Toronto Photography Meetup Group

So, now that I have a K-7, some questions:

-- What happens if I attach an old, manual-focus K-mount lens? Obviously I would have to shoot in MF mode; but what about the exposure modes? Would I have to shoot in manual exposure mode, or could I shoot in aperture priority, or shutter priority, or program?

Would I have to do anything weird, like holding down the depth of field preview button (I'm not even sure if I have one!) while shooting?

-- Since I have the 17-70 ( = 25-105), any recommendations for covering the longer telephoto end? (Preferably cheaply, and with good optical quality, light in weight, and compact in size?)

Would an old K-mount 135 f3.5 prime ( = 200) be a good choice? It seems to be a remarkably compact little lens, for its focal length.

Thanks for any suggestions!

Oh, I forgot to ask:

-- To attach a K-mount lens, will I need some sort of adapter?

I do not have K7. I believe you need to change the menu item to enable M mode.
All you need is one button. But I need to double check which one though as K7 may have a different button for stepping down. In the menu you need to enter manually the FL as well for SR as the camera does not know its focal length. It will ask you when you put in a lens that it cannot recognize its focal length
Pentax 135mmF3.5 is sharp & smallish. Just avoid anything non-SMC (without multi-coated)
For any question about Pentax lens, consult this complete bible

http://stans-photography.info/

And since you have 17-70, set the FL to 70mm manually. That is it.




No. Just go ahead.

Hope that replies your 2 a.m. question.

But for an oldtimer, it will take you no time to run in


Daniel

The only one you'll need an adapter for is M42 screw mount to K-mount, but we discussed this prior.

on my Canon all I have to do is put it in aperture priority or manual exposure mode and manually set aperture and focusing on the MF lens (also K mount), then camera exposes accordingly. In aperture priority it sets shutter speed to match exposure, in manual I do everything to get the meter where I want. I assume the same is with Pentax (maybe that menu thing discussed earlier) depth of field preview won't work as the camera can't control the manual aperture ring on the lens. I could be wrong as I haven't shot Pentax

So, let's say I attach an old K-mount MF lens -- let's say with maximum aperture f2.8 -- and let's say I want to shoot at f8.

I turn the aperture ring to f8... but will the camera recognize that I have done so? (i.e., when I push the shutter release button, will the aperture close down to f8 [and then return to 2.8 once the exposure is finished]?)

Sorry to be asking so many questions! No doubt it will all become clear in time...

If your camera meters through the lens it will take into account the loss of light for correct exposure settings, but it won't give you a reading on aperture, on mine it shows as "00"

go to menu and Custom setting.

within the custom setting menu you will see "Using Aperture Ring"
change the number 1 to 2, this will allow to use aperture rings on MF lenses

in M mode, you need to change Green button setting, Go to menu and look for green button and change green button to AV Shift.
from then, in M mode, pressing green button you give you corrent exposures according to the situation.

hope this helps.

Try to get pentax-A series lenses as these lenses can be used in all exposure mode on a Pentax DSLR

any mf series other than pentax-a (pentax-k, pentax-m) would only work in manual mode with stop down metering as I described above.



as for your question
I turn the aperture ring to f8... but will the camera recognize that I have done so? (i.e., when I push the shutter release button, will the aperture close down to f8 [and then return to 2.8 once the exposure is finished]?)

yes, it will, if you change the settings

Read the post by Ira on this page about using manual focus lenses on Pentax cameras:
http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pent ... -lens.html

Hey guys. Before jumping into giving advice, pl note Dan has K 7 not K x. Unless you are sure, do not confuse him. Kx is a lower model .

Dan - try out the simple method in your K - 7 manual Page 107


Daniel

Thanks everyone for these tips!

Looking forward to trying out a variety of lenses...

One last quesion: Would an A-series lens necessarily be an autofocus lens?

Nope
M lens - manual focus and manual metering
A lens - manual focus and auto metering

In general, lens price of
FA (autofocus) > F (older FA lens) > A > M > K (older M lens) > M42 (screw mount)

Daniel

FYI, there are also

FA* lenses

FA limited lenses

DA Limited lenses

DA* lenses

K-x is exactly the same for using pre-A lenses as it has a Green Button. Set to manual, choose aperture, press Green button to set metered shutter speed. All the green-button equipped Pentax DSLR's work the same way for stop-down metering.