the aperture set on the aperture ring.

So the SLR body will just re-calaculate the overall exposure setting by a basic formula like this one :

(say we use a f2.8 lens. Aperture ring set @f4, so 1 stop stopped down)

light mesure -> aperture chosen different from max aperture by 1 stop -> increase exposure time by 1stop compared to what is mesured -> perfect exposure.

So in fact it's way simpler then always using the green button : no need to electronically move a lever, so less problem related to moving part and wear of parts.

***

uncrippled K mount will also bring another good thing : a mechanical button to do DoF preview, and thus the green button become useless (when it comes to action related to aperture) and thus can be reafected at some other operation / action / settings.

[Designosophy]

Count me in for the de-crippled mount, and even more so for TTL and P-TTL.

Sounds good to me.

[paulusje]

Sounds good to me.

And to me.
Perhaps it's time one of the admins added a poll to the first post?

[Clavius]

and this is a wrong assumption !

in fact the K mount lever just tell the SLR how much stop difference there is between full aperture (what you see in the VF) and the aperture set on the aperture ring.

So the SLR body will just re-calaculate the overall exposure setting by a basic formula like this one :

(say we use a f2.8 lens. Aperture ring set @f4, so 1 stop stopped down)

light mesure -> aperture chosen different from max aperture by 1 stop -> increase exposure time by 1stop compared to what is mesured -> perfect exposure.

So in fact it's way simpler then always using the green button : no need to electronically move a lever, so less problem related to moving part and wear of parts.

***

uncrippled K mount will also bring another good thing : a mechanical button to do DoF preview, and thus the green button become useless (when it comes to action related to aperture) and thus can be reafected at some other operation / action / settings.

Thanks! That does make more sense... Although my solution with removing the aperture lever is even more hassle-free and uses even less mechanical parts.

[drougge]

I've said it before and I'll probably say it again: Yes please, uncrippled mount!

Because not doing it is a "**** you" to enthusiast users, and they might then buy a Nikon instead and recommend that to their friends.

And for those who think removing the aperture lever is a good solution: Not only is stop down metering accuracy crap on modern cameras (non-linear focusing screen response), it also makes everything bloody dark. Or maybe you never stop down past f/4 or so, but I do, and I want to see. Why do I even have an SLR if I can't see anything in the finder?

And just to reiterate what others have said, because people don't read: This would give better accuracy than the rather fiddly mechanics used for controlling A lenses (and indeed modern lenses).

[aurele]

Thanks! That does make more sense... Although my solution with removing the aperture lever is even more hassle-free and uses even less mechanical parts.

not when you want to shoot @f5.6 and beyond because you don't see anything in the VF if you have any kind of "non mate focusing screen" like a microprism or split screen focusing screen !

And by removing those parts, your lens value drop on the market share !

[theperception2008]

I would like to have a non-crippled k-mount! I can then fully enjoy my K 135/2.5 and my M 50/1.4 :-) with all the convenience of av mode!

[stanislav]

I don't see the problem with "crippled" K mount as long as there are alternative ways to tell the body what are the capabilities of the lens. In other words, it should be possible to tell the lens what is the maximum and minimum aperture (provided that there is an aperture lever). That way the body could work in all manual focus modes (aperture, shutter, sensitivity and program mode). It would be nice if it is possible to program and even calibrate a number of MF lenses so that you can simply choose from the list of lenses which one is used. That way it would work similarly to SR for older lenses (where you have to enter the focal length of the lens). So this update is strictly firmware update and if there is place to store individual lens data, this could be available even for now discontinued bodies.

On the other hand, TTL vs PTTL may require some hardware additions/changes. Which is of course desirable.

To continue the lens discussion, it would be nice in addition to handling a MF lenses to enter the lens data so that it is stored in EXIF information. So If you have a bunch of MF lenses, you can enter the model and manufacturer together with focal length and aperture capabilities, so that all is stored in EXIF. That way there is no need to actually adjust the aperture with aperture lever.

It would be also nice to have built-in GPS to geo-tag (exif tag) photos.

[Clavius]

And for those who think removing the aperture lever is a good solution: Not only is stop down metering accuracy crap on modern cameras (non-linear focusing screen response), it also makes everything bloody dark. Or maybe you never stop down past f/4 or so, but I do, and I want to see. Why do I even have an SLR if I can't see anything in the finder?

Well, up to f5.6 I'm doing fine with my aperturelever removed lenses. Beyond f5.6 I just switch to liveview. It's pretty cool to see the LV screen brightening up the display when turning the aperture up. Also, seeing the DOF slimming and expanding live is very helpfull. An EVF would be very nice though.

@Aurele, it doesn't drop the value of the lenses. The removal of the aperture ring is totally reversable 9 out of 10 times.

[froeschle]

use the green button because the actual light measurement should be way more accurate

Test procedure: An image of a white area was taken with an A-lens and a K-5 at several f-stops (x-axis), the grey scale value of the image then was determined with Photoshop (y-axis).
Blue curve: Lens set to A, aperture value set in camera (which would be similar to the usage of an uncrippled mount).
Red curve: Aperture value set at lens, usage of green button (note the deviation from the blue curve and/or a constant value: the fluctuations correspond to about two f-stops -> predictiveness?)
DigitalFotoNetz.de :: Thema anzeigen - K5: Belichtung K und M Objektive

Perhaps it's time one of the admins added a poll to the first post?

I have asked for an "I'm in" button .

removing the aperture lever

The above procedure would work at open and not at working aperture.

So, instead of dialing in fX with the lens set at A, you could directly use the aperture ring at fX and just shoot away. This would work with any K, M, A, F, FA lens.