Jump to content

adapting to Pentax K mount


Recommended Posts

From my old Pentax LX have have a lot of very good lenses that I now would like to mount to the X-Pro2. I have some questions:

 

1. What is the best adapter for this?

2. Where can I read more on how to work with adapted "full frame" manual (Pentax) lenses on the X-Pro2? 

Link to post
Share on other sites

What is the best adapter might be debatable

 

I have had always great experience with K&F which is very well made and made with absolute precision ( infinity focus in no problem at all) I find no reason to spend the money that Novoflex or other ultra-expensive adapters cost.

 

KF-Filter-with-Lens-1-e1459500375358.jpg

 

 

If you are in Europe I have one Pentax K> Fx  for sale ( wouldn’t be practical to send  to a location outside the EU because it would cost too much), get in touch with me after 6 June if you want it. I also have a Ricoh Rikenon K 50mm f1.4 to go with it.

 

 

There is nothing special to  “full  frame lenses" being adapted to the X system ( there is nothing special of the X pro 2 too compared to any other camera of the system they all adapt lenses the same way) you put an adapter in between, you enable the camera to shoot without the lens (because of the absence of electrical contacts the camera doesn’t know there is a lens with an adapter) you may want to tell the camera the focal length ( it only serves the purpose to add that to the EFX data,doesn’t perform any optical correction as it would with a Leica M adapted lens).

 

You focus manually (use one of the several in camera built in focus aids or not), you set the aperture manually.

 

That’s about it really.

 

Generally speaking you will find that ultra luminous lenses are lacking contrast and sharpness at 1.4 1.2 but stop them down to 2 they are all rather sharp.

 

Because of the inability to work with the slanted rays that could be otherwise used in analog photography focal lenses shorter than 35mm perform worse than the longer lenses . This is less true of some design then others . I found the 28mm 3.5 Pentax to be a good performer while almost any 28mm 2.8 isn’t as good as this. You will see for yourself.

 

 

The 100mm macro, if you have it, is a great lens too.

Edited by milandro
Link to post
Share on other sites

How would I expose correctly? I constantly would need to tell the camera, what the current aperture is for it to calculate shutter and/or ISO correctly.

 

Since the lenses are "full frame" I guess I need to apply some sort of crop factor when I set the aperture and focal length on the camera.

 

 

Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk Pro

Link to post
Share on other sites

No, I am afraid you don’t understand this.

 

 

The camera measures the light as it comes in, doesn’t need to be told which aperture you are using,it is a measured quantity and returns you a shutter speed (if in Automatic) or tells you which shutter speed needs to be used for the correct exposure. This is exactly the same way your LX worked. It is totally irrelevant for which camera the lens was made for, the quantity of light that arrives on the sensor is read as is, needs no furtherinformation.

 

You get the exposure data, or an automatic exposure, just like that.

 

 

The difference with any DSLR is that in a mirrorless camera, what you see in your EVF is precisely (or thereabouts) what you get ( Make sure you set the evf brightness and color correctly)

 

 

 

I personally use also manual lenses in Automatic Aperture Mode ( which shows the shutter speed in the evf if you have enabled it)  but manual would work just the same, it would tell you which shutter speed is correct. The only difference with any analog camera is that you also have another variable, the ISO butto, to use just in case you want a precise couple of shutter, aperture.

 

So, you set the aperture and you get a subsequent shutter speed, if you want to adapt it you push pull the ISO, very easy.

 

 

By the way, you also need to enable the exposure simulation for best results in your EVF. In this way the EVF will be darker or lighter when you shoot manual.

 

 

 

 

 

There is not full frame  factor to be telling to anything.

 

50mm is 50mm, whether the lens covers a full frame or not, and what you see in the EVF is what you get, the only difference is that, the the APS-C is obviously smaller so the field shown won’t we as wide, but you exactly see what the lens projects on the sensor.

Edited by milandro
Link to post
Share on other sites

anyway, if you want the K&F adapter let me know you seem to be in Germany and the shipping cost will be reasonable.

 

Once you have an adapter it will be immediately obvious to you how all this works and how easy it is. 

 

 

The only difficulty is getting a good focus but you will quickly chose one of the various focus aids.

Link to post
Share on other sites

When K Mount lenses are mounted to a Pentax SLR, the aperture is *always* fully open no matter what is currently set at the aperture ring. Only when I trigger the shutter or when I press the depth of field preview button the configured aperture is actually set. This is because of the aperture nose (https://onlinephotoinstitute.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/surgery-7779.jpg) . I was (wrongly so) assuming that it works the same way with the adapter. Hence I though (wongly so) I need to tell the camera what aperture will be used when the shutter is triggered. Thanks for clearing that up.

 

So the viewfinder of the X-Pro 2 will actually always get darker when I stop down the lens?

 

I would want to tell the camera the focal length of the lense because

  1. I want it to be present in the EXIF data
  2. in the optical viewfinder I would like to see the correct "bright frame" hinting the correct angle of view

At least for 2., but probably also for 1. I would want to apply the correct crop factor.  

Link to post
Share on other sites

The aperture stops down as you close the aperture on the lens it doesn’t stay open. This is true of K as KA lenses.

 

You have a menu where you will set manually the focal length for each lens, you have a number of already set focal lenses and two that you can set yourself. I predict that you will forget, as I do, to switch between one or the other. This only serves the purpose of providing the EFX data with the focal length , that’s it.

 

I forget to use it often as I swithch from one lens to another. I also have the 8mm fisheye and 12mm samyang they also have a non electric Fuji bayonet so the camera doesn’t know which lens in on it.

 

 

I don’t think that the OVF will show the bright frame according to the lens that you use for adapted lenses, even if you change the focal length.

 

I don’t have enough experience with X pro 1 and 2  to know this , but I think that only if the camera recognizes only the lenses with electrical contacts in the OVF showing the

 the frame , some time ago this happened also with X pro 1 and  some lenses (as the 90) made after the camera The camera didn’t show anything and could only be used in EVF.

 

 

So you need to use the EVF and with that you will see what the lens shows and you don’t need to apply any crop factor, what you see is what you get.

 

Your 35mm Pentax will show approximately the same field view as the 35mm Fuji.  I think that you are a bit confused about equivalences. Yes the 35mm on a Aps-C works approximatively as a 50mm on a full frame but on the aps-c both lenses show the same field , so 35mm is 35mm.

 

 

 

Also about  the EVF getting darker . No it won't unless you shoot manual and with exposure  image simulation ON.

 

My advise is to use the camera in Automatic exposure in aperture priority. Read the shutter value and modify the Iso if it falls outside of the shutter speed that you want to use.

 

The EVF won’t show getting darker ( because it compensates always amplifying the light to the automatic correct exposure) you will only see the shutter speed change

 

I think you have some incorrect ideas about how to use X cameras with manual lenses. I use the most manual lens that you could possibly think of, a Petzval 85 with a Canon EF adapter with an iris aperture set at the back of the lens and an aperture made as a sliding metal fixed aperture.

 

It couldn’t be any more primitive.

 

I have also many other adapters and have used Lens Turbo adapters  and have one adapter with helicoid too, then I have a tilt adapter . 

 

So, all of these turn you camera into a very primitive object with high technology inside, I use the high technology to my advantage.

 

For example that’s why I shoot automatic. If you are hang up about using the ISO button I can tell you that you will be hard pressed to tell the difference between something shot at 200 ( which I always did in the beginning) and anything shot up to 800. 

 

I am on holiday for two weeks you won’t get a response from me while I am away.

Edited by milandro
Link to post
Share on other sites

I'll just chime in and verify everything milandro said. Using old Pentax K lenses is really no rocket science (UNLESS you want to adapt modern lenses without an aperture ring), I had two adapters from amazon, one by Kiwi and one absolutely cheap no-name brand from China - the second one was even better. Don't spend a fortune on Novoflex or Metabones, get that €15 one from China, it will most likely work fine. Depending on what kind of lenses you want to adapt you might want to think about an adapter with a tripod mount though, some of the old telephoto lenses can get quite heavy, maybe too heavy for the camera mount. 

 

Taking photos is absolutely easy, just like using an old camera. Don't forget the "shoot without lens" setting in the camera, the rest simply works. If you enjoy it, you might want to think about buying a Lens Turbo (focal reducer) later, since I have one I don't use the old adapters anymore. I'd suggest getting the Lens Turbo Canon EOS to Fuji X, since you can easily mount both Pentax K and M42 lenses to the Canon mount using dirt cheap adapter rings. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I am using a Fotodiox adapter for the Pentax A 50MM 1:1.4 lens with the XT 2 and have been very happy with the results.

 

I might also suggest you consider using Peak as your focus assist method. I use the "high red" to determine where I have focused and so far so good.

 

I have a number of Super Taks with the M42 mount adapted to K mounts. I am not sure what adapter will work to adapt these lenses for use with my XT 2- any info would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Link to post
Share on other sites

I believe you can have your M42 lens on the M42/PK adapter, then put that setup on a Fuji PK/FX adapter.  It should work from what I've read on other forums where people have stacked adapters.

 

It isn't stacked, but I have a M42 Asahi lens that I've mounted on my Fuji bodies with great success.

 

LINK -> http://adamwoodhouse.info/vintage-gear/pentax-asahi-55mm/

Edited by Adam Woodhouse
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I can vouch for K&F adapters. I have adapted all my pentax m42 and K mount to canon EOS. Because this way I can adapt them on my focal reducer to the xpro-1. I absolutly love the smc takumar 85mm f/1.8 on the fuji camera's. I use this combination more than the native ones I have.

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...
  • 11 months later...
On 5/21/2017 at 5:40 PM, milandro said:

anyway, if you want the K&F adapter let me know you seem to be in Germany and the shipping cost will be reasonable.

Hi there, I know this is an old thread so I hope it's fine to jump in. I have a Samyang 100-500mm that I'd love to use on my X-T1 but need what I believe is a P-K to FUji X adapter. DO you still have this one available or any idea where to get one?

Thanks

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...