Pentax legacy on GX7

[stever]

decided to try a couple Pentax lenses that have been sitting in the closet for many years. got a Fotodiox adapter which was not very expensive and fits nicely. 

the 50mm macro f4 performs quite well with center resolution slightly worse than the 20mm f1.7 and slightly better than the 35-100 zoom with the corner resolution equal to center resolution as you would hope from a FF lens and diffraction not too noticeable until f11.  nice manual focus makes this a good macro lens or long landscape lens for stitching.

with such good results I was hopeful that the 200 f4 would be long alternative - unfortunately it is very soft until f8 and quite difficult to focus manually - not really useable

so I decided to try a known good tele - Canon 200 f2.8 and bought a Fotodiox Canon to micro 4/3 with built in aperture.  Adapter very sloppy on the camera and the aperture immediately starts to vignette when stopping down.  nearly impossible to focus and I could get no satisfactory resolution results.  may be premature but I'm sending the adapter back and not putting any more effort into Canon lenses as I have limited use for manually focusing unstabilized lenses.

[Telecaster]

The 135 format Pentax 200/4 is a mediocre lens. The 645 version is better but not great. My Y/C mount Zeiss 200/3.5 is a very good lens, and inexpensive on the used market, but it's heavy and lacks a tripod mount. For handheld "legacy" lens use with m43 cameras I top out at 135mm or so. Pentax's A-series 100/2.8 is a little jewel...performs great on Sony's A7r as well as m43.

-Dave-

[RobbieV]

I use the SMC-M 50mm 1.7 and the SMC-M 100mm f4 Macro on my K-5IIs and find them to be great lenses. The SMC-M 28 2.8 is good, and the SMC-M 150mm f3.5 adequate. I know another forum member here has written kindly of their SMC-M 150mm on their A7, so perhaps mine is a dud?

On the m42 side the Asahi Takumar 35mm 2.3 is very nice when I can get it focused. Surprisingly, my copy of the Helios 44m 58mm f2 is very nice when it's not facing any light sources.

[Telecaster]

...the SMC-M 150mm f3.5 adequate. I know another forum member here has written kindly of their SMC-M 150mm on their A7, so perhaps mine is a dud?

That might've been me (though on an A7r).     The 150mm is a decent enough lens, and handy for travel due to its compact size & light weight. I used mine a bit on an Olympus E-M1 during a recent Arizona trip. The M42 mount 135/2.5 S.M.C. Takumar is a noticeably better lens but also bulkier & heavier.

-Dave-

[Remo Nonaz]

I got a fantastic deal on a Takumar 6.3/300 on eBay. The lens is pristine but this never was a great lens. It is very difficult to frame and focus due to its extreme length and small maximum aperture. It has to be tripod mounted. I think it is petty close to useless on a an M43 camera but it is kind of a cool old lens - fun and cheap to own but not practical for everyday use.

On the other hand, I have a 1.4/50 Takumar and that takes lovely portraits and closeup shots like flowers and plants. It has beautiful bokeh and good color. The lens is easy to focus and I can get along without image stabilization OK (GH2). I keep it with me most of the time and put it on and use it quite a bit.

An advantage to the old Takumar lenses is that they have a very long focus throw, which makes it easier to manually focus them. Also they focus in the "right" (Nikon, Leica) direction.

[Telecaster]

An advantage to the old Takumar lenses is that they have a very long focus throw, which makes it easier to manually focus them. Also they focus in the "right" (Nikon, Leica) direction.

Actually Leicas focus in the "wrong" (Canon) direction...but Contax (Zeiss) rangefinder cameras/lenses do it "right." Nikon just copied the Zeiss way. (In fact my fondness for Nikon cameras takes a steep dive right at the point where their Zeiss-ness mostly disappears.) IMO pre-AF Pentax SLR lenses are a joy to focus due both to the throw and to the smoothness of the mechanism. This along with their lower contrast look is why I like 'em so much on electronic cameras.

-Dave-