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Photo Forum / Digital Photography / DSLR Cameras / July 2006Pentax *ist lens advice
Hello all, I'm a relative newbie to digital photography - I used to shoot with a Pentax 35mm SLR but to my dismay nearly stopped shooting completely once we purchased a cheapie little Kodak digital point-and-shoot. The Kodak was so much simpler that it almost seemed like too much work to shoot film on my SLR; but it wasn't as much fun either, so for the last several years I haven't shot much. So I just purchased a Pentax *ist DL from Amazon ($100 rebate at the moment making it a great deal). I think that will make the perfect compromise that will get me shooting again. The only thing is that while I wanted the *ist kit that comes with a new lens, the rebate is good for the body only. So ... I'm currently stuck with my two Takumar lenses (28-80 and 70-200) from my 35mm and in a fit of uninformed consumerism just purchased and/or have bids on three used 35mm Pentax AF lenses off eBay - a Tamron 90-300mm 4.5-5.6, a Tokina 20-35mm 3.5-4.5, and a Tokina 35-300mm 4.5-6.7 to try to get some range and one potential all-in-one option. My questions, probably a bit late: - I've heard that the *ist DL takes any Pentax AF-mount lens and can autofocus it from the body. True? - I think all of these lenses have the aperture adjust ring; obviously it can't take orders from the camera's aperture settings, but if I set aperture priority on the lens, will the camera still pick that up? - Any of the three lenses I'm bidding (only the Tamron has closed) complete dogs (assuming they're reasonably well cared for)? I'm no professional, just a hobbyist, so the fact that these won't quite match up with primes doesn't bother me. - Am I really missing out by not having a brand new Pentax or Tamron lens? These are so much less expensive ($40-$90 each) that if they work well I don't necessarily want to splash out the several hundred dollars for a new lens. Anything else I'm missing here? Any hints or tips? Any help would be appreciated. I'm just a hobbyist who, after placing bids, is starting to feel a bit out of his depth. Cheers, Chris Hafner [..] > So I just purchased a Pentax *ist DL from Amazon ($100 rebate at the > moment making it a great deal). I think that will make the perfect [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > - I've heard that the *ist DL takes any Pentax AF-mount lens and can > autofocus it from the body. True? If the lens is an autofocus lens, then the *ist DL can do AF. > - I think all of these lenses have the aperture adjust ring; obviously it > can't take orders from the camera's aperture settings, but if I set > aperture priority on the lens, will the camera still pick that up? It depends on the lens. If the lens has an A setting on the aperture ring, then put it there, select A on the mode dial, and all will be fine. If the lens doesn't have an A setting, you have to set a setting on the camera in order to use the lens, with some caveats. I've written it up in detail here: <http://www.mile23.com/node/26> > - Any of the three lenses I'm bidding (only the Tamron has closed) > complete dogs (assuming they're reasonably well cared for)? I'm no > professional, just a hobbyist, so the fact that these won't quite match up > with primes doesn't bother me. Most lenses are dogs. :-) Seriously, I don't know those lenses so I can't comment. They're probably OK, and if you get them for cheap, there won't be a lot of buyer's remorse if they're not. > - Am I really missing out by not having a brand new Pentax or Tamron lens? > These are so much less expensive ($40-$90 each) that if they work well I > don't necessarily want to splash out the several hundred dollars for a new > lens. There are some brand-new lenses that you'd really be missing out on to not have. For instance, any Pentax lens that says 'Limited' on it, or that has a green star. The current Limiteds go for, I think something like $600-$900. I shoot a lot of old-skool manual focus Tamron SP Adaptall lenses. They make me happy, for some irrational reason. > Anything else I'm missing here? Any hints or tips? Any help would be > appreciated. I'm just a hobbyist who, after placing bids, is starting to > feel a bit out of his depth. Pentax has done a pretty good job of letting you use old lenses. A lot of their glass is really good. Here's a site that compares them: <http://stans-photography.info/> HTH. Hi Chris, I have the following lenses for my DS: Pentax 16-45mm ED AL lens F4.0, very sharp, lovely lens, one of my favourites. Pentax 18-55mm, DA, cheap but still quite good, a keeper at the price, light and has IF, compact. Sigma 18-50mm, DC, cheap but again still quite good and a keeper at the price, reasonable fast focus but no IF. Sigma 55-200mm, cheap, light and a reasonable lens if weight is a consideration. Sigma 70-300mm DG APO MACRO, excellent lens, sharp and pretty small for the range. Sigma 28-105mm F2.8-F4.0, not sharp wide but okay for playing around, very cheap. Reviews on the Sigma 18-125mm say the lens is a pretty good allrounder. Cheers. Pete > Hello all, > [quoted text clipped - 42 lines] > Cheers, > Chris Hafner Chris, Welcome to Pentax digital. I use the DS and can't answer regarding the DL's capabilities. A good resource is http://www.pdml.net. Any Pentax-mount AF lens will work on the DL. Most any manual focus K mount lens will work. Stay away from those with the Ricoh program pin. They'll say something like "A(R)" on the aperture ring. It can become wedged in the AF motor coupling. The only way to remove the lens is often to disassemble it. Some older 3rd-party lenses have a rather large shroud beside the aperture coupling and don't mount well. They bind up against the inside of the AF bodies. The difference is clear when looking at such a lens. When mounting, you'll feel a strong resistance. They'll come off, but are a real pain. Enjoy, Collin > Hello all, > [quoted text clipped - 42 lines] > Cheers, > Chris Hafner > - I think all of these lenses have the aperture adjust ring; obviously > it can't take orders from the camera's aperture settings, but if I set > aperture priority on the lens, will the camera still pick that up? As Paul says, use of aperture rings is much easier if the lens has an "A" (auto) position. For some reason, I have been assuming that any AF lens would also have auto aperture setting (although of course the converse is not true). The process for using lenses with no "A" position is slightly awkward, but not horrifically so. > - Am I really missing out by not having a brand new Pentax or Tamron > lens? These are so much less expensive ($40-$90 each) that if they > work > well I don't necessarily want to splash out the several hundred > dollars > for a new lens. If you don't get the 20-35, I'd suggest getting the kit lens just so you'll ahev something wide angle (with the crop factor, your 28-80 is going to be disappointing on that end). Since many people end up buying the kit but ultimately deciding they don't want the kit lens, they should be pretty cheap - and even brand new, they aren't much more than the price range you are talking about here. And frankly, if I were you, I wouldn't be in such a hurry to get the other two lenses you mentioned. That 200 you already have is going to get longer just because of the crop factor, so while you may enjoy the 90-300, you may not find it as much of an improvement over that you have as you might think (unless of course it really is lots sharper). More to the point, the 35-300 will be a very disappointing all-in-one choice because it has no wide angle at all (35 is more like 50 with crop factor). If it's not too late to withdraw your bid on that, I'd just hope someone outbids you. And then save that money to keep bidding on the 20-35 or get something else on the wide end. --------------- Marc Sabatella marc@outsideshore.com Music, art, & educational materials Featuring "A Jazz Improvisation Primer" http://www.outsideshore.com/ > Hello all, > [quoted text clipped - 42 lines] > Cheers, > Chris Hafner Some additional thoughts: I use the same lenses on my DS that I used on film. 17/3.5 Tokina RMC -- ok on film, great on digital K30/2.8 -- always outstanding A35/2 -- ex. on film, great on digital FA50/1.4 -- always excellent A*85/1.4 -- always outstanding Tokina 80-200/2.8 -- the cheapest nice zoom around. Often < $200 Tamron AF 300/2.8 -- a lot cheaper than the company equivalent and still excellent. Tokina SD 400/5.6 -- ok in film, great on digital. @ < $200 a great buy. Take your time. Pick good ones and you'll never be dis-satisfied. > Hello all, > [quoted text clipped - 42 lines] > Cheers, > Chris Hafner Some additional thoughts: I use the same lenses on my DS that I used on film. 17/3.5 Tokina RMC -- ok on film, great on digital K30/2.8 -- always outstanding A35/2 -- ex. on film, great on digital FA50/1.4 -- always excellent A*85/1.4 -- always outstanding Tokina 80-200/2.8 -- the cheapest nice zoom around. Often < $200 Tamron AF 300/2.8 -- a lot cheaper than the company equivalent and still excellent. Tokina SD 400/5.6 -- ok in film, great on digital. @ < $200 a great buy. Take your time. Pick good ones and you'll never be dis-satisfied. Btw... i know a gentleman who wishes to sell some excellent pentax -non digital cam autofocus lenses. Email me if you want to correspond to him. I have a 20D; else i'dsnap them up myself. rgds Ken ellis <snip> Thanks to all for their helpful responses - this is all terrific help. As it happens, I wrote to Amazon asking about the kit, and the kit in a roundabout fashion is also eligible for the $100 rebate - so I canceled my order and am now getting the kit with the Pentax 18-55mm. Unfortunately (especially considering Marc's reply) I also won all of my auctions, so now I'll have the kit 18-55, my already-owned 28-80, my already-owned 70-200, the Tamron 90-300, the Tokina 35-300, and a Sigma 18-55. So there's a fair amount of duplication there, but since I didn't pay much for any of those lenses ($40-70 apiece) I may just turn around and re-sell the Sigma 18-55 and the Tokina 35-300 (assuming that the Pentax > the Sigma, and the 35-300 is simply too compromised). I'll run some tests on all the lenses and go from there. If you're not all done with this conversation, I have just a few more questions. Lens Hoods - of all of my existing and new lenses, only the Pentax 18-55 has a lens hood. I've never actually shot with one, but I realize they can make a big positive effect on image quality on a bright day. All of the lens hoods I've looked at have appeared to be very specific to the lenses they fit; is there such a thing as a univeral lens hood, at least universal for a certain filter size? Separate Flashes - I realize that the flash on the camera body is not ideal for ultimate power and configurability, but in shooting 35mm I generally avoided flashes anyway and so never purchased a separate flash. What advantages are provided by a standalone flash, and what type of flash should I really be looking for? Is there something specific about digital that limits what flashes are workable? Can I use a Pentax 35mm flash on my *ist DL? Cleaning Lenses - my existing lenses are a bit dusty and I'd like to clean them. I have some rice-paper-looking lens wipes that don't appear to grab the dust and seem a bit harsh. I don't want to scratch the lens. Is it as simple as using a soft terrycloth rag? Are there lens cleaning fluids that won't damage the glass or the finish? --- I realize these last three questions likely mark me as the ultimate newbie to photography in general, not just digital SLRs, but when shooting with my 35mm SLR I just kinda concentrated on the shooting and not on the periphery ... As before, any advice would be much appreciated. Cheers, Chris Hafner > <snip> > [quoted text clipped - 52 lines] > Cheers, > Chris Hafner Best money I ever spent was on a Sigma DG 500 Super flash, they are excellent. If you want to save some money some of the older Pentax flashes work adequately well, I have the AF260Sa and the AF240Z and sometimes have one on the camera to remotely set off the Sigma flash. > Unfortunately (especially considering Marc's reply) I also won all of > my auctions, so now I'll have the kit 18-55, my already-owned 28-80, > my > already-owned 70-200, the Tamron 90-300, the Tokina 35-300, and a > Sigma > 18-55. Well, considering how cheap they were, I doubt you'll really regret having the opportunity to check these out. If it were me, though, I'd turn around and sell the 90-300 and the Sigma 18-55 and pick up two things: - a teleconverter (new; it's pretty rare to find a used one that support AF) so you can have 300mm with your 70-200 - a used 50mm prime, so you have at least one "fast" lens and hence won't have to rely on flash as often. Shouldn't cost more than $100 or so for the two. Sorry, I don't have any advice on your other questions. --------------- Marc Sabatella marc@outsideshore.com Music, art, & educational materials Featuring "A Jazz Improvisation Primer" http://www.outsideshore.com/ > Lens Hoods - of all of my existing and new lenses, only the Pentax > 18-55 has a lens hood. I've never actually shot with one, but I realize [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > lens. Is it as simple as using a soft terrycloth rag? Are there lens > cleaning fluids that won't damage the glass or the finish? Chris- 1. Lens hoods for wide-angle lenses have a funny shape. If you use one for the widest lens, it won't work as well for the telephoto, but at least won't block the corners of an image. I recommend using the correct hood for each lens any time there are bright light sources around. 2. A separate flash should have much more power than the one built-into your camera. Some also can track a zoom lens, spreading or focusing light as needed. However there is a limit, so you may not have even illumination for your widest lens shots. Of course you wouldn't with the built-in flash either. 3. You can use most flashes, but some may not have the ability to communicate with the camera body. Some may communicate but not offer all features such as zoom. As I understand, the Pentax is capable of using some higher voltage flashes, so it shouldn't hurt to experiment. 4. Be careful with your lens cleaning. Blow off any loose grit or dust before cleaning. Don't use the tissue dry, always use a lens cleaning fluid to avoid any chance of scratching. There are some "microfiber" lens cleaning cloths that may work well dry. I recommend only cleaning when you really need to, not as a routine procedure. Fred > So I just purchased a Pentax *ist DL from Amazon ($100 rebate at the > moment making it a great deal). I think that will make the perfect > compromise that will get me shooting again. The only thing is that > while I wanted the *ist kit that comes with a new lens, the rebate is > good for the body only. The rebate is good for either the body only package or the package with the lens. If you purchase the package with the lens you need to use the UPC on the inner box which contains the camera body -- not the UPC on the package box. The rebate from Pentax has been updated to reflect that and you can of course call Pentax to confirm. http://www.pentaximaging.com/footer/news_media_article?ArticleId=8182731 Thanks for posting though as I also just purchased the same camera in the kit form and am also interested in lens options. |
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