Originally posted by taita87 Hi all. I have an old Pentax k-x, bought as one of the main feature I want in a camera is the compactness (and had no cash at that time
). I only used it with an old m50 1.7 owned by my father and an A 28 2.8 bought for nothing.
I rarely used it in the last years due to lack of time and inefficiency in picking sharp photos with manual focus (probably I needed more practicing).
Lately I picked it up again. I'm wondering what to do.
Stick to what I have and see how the hobby evolves?
Buy 1 or 2 lens that I love and see what happens?
Change everything as there are a lot more viable compact and mirrorless options today?
The only thing I know is that sticking to Pentax apsc I will probably buy a da21 and a da* 55 1.4..
Ah..and that every time I see photos taken with fa 43, fa 77 and da*55 I'm blown away by the look these glasses provide in pictures
Be very cautious with the DA*55/1,4: It is a great lens but it has the bloody SDM motor which fails again and again. It is a pain with this
SDM Motor and it wasn't ever really solved, the so called new generation SDM is not at all better.
My DA*55 (new generation) had to go twice to be repaired.
The SDM also makes this lens much slower than any screwdrive lens. But the bokeh is wonderful, colours are wonderful.
A good alternative imo is the F50/1,7 or the FA50/1,7 (optically the same but the F50 is that bit more sturdy/better built). A great lens.
The DA50/1,8 is almost as good but doesn't have the same colour rendition but nicer bokeh due to its rounded blades.
But I prefer the F50. I have the FA50/1,4 but prefer the F50/1,7.
The FA77 is great as well.
As lightness is an important factor: What about the DA20-40WR limited: It has the quite DC motor, is WR and of fanatastic built quality?
Do you still have this problem with the E-Dial of your K-x? If so, this might turn up to become a more serious problem but actually can be fixed very easely.
You find a good repairmanual
HERE
Careful: Only use high quality contact cleaner and by no means spray it in just from the outside, you can do further damage because as you can see from the photos you won't reach the inner contacts of the dial without spraying a huge load inside which can do a lot of damage to other parts.
It is best to take the Dial apart and clean it as shown in
this German manual with earsticks and something like Isopropyl alcohol.
Have done it a few times with success.
But if you won't solve this, the K-S1 might be a good replacement. It is as small and light as the K-x but far superior.
The K-x has problems with heavy lenses and their screwdrive mechanisms, the AF motor is pretty weak, liveview particular brings it "out of breath"
very quickly.