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Forum: Pentax Q
08-02-2016, 09:27 AM
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It seems that Pentax made that MF ring extremely sensitive, which can be both of benefit and a hindrance.
They also left us with plenty of MF and AF options as usual, so this is a matter of personal preferences.
I've found that this is why I like Pentax cameras as much as I do.
Thanks for all of your replies.
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Forum: Pentax Q
08-01-2016, 09:29 PM
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Thanks for the reply. That's very interesting about the K mount data transmission specification. So now, in 2016, with the K1 and other cameras on their way, an archaic one-pin lens-to-body data channel is still in use??? Maybe Pentax needs to do more than minor updates to the K mount specification. Maybe this has something to do with their AF lagging the so-called "major players."
About the Q mount, it could be that the pin-out of it is compatible with K mount, with the extra pins being dummies or extra ground connections. I agree that its not likely, but have you seen the Q pin-out assignments? I wonder what they are and if it is an entirely new design or if there is a continuation of the K mount in a modified form. I find these things interesting in and of themselves.
About the already abysmal battery life, it would be even worse with a larger lens, though that wouldn't deter me from trying to rig something up if a simple circuit is all that's requires.
K
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Forum: Pentax Q
08-01-2016, 08:39 PM
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Hello,
I have a quick question about adapting K mount AF lenses to Q mount.
Has anyone ever checked the AF pin signals of both K & Q mount to see if they match?
This has probably been investigated some time ago, but its also possible it was not.
I see that the canon EF-M and EF mounts use the same electrical signals so that only a simple pass-thru mount adapter is needed to AF with EF mount lenses when mounted on an EF-M camera. Maybe the nikon 1 series is like this as well.
It would be great to have AF with K mount lenses on the Q mount camers. Maybe if the signals are different someone has worked out an electrical translation circuit to allow for AF of K on Q mount. Any news on that?
Thanks
K
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Forum: Pentax Q
08-01-2016, 08:33 PM
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Hello,
I found a 15-45mm Q zoom lens at a local camera shop and tried it out on my original Q.
The lens is fairly sharp from what I could see once I looked at the shots on a computer, however I had a hard time taking good test shots because the camera would go into MF mode at the lightest touch of the lens MF ring. The touch required to have this action occur is about as light as I could possibly touch something so any brush with a finger unknowingly touching the MF ring would put the camera in MF magnifying mode. It was very distracting for me to constantly have to tap the shutter button to get out of MF mode. I found that because of the diminutive size of the lens I almost always brushed against the MF ring when attempting to zoom.
My question is: does this represent the normal behavior of the lens or could this lens have some electrical or mechanical problem. It may also be possible that I have some settings that are encouraging this behavior. When i set the camera to MF only it was a relief. When I set MF magnification to off, again it was a relief to be able to focus with AF and not get interrupted by the MF screen. However I think the camera was still jumping to MF since I missed focus on a number of shots.
When I purposely tried touching or nudging the MF ring purposely I could see how little force was required for the camera to react. I would like to be able to use the lens as it was intended, in AF mode but ready to go into MF with a reasonably light touch.
Thanks for any input from 15-45mm lens owners.
K
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Forum: Pentax K-01
04-16-2016, 06:02 PM
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Hi
I've been using a K-01 for at least three years now but haven't been able to figure out how to keep the last image viewed in playback to be the first image viewed after the camera has been powered off and on again. Canon cameras have this feature as default (at least with the ones I used) and it was very convenient.
There isn't much at all for me to criticize with the K-01 except for this feature. I read through the manual and spent a lot of time in the camera's menu system but there doesn't seem to be any setting for this feature. Under the memory menu I was able to set playback so that the last image viewed is the first image viewed when returning to playback from capture, but that's as far as I could go. When the camera auto powers down it won't return to the last image viewed when re-awakening the camera.
Maybe its not possible, though it should be. The K-01 is very easy to customize with its many menu settings. This particular feature is very helpful, especially when there are many images on a memory card.
Thank you for any help or suggestions.
K
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Forum: Pentax K-01
06-09-2015, 07:35 PM
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Its a good feeling to know that your only problem is ignorance.
Item #16 it was. When I was anxious about some other non-existent problems I reset all of the custom settings.
To my own credit I did study the manual but found one entry on page 100 about SR. There was no mention of the aperture ring setting on that page.
Thanks again.
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Forum: Pentax K-01
06-09-2015, 03:52 PM
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I just updated the firmware on my camera to 1.05 but the problem in the title remains.
Some of the issues I had before were simple lack of knowledge and I hope that is the case again, but its possible something is electrically or mechanically wrong.
I first noticed a lack of SR with an adapted M42 lens. Using the menu or info settings only showed that SR was off. Turning on the camera did not bring up a request for focal length. I thought to try an actual K mount lens (the 50mm f2) and found that SR was on but again there was no request for focal length and I could not get a shutter release in M mode. With an AF lens mounted the camera functioned properly.
Maybe with K mount lenses there are pins or tabs that supply info to the camera, but I do remember using M42 lenses with SR. I tried removing and replacing the battery several times, but nothing changed.
I read in other posts about different drive modes affecting SR but I keepy my camera only in single shot mode.
K
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Forum: Pentax K-01
04-27-2015, 07:06 PM
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Thank you for your replies.
It seems that I haven't been paying attention for the last 2 and a half years.
About the low light conditions I was in with the K-01, I have taken many long exposure shots with other cameras in the exact same conditions. The K-01 has some quirks about its operation and metering that kept me from trying it on a tripod or in low light conditions. I've set many cameras to M, timer, slow shutter speed, ISO 100 and set them on a table to produce clear shots. This was the first time I ever did this with the K-01 and it surprised me that it didn't work the same way.
I'll have to open the manual for once.
About the SR mechanism magnets, I was hoping it was something like this, and its great to know nothing is amiss. About the varying power-on times, that must also be normal, maybe depending on the battery charge at the time.
K
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Forum: Pentax K-01
04-27-2015, 05:53 PM
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For a fairly long time now I've noticed that my K-01 struggles a bit when powered on. I have the dust removal option turned on at power-up and noticed that there can be a delay before anything happens. When it was new the activity was almost immediate when powering on or off.
Lately I noticed a fairly loud noise when lightly shaking the camera when its off. It sounds like something near the battery compartment is sliding around. The objects sound metallic but lightweight. What I'm wondering is if something related to the SR mechanism is loose, which might also be the cause of the struggle with the power-on dust removal.
I did notice that there is less shake noise when the camera is on. Maybe those noises are normal when the camera is off but I was never aware of them till now.
At the same time I noticed these noises, the K-01 was behaving strangely in a moderately dark room. No matter what settings or mode I had the camera in, the exposure information (aperture, shutter speed) were flashing red. I tried the camera in A and M modes and no matter how wide open the aperture or how slow the shutter speed, the live view was far darker than normal and would not brighter or darken in response as it usually would.
I tried removing the lens and re-attaching several times, removing and re-inserting the memory card, and removing and re-inserting the battery. None of this made any difference. I then went into the menu and reset the camera, which again, had no effect.
Taking the camera out into full daylight seemed to bring it back to normal. The effect indoors was almost like keeping the lens cap on. Focusing didn't work right at all though occasionally AF worked and the live view was at normal brightness.
Recently I had the camera and sensor cleaned. Other than that nothing has happened to it and only yesterday it took photos normally in daylight. I wonder is there's something loose in the SR or shutter mechanism that's causing this, based on the shake noises. Other than that I have no idea.
K
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Forum: Pentax Forums Giveaways
12-13-2014, 05:05 PM
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The great 31mm! The jewel in the crown.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
12-12-2014, 07:42 PM
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The late nights are over (for now) as I settled on the Tamron 90mm 2.8 and PK lens turbo for NEX as a used package deal. I'll drive out to pick it up next week and finally post a few photos with it and the cheap NEX.
Thanks for all your input.
K
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
12-11-2014, 06:06 PM
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After reading and re-reading this and my other threads about macro lenses I'm reconsidering investing in them heavily until I have a better feel for them. For now I'm going to be saving for one or two special normal lenses, but would still like to try out a real macro lens to get a sense of what they're like.
To that end I'm thinking about the Tamron 90mm adaptall manual focus lens. It seems to be well received and I can't tell the photos taken with it from photos taken with the upper end of macro lenses. I already have a set of PK extension tubes which I assume could take the lens to 1:1 reproduction. Any comments?
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
12-09-2014, 04:13 PM
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Wow. The depth of discussion here went way beyond my experience. Now I have to read and re-read the thread to try to glean the essentials from it.
One of the immediate things I took away from this thread was that there are more considerations to serious lens choices than are apparent at first.
To try to simplify matters a bit I bought a set of extension tubes to get close to 1:1 magnification with an older manual focus lens to see just how much macro shooting I would do with a macro setup in hand. I didn't shoot nearly as many macro shots as I expected to. I found that I shot much more with a normal lens and kept gravitating back to that setup than the macro. Maybe I've just been enjoying so many great macro shots out there on flickr that I got ahead of myself. It looks like these types of lens choices are more psychology than technical.
I'm quite sure now that if I had t he 31mm on my K-01 it probably would not come off very often.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-13-2014, 12:28 PM
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Thanks to all who offered suggestions, opinions and ideas in response to my macro lens questions.
To help confuse me further, some suggested I seriously consider 50mm macros.
To up the ante of confusion I am now considering 35mm macros, specifically the 35mm 2.8 limited. I viewed hundreds of photos taken with that lens on the flickr site and found that its a lens that can excel at the subjects of landscapes and portraits as well as macro scenes.
My microscopic lens "road map" was to be only two or maybe three lenses: a good macro or two and the 31mm special. Now I'm reconsidering the 31mm because if I invest in the 35mm which appears to be in the same league with the 31mm, the 31mm would be unnecessary.
I couldn't use the 35mm properly on my old film SLR but could it could still be used with Q, M43 and NEX mounts.
More importantly, in your experience/view/opinion is the 31mm so special that it couldn't be replaced by the 35mm?
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Forum: Pentax Q
11-11-2014, 06:04 PM
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so i'm not the only one out there. great!
they could produce a range of super-zooms based on focal length, price and quality. maybe they can put out a 24-2400+mm lens of moderate quality that would out-compete the canon/sony/xxx brands and two shorter range lenses of better and best quality to compete with the giant SLR glass and good walkabout lenses.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-11-2014, 05:23 PM
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now that's the kind of photo i was thinking of!
you're out past 1500mm with 300mm. have you seen the results of bird shots at 100mm through a macro? can they get feather detail like this?
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Forum: Pentax Q
11-11-2014, 05:18 PM
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some of the latest super zooms can produce good to excellent results within a limited range.
however with the Q, we can see that excellent results are possible with a quality lens.
so.....PENTAX! please make a SUPER-ZOOM lens for the Q!
maybe its been mentioned here before, so i second (and 3rd) that request!
a fine quality high-end Q super zoom lens (maybe with a necessarily limited range 24-500mm equivalent f2.8) would be an investment i would make if i could afford it. i don't think there should be compromises. all of the 1/2.3" super zooms have compromised lenses. pentax would be opening up into a brand new market.
anyway, back to reality.
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Forum: Pentax Q
11-11-2014, 05:12 PM
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i didn't know about C or D mount lenses until i got going with the Q. once i saw what those little jewels could do i was hooked. i still think the Q is the most unique camera out there to date. for the last 8 years or so i was asking random strangers why there was no 1/2.3" sensor camera body. that reminds of something i need to post! :eek:
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-11-2014, 05:03 PM
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is this less of a problem with birds? maybe the longer distances make up for the thin DOF. i've seen some excellent bird shots with high-end lenses on the Q. maybe some of them were yours. are you getting results comparable to the more standard long lens bird shots?
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-11-2014, 04:23 PM
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the day lilly looks fantastic.
do you think its true that 50mm macro lenses have greater sharpness and fewer aberrations and lower distortion - in general - than longer macros? i followed a long series of links and articles that were basically saying that the 50mm lens design is simpler (and therefore lower priced) than longer and shorter lenses. there also mention of extremely low field curvature with 50s as opposed to longer/shorter lenses.
its not good to base decisions on a few photos, but i have been seeing what appears to be sharper photos coming from respected 50mm macros, and they are almost all significantly less expensive than the 100mm + variety.
right now i'm on the verge of going with the sigma 50mm EXDG and/or the tamron 90, both used. maybe i should get both and try them out and see what happens.
i've also been considering the different focal lengths i'm going to be getting with 1 NEX+ lens turbo, 1 M43, 1 Q, 1 K-01 and 1 old film SLR. with a 50 alone it would be 50 w/turbo, 50 real, 75, 100 and 275mm. that would extend the usability and offset the cost, but i won't be using film except on rare occasions and i won't know if what the lens turbo produces are a substitute for a 50mm on a real FF camera.
thanks to everyone below for responding.
---------- Post added 11th Nov 2014 at 23:28 ----------
someone noted somewhere that the Q requires very sharp lenses. most of the old inexpensive ones i tried gave mediocre results. i did get much better results from C and D mount lenses, because i assume they were made for tiny formats and thus are made to be much sharper for their size. the same someone noted that the better pentax Q lenses produce good results because they are made to be very sharp for the small sensor.
maybe a super-sharp macro lens would produce good results on the Q for that reason also.
---------- Post added 11th Nov 2014 at 23:31 ----------
thanks for your sample and input. do you find it difficult to get an accurate focus with the 100mm on the Q? i was using a standard 135mm and it had only a very thin slice of in-focus range. if the lens had a lot of focus range it would be easier.
---------- Post added 11th Nov 2014 at 23:38 ----------
i'd get the 70mm alone if it had an aperture ring. i'm not going to get a FF camera anytime soon and have to justify keeping my NEX so i need a lens with an aperture ring. they have PK adapters for Q, M43 and NEX with aperture rings, but the "zhongyi" lens turbo doesn't have a ring so i would not be getting a FF view from the NEX or the old SLR. i'd have the K-01, M43, and Q with the 70mm usable. i could put it on the NEX but without the lens turbo its just another APS-C view. maybe i should reconsider.
how is the 70mm for copy work? at 105mm on the K-01 do you think its feasible? is the 70mm noticeably better than really that much better than the others? do you know if they made an older version of the 70 with an aperture ring? i couldn't find any.
---------- Post added 11th Nov 2014 at 23:41 ----------
i'm very close to going with the tamron 90mm and/or the sigma 50mm. in a thread from least year i read the opinion of one pentax user who had an almost identical view to yours. his samples were good and proved his point. he felt that the 90mm was as good as anything out there, including the 70mm sigma. i think his last name was head, if that rings any bells.
---------- Post added 11th Nov 2014 at 23:44 ----------
do you have any thoughts on the higher priced pentax 100mm SMC-a (at about $400US)? it seems to have a great reputation but may have that sensor reflection problem you mentioned above. from using all of my old lenses on the Q, M43 and NEX, i see that the older stuff is generally better suited to film.
---------- Post added 11th Nov 2014 at 23:48 ----------
thanks for successfully adding to the confusion :)
do you have any thoughts on the pentax 50mm f4 SMC-M macro? its cheap enough (for me). would it function well enough for copy work on the K-01? AF certainly isn't needed for still subjects, so if you have any other MF 50mm macro suggestions, please add to the confusion.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-10-2014, 06:03 PM
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I edited my post, but not in time for you to see it. Apologies. Have a look again.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-10-2014, 05:37 PM
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Thank you for the suggestions and image and the others who recommended the same. Yes, now I'll have even more bloodshot eyes and will falling asleep on the job, but its worth it!
I was looking at both the 100mm and 50mm Pentax D-FA (with aperture ring) and they are nice lenses and their background blur seems smoother than the Tamron. I'm now thinking I should get a 50mm and a 100mm to get full coverage.
I neglected to mention one other item on my list: birding. I'm just getting into that area and can't nearly afford a super tele just for that task, but I have a Q and and am hoping that a good macro lens mounted on the Q will retain detail while offering some distance coverage. Is that an unrealistic idea?
About the 50mm lenses, they seem to be generally a little sharper and have a little more clarity than the longer lenses. Maybe its that effective aperture effect and maybe the 50s are generally sharper.
The Sigma 50 has a working distance of 7.4ft! That's a long way off even for a generic 50 in my experience. Does this cause any problems or is it helpful copying art (large paintings especially).
- just checked again and am mistaken. Its 5+ inches. The sigma produces a very sharp image with a nice background blur.
I also noticed that there is a D and non-D version of the Sigma. Anything to think about?
Thank you!
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-10-2014, 11:29 AM
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I was set on getting the Sigma 70mm macro until I realized it doesn't have an aperture ring. My intention is to get the most usage from a macro lens by using it on everything from an old Pentax manual SLR to the K-01. Also I was planning to purchase a lens turbo adapter and none of them have an aperture ring either, so my plans have to change - unless anyone knows of an older 70mm Sigma with an aperture ring. I couldn't find such a lens, but it could be out there.
I chose the 70mm Sigma macro because of its reputation for sharpness, its background blur and the shorter focal length, which I think may be helpful with portraits and copy work.
Here's my list of intended uses in descending order of importance:
1) Small natural things (flowers, leaves, droplets, insects , textures and other typically "macro" subjects)
2) Jewelry and small man-made objects
3) Copy work (paintings, sketches, and other flat graphic art)
4) Walkabout lens
5) Portraits (I don't do many but can't afford a separate portrait lens yet).
From many hours of searching late into the night, I found only a few possible candidates:
1) Tamron 90mm (not the new expensive version - it has no aperture ring)
2) Pentax 100mm D-FA (previous to the current model without an aperture ring)
3) Pentax 100mm SMC FA ( the heavier rubber coated lens)
4) Pentax 100mm SMC A manual focus (for some reason its more expensive yet MF. I'd rather have AF/MF )
5) Sigma 105mm (discontinued model with aperture ring)
The Tamron is my first choice because its a little shorter and may help with portraits or copy work, though 10mm isn't much. I could not find anything at all between 70 and 90mm.
My plan to use the 70mm SIgma with a lens turbo/NEX combination would have been my portrait, walkabout, copy setup. 90mm seems the closest alternative and the Tamron looks good, but I'm left wondering if the other four lenses offer anything (image quality, usability) that the Tamron doesn't. I'm not looking into non K-mount lenses, but the Canon 100mm L seems to have better contrast than all of these lenses. The Sigmas seems to produce very nicely blurred backgrounds, but they seem to lack the contrast of the Canon. The Pentaxes seeem to be somewhere between the Canon and Sigmas. Maybe the Tamron is a little less sharp than all of the other. I've read that it can have problems with highlights on metallic objects like jewelry but haven't seen examples yet. Overall all of the macros I've looked into are very close with the images they produce. Its hard to make a final decision. Someone suggested I ignore the negligible optical differences and see how they feel in actual use. Maybe that's the solution.
Thank you for any auggestions.
K
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-07-2014, 05:58 PM
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I should have qualified my comment about glass with "Chinese-made" glass in lower-priced adapters, and as for poor, that wasn't the best descriptor either, though I haven't read an opinion of adapters (particularly the simple lens adapters that require glass, such as EF to K, Nikon to K, etc.) that mentioned actually liking the effect produced by the adapter's glass.
Of course I already spent hours searching up videos and pseudo-reviews. It seemed that many were more concerned with the OOF effect of even thinner DOF than the overall quality of the glass. From the photos posted I couldn't see any visible degradation, but some updated commentary from forum users here would be much preferable to me.
---------- Post added 8th Nov 2014 at 01:03 ----------
Better being the operative word. Is this one (in the link above) of the "better" ones, or its higher-priced, engraved sibling, "Zhong Yi?!"
Zhong Yi Focal Reducer Speed Booster II Lens Turbo Adapter Pentax K to Sony NEX
---------- Post added 8th Nov 2014 at 01:09 ----------
Thanks for your input. I'm hoping it can lean more towards the tool side than toy, but I understand your meaning.
I'm a little cautious because I own a few unwanted wide-angle adapter that produced a lot of distortion regardless of the lens used. Maybe this reduction lens is a different design than a wide-angle adapter. I've read about photocopier and other reducing lenses being sharp, so it must be a tried and true technique.
Thank you.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-07-2014, 04:54 PM
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I've seen past threads on the forum about this particular kind of adapter but there wasn't a clear answer or opinion on them one way or the other.
Here is the exact item:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/400488751824?lpid=82
I have a cheaper NEX camera to experiment with and having close to full-frame focal length available from a nice FF K mount lens would be very welcome.
The general off-hand opinion is that any glass in an adapter must be poor quality. That's not necessarily so, but its the major concern of course.
I'm interested in using the Sigma 70mm macro on the NEX to get a close to FF focal length - and more light on the sensor. If I buy one or two lenses I'll never be able to afford a real FF camera - unless the prices fall significantly. But the adapter is available and will put an idle camera to use and offer another view through a nice lens. Its a win/win situation, and even if the adapter glass is not the best, it will still allow for photos.
Can anyone offer any images and/or experiences?
Thank you!
K
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