Lens Compatibilty

[hamster]

Hi,

I have been offered 3 lenses, but being an amateur would like some advice before comitting myself please?

 

They are a Vivitar 80-200mm F4.5 Pentax K mount

Asahi Pentax 1:1.7 50mm Pentax K mount

Asahi Pentax 1:3.5 28mm Pentax K mount

 

My camera is a Pentax K110-D, so it sounds as though they should fit, but will I have to fiddle about and learn the fancy features of the camera to use them to their full potential.

 

I like photography, but have only ever used the Auto setting.

 

Advice please?

 

Cheers in advance.

H

[Pancake]

In therory all Pentax K mount lenses should fit on the K110; but that is not to say all will perform 100% Im not a pentax man, so do you know anything else about these lenses, how old they are, are they AF or manual etc? If they are Af then they should be fine, if they are manual then they will fit but you will have to focus manually (dur) and probably "stop down meter" (or whatever the correct term is now, I always forget), meaning you will need to open then to their widest apertaure to focus and meter and then reduce the aperature to what you want before you take the shot.

 

What lens do you have on the K110 at the moment? Im guessing somewhere around 18-55 or so? The 80-200 will be a nice change then, with the added zoom. A decent 50mm prime is always a nice lens to have, and f1.7 will be great fopr lowlight portrait. Not really used a 28mm prime so cant comment on the usefullness on those really.

[Weston Super Saint]

All depends what you want to do also.

 

As Pancake said, the zoom would add to your 'range'. The 50mm on a digital is great for portraits, and the 28mm will be good for landscapes.

[Pancake]

All depends what you want to do also.

 

As Pancake said, the zoom would add to your 'range'. The 50mm on a digital is great for portraits, and the 28mm will be good for landscapes.

 

28 x1.4 = 39.something... not wide enough for landscapes.

[hamster]

In therory all Pentax K mount lenses should fit on the K110; but that is not to say all will perform 100% Im not a pentax man, so do you know anything else about these lenses, how old they are, are they AF or manual etc? If they are Af then they should be fine, if they are manual then they will fit but you will have to focus manually (dur) and probably "stop down meter" (or whatever the correct term is now, I always forget), meaning you will need to open then to their widest apertaure to focus and meter and then reduce the aperature to what you want before you take the shot.

 

What lens do you have on the K110 at the moment? Im guessing somewhere around 18-55 or so? The 80-200 will be a nice change then, with the added zoom. A decent 50mm prime is always a nice lens to have, and f1.7 will be great fopr lowlight portrait. Not really used a 28mm prime so cant comment on the usefullness on those really.

 

Woah, you have there, highlighted my ignorance. It sounds as though I would be well out of my depth if I need to undestand that terminology. My lens at the moment is the supplied, it has the numbers 55-18 on it.

 

The lenses are freebies, but I wouldn't want them to never get used.

[hamster]

All depends what you want to do also.

 

 

I would like to take 'stunning' shots of the Grandkids playing in the garden. I'd also like to be able to take really nice sea and landscapes, and capture the interesting features of old listed buildings such as those in Deal in Kent.

[Weston Super Saint]

I would like to take 'stunning' shots of the Grandkids playing in the garden. I'd also like to be able to take really nice sea and landscapes, and capture the interesting features of old listed buildings such as those in Deal in Kent.

 

Then the 18-55mm you have should be OK.

 

I would go for the 80-200mm zoom if I were you and getting it free, just so you would be able to capture the detail without walking too far....

[Roman]

Probably the greatest photographer of all time, Henri Cartier-Bresson, shot pretty much everything on a standard 50mm prime lens, (really fast - a 1.5 Zeiss Sonnar) with the shutter set permanently to 1/125 and the focus at 4 metres.

 

Take a tip from the 'capture-the-moment' master. (Him, not me.)

[hamster]

Thanks everso for the advice, but I missed out on the lenses they were offered on 'freecycle'.

 

Following on from the advice above, is the general concensus to invest in a 80-200mm zoom (WSS's suggestion)?

And re. learning how to get the best out of the camera itself, would it be worth doing an evening class at a local college? Or are the basics easy to master from the internet etc.

 

I know it may not be much to shout about, but a while ago I submitted a photo I took, to a website as I noticed that their current one was over a year old. I was chuffed to bits when they asked to use it, especially as it is the site for the little seaside town in Kent where I was born. I think it's still up on their home page.

 

Also, a while ago I asked for suggestions for backing track for a presentation of my clients work (Day Centre Camera Club), it went so well, that we wer asked to prodiuce a calendar, so thanks to all who helped with suggestions. I may even youtube it sometime and you can critique it for them.

[Weston Super Saint]

You wouldn't go far wrong subscribing to a decent photography magazine, they pretty much cover the basic topics to get you going, and the 'challenges' will get you thinking about what pictures you are taking and how you take them.

 

Take your pic [pun intended ], from here :

 

http://www.magazine-group.co.uk/magazine/hobbies-leisure/photography