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What lens work with my *istDS?

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pentalex

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I have the *ist DS and I have a couple of lenses... but I would like to try a new lens. The problem is that I am not sure what lenses are complatible with my camera. I was looking at keh.com and I saw some lenses under the Pentax Manual Focus. Such as:
Pentax Manual Focus - $62

40-80 F2.8-4 SMC M MACRO (49) / 2 TOUCH 35MM SLR MANUAL FOCUS ZOOM STANDARD ANGLE LENS

Pentax Manual Focus - $94
45-125 F4 SMC (58) WITH CAPS 35MM SLR MANUAL FOCUS ZOOM STANDARD ANGLE LENS

Are those compatible with my camera? Can anyone tell me how to recognize what lenses on keh.com would fit my DS? Is there something I can read about Pentax compatible lenses.
People in this forum seem pretty friendly :)
Thanks in advance for you help
 
pentalex said:
Are those compatible with my camera? Can anyone tell me how to
recognize what lenses on keh.com would fit my DS? Is there
something I can read about Pentax compatible lenses.
Click to expand...
All lenses ever built that has the K mount will work. Even the screwmount lenses for the Spotmatic will work with the appropriate M42-K adapter. In a nutshell...all lenses at KEH listed under Pentax Autofocus, Pentax Manual Focus, and Pentax Screwmount will work.

--

Ron ~ Retired, just taking it easy with life, and not getting bothered much by these brain excercises. GMT - 7 http://www.ancientman.com/brandc/Ron 's_Web_Album/

 
Even bigger medium format Pentax lenses will work with an adapter. Most lenses you'll find though won't need an adapter because they will be K mount. I guess Pentax has only 3 mounts unless you also count that miniature SLR that actually worked. How cool was that!
--
Lipo
Luthier
 
They work, but only with the DS set to manual mode (manual exposure mode, manual focus mode). Remember that you have to go into the custom menu and activate the use of aperture ring on the lenses, otherwise the camera won't fire.

Then all you have to do is pressing the AE-L button to get a meter readout before you take the picture.

Take care*
 
Be wary of Ricoh mount lenses. At one time, they were the same as the Pentax K bayonet mount. Later on, they diverged and would not work on Pentax bodies. Also, watch out for some Vivitar lenses. Some of them have a large flange on the mount end which prohibits mating on a Pentax digital.

You can rest assured that (except for the 110 lenses), EVERY Pentax lens manufactured over the past 50 years will fit and function perfectly on your DS. K and M lenses are fully manual (or Av if wide open). A lenses will work in Av or M mode. The previous three series are manual focus only. FA and DA lenses have full functionality. (Not sure about F or FAJ lenses as I have no experience with them.)

The M42 screw mount lenses require an adapter. Try to find a "Pentax" adapter. Problems have been reported with 3rd-party adapters. The medium format 6x7 and 645 Pentax lenses will also work, with the appropriate adapter.

Be sure to go into your menu and set "using aperture ring" to permitted. It can be left in that setting, regardless which lens is mounted.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

--
Steven
GMT -8
 
volosong said:
[snip]...... A lenses will work in Av or M mode. The previous
three series are manual focus only. FA and DA lenses have full
functionality. (Not sure about F or FAJ lenses as I have no
experience with them.)

--
Steven
GMT -8
Click to expand...
Excuse me, volosong, but I have to make one correction to your text:

A-lenses work in all modes. Only thing they lack is AF. All other was correct.

--
Harri
 
Harri R'is'nen said:
volosong said:
[snip]...... A lenses will work in Av or M mode. The previous
three series are manual focus only. FA and DA lenses have full
functionality. (Not sure about F or FAJ lenses as I have no
experience with them.)
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Harri R'is'nen said:
Excuse me, volosong, but I have to make one correction to your text:

A-lenses work in all modes. Only thing they lack is AF. All other
was correct.
Click to expand...
Oops! Lack of use on my part. Just isn't in the front of my mind. My modus operandi is M or Av. Seldomr use Tv, and rarely B mode; never ever use "picture modes". Thanks for keeping me honest.

--
Steven
GMT -8
 
volosong said:
FA and DA lenses have full
functionality. (Not sure about F or FAJ lenses as I have no
experience with them.)
Click to expand...
The F lenses work essentially the same as FA and DA lenses. They support auto-aperture and auto-focus. I believe the difference is that they don't report the same information back to the camera that the FA lenses do. It's an older style, but boy are they solid feeling. I have two F lenses and the F1.7 teleconverter. The F50 is superb. The F28-80 isn't so great, but it's occasionally useful and can be had for two pittances and a song.

The FAJ lenses (from my reading, not experience) were budget lenses and Pentax compromised on quality. I wouldn't invest in an FAJ unless I had no other alternative.

--
My Photo-a-Day gallery
http://gallery.ericcloninger.com

 
I have a plastic bodied F50/1.7. The optics are superb and it does tell the body what the aperture and focal length are. It is good for manual focussing although it is not damped and the focus ring is thin ribbed plastic.
 
First off, thank you everybody for your input. I didn't expect to get so much and valuable information.
What I got out of all your responses is the following:
  • All lenses under "Pentax Manual Focus" and "Pentax Auto Focus" in KEH.com will work with the DS.
  • All (or some?) "Pentax Screwmount" lenses need some kind of M42-K adaptor to work with the DS.
  • "K" and "M" lenses work only in Manual mode (did I get that right?) and I have to use manual focus. The only exception would be using Av mode with Aperture set to the lowest setting (set that using the aperture ring or using the buttons?)
  • To use K and M lenses, I have to permit "use aperture ring" option in the Custom menu of the DS
  • "A" lenses work in all modes but autofocusing won't work on the DS
  • "K", "M", and "A" lenses... I have to press AE-L button to get a meter reading when taking pictures
  • "FA" and "DA" lenses have full functionality on the DS
  • "F" lenses work in all modes but sometimes (when?) do not report correct information to the DS.
  • "FAJ" lenses have full functionality. But they are not recommended since their quality is not great (what is not so great about them?).
@ Gio 645 - the links in both your posts did not take me to the Pentax page on KEH.com. I tried to paste links here too but couldn't. That's why I had to paste the text/description of the lenses in my post.

So from the keh.com description of this lense...

40-80 F2.8-4 SMC M MACRO (49) / 2 TOUCH 35MM SLR MANUAL FOCUS ZOOM STANDARD ANGLE LENS
40-80 - is the zoom range (on a film SLR? how much is it on digital?)
F2.8 - is the min aperture at 40
F4.0 - is the min aperture at 80
SMC - I am not sure what that indicates?
M - is that the type of lens?
Macro - its a macro lens too
(49) - I have no idea what that means
2 Touch - no idea what that means also
Manual focus zoom - self explanatory :)
Standard angle lens - not quite sure what that is either

For the other lens
45-125 F4 SMC (58) WITH CAPS 35MM SLR MANUAL FOCUS ZOOM STANDARD ANGLE LENS

With Caps - what does that mean? That it has the front cap and back cap to protect the lens?

That being said... 99.9% of the time I use Manual mode. I have to admit that I have become a Pentax fan and I love my camera. Build quality, size, price, price of lenses, viewfinder. I think people can take good quality pictures with almost any camera but the important thing is how it feels in your hands.

Anyway... thanks again for taking the time out to answer my questions. I have other ones but I will ask them one topic at a time.

Alex
 
pentalex said:
  • "A" lenses work in all modes but autofocusing won't work on the DS
  • "K", "M", and "A" lenses... I have to press AE-L button to get a
meter reading when taking pictures - see above for correct answer
Click to expand...
pentalex said:
  • "FA" and "DA" lenses have full functionality on the DS
  • "F" lenses work in all modes but sometimes (when?) do not report
correct information to the DS.
Click to expand...
F lenses give full functionality - you can use all modes and autofocus.
pentalex said:
  • "FAJ" lenses have full functionality. But they are not
recommended since their quality is not great (what is not so great
about them?).
Click to expand...
they were cheaper lenses of lesser optical quality. They were made without aperture rings to keep the price down.
pentalex said:
So from the keh.com description of this lense...
40-80 F2.8-4 SMC M MACRO (49) / 2 TOUCH 35MM SLR MANUAL FOCUS ZOOM
STANDARD ANGLE LENS

40-80 - is the zoom range (on a film SLR? how much is it on digital?) The equivalent field of view is multiplied by 1.5 so it will look the same as using a 60-120 zoom on 35mm film body.
Click to expand...
pentalex said:
F2.8 - is the min aperture at 40 - yes
F4.0 - is the min aperture at 80 - yes

SMC - I am not sure what that indicates? Super Multi Coating, lens coating which reduces flare and gives accurate colour.
M - is that the type of lens? - yes dates from late 70s, early 80s
Macro - its a macro lens too - more like close focus rather than true macro
(49) - I have no idea what that means - 49mm filter thread diameter

2 Touch - no idea what that means also - two cntrol rings, one for zoom, one for focus. A onetouch zoom does both operations with the same control.
Manual focus zoom - self explanatory :)

Standard angle lens - not quite sure what that is either - close to the usual 50mm "standard" lens fitted to 35mm cameras. Matches the normal human eye view.

For the other lens
45-125 F4 SMC (58) WITH CAPS 35MM SLR MANUAL FOCUS ZOOM STANDARD
ANGLE LENS
With Caps - what does that mean? That it has the front cap and back
cap to protect the lens? - yes
Click to expand...
This is an older K series lens and is very well made, very solid build.
--
Steve

http://www.pbase.com/steephill
 
Thank you Steve. Everything makes more sense now.
Its nice to meet everyone... this is me, photographed by me, using my DS.

 
pentalex said:
First off, thank you everybody for your input. I didn't expect to
get so much and valuable information.
What I got out of all your responses is the following:
  • All lenses under "Pentax Manual Focus" and "Pentax Auto Focus" in
KEH.com will work with the DS.
  • All (or some?) "Pentax Screwmount" lenses need some kind of M42-K
adaptor to work with the DS.
Click to expand...
all screw mont lenses need the adapter
pentalex said:
  • "K" and "M" lenses work only in Manual mode (did I get that
right?) and I have to use manual focus. The only exception would be
using Av mode with Aperture set to the lowest setting (set that
using the aperture ring or using the buttons?)
Click to expand...
in AV mode the lens will stay at maximum aperture and changing the settings on the body doesn't change things
pentalex said:
  • To use K and M lenses, I have to permit "use aperture ring"
option in the Custom menu of the DS
  • "A" lenses work in all modes but autofocusing won't work on the DS
Click to expand...
K,M and A lenses were not auto focus lenses
pentalex said:
  • "K", "M", and "A" lenses... I have to press AE-L button to get a
meter reading when taking pictures
Click to expand...
A lenses meter through the camera and you don't have to press the AE-L button to get a reading [thats why they are the most popular manual lenses]
pentalex said:
  • "FA" and "DA" lenses have full functionality on the DS
  • "F" lenses work in all modes but sometimes (when?) do not report
correct information to the DS.
Click to expand...
they do not report as much info as FA lenses
pentalex said:
  • "FAJ" lenses have full functionality. But they are not
recommended since their quality is not great (what is not so great
about them?).

@ Gio 645 - the links in both your posts did not take me to the
Pentax page on KEH.com. I tried to paste links here too but
couldn't. That's why I had to paste the text/description of the
lenses in my post.

So from the keh.com description of this lense...
40-80 F2.8-4 SMC M MACRO (49) / 2 TOUCH 35MM SLR MANUAL FOCUS ZOOM
STANDARD ANGLE LENS
40-80 - is the zoom range (on a film SLR? how much is it on digital?)
F2.8 - is the min aperture at 40
F4.0 - is the min aperture at 80
SMC - I am not sure what that indicates?
M - is that the type of lens?
Macro - its a macro lens too
(49) - I have no idea what that means
2 Touch - no idea what that means also
Manual focus zoom - self explanatory :)
Standard angle lens - not quite sure what that is either

For the other lens
45-125 F4 SMC (58) WITH CAPS 35MM SLR MANUAL FOCUS ZOOM STANDARD
ANGLE LENS
With Caps - what does that mean? That it has the front cap and back
cap to protect the lens?

That being said... 99.9% of the time I use Manual mode. I have to
admit that I have become a Pentax fan and I love my camera. Build
quality, size, price, price of lenses, viewfinder. I think people
can take good quality pictures with almost any camera but the
important thing is how it feels in your hands.
Anyway... thanks again for taking the time out to answer my
questions. I have other ones but I will ask them one topic at a
time.

Alex
Click to expand...
40-80 = 60-120
SMC= the anti glare coating on the lens [its very good to have]
Caps = protective caps that fit on the front and rear of the lens [good to have]
"M" = the series of the lens made in the early 80's

Macro = could be 1/4 life size or full life size and you will have to look up the specs to see just what sort of macro a "macro" is as they vary.
[49] = the size of the filter thread on the front of the lens
2 touch = uses one ring to zoom and one ring to focus

standard angle = covers the 50mm focal length which is standard for a 35mm film camera.
IE: a 100 mm lens from a film camera = 150 mm on a *istD, *istDs *istDL

--
Shane, Aussie DS user.
lens list in profile
 
I appreciate it Shane.

I will let you know when I get a new lens. I want to get one that is good for portraits. May be a 40-80 F2.8-4 SMC M (Excelllent condition $62). Its cheap and price is my biggest concern. I don't think I will mind the manual setting of aperture and focus.

Or may be 50 F1.7 SMC M (Excelllent condition $69). That lens is probably not for portraits but at that price I can get it to experiment. I read a while ago (if I remember correctly that) some people have an infatuation with the 50mm lenses... what's the explanation for that?

Also, does anyone have experience with buying lenses in BGN (Bargain) condition from KEH.com ? Are they worth buying at all?

Alex
 
I noticed a lot of people here like 50mm primes. I have an A50/2 and recently picked up an F50/1.7. A 50 makes for a nice portrait lens and short tele. I would not do without the F50 but my A28 and Zenitar 16 are a little more useful for me. It depends on who you are and what you shoot.
 
F lenses (KAF mount) has a simpler set of incoded information than FA/FAJ/DA lenses (KAF2 mount). The main difference is that KAF2 mount lenses has information about MTF performance and also has a higher resolution to the AF coding. Only the *ist D takes advantage of the MTF information (and quite possible the new 10Mp too).

Take care*
 
pentalex said:
Also, does anyone have experience with buying lenses in BGN
(Bargain) condition from KEH.com ? Are they worth buying at all?
Click to expand...
Hi Alex,

If you are concerned about cost of lenses then the BGN's from KEH are well worth considering IMO. Keep in mind that KEH are very conservative in rating their lenses. The two BGN lenses that I have bought from them do very well for me.

--

Ron ~ Retired, just taking it easy with life, and not getting bothered much by these brain excercises. GMT - 7 http://www.ancientman.com/brandc/Ron 's_Web_Album/

 
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