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09-06-2017, 09:39 AM   #1
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Non-Pentax K-mount cameras

Since the K-mount was originally an 'open' standard, there are quite a few non-Pentax K-mount cameras.

Some of the most prolific were under the following brands:
  • Ricoh
  • Sears
  • Vivitar
There were also some Soviet Zenit-brand cameras.


Who else made K-mount cameras?


Did anybody manage to copy the KA or later mount?

09-06-2017, 09:55 AM - 2 Likes   #2
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A very extensive list at Wikipedia...

Pentax K-mount - Wikipedia

Many of them are just rebranded Cosina...(The Vivitar's are all made by Cosina)

But others included:
  • Chinon (The Sears KSX-P was a Chinon, the others were Ricoh)
  • Sigma (SA-1. It is supposed to be the same as the Ricoh XR-7)
  • Topcon (Exakta, Edixa, Carena, Porst, Rony. Lindenblatt KL-2 and Cimko LS-1 were based on an unreleased Topcon)

AFAIK no one but Pentax used KA. Ricoh had P and Chinon had a program mode that just used the smallest aperture setting.

Last edited by boriscleto; 09-06-2017 at 10:14 AM.
09-06-2017, 09:58 AM   #3
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Technically Samsung? They sold a rebadged Pentax DSLR for a hot second. I don't know that there was any actual engineering on their part though beyond gluing a new logo on.
09-06-2017, 10:09 AM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by selfnoise Quote
Technically Samsung? They sold a rebadged Pentax DSLR for a hot second. I don't know that there was any actual engineering on their part though beyond gluing a new logo on.
The Wikipedia entry lists the Samsung models you mention

09-06-2017, 10:21 AM   #5
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I have a Petri MF102 somewhere with K-mount and a Petri 40mm f/2,5 that I used tried on my K-5 a few times.

Looks like there are quite many K-mount Petri cameras.

Last edited by Simen1; 09-06-2017 at 10:54 AM.
09-06-2017, 10:28 AM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by boriscleto Quote
A very extensive list at Wikipedia...

Pentax K-mount - Wikipedia

Many of them are just rebranded Cosina...(The Vivitar's are all made by Cosina)

But others included:
  • Chinon (The Sears KSX-P was a Chinon, the others were Ricoh)
  • Sigma (SA-1. It is supposed to be the same as the Ricoh XR-7)
  • Topcon (Exakta, Edixa, Carena, Porst, Rony. Lindenblatt KL-2 and Cimko LS-1 were based on an unreleased Topcon)

AFAIK no one but Pentax used KA. Ricoh had P and Chinon had a program mode that just used the smallest aperture setting.
Interesting that Sigma made a K-mount camera (even if it was a Ricoh re-brand). So Sigma has made a few dips into the camera-maker pool.

So it seems Pentax has done this twice (go from a standard to a proprietary mount): Going from M42 to M42-ES, and going from K to KA.

And as usual, lots of white-labeling going on.
09-06-2017, 10:34 AM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by timw4mail Quote
Interesting that Sigma made a K-mount camera (even if it was a Ricoh re-brand). So Sigma has made a few dips into the camera-maker pool.
Sigma had an M42 camera in the '70s too. (Mark-I, 1975. Rebadged Ricoh Singlex)

09-06-2017, 07:18 PM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by selfnoise Quote
Technically Samsung? They sold a rebadged Pentax DSLR for a hot second. I don't know that there was any actual engineering on their part though beyond gluing a new logo on.
Yeah, for purposes of this list, the Samsung clones need to get an asterisk since they were produced in a Pentax factory. Samsung did re-engineer the firmware for their Pentax clones and aggravatingly, you can't load the corresponding Pentax model's firmware onto a Samsung.
09-07-2017, 12:20 AM   #9
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Miranda, I am pretty sure that I remember Miranda cameras with Pentax K mount.
They were made by Cosina, still have one Miranda lens 50mm 1:2 with K mount.
Some info:
Miranda Camera from Dixons UK
02-12-2018, 07:09 PM - 1 Like   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by i_trax Quote
Miranda, I am pretty sure that I remember Miranda cameras with Pentax K mount.
They were made by Cosina, still have one Miranda lens 50mm 1:2 with K mount.
Some info:
Miranda Camera from Dixons UK
My first SLR was a Miranda MS2-Super - kind of a ME Super clone Av & Manual with LEDs for metering and up/down shutter speed buttons (max shutter speed 1/1000th). It was from Dixons and came with a Miranda 35-70 zoom. The package came with a Miranda flash gun & camera bag. I bought it because it because my Dad pointed out that with a K mount, it offered a huge range of options. It was still working last time I tried it.

John.
02-13-2018, 03:18 AM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by i_trax Quote
Miranda, I am pretty sure that I remember Miranda cameras with Pentax K mount. They were made by Cosina[/url]
I understood (c1985 - on), that Miranda was a brand name owned by Dixons. Wikipedia confirms this, but also (as I did not know) that before Dixons bought the name it was a Japanese camera maker.

I don't know if Dixons was ever in the US, but in the UK it was a large chain of high street "men's toy shops" (as my boss once amusingly described them ). They sold everything from metal detectors and RC model cars to the more popular models of top-brand SLRs, with Miranda as a budget brand. The Dixons' lines have now been taken into Currys' superstores and the Dixons and Miranda names dropped.
02-13-2018, 04:01 AM   #12
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The Miranda brand started as the Orion camera company in the very early 1950s, about the time Asahi began working on cameras. There is some suggestion they traded ideas with Asahi to get the instant return mirror for their pentaprism design. The "real" Mirandas did not use K mount. The Sensorex was their most successful line - very capable camera with TTL metering and interchangeable finders.
02-13-2018, 04:41 AM   #13
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Should Centon get a mention for using the K bayonet?
02-14-2018, 04:10 PM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by timw4mail Quote
So it seems Pentax has done this twice (go from a standard to a proprietary mount): Going from M42 to M42-ES, and going from K to KA.

When Pentax introduced the K series of bayonet mount cameras in the mid-1970s
they were the only manufacturer using what became known as the Pentax K mount.

Later various other makers adopted the K mount; only then did it become "standard".
Pentax later modified the mount slightly to allow additional functions. Nothing sinister here.

Chris
02-14-2018, 05:34 PM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by ChrisPlatt Quote
When Pentax introduced the K series of bayonet mount cameras in the mid-1970s
they were the only manufacturer using what became known as the Pentax K mount.

Later various other makers adopted the K mount; only then did it become "standard".
Pentax later modified the mount slightly to allow additional functions. Nothing sinister here.

Chris
Well, about the placement of the autofocus screw...
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