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Looking for advice before purchursing K mount lens?


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<p>I've got and use from time to time a Sears KS Auto (rebadged Ricoh XR2s), Pentax P30T and a ZX-M all of which use the Pentax K mount. None of them are classics but each is super clean and functional. The Sears body is IMO a clone of the Nikon FE. It has the brightest view finder of any mf camera and I own a bunch. My normal lens is the 35mm which I don't have and I'm looking for advice on which lens to purchase? Pentax, Ricoh or other brands are acceptable. I currently own use the Rikenon 50/2, 28/2.8 and Tokina 70-210/4-5.6. I'd like to spend US $50.00 or less. Appreciate your advice and hopefully posted on the correct forum.</p>
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<p>If you can manage to find a Vivitar 35mm f/1.9 from somebody who doesn't know what it sells for on eBay these days, you might be able to score one for less than $50, but realistically, it'll set you back more like $200 or so. I have one in Canon FD mount and I can tell you it is a very sharp and very contrasty lens. Most other 35mm lenses I can think of are offbrrands in all sorts of obscure names, none of which I would particularly want to recommend, unless there would happen to be a Sigma or Tokina or such lurking among them. So, given all this, I would tend to play close to home with a 35mm prime and stick with Taks and Pentaxes with solid reputations.</p>
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<p>@JDM: The Ricoh variant doesn't play well with Pentax AF bodies or maybe neither with "Crippled k-mount" Pentax bodies that lack the lever to check aperture setting for their metering but everything should be fine in the manual focus realm.<br>

In the "lens for a song" market, I'd just buy something. - I am not disappointed by a "Revuenon" (a whatever rebadged to a German shopping mall's house brand) I bought for less than $25 new on sale out in the 80s. It always seemed to keep up with my zooms. <br>

If you are after IQ go for the slowest original lens you can get, Maybe an f3.5? For shooting convenience an f2 would be preferable but probably outside your price range (lucky days & yard sale finds aside).</p>

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<p>35's are a little tougher to find cheap because by the late 70's and early 80's when K-mount was going full-steam, the more popular and typical wide prime bought by the masses was a 28mm.</p>

<p>As far as Pentax-branded, I don't think you're probably going to find a 35mm for $50 with K-mount -- but there are good choices with adapted M42 screwmount (like Pentax SMC Takumar 35/3.5) in that approximate price range.</p>

<p>The least expensive Pentax-branded K-mount 35's I see are Pentax-M 35/2.8, but even these are going for a little more, like $85 or so.</p>

<p>The lower-cost 35's are usually from lesser-known brands...but I'd guess that assuming condition is decent that any would be serviceable. Ricoh/Rikenon would probably be good but also may be hard to find for $50. Sometimes you can get 'lucky' and find something bundled with an old body.</p>

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<p>Thank you for your recomendations and the link you provided. I found a Chinar 35mm f/2.8 lens for $20.00 on eBay and I'm thinking about buying it, using it and posting the results on this forum. The lens is eBay item number 222100877660. If I enjoy this lens and focal length I'll look for better optics.</p>

 

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<p>I have two KS Autos. They are nice cameras. I have three of the 35/2.8 SMC Pentax -M lenses and a 35/2 SMC Pentax-M. The f/2.8 is smaller and lighter and I usually use one of those. They are both good. Somewhere I have a 35/2.8 Rikenon in plain K mount but these aren't as easy to find. The 35/2.8 Vivitar TX (37XXX...) is a good performer and is well made. The earlier 35/2.5 Vivitar TX is also a decent lens but it's larger and doesn't seem as sturdy to me. The 35/2.8 Vivitar Fixed Mount (22XXX...) you mention should also be a good lens. I don't know whether it was made before or after the TX lenses. The 35/3.5 SMC Pentax (pre-M) is something of a cult lens and sometimes sells for more than it should. As far as I know it's the same as the earlier 35/3.5 S-M-C-T but with a K mount. </p>
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  • 4 weeks later...

<p>The P30T and the ZX-M both have the ability to control the lens aperture and shoot in shutter priority mode.</p>

<p>For that reason, I suggest that you look for Pentax A-series (or equivalent) lenses. These lenses can easily be identified by the fact that they have an "A" setting on the aperture ring. With the lens set on A, the camera can control the aperture. Take it off A and it works as any manual lens.</p>

<p>For that matter, all of these cameras can use autofocus lenses, as long as they have an aperture ring. The newest AF lenses do not have an aperture ring. They could still be used on the P30T and the ZX-M, but not on the KS. Of course, you will have to focus manually.</p>

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  • 1 month later...

Hopefully that Chinar is working out well.

 

I know this thread is a bit old now but for the record, the main k-mount compatibility issue is that some of the later Ricoh

lenses that supported program (or shutter-priority) autoexposure on Ricoh bodies can get stuck on later autofocus Pentax

bodies -- these later Ricoh lenses have a pin that unfortunately aligns with Pentax's autofocus motor coupler. The OP's

bodies are all MF bodies so there's probably no issues with any Ricoh glass.

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