Pentax Digital

Sean Nelson posted a very interesting tutorial on dpreview on how to use manual lenses on the latest Pentax DSLR, the K100D Super.

See it here.

Thanks Sean!

A lot is going on about these lenses, because Ricoh shared an almost equal mount with Pentax in the film days.

However, it does not mean that they are the same!

There are different variations of the mount, and I do not know all of them, but I can tell you what I do know:

1. XR mount: this was the original bayonet mount from ricoh, and is basicly the same as the K mount. An XR mount lens will fit on your Pentax DSLR without problems.
2. P/KA-R or R-P/K or any other variant of this name (do not confuse with Konica Auto Reflex mount, K-Ar! (thanks Bigdawg, for clearing this up)): this mount is similar to the KA mount Pentax made, but (!!!), it is not fully compatible! Some versions are, some are not.
   • First off, some PK/AR lenses have a small golden pin on the mount, which is not supposed to be there. This pin will get stuck in the AF-contact when you mount it on a DSLR! So this type is not compatible with Pentax DSLRs.
   • Sometimes the extra contact is not a pin, but a small ball. I’ve been told that this type does not get stuck on the camera. I had a Tokina SZ-X lens in this mount, and it worked like a KA lens. So this type is compatible.
   • Another frequent problem with Ricoh mount lenses, especially the ones from third party manufacturers like Vivitar and Sears, is that the flange protecting the aperture lever is too large. This way you cannot turn the lens into position when trying to mount it on the camera.

Solutions:

• for the pin-problem: if you dismantle the lens mount, you can easily remove the pin, and the lens will work. This does require a steady hand, and the skill to put the lens back together though…
• edit: another solution for the pin problem: Appearantly it is possible to grind the pin off with a dremel tool, while protecting the glass with a rear lens cap. This method might be easier if you’d rather not dismantle the lens. (thanks Darren for this solution)
• for the flange problem: If the lens does not suffer from the above mentioned pin-problem, there is an easy solution for this, you can just cut or grind a piece of the flange off. Be careful not to damage the lens elements though (or yourself, for that matter…)
• edit: another solution for the flange problem: the flange can be removed by undoing 2 or 3 screws. The internal baffle comes out as well.

Illustrations:

The left one, a Vivitar 28-200mm f3.5, had the flange problem, the right one, a Tokina SZ-X 70-210mm, had no problems.

Neither had the pin problem, but instead had a ball where the pin usually is.
Notice the naming of the mount on the Vivitar lens.

A closer look. Notice the huge flange on the Vivitar lens. You can grind this down to make the lens work.

You can see these ocasionally on ebay and other auction sites. They usually go for very high prices.

So what’s so special about that * (star) or “limited” designation then?

1. * (star) Lenses: These lenses are the top of the Pentax lens line-up. Their components were carefully selected, to make sure they are top quality. All of them have a very large maximum aperture for their focal length.
   The following star lenses exist, sorted by type:
   • M*: The only known * lens for the M-series is the M* 300/4
   • A*: These go for very high prices on ebay. There are only primes in this series aswell.
     A* 85/1.4 - A* 135/1.8 - A* 200/2.8 ED - A* 200/4 Macro ED - A* 300/2.8 ED [IF] - A* 300/4 - A* 400/2.8 ED [IF] - A* 1200/8 ED [IF]
   • F*:
     primes: F* 300/4.5 ED [IF] - F* 600/4 ED [IF]
     zooms: F* 250-600/5.6 ED [IF]
   • FA*: Most of the current star lenses are FA*. Included are some very high-end, extreme telephoto lenses.
     primes: FA* 24/2 AL [IF] - FA* 85/1.4 [IF] - FA* 200/2.8 ED [IF] - FA* 200/4 Macro ED [IF] - FA* 300/2.8 ED [IF] - FA* 300/4.5 ED [IF] - FA* 400/5.6 ED [IF] - FA* 600/4 ED [IF]
     zooms: FA* 28-70/2.8 AL - FA* 80-200/2.8 ED [IF] - FA* 250-600/5.6 ED [IF]
   • DA*: The latest, digital star series. These lenses feature a SDM supersonic autofocus motor, for fast and quiet AF.
     primes: DA* 200 mm F2.8 ED [IF] SDM (tentative name) - DA* 300 mm F4 ED [IF] SDM (tentative name)
     zooms: DA* 16-50mm F2.8 ED AL[IF] SDM - DA* 50-135mm F2.8 ED [IF] SDM - DA* 60-250 mm F4 ED [IF] SDM (tentative name)
2. Limited Lenses: The Limited series of Pentax lenses are a series of high-end primes, with a sleek and compact design. Their optical quality is excellent, and by some, they are considered among the best lenses in the world!
   • K Gold: The K 50/1.2 (Gold) is not really a lens labeled “Limited”, but I wanted to mention it anyway. It was issued with the special Pentax LX Gold Edition.
   • A special: The A 50/1.2 Special is not really a lens labeled “Limited”, but I wanted to mention it anyway. It was issued with the special Pentax LX Millennium Edition.
   • FA Limited: The FA Limited series were absolutely top of the bill. There are 3 types, still in production on this day. They exist in silver and black editions.
     FA 31/1.8 AL Limited - FA 43/1.9 Limited - FA 77/1.8 Limited
   • DA Limited: The latest, digital limited series. These are very popular, and according to user reports, also show extremely high quality.
     DA 21/3.2 AL Limited - DA 40/2.8 AL Limited - DA 70/2.4 Limited - DA 35/2.8 Macro Limited (tentative name)

If you have the funds to buy any of these lenses, they are all worth it, you can’t miss.

However, due to their high pricetag, most of these will stay a dream…

Tom

(sources: dimitrov’s page and pentaxslr.com)

P.S.: If you’re curious: currently the cheapest (new) of these lenses is the DA 40/2.8 AL Limited , with a list price of 399$, not deducting the rebate that’s currently running for US customers.

I’ve just finished typing the Pentax Lens Types page.

It offers a detailed look on all types of lenses you can use on your Pentax DSLR, which is actually every Pentax lens ever made, and more.

It’s meant to be an answer to the questions: “Can I use old lenses on my Pentax Digital SLR?”,  “Which lenses can I use on my DSLR?”,  “How will the lenses work?”

If you have questions or remarks, please leave them here as a comment, I would be glad to answer them

Tom

Hello, and welcome to this new site!

You can find out what this site is about on the “About” page, but I’ll put it here aswell

—

I’ve only been a Pentax user since May 2006, and have since then been looking all over the web for information about Pentax, and for bargains on lenses.

I’m pretty active on a few forums, and have noticed that some questions keep coming back, like “which lenses will fit my Pentax DSLR?” and more importantly: “How will they function?”. Now the result of such a question is usually some helpful people on that forum, writing an extensive post about all the different Pentax lens mounts, and their functionality.
There are a few pages that list all the Pentax brand lenses, but I have yet to find a site that tells you how they can be used on digital SLRs!

So, that’s what these pages are for.

I will try to gather accurate information and put it on this site. However, I am far from an expert, so there might be incomplete or false statements. If you notice one, please inform me about it using a comment, or an email, I would really appreciate your input

The only thing left for me to do is to hope the content of this site is useful to you, and wish you a pleasant stay!

Greets,

Tom De Nies

P.S.: I’d like to point out that this site is in no way linked to or sponsored by the Pentax corporation, and is used for informative purposes only.