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Pentax K10d and Manual focus lenses
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 1:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I not mixed with Nikon, I thought not to easy to connect an adapter inside into the bajonet instead of connect onto the bajonet, but seems not a problem many of you say this is fine.


PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 12:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Orio wrote:
I would be more careful in not damaging the lenses if they are worth more than 100 Euros. You can always have the camera repaired by any Pentax service, while once the lens is screwed up by improper surgery, it is trash, and old manual lenses are not easily replaced because they are not in production anymore.

Also it is my opinion that we should respect these old lenses and modify them only if absolutely necessary.
-


Long time reader, first time poster. I am the one who did the lens mount swapping approach for C/Y Yashica ML and P/K. This method is easy to do and totally reversible. It takes about 5 mins to unscrew and srew the mount flanges back to each lens to bring them back to the original state. I have no idea about the possbility to do the same thing on CZ C/Y lenses because I don't have any of them to experiment.

I also mount old Nikkors directly to my K10D. Everything works fine, no problem at all. Infinity focus is just as other P/K lenses. This should due to the small difference in register distance of P/K and Nikon F mount systems. For small lenses (mine is Nikkor-O 2/35), they can stay firmly on the K10D even though not being locked. For big lenses (Vivitar Series 1 70-210 f3.5), I did the mount swapping method as for C/Y lenses and the problem is gone. A small problem is that the lens will focus beyond infinity (just a little bit).

I think the following lens mounts can be potentially fitted on P/K (45.46mm): M42 (45.46mm) (for sure, easy and perfect), C/Y (45.5mm), Olympus OM (46mm), Nikon F (46.5mm) and Leica R (47mm). I am looking for some cheap OM and Leica R lenses to see how they work on my K10D.

As an ex-owner of Canon 300D/350D/400D, I have to say that Pentax K100D/10D outperfroms the Canon Rebel xxD regarding their usage with manual lenses. Yeah, Canon takes advantage of having more choices for manual lenses but the options for P/K above are quite enough for me by now.

To anyone who doesn't know yet: The metering problem of K10D with pre-A lenses can be fixed by changing the factory focusing sreen to the one of istD model. I haven't done it yet but lots of people confirmed that it worked perfectly.


PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 12:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Welcome to aboard! Hopefully you will share more from your experience! Thank you for your first post! Please fill your location!


PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 12:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
xtriky wrote:

To anyone who doesn't know yet: The metering problem of K10D with pre-A lenses can be fixed by changing the factory focusing sreen to the one of istD model. I haven't done it yet but lots of people confirmed that it worked perfectly.


Same here with the EOS 5D, after having installed the Ee-s optional screen for manual lenses, the metering is close to perfect.
With the standard screen, it was a tragedy.

I wonder of what kind of crap they are selling us with the standard screens.

But hey standard screens are for crappy autofocus so thinking twice, screens must be crappy also Razz Razz Razz Twisted Evil


PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 5:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Abbazz wrote:

As mentioned at the beginning of this thread, the Pentax K10d not only allows me to mount M42 lenses easily, but it also allows me to use image stabilization and AF focus confirmation right out of the box (no need for these "chipped" adapters like on my Canon).

Except for wide angles, I always switch to my K10d when I plan to use M42 or Tamron Adaptall lenses, because it is much more usable than a Canon with these lenses. On the Pentax, all the Tamron Adaptall lenses perform exactly like native Pentax KA lenses, with the all the auto-exposure modes available and the control of the aperture on the camera body. And with the help of the 1.7x AF adapter, my Tamron Adaptall 300/2.8 and 180/2.5 turn magically into multimegabucks superfast autofocus lenses...



Hi Abbazz!
Would this apply as well to the K110D?. There is a rebate on a large local retailer and they are selling the K110D with a 18-55 lens by 379,00 €. I was looking for an Oly E-300 second hand, but prices are going up to around 300€, so a K110d could be an alternative. All my lenses (but three of them) are M42, and I got a C/Y and two Adaptall-2 Tamrons, so your description has raised nice expectatives to me...

Best regards,
Jes.


PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 9:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Jesito wrote:
Would this apply as well to the K110D?


Jes,

I have never tried the K110D, so I cannot guarantee it will work in the same manner as the K10D with manual focus lenses. However, I see no reason why it shouldn't, with the exception of the image stabilization feature (Antishake in Pentax jargon), which the K110D is lacking.

With an M42 to PK adapter ($15 to 30), you will be able to use all your M42 lenses, present and future, in aperture priority mode (Av) with AF confirmation. Not bad...

Your Tamron lenses will behave exactly as Pentax "A" lenses with the help of a Tamron PK/A Adaptall-2 ring. This adapter is not really rare, but it is highly sought after on eBay, leading to insane prices (> $100). However, I suggest you buy an old Tamron zoom from a thrift shop for a few dollars with the precious PK/A ring attached. That's why I have now three copies of the 80-210/3.8-4 zoom -- a rather good lens, but almost no resell value on the market... Please note that the more common PK/M adapter will make your lenses behave like Pentax "K" or "M" lenses, without the ability to control the lens aperture from the camera.

For the C/Y lens, please refer to the links provided by Niblue earlier in this thread.

Cheers!

Abbazz


PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 10:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Abbazz wrote:


With an M42 to PK adapter ($15 to 30), you will be able to use all your M42 lenses, present and future, in aperture priority mode (Av) with AF confirmation. Not bad...



Hi Abbazz,
That's what most appeals me. (I can live without image stabilization, I'm used to, but the AF confirmation would be very useful).
Thanks for the feeback!.
Best regards,
Jes.


PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 10:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I had a K110D before upgrading to K10D so I can confirm that K110D works in the same manner with MF lenses as K10D (except for SR feature). A good thing about K110D is that it does not have metering problem with pre-A lens like K10D has. Thus, my advice is "go for it".


PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 11:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks niblue and xtriki for the advice!.
I'll give a walk to the shopping center where I saw the K110D offer, to see if the have any *1st, and to what price.

Best regards,
Jes.


PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 12:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
niblue wrote:
I don't think I've tried the AF confirmation with the M42 lenses on the *istDS yet so I'll need to try that to confirm it works (I've definitely used it on at least one of the bodies where it was working great however I couldn't put my hand on heart and say for sure it was the *istDS, the K10D or both).


AF confirm will work on the *ist series. It does on my DL Smile

Veyr interesting about those Nikkors, I will experiment with that. Old Nikon glass is often cheaper than the Pentax equivalent, prices have gone up lately for Pentax...

Tom


PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 12:42 pm    Post subject: Samsung GX - 1 S / L Reply with quote
Hello,

If you find instead a Samsung GX-1L or GX-1S its ok too (and at a good price). They are I think, IDENTICAL with Pentax *ist DL2 and Pentax *ist Ds2.
http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/camera/review/113/page_1.html
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/gx1l.html
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/samsung/digimax_gx1s-review/index.shtml
and the Pentax
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/cameraDetail.php?cam=768


PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 1:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
TDN wrote:
Veyr interesting about those Nikkors, I will experiment with that. Old Nikon glass is often cheaper than the Pentax equivalent, prices have gone up lately for Pentax...


Tom,

If you want to experiment without breaking the bank, get the Nikkor-H (or HC for the multicoated version) 50/2. That's one of the best Nikon lenses and one of the cheapest too. See this thread: http://forum.mflenses.com/viewtopic.php?t=2702

Cheers!

Abbazz


PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 1:16 pm    Post subject: Re: Samsung GX - 1 S / L Reply with quote
montecarlo wrote:
Hello,

If you find instead a Samsung GX-1L or GX-1S its ok too (and at a good price). They are I think, IDENTICAL with Pentax *ist DL2 and Pentax *ist Ds2.
http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/camera/review/113/page_1.html
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/gx1l.html
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/samsung/digimax_gx1s-review/index.shtml
and the Pentax
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/cameraDetail.php?cam=768

Thanks Cosmin, added to the list...
Best regards.
Jes.


PostPosted: Mon Nov 26, 2007 4:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Some updates on lens mount conversion:
I did successfully convert Yashica ML and Olympus OM lenses into P/K mount by using the Fotodiox M42->P/K adapter (the one with flange). All converted lenses will fit, stay locked and have perfect infinity focus on my K10D.

So far, I am able to use my K10D with the following lens systems: M42, P/K MF&AF, Nikon-F, Contax/Yashica and Olympus OM. My next target should be Leica R but the only problem is the price of Leica ::sigh:: Hope that I will be lucky enough to get a cheap Leica R lens for my experiment Razz


PostPosted: Mon Nov 26, 2007 2:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
This is good news for many Pentax owner, thank you for sharing!


PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2007 7:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Update: I just did some modification to fit the CZ Planar T* 50/1.7 into K10D. For more detail, please see here http://forum.manualfocus.org/viewtopic.php?id=8924


PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2007 7:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
cheer xtricky, wonderful job
nice project for the contax 50 1.7 of Jes Wink


PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2007 8:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
xtriky wrote:
Update: I just did some modification to fit the CZ Planar T* 50/1.7 into K10D. For more detail, please see here http://forum.manualfocus.org/viewtopic.php?id=8924


I can answer your question: there is no "Made in Germany" version of the 1.7/50 Planar and neither of the 1.4/50 Planar. Both lenses have been only assembled in Japan.

As for the "Made in Japan vs. Made in Germany" issue, I have enough experience on Contax lenses now, to tell you that this is just fantasies. There is only one difference that counts, that is, between AE and MM models, because some of the Contax lenses have been optically improved in occasion of the launch of the MM system. These lenses include at least the Distagon 2.8/25, Distagon 2.8/28 and Sonnar 2.8/135, which are verified - but may also include other models for which there is no official verification.
I had the possibility to test head-to-head two Sonnars 2.8/85, both AE version, one Germany one Japan, and the difference between the two was so minimal, to be considered absolutely negligible and well within the unavoidable tolerance limit of the difference between two physical objects that were, still, largely hand-made.

As for your Planar 1.7/50 being a bad copy, everything is possible, especially if the lens was opened and not properly reassembled by a previous owner. The quality control at Zeiss is so good that it's really unlikely that you may have gotten a copy that was poor quality since the factory release. I think it's more likely (or less unlikely if you prefer) that your manipulation of the lens might be the cause somehow.

-


PostPosted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 12:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Orio, thanks for your answer. As you see from the description, my modification has minimal to no effect to the glass. Anyway I will open and clean the lens somehow.


PostPosted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 12:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
xtriky wrote:
Orio, thanks for your answer. As you see from the description, my modification has minimal to no effect to the glass. Anyway I will open and clean the lens somehow.


I'm not sure about this xtricky. As you know, lenses are precision objects that are carefully calibrated to give optimal performance. Very expensive measuring instruments are used for this task, which means, this is not something that can be done "at spans".
I had a mail exchange with a Zeiss engineer a little time ago, and he explained me that Zeiss calibrates the lenses at infinity focus - which is also the focal point all MTF tests for lenses are made by Zeiss.
Based on what you wrote, you have shifted the position of the helicoid for this lens. Thus, shifting all focusing positions beyond the original calibration, in order to reach infinity focus. But Zeiss did not create the lens to be calibrated this way.
I am not a technician, but I would bet some that this has an impact of performance. All lenses, except for those who have floating elements, do perform differently at different focal points. Your Planar is now not calibrated as it ideally should. So a little loss in performance is, in my opinion, plausible.

-


PostPosted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 2:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Very good point, Orio. I did not think about it at all. I learn so much from you. However, in order to test this "hypothesis" I need somebody have the CZ 50/1.7 and mod it the same way as I do. Then please make some sharpness test and report the result. I still believe that I got a bad copy.


PostPosted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 2:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
xtriky wrote:
Very good point, Orio. I did not think about it at all. I learn so much from you. However, in order to test this "hypothesis" I need somebody have the CZ 50/1.7 and mod it the same way as I do. Then please make some sharpness test and report the result. I still believe that I got a bad copy.


Mine are just guesses, xtriky, so my advice is to not learn from me Laughing . If you like, you can write to Zeiss (www.zeiss.de) and ask. A technician will reply, they are very responsive.

Bad copies may happen of course. But sincerely, I have bought 25 Contax lenses and I can not say that I have ever met one bad copy. So either I am extremely lucky, or, bad Contax copies are extremely rare. I personally believe that with the kind of quality control Zeiss has, a bad copy is certainly the result of some unadequate user action - or accident. You don't know the previous owners of this lens, so anything might have happened with it.

I don't know the Takumar 55 (I have the SMC 1.4/50) and the Zuiko, but I know enough about the Yashica ML 1.4/50 to be sure that it can not be superior to the Planar 1.7/50, because reviewers rate the Yashica 1.4/50 inferior in performance to the Yashica 1.7/50, which in turn was tested against the Planar 1.7/50 and the Planar gave a better performance. Of course this is not undisputable truth and I don't have the links for that test anymore, but what I am trying to say is that if the Planar performs worse than the Zuiko or Takumar, that might be also normal - but if it performs worse than the Yashica 1.4/50, then there is surely something wrong with the Planar.

Here's some pictures I took in the last days with my Planar 1.7/50:

On 400D:

On 400D:

On 400D, wide open:

On 400D:
http://www.oriofoto.net/temp/gchoir2007_a/slides/gchoir2007_20.html
On 400D:
http://www.oriofoto.net/temp/gchoir2007_a/slides/gchoir2007_21.html
On 400D:
http://www.oriofoto.net/temp/gchoir2007_a/slides/gchoir2007_22.html

Of course these are resizes so they can not show the real sharpness, but they should be detailed enough to let you guess that behind, there is a really sharp lens.
-


PostPosted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 4:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I really appreciate Orio for his help. I did open and clean the Zeiss 50/1.7 and remounted it @ 4 o'clock position. And it show some improvement in sharpness but still not at the level of Orio's copy Sad However, I am busy doing another lens conversion project and don't have much time to play around with that Zeiss for further investigation.

This is my current project: convert Canon FL 85mm 1.8 to P/K mount. For detail please take a look here http://forum.manualfocus.org/viewtopic.php?pid=75209#p75209


PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 12:00 am    Post subject: photo of M42 adapter mounted on Pentax body Reply with quote
just for the record, this is how a Pentax M42 - K mount adapter fits into the K-mount of a Pentax SLR body



( here on a Pentax ME Super, but of course the fit is the same on dSLR Pentax )


PostPosted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 7:35 am    Post subject: Pentax K10D with almost any lens! Reply with quote
hacksawbob wrote:
You mean you can mount M42 lenses AND use IS with them! why am I wasting my time with canon!


I have a K10D (and soon I hope the K20D) and as long as I can get a lens to fit - and every K mount lens will, as will Canon, Nikon, Olympus and most others with an adapter, let alone my growing collection of SP Adaptalls, then I have Image Stabilisation for all! I understand that IS 'in lens' has its proponents, and as a Canon user of 30 years I would not care to deride their kit, but having every lens I use image stabilised, given my aged shaky hands, is a real boon! Now with live view as well on the K20D I may even be able to focus too? lol

MF Lenses:

Olympus 1.2 50mm Zuiko prime

Tamron Adaptall 2 SP 70-210 3.5 (Wonderful but very heavy!)

Tamron Adaptall 2 70-210 158A (As light as the other is heavy!)

Tamron Adaptall 2 80-210 103A (Middleweight!)

Tamron SP 2x Adapter (2 off)

Sears 70-210 F4 (A fair zoom for pennies!)

Sears 135mm 2.8 (quite good for 6 dollars off e-bay?)

Pentax-A 50mm F2 Prime

Super Takumar 135

Super Takumar 200
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