Gift of "Mature Age" Pentax Gear::::

[Kevin M]

Hi there,
the auto teleplus 2 x converter used to be retailed by KMart back in the early -mid eighties if I remember correctly and the quality was average at best.
To be honest that was probably being generous too.
regards

[KevPride]

Totally agree with Mattc on the screwmount. I've got one and infinity is not just gone, it's lost it's gps and found itself again in mexico.
Mine's a fleabay knockoff, and has no electronic communication with the body. This means that there is no automatic setting available for aperture and when in use stopped down the blades remain in effectively reducing the ammount of light visible through the viewfinder. This makes macro's incredibly difficult.
Also it makes it impossible for PTTL flash to work and the wireless mode is disabled (again, nasty for macro's) That said, my 2 favourite lenses for portraits is my 55 mm f2 and my 100mm f2.8 - both screwmounts.

I've read somewhere that if you take to your fleabay adaptors with a belt sander and thin out the backing you can regain infinity focus again, but that's un substanciated

I'm not sure I've read this correctly, but no screw mount or even original K mount lens has electronic communication with the camera, the "A" lens was the 1st to offer any electrical contacts to allow AV function on the camera.

Some of the screw mounts have man/auto switch and these can become stuck or hard to shift - some have a very small pin on the face of screw mount which if you press in, allow the man/auto switch to be moved. If stuck on auto it will be fully open no matter what manual aperture setting you use.

I do not think PTTL will work with any screw mount lens - because non are effectively telling the camera the aperture setting.

I could be wrong.

[MattC]

I could be wrong.

Nope - completely correct.
Also wireless flash (using the built in wireless capability) does not work, which is a pain in the behind.

[Bear Dale]

My landlord was searching one of his recently bought properties, when he found a case of camera gear. He was about to bin it

Makes you wonder just how much photographic history has ended up in landfill over the years.

[KevPride]

Nope - completely correct.
Also wireless flash (using the built in wireless capability) does not work, which is a pain in the behind.

Thanks for confirming Matt.

By the way or is it only me that thinks PTTL "Wireless" is a misnomer - as you actually have to have the on board flash up (with flash output) for Wireless to work, cannot understand why Pentax does not eliminate the flash output entirely when on Wireless setting.

[exwintech]

Phil - Thanks for the encouragement, it adds to the pleasure of having these items. There's a section in Pentax Forum (if I may mention that here) with User Reviews of screw-mount lenses, including the primes. According to that, my example of the Takumar 55mm f/1.8 is the last and best in the series, the 1972 SMC. Mine is identical to the description and picture shown. The User Reviews say it's sharp, with good colour quality, and adequate bokeh.

As the experienced folk say it's well worth using, I'm delighted to have it. Being on disability I'm in no position to be buying the modern Pentax equivalent for around $1,000.00...! This being so, I'm determined to learn to use it on the DSLR I get in a few months. I'm aware that this will take some study, but as I'm no longer working, I have plenty of time to do that.

Once I learn to use the Takuma, that will help with learning to use the (serviced and de-fungus'd!) Tamron 80-210. It's the earlier "03A", not the later "103A". Both are said to be "rather ordinary" for usual photos, but with some practice can be "adequate". Actually, I'm more interested in its Macro abilities - said to be better than its others, as "proper" Macro lenses are pretty expensive.

As for the "half-dozen rolls of C41" - just to experiment with - it'd be more practical to put the $90.00 into getting the lenses serviced and cleaned. The Spotmatic F also needs a Mercury battery, no longer made, it seems. So for now the camera can just be a rather "quality looking" display item.


KevinM - From what I've read, that 2x TC is intended for Macro mode use with the Tamron 80-210. Just how bad it is, I'll have to try it and find out.


KevPride - From what I read in those Reviews mentioned above, while the modern "electronics" won't work with the SMC Takumar, it did have open aperure metering on the Spotmatic F. I'm only guessing, from things I've been reading - but can that somehow be "enabled" in a modern DSLR?

It looks like it might meter at the f/1.8 open, and if say, f/8 was the correct setting, then as the shutter is pressed, the camera stops it down to f/8... Or perhaps the Spotmatics did, but modern cameras don't. The lens does have a protruding spike on the base - when gently pressed in, it operates the 6-blade aperture. That seems to work smoothly and freely.

As you can see - I so far have nearly a minus-knowledge of these things, so your input helps, thanks.


JimD - Yes, indeed, it's scary to think just how much "Film Era" equipment has been dumped - just because it doesn't have "digital automatic everything". Particularly with the so very backwards compatible Pentaxes - one of the main things that interested me in Pentax in the first place.

Perhaps I'm odd - and it isn't only because I have limited income - but I see all those "ancient" screw-mounts and early K-mounts, so on - hibernating on a zillion back-shelves - if only because they haven't been thrown-out yet - as a fabulous resource.

Some of those lenses are "pretty ordinary at best" - but among them are ones with very good optics, very expensive "in their day" - but now quite affordable. So I don't think that "their day is over". Not while some of us are willing to study and learn how to use them...

So, hiding in some shed or on some shelf somewhere - there's a screw-mount f/2.8 300mm prime, with optics Zeiss would envy - in perfect condition, ready to appear in a Garage-Sale - for $50.00....

Well - I don't know if such a thing even exists - but you get the idea... There are Affordable Treasures out there, if people will put in the effort to learn to re-use them...

Thanks so much, all of you, for the great Replies so far - and the thinking-material...!

Regards, Dave.

[Cage]

Hi Dave,

Been watching this post evolve, and having been down the 'backward compatible' road, I feel reasonably qualified to add to it.

I bought the K20D several years ago, and being on a very tight budget, I tried to use a very good DSLR camera with 30 to 40 year old lens made for film cameras. Check my sig !

Now while it is possible to take a good shot with the old/new combination, generally your percentage of 'keepers' is minute compared with using a lens built for, and optimised for, digital cameras. The main issue, IMHO, is that the SMC coatings were not designed for the way a digital camera sees things.

My main complaint has been the amount of purple fringing seen in high contrast shots. Some of this is able to be edited in post processing but not entirely to my satisfaction.

Re the gear you acquired, the SMC (Super Multi-Coated) Takumar 1:1.8/55 seems to be a highly regarded lens. As you have said, try it only with a genuine M42/K adaptor. There are some horror stories around about using the knock-off adaptors. The Tamron 03A doesn't seem to be quite so highly regarded. Both these lens can only be used is full manual mode, with no info re settings being communicated to, or recorded by, the camera. I found this very frustrating when looking back on a session and trying to compare various shots and settings.

I've saved my pennies and slowly built up my collection of DA lens. I'll keep some of the oldies, but there is no way they will be in my day to day kit.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Kevin

[xjjohnno]

I use a lot of old M42 lenses with the genuine Pentax adapter. The purple fringing/Chromatic aberation is more likely to occur with back lit subjects. For metering I tend to take test pics the add/subtract exposure to suit the aperture setting. With the SMC 55 you should have a little switch on the lens body, set to manual will allow you to change apertures without the need to get that pin on the body depressed which old M42 cameras used to do.
The Tamron adaptall lenses have a removable adapter and you'll be able to find both PK and PKA adapters. PKA adapters will have the aperture detection/selection circuitry in them.
And keep away from those nasty flanged M42 adapters on Ebay unless you want to lose infinity focus.

[exwintech]

Kevin - Good advice there, for sure, thanks.

However, I'm probably in a different situation from the majority approaching their first DSLRs. I'm over 60 and on limited income. Anything photographic I do is just hobby and entertainment - and if I can learn things, great!

My snaps - and yes, I definitely want to learn to do better than "snaps" - are just for my own records, and shared around a bunch of friends. With the cost of photo-inks and photo-paper for printers these days, and families having to budget a bit more tightly, none of us does home photo printing. On rare occasions some of us will have photos printed at a printshop.

Much of our material is just for onscreen viewing, and we also do Slideshows - the kids in particular like those.

It's a bit like the hobby video we do - none of us have proper camcorders - so use the P&S cameras' video modes. We used VGA for several years - and did quite a bit of converting the 640 x 480 into (with black bars) - TV-Player usable MPEG2 DVDs. That's now gone to HD, and the others have or are getting P&S cameras with at least Std-HD - 1280 x 720. That was one of my reasons for getting the Fuji HS10 - it does both 1920 x 1080 and 1280 x 720 - the latter is a bit better quality.

But that's okay - it's being converted-down to PAL compliant DVD MPEG2 anyway. The others use Windows, mostly XP - I'm using mostly Avidemux and Kdenlive (similar functions to Sony Vegas, but doesn't cost $650.00...) - in Linux. Mr Spielberg needn't lose any sleep over our "productions quality" competition - but it's quite okay for hobby-level shared around friends.

And that's about where I am with the photography - and what I want to improve on. In my situation I'm never going to have "a bagful" of those very nice $thousands-apiece high-end lenses. So the new lenses I do get will be consumer-level, and not very numerous.

Before the Pentax K-R was announced, I was saving towards a K-X. As the kit-lens lineup here isn't anything like in the US, I'm looking at the Sigma 17-70mm as a walk-around lens. The Pentax 17-70mm is better, but a lot more expensive, even in the kit offer. I was also looking at the Sigma 70-300mm DG APO for some reach, but now realise that the Pentax ED 55-300mm is better - though it costs a bit over twice as much.

So, I hope to fill-out on that basic new pair with older used lenses, screw-mount and later.

Certainly - I don't mind putting a camera-lens combination on a tripod - and needing to "fuss-about" somewhat with the setup to get it working nicely....

I do have a Fuji HS10.....

Regards, Dave.

[exwintech]

Xjjohnno - Yes, that's exactly the sort of information I need, thanks. This SMC 55mm does indeed have a small slider switch labelled MAN and AUTO - you've solved my "How do I do the aperture control?" question!

The 80-210mm Tamron - now that you've told me what to look for - does have a thin removable "disk" at the base. It has a sort of bayonet fitting action. It's marked "TAMRON" - "for PENTAX" - "JAPAN" - on the flange. It has a screw-on cap marked "Tamron ADAPTALL".

Does the Pentax adaptor - I'm told C.R. Kennedy imports them - attach to the lens after that "Adaptall" disk is removed - or does it screw onto the threads where the cap goes?

I'm finding all of this most fascinating!

Regards, Dave.

[xjjohnno]

That adapter should stay on the lens if you use the M42 to Pentax K mount adapter. Otherwise you will need to get adaptall to Pentax bayonet mount adapters. As mentioned above there are 2 types of Pentax adaptall adapters, the Pentax KA mount which has the aperture circuitry for A series Pentax lenses or the Pentax K mount which is just the bayonet mount. With the K mount you would be using the lens in M mode and selecting your preferred aperture setting off the base of the lens.
The K mount adapters are very cheap the KA mounts go for around $100. Tamron used their adaptall system as a way of simplifying their lens manufacture. They made the lenses to take whichever adaptall mount suited the camera so you could buy a lens and with the right adaptall adapters is swap cameras instead of having to buy lenses to suit specific camera mounts.
The M42 screw mount system was an almost universal mounting system used by many camera manufacturers post WW2 which Asahi Pentax used. When Pentax brought out their K mount they conveniently kept the same register distance which meant that buying a new bayonet mount camera with their M42 adapter would mean folk did not need to send their lenses to the tip. My oldest Asahi/Pentax lens dates back to 1959 which works fine on my K20D Pentax with the M42 adapter. Possibly my oldest lens is a 1950s lens of Russian manufacture. If you take the time to do the research using our old friend Google you should be able to accumulate quite a decent lens collection on the cheap. But be wary, there is an affliction called Lens Buying Addiction that you might succumb to.

[exwintech]

Xjjohnno - Thanks for that - it's showing me what descriptions / terms to Google for.

If I get the 'better functions' KA adaptor, does that bayonet-join to an Adaptall lens after the Adaptall disk with the screw-mount is removed, and so get the connections, where the lens has them? Or does it screw onto the Adaptall "For Pentax" screw-mount? If so - how would it make any electrical connections the lens does have?

Assuming that the KA adaptor doesn't use the Adaptall screw-mount - that would mean the genuine Pentax screw-mount adaptor is still needed for lenses like the Takumar 55mm, which don't have the Adaptall fitting?

I certainly don't mind buying both if that's what's needed. With limited finances that will make a wider choice of the older lenses an advantage.

If somebody has a link with information, and maybe diagrams, that would be much appreciated. I do indeed have much to learn - and I'm keen to get into that!

Regards, Dave.

[xjjohnno]

You'd need to remove the M425 adapter to use the adaptall PKA adapter. The cheaper way would be using the Pentax M42 to PK adapter leaving the existing M42 adapter on the Tamron lens.

[I @ M]

Definitely hang on to the 55mm, grab a set of extension tubes and you will have an instant pretty good quality macro lens as well.

I grabbed an "el cheapo" ebay M42 to Nikon adapter a while ago and dragged the Pentax lenses out of retirement just to see how they would work.

[aimg]http://a03-b03.mypicturetown.com:80/P2PwebCmdController/cache/RZ7H0cOjCDM9qE1fw50hj8uydDiamZBwq4R2_-2tbh%26ZUEj1J8H9%26R42tiCtZtW5/item.JPG?rot=1[/aimg]

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and the results
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[Wizofoz]

Hi there, fellow Pentaxian. I don't have a lot to add to what others have advised other to say that as an owner of dozens of older screw mount, M series, A series, etc Pentax lenses (the LBA bug bit me hard) you will find that the venerable 55mm F1.8 lens a joy to use, even on a modern Pentax DSLR. (I have never used an adaptall lens, so cannot comment) We have the advantage over our canikon and sony bretheren in that Pentax have evolved the famous 'green button' which allows stop down metering (among many of it's wondrous functions) of any screw mount or manual Pentax lens mounted to the camera. Press the button and the camera closes down the lens to the pre-set aperture to get an accurate in body meter reading, then releases the diaphragm to its full extent to allow maximum light to the viewfinder for composition. A fabulous feature.

One thing you may consider is the purchase of a screw mount bellows unit for your spotty and 55mm. for not a lot of $$ you will have the world of macro photography opened to you.

Oh, and don't even think of buying a M42-bayonet adapter that is not a genuine Pentax. The horror stories abound on the Pentax forums about off brand adapters.

Enjoy your gear and hopefully with the advent of the K-r and K-5 the prices of a k-x or even a k-20 or k-7 may fall to a more reachable price point for you.

cheers!

Wayne

[jibbonpoint]

I've the 103A which is my principle 80-210 lens. It's a beauty.
This site gives you all the guff on the Adaptall's. http://adaptall-2.org/index.html

Does it have an adapter attached? The PKA adapter which is available on e-bay from time to time is very expensive; approx $100. The PK's are about $20 last time I looked. My 103A cost me about $10 on e-bay.

From the above site & prices for adaptors, it may bear thinking about spending any money on yours.

My favorite lenses are the Supertak 50mm f1.4 Supertak 135 f3.5 & the Pentax M 28mm 2.8 for my K10D. (+the Tamron above) Does me fine.

[exwintech]

Jibbonpoint - Thanks for that useful link. Do think I'd get the M42 adaptor first, but if the PKA adaptor gives better connections to some lenses, I don't see $100.00 or so as very expensive to obtain.


Wizofoz - Thanks, and I've been warned about the El-Cheapo M42 adaptors - I'll be getting the Pentax one. I'll need to read-up on those Green Button functions, though.

As for the K-X getting cheaper when the K-R is released, I'm not betting on that - the price of the K-M body has remained above that of the K-X since that was released.

A friend in the US has had a K-X for about a year, but recently bought a used K20D for about what he paid for the K-X new, and has been praising it highly since. So, depending on what the K-R actually is, and how it's priced here, a K20D might be an option to consider.


I @ M - Yow, some very neat images there indeed! Pretty good 'evidence' of what that lens can do.


Xjjohnno - I do appreciate that explanation. From all the good advice being given here, it looks as if I'll need to get both adaptors to obtain the best functions from different lenses.

Regards, Dave.

[xjjohnno]

I'm glad I was able to be of help.

[exwintech]

Xjjohnno - You have been, indeed, and many thanks to you - and all the others - for such rapid and explanatory Replies!

It's now clear to me that I have very much to learn about this most fascinating subject. With the information and links given, I can now start a more practical study of it.

The enthusiasm shown on this Forum inspires me to "save harder" towards that K-X / K-R or perhaps low-actuations used K20D with 90-days or whatever shop-warranty....

Regards, Dave.