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12-05-2017, 04:24 AM   #1
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Pentax P30 prime lens

Hi Guys,

I am new to this forum and to the use of Pentax. I bought this amazing P30T film camera at a thrift store. It is my first film camera and I absolutely fell in love with it. I am looking for a good prime lens for it to use for street photography.
It is now mounted with a pentax-A zoom 28-80mm 1:3.5~4.5 but I'm looking for something smaller than a 50 mm. Do you guys have any recommendations?

Thank you!

12-05-2017, 05:05 AM   #2
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QuoteOriginally posted by Mark013 Quote
smaller than a 50 mm
As in wider? Here are the genuine Pentax A-series primes between 24mm and < 50mm:

Prime Lenses (A) between 24mm and 49mm with Manual Autofocus | PentaxForums.com

The A 35mm F2.8 would probably be a good choice.

Or, you can go for something like the Samyang 35mm F1.4, which is basically a fast, modern version of that lens.

Samyang 35mm F1.4 AS UMC Lens Reviews - Samyang Lenses - Pentax Lens Review Database

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12-05-2017, 05:13 AM - 1 Like   #3
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Welcome, and well done. That's a very nice camera to start film with - easy to load, easy to use, aperture priority for any lens you can fit, and P mode is there for you when you need or want it (and the lens allows). I have one, and if it lasts it will be my children's training camera.

Your choices below 50mm are mostly 28mm (minimum zoom for your lens) or 35mm, but there is the SMC-M 40mm "pancake", which makes your camera exceptionally small and pretty near pocketable (depending on the size of your pockets). However, it may not be wide-angle enough for you.

Before buying any glass, I would take a couple of rolls with the lens you've got, getting used to it and getting a feel for where the zoom ring ended up being set when you took the shot. You are sort of blessed in having bought yours with a zoom lens, in that resp[ect. The most common result you get is the focal length of prime lens you should then start to look for. If you wind up being zoomed in a little, you might look for a 35; if you are taking a lot of shots zoomed all the way out, it needs to be a 28mm.

That being said, there is a lot to be said for having a fast fifty, even a relatively humble f/2.0 kit lens; they are plentiful, therefore cheap, and they offer creative aspects in terms of isolating the subject as well as enabling hand-holding at much lower light levels (remember, you can't just turn up the ISO the way you can on a digital camera). The Pentax-A 50mm f/1.7 has a wonderful optical reputation and will work hand-in-glove with your camera, but the aperture ring is plastic and has a particular failure mode after all these years, so if you go down that road be sure to buy a good one you can handle, or from a buyer who accepts returns.

The Pentax-M variant of that lens is just as good and tends to be more mechanically sound, but won't offer you full program mode, only aperture priority. This may or may not be an issue for you.

Something else I would consider, if you don't already have one, is a sturdy tripod. It need not break the bank; it just needs to not wobble if you so much as touch the camera when it's mounted thereon (try it out with the zoom lens attached and zoomed all the way out). If yours is one of the models that has a threaded point for a cable release (some do, some don't), you might consider getting one of those too. However, the P30T does have a self-timer, so that's less of a priority.

And finally, of course, if you end up going Pentax Digital at some stage, all your manual glass will work on Pentax DSLRs.

(The reverse is not true; Pentax DA lenses have no aperture ring and will default to full program mode, and both the wider primes and the zooms will not cover the whole of the film with their image. But cross that bridge when and if you ever come to it.)
12-05-2017, 05:58 AM   #4
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Welcome to the forum Mark! When using your 28-80mm zoom, are you finding that you shoot a lot at 28mm? Or did you prefer something more (or less) wide? Also depending on your budget, there is a range of options with any given focal length prime due to varying largest apertures from f/1.4-3.5.

I'd have 4 suggestions, based on your preferences. You can go to the Lens Finder section of the forum to find the specific options for a manual focus, full frame, K-mount, Pentax lens. You'll see for any given focal length there are MANY options.

1) 35mm: This is probably the most common focal length for street photography. (Pentax made 7 manual focus full frame 35mm that you could choose from).
a) I'd recommend for price and quality: SMC Pentax-A 35mm F2.8 Reviews - A Prime Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database
b) If you think you may want to eventually get an autofocus Pentax film or digital SLR one day: Pentax Wide Angle 35mm f/2.0 SMCP-FA AL Autofocus Lens 22190 B&H

2) 28mm: This is probably the most common focal length for wide angle, and therefore has the best prices.
a) For price + quality + availability: SMC Pentax-A 28mm F2.8 Reviews - A Prime Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database
b) The more modern auto focus version: SMC Pentax-FA 28mm F2.8 AL Reviews - FA Prime Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database

3) When I do street photography, I personally don't like to use just one prime. I usually go out to shoot with a 50mm and either a 20mm or 24mm.
a) 24mm: This is gives me something wider than the common 28mm, but not so extreme as the 20mm: SMC Pentax-A 24mm F2.8 Reviews - A Prime Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database
b) 20mm: This has the WOW factor. You'll start to get distortion, but I'm at the age now where I don't mind getting really close to my subjects or tight spaces: SMC Pentax-A 20mm F2.8 Reviews - A Prime Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database

The last two are modern lenses that will work on both your manual focus 35mm film camera and on a modern Pentax digital SLR. They are not cheap, but are some of the sharpest glass and most beloved amongst Pentaxians and should be considered a lifelong investment. Less expensive primes will come and go, but these are keepers.

4a) 31mm: Pentax smcP FA 31mm f/1.8 Limited Lens (Black) 20290 B&H Photo
4b) 43mm: Pentax SMCP-FA 43mm f/1.9 Limited Series Autofocus Lens 20180

12-05-2017, 06:04 AM   #5
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28mm lenses are more easy to come by than 35mm lenses if you want cheap. Lenses without automatic aperture are cheaper than those with. Pentax-m lenses are cheaper than SMC Pentax lenses. Your cheapest pentax branded wider lens would probably be the Pentax-m 28mm F2.8. Want to use program mode? Then the Pentax-A 28mm F2.8 is the most economic choice. If you want more sharpness, the Pentax-m 28mm F3.5 is a very good lens. The SMC Pentax variant of the 28mm 3.5 is even better.
12-05-2017, 06:27 AM   #6
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The 28-80 was the kit zoom for the lower end Pentax series of that time (about the same angle of view as the DA 18-55 for APS-C).

If the lens really is the Pentax A 3.5-4.5/28-80 (no "SMC"). In some areas it was also sold as "Takumar [Bayonet]" and also as "Profile".

But Pentax offered also a SMC-A 3.5-4.5/28-80, which not only has SMC coatings, but a much more sophisticated optical design (and it was way more expensive). This one offers near prime IQ in the range of 30-70mm. On German eBay, it is offered only 3-4 times a year.
12-05-2017, 06:44 AM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by Alex645 Quote
I'd have 4 suggestions, based on your preferences.
I would recommend against Pentax autofocus lenses on a manual focus camera, unless OP is also (definitely planning on) shooting an AF body. Manual focus is not ideal on them, though it can be done and the split prism helps a lot.

I did it once with an MX and the FA 50/1.4, but that was because I wanted to try the lens on a shop-demo K-1 last time I was abroad, I was content to live with the limitations for a couple of weeks, and I also had my K-5 with me that the lens could double up on if I needed something fast in AF land. On a full time basis I would not recommend it.

It's the reason I didn't recommend the 31 and 43 Limited myself; yes, they are outstanding, but they are very expensive and they are also AF lenses, with their helicoids consequently set up for AF rather than the long travel full-time manual focus demands.

12-05-2017, 08:35 AM   #8
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I don't think the OP ever gave us a budget...

OP: If that Pentax-A 28-80 is the SMC version, then I would shoot a roll of film through it (or three) paying attention to what focal length you are using. There's quite a difference between 28mm and 35mm on film. If I only had one, I would much prefer it to be the 35mm, but others love the 28mm field of view. And some like it even wider.

...or you could get a 28mm since they're so cheap, and shoot a roll with it and see if you like it or if you'd like a bit narrower, in which case you could sell the 28mm at no loss or very little - or even keep it for when you want something a bit wider.

My recommendation for 28mm would be the SMC Pentax-M 28mm f/3.5. It is fairly common to find, and if you look around you can even find it for less than 50 dollars sometimes. I find it superior to the SMC Pentax-M 28mm f/2.8 (which is another good and affordable option) in terms of sharpness and the beautiful colors it produces.

For a 35mm lens, the SMC Pentax-M 35mm f/2.8 is a bit more expensive but it's the most affordable good quality manual focus 35mm lens for Pentax. I think it will cost you around 100 dollars to get one. The Pentax-M 35mm f2 will cost you quite a bit more than that.

I would stick to Pentax lenses since you are starting. Before you buy - always make sure you can see good pictures of the glass to make sure you don't have scratches, fungus or haze.

Good luck and good shooting
12-05-2017, 12:26 PM - 1 Like   #9
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Thank you guys for all the advice and suggestions. As a relatively inexperienced guy I am grateful for your comments and suggestions. I will read through your comments and will let you know in the end which one will fit my preference. Cheers Mark
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