Pentax K1000/ Makinon Lenses PLEASE help!!!!

[travone_logan]

<p>When I bought my K10000 on Ebay it came with two lenses. A standard 50mm SMC and a Makinon 80-200mm Zoom/Macro Lenses. Both were said to fit my K1000 perfectly the SMC of course did but The Makinon Lenses I have never been able to screw in all the way. Now I'm wondering if I as tricked but it doesn't matter to me... I just want to be able to use the lens instead of having to buy another one. It says PK near the base... which I would think should make it compatible. So now... I want to know maybe what kind of adapter could allow me to use it on my K1000 I've been searching the internet but I can't be sure. Also I've searched for lenses JUST like mine and have seen it being showed to fit a K1000 as well. I have no idea what I could be doing wrong? If anyone could help I would appreciate it.</p>

<p>I am posting pictures of the lenses if it helps.</p>

<p>Makinon MC Zoom 1:45 f=80-200mm 8111101 55 Auto<img src="http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c171/TraVizZyL/007.jpg" alt="" height="400 width=" /><br>

<img src="http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c171/TraVizZyL/005-1.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="400" /><img src="http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c171/TraVizZyL/004.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="400" /></p>

[bueh]

<p>Show us the bayonet of the lens. A large, blur-free picture, please.</p>

<p>Edit: Ah, if the lens says "PK", you should be able to mount it to your camera. Can't help you there, probably you just need a little practise and it will fit.</p>

[travone_logan]

<p>Idk... I can get my other lens to snap in fine.. but not this one. it fits in and then when I try to turn it won't go all the way. Maybe something is jammed?? I'm posting some pics of the bayonet... not the best but I have to use my camera phone...<br>

<img src="http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c171/TraVizZyL/013.jpg" alt="" /><img src="http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c171/TraVizZyL/012.jpg" alt="" /></p>

 

[bueh]

<p>Hmm, looks fine. Definitively Pentax-K. Maybe the lens' bayonet is bent somewhere a little and that is why it won't mount fully?</p>

[travone_logan]

<p>I've been wondering if maybe this circled part could be jammed??? idk... I'm going to try and mess with it then if it shuold definitely fit!</p>

<p><img src="http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c171/TraVizZyL/012red.jpg" alt="" /></p>

[travone_logan]

<p>Sooo I may have just figured it out lol... I compared that circled portion to my other lens and it's not supposed to be stuck there!!! D: This makes me happy because I should be able to fix it! Only I'm afraid I might break it trying to force it over... any suggestions???</p>

[gordon_yee]

<p>The lever circled in your photo tells the camera the aperture set on the lens for full-aperture metering purposes. It should only move along the slot when you turn the aperture ring. If it doesn't, it's probably jammed or broken. However, this lever mates to a spring-loaded lever in the camera so the only reason I can think of for it to prevent mounting the lens is if the lever on the lens is bent and not mating properly. I noticed that there is a fair amount of paint loss on your lens' lever. If the lever on the lens does move, try setting the aperture ring to the smallest aperture (e.g., f/22, f/16) before mounting the lens to the camera. Also, compare the orientation of the levers on your Makinon and Pentax lenses when set to the same f/stop. They should be in the exact same location relative to the lens mount.</p>

[gordon_yee]

<p>Another possibility is that the lens mount on the Makinon lens was made to unusually tight tolerances. It may simple need more effort to mount the lens, but only you can decide whether it's worth the risk of damaging the camera and/or the lens. My recollection is that Makinon was one of the numerous third-party brand names and was not the brand name of the actual lens maker. The quality control probably was not as tight as those specified by Pentax, and may have resulted in wider variations in the dimensions of the lens mount.</p>

[travone_logan]

<p>Well the lever DOES move when I switch the aperture. When I put both lens to f/22 they seem to be in the same position basically only the Makinon one not as far down. (if that makes any sense) When I set it to f/22 and try to put it on still no luck. I am afraid to use a lot of force because I do not wan to break my camera. The lens ok... but the camera I think I'd cry D: If it IS bent is there anyway I can identify where and if I can do that any way to fix it???</p>

[travone_logan]

<p>SO rereading what you wrote and my response I'm guessing the levers not matchign up exactly when at the same f/stop is a problem??? And maybe why it isn't fitting?? Should I try and adjust it?? Maybe I'll just expose of this and buy s SMC Zoom lens :/</p>

[gordon_yee]

<p>I don't think that the aperture levers are the problem. I think that the bayonet mount on the Makinon is just very tight. You could check the screws on the back of the lens to see if they're tight. Make sure you use a proper fitting screw driver to avoid stripping the heads. Also, look closely at the lens' bayonet mount to see if there are any burrs or signs of unusual wear to determine where the lens is binding. Do you have a teleconverter or extension tube on which to test mount the lens?</p>

[travone_logan]

<p>So the screws being too tight could do it?? I'll test this and report back... also I don't have a teleconverter or an extension tube. I don't even know what those are! I'm new to all of this lol o__o</p>

[lewis_hizer]

<p>When you try to mount it, does it come to a sudden distinct stop before you're done, or does it get tighter and more resistant in a gradual way? Does the protruding pin that controls the diaphragm opening extend farther out of the lens than the one on the SMC lens does? I once had a third-party (Sigma) lens that had a baffle-like thing partly encircling the rear element, and it extended about 2mm farther out than the ones on my SMC lenses did, and I had to trim it down to get it to fit my K-mount Pentaxes.<br>

If it tightens gradually before jamming, possibly the bayonet claws are bent from impact damage. If it stops suddenly, could the rear assembly have been removed at some point in the past and then reattached at the wrong angle?<br>

Have you asked this question on the Pentax forum?</p>

[lewis_hizer]

<p>Another double post. Why does that keep happening?</p>

[gordon_yee]

<p>No, the screws should be tight. If they're loose, there could be some free play in the mount that's causing some binding. As per Lewis' question, is the lens actually coming to a hard stop and cannot be turned beyond a certain point, or do you stop turning the lens because it feels tighter than your Pentax lens? If the latter is the case and if there's no damage to the lens mount, I still think that it's simply a tight mount that, with a little more effort, should mount properly. When I say that the mount is tight, I simply mean that there's not a lot of clearance between the mating surfaces of the lens and the camera so more effort would be required to turn the lens. Over time, these tolerences should loosen up a bit.</p>

[travone_logan]

<p>No... it just stops suddenly. It cannot be turned any further and I used a good amount of force (afraid to try as hard as I can). As far as the protruding pin it's hard to tell but it seems to be JUST about the same length as the one in my Pentax lens...</p>

[astral]

<p>As Gordon implies, Makinon were average to mediocre lenses with much lower manufacturing tolerance than Pentax, and were also optically inferior by a large margin. Identical lenses were sold under the Ozeck, Comet, Gardners, Inter-City and other store-brands in the UK, and similar re-branding no doubt applied in other countries. Typically, they cost half of the price of a good Vivitar or Tamron (in the 1980s).</p>

<p>However, they were popular as family snap-shot lenses, say up to 7x5-inches, and perfectly adequate for that purpose: their limitations kicked-in at larger sized prints and for projected images. In tests conducted by Camera Weely (UK) they consistently underperformed most other store brands. (See my earlier post <a href="../casual-conversations-forum/00Sr1q">here</a>).</p>

<p>The technical challenge of fixing lenses like this can actually be pretty satisfying - sorry I can't offer any useful advice here. However, I would bear in mind that the results from a repaired lens <em>might </em>be pretty disappointing.</p>

[travone_logan]

<p>Thanks... in that case I think I might look to pick up a Pentax made Zoom lenses. Thank you all for your support and advice!</p>

[bueh]

<p>Why a zoom at all? Telephoto primes for PK are fast, lightweight and inexpensive and much better than most contemporary zoom lenses.</p>

[john_shriver]

<p>The Pentax-A 70~210 f/4 lens is so cheap, and quite fine -- no need to mess around with off-brand lenses. You should be about to get one for $60 to $80.</p>

 

[gordon_yee]

<p>As one last attempt to identify the problem, can you post some pictures of your Makinon lens partially mounted on the camera and its orientation at the point at which it locks up?</p>

[travone_logan]

<p>Okay... I made a video of it. Sorry about the messy dorm room!! >.<<br /> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJxw0MrYa1E">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJxw0MrYa1E</a></p>

[gordon_yee]

<p>Hi, Travone. After watching your video a couple of times, I could only come up with one guess as to what the problem might be based on the small amount of rotation before your lens comes to a stop.</p>

<p>If you look at the inside of the lens mount on the camera, you should see three curved flat steel springs that are about 1/4" long. Viewing from the front of the camera, the springs are at about nine o'clock, one o'clock and five o'clock. When a lens is being mounted, the ears on the lens should compress these springs as you rotate the lens. I'm guessing that the ears on your Makinon lens are hitting these springs rather than sliding under and compressing them. Perhaps the parts of the lens' ears that contact the springs are too tall or too pointed, hitting the springs instead of sliding under them. You could try lubricating each spring by wiping a very small amount of oil or a mild grease on them with a qtip. If the ears that contact the springs are too tall or pointed, you could round them off a bit with a small file. Good luck!</p>

[travone_logan]

<p>Unfortunately I thought it was a good idea to open up the bayonet. when I went to put it back together again the aperture no longer clicks in between settings. Maybe I can just use this lens as a way to learn about how they work lol.</p>