Old Pentax lenses - Canon, Nikon or Pentax body

DuncanP

DuncanP

DuncanP

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I have been looking at the Xmas offers on Nikon and Canon DSLRs over Xmas and I am beginning to feel like the philospher who died of thirst after being placed between 2 nearby equidistant water holes.
My old digital cameras are perfectly operational but obsolete due to the pixel count and this has made me sensitive to the pixel count on the new camera.
I was initially attracted to the Nikon 3200 due to the 24MP sensor but I like to take HDR photos and lack of automatic exposure bracketing prevents this. I also considered the 5100.
I saw that the Canon D600 with kit lens is avaliable for about £380 with cashback. This camera seemes to have the most flexibility, which can be expanded, if required, with "Magic Lantern" and can be connected and controlled by my Nexus 7.
I then thought about my old Pentax ME Super lenses. I have:-

28mm f2.8 Vivitar - auto diaphram
55mm f1.7 Pentax kit lens - auto diaphram
135mm f2.8 Vivitar - manual diaphram
Sigma AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO - auto diphram and auto focus

I found that I could get lens adaptors for the Nikon and Canon but the Canon ones were about £6 and the Nikon adaptors were £20.

I then looked at the Pentax K-30, which is more expensive than the other 2 and only has 16mp. The advantage of this would be that I could have a fully functional Sigma zoom lens and auto diaphram on 2 of the other lenses. The in camera shake reduction would allow all of the lenses to be shake reduced, which would not be possible on the Canon. However the lack of articulated rear screen may make manual focusing of the old lenses more difficult than the Canon (I could even use my Nexus 7) and it appears that using the older lenses is quite a complicated process on the pentax. I am unsure whether the zomm will autofocus as it is pre digital.

I am veering towards the Canon but I think that the Pentax would be more sensible.

Does anybody have any thoughts on this?
 
It sounds like you're leaning towards the Canon more than the Pentax, how much do you use the Sigma lens would be interesting to know. I have a Pentax KX and use some older manual lenses, they're easy to use just have to input the focal length before operating.

Do you see yourself buying more lenses in future? If so, the Canon sounds like a more up to date option and you sound quite excited to use your Nexus 7 with it.
 
I think choosing a camera solely due to the megapixel count a very bad idea, unless you have a specific need for them. Firstly you should consider the 'quality' of those pixels, and secondly even 12mp is plenty for the vast majority of pro's.
 
Do you understand the disadvantages of using adaptors between camera and lens? First of all, you lose all automation - you may retain aperture-priority metering but it depends..., AF is definitely lost. Secondly, if you do keep AP metering, you have to set the aperture manually on the lens so you're trying see everything through the lens at the taking aperture. Finally, because the adapter may increase the lens-to-flange distance it will need a lens to give correct focus. This lens will further increase the 'crop factor' making the lenses even more telephoto. Also, consider what quality lens you're likely to get in a £20 adapter.

If you want to use your old lenses then buy a new Pentax body otherwise buy a Nikon or Canon and use 'native'-fit lenses.
 
Thanks for the comments.
I found a link detailing the process of attaching old lenses to the K30 and it seems to be a reasonable complex and possible hit or miss process.
http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-lens-articles/110657-how-use-meter-manual-m42-lenses-all-pentax-dslrs-k-5-k-r-k-x-k-7-a.html
Several people say that it is easier to fit a M42 mount+adaptor than to fit a K mount.

It seems that the Canon+lens+adaptor would allow me Manual and Apperture priority modes rather than the Manual only on the Pentax. I wound have the anti-shake on the Pentax but not the Canon.

I have a Minolta A1 which I bought for £500, which I never use due to it only having a 5Mp sensor, so I may be a bit oversensitive on the pixel count.

I think that the nexus 7 would be a fantastic tool for the Canon when using a tripod, especially for multi image HDR shots.

I think that I may take my lenses to the local camera shop to try them out on a K30 to see how they operate. If the Sigma zoom lens does autofocus and auto exposure this may swing things, although pentax is a bit of a niche brand these days.

Still confused.
 
DuncanP said:
I have a Minolta A1 which I bought for £500, which I never use due to it only having a 5Mp sensor, so I may be a bit oversensitive on the pixel count.
Click to expand...

5mp is sufficient in most cases. I think the issue is it is just a crappy sensor. Also, you realise that megapixel counts can be a little misleading. A 10mp sensor does not have double the resolution as a 5mp sensor. In reality your only gaining 40% more resolution.
 
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TBH, none of the lenses seem particularly useful. I would shift all the lenses you have and look at starting fresh on new Canon or Nikon. You might find a new Pentax suffices, but I would still look to get rid of most of those lenses.


If you really like old manual focus lenses then a modern Nikon DSLR can use 55 years worth of Nikon F-mount lenses, fully compatible with almost all of them. Lowever end bodies may not meter on non-CPU lenses though. A D7000 will and is a cracking camera.


If you are worried about resolution and MP then you have to understand that the resolution of the ens is typically the limiting factor. That sigma 70-300 wont offer much more than 8-10MP anyway. I used to own one on a 6MP D70, it was slightly soft on that sensor, on a 12MP D90 it was uselessly soft until downsized to about 6MP as my older camera. Thus the lenses wasn't able to out-resolve anything more than about 6-8MPs.
 
if you google you can probably find reviews of the lens on contemporary equipment, also you might be able to use a cheap adapter and extension tube to make a macro lens
 
I went to Jessops today test out my old lenses with the Pentax K30 and they worked.
The Sigma 70-300 zoom did autofocus ok but there may be a slight problem with the macro setting. My old me-super standard 55mm f1.7 also worked, after applying several settings to the camera. This lens gave distinct purple fringing, which I do not remember having with the me-super. Perhaps I had not set things up correctly.

I still fancy the Canon but I can get the Pentax, with WR lens for £400 (after cashback) and I would not need to buy any new lenses. Jessops would not do a price match on the cheapest model from a shop as it was not within 15miles.

I feel a bit guilty about the Sigma zoom. I bought it for the me-super took some pics but moved on to digital before finishing the film, which I did not get processed, so I have never really used the lens.
 
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