New Pentax Lenses On Old Pentax Cameras . . .

[@LeeIveson]

A behind the scenes video for channel members kzbin.info/www/bejne/anXJmGtuo8mjf6s 🎥

[@b.2221]

Keep this up mate , and you are going to be a Pentax Ambassador, and quite rightly so.

[@LeeIveson]

Thanks mate I appreciate that 👍

[@jawats]

Good video. Ya know, I see photographers like you and Snappiness doing videos like this, and you're all like "See how great these new lenses are on these old bodies and..." yadda yadda. But, what I really see is, ultimately, your developed and practiced skill with your equipment and the art. As my father once said of Jack Nicklaus..."you can have your modern clubs and drivers and he'd still beat the pants off you with something from a thrift store shelf." So, all that to say - keep making these fascinating, informative, and well-considered videos. But, we know your skill is behind so much of it.

[@LeeIveson]

Haha thank you kindly good sir! I do honestly think that these lenses help out massively for the AF speed which makes my job easier in capturing the shots I want. James of Snappiness has a great talent for being able to switch around with different cameras all the time & still get great shots, I think that's a skill in itself to be fair!

[@Yankee2718]

I picked up a bargain condition 16-50 SDM from KEH. It arrived with a dead lens motor. KEH fixed it under warranty: replaced the motor, cleaned, sealed, and sent me back a nearly new-ish lens. It gave my K-50 an entirely new character. I really like it.

[@LeeIveson]

That's awesome 👌 you really did get a good deal on that one 😀

[@semperfi-1918]

Nice. I have a k50 as well. Just uploaded a review video. Love the older f-series lenses.

[@kcphotogeek6207]

Awesome shots especially those low fast and wide hero pics. I upgraded to the Pentax KP recently but have been enjoying using the old Pentax-F 24-50mm F4 it’s been especially impressive when adapted to my full frame Sony A7 II high I didn’t expect as I only paid 25EUR for it from Yahoo auctions in Japan. Pentax glass new and old is very underrated imo

[@MadGQ]

Hey Lee, love your videos been your fan for a while, you should do more videos on the Pentax K7!

[@LeeIveson]

Hey, thanks buddy very much appreciated! I don't own the K7 at the moment, maybe in the future I might pick that camera up to see how it preforms?

[@MadGQ]

@@LeeIveson That’ll be great, love your videos 🙂

[@danielspenner3683]

I really like the concept of testing a system rather than a camera or a lens as a seperate functional unit. After all it's always a system, that's being used. Great video, and it confirms my impression of the K70 with older and more recent lenses.

[@LeeIveson]

Definitely! It's nice to know how multiple cameras & lenses work with each other within a said system. One of the reasons I personally love the K-mount!

[@danielspenner3683]

The SDM AF ist quite fast to Focus, too. However, in some cases autofocus will recorrect after confirming focus, so that's really annoying. PLM seems to be the only really reliable modern AF in the Pentax system.

[@LeeIveson]

Funny you say that . . . I was playing around with the K3iii & a few lenses yesterday, one of them being the DA17-70 f4 SDM. I experienced exactly what you just described, the lens would almost always try to refocus after focus confirmation, granted I was in AF.C but it was annoying! And just to confirm it was the lens I tried it on my K3 & K5 with the same results! PLM all the way for me 😀

[@camerabaka]

Awesome photos! The colors were so vibrant and full of contrast.

[@SouthendSites-o4c]

I use SMC Pentax-F 50mm F1.4 on a K1...

[@xmeda]

I like lenses like DA18-135WR. It is modern fast focusing lens, but it works even on my K10D without any issue. And can even be adapted to M4/3 and focused manually including manual aperture operation by adaptor lever. On the other hand my DA55-300PLM WR is only usable on modern K mount body, K3 in my case. On my K5/K20D/K10D it autofocuses, yet aperture does nothing obviously. And when attached to adaptor it does not even allow you to manually focus, because focusing is only done by motor even if you are turing focusing ring by hand. So that is one of reasons, why I also still have older SMC DA55-300/4-5.8, because that lens works on everything including old film bodies and although being crop DA lens, in most parts of zoom range it covers even film well and I did couple photos with it on my MZ-10.

[@robbbertonestips]

Thanks for the rewiew Lee, wonderful shots as usual! 💪🏼

[@LeeIveson]

@robbbertonestips Cheers mate, very much appreciated

[@paulcharlier265]

When I got the 55-300 to use with my KP I was so happy but found it wouldn't work with my KS2, but with an update of the Firmware it works a treat. Awesome lens on both cameras.

[@mindyourownbusiness5589]

I have a K200D and a K5 which I use with the 18-55mm WR & 50-200mm WR lenses. I hope to buy the 16-50mm f2.8 in the near future. I love your channel and I love Pentax, I have tried a few other systems including mirrorless but came back to Pentax and a DSLR because you just can't beat them :)

[@LeeIveson]

Nice! I picked up a Samsung GX10 a few weeks ago (it's basically the K10d re-badged) I've just been too ill to get a video out about it 😞. I agree there's just somthing about Pentax cameras that makes them a pure joy to shoot with 📷

[@mohnkern]

I use a series of Modern lenses on my K-3 mark i and they work great.

[@LeeIveson]

Yep, I find they breathe new life into the original K3.

[@rickywriterone9640]

Fantastically useful video. And terrifically engaging style. Many thanks.

[@LeeIveson]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@lindeleasley]

I currently have a K7 and a KF...along with 2 ME Supers, a MX and a LX...so I need much older glass for my "old" bodies. I've got quite a few SMC lenses and they still make a few lenses that I can use on the old bodies.

[@LeeIveson]

I was really looking forward to trying some of my "modern" lenses on the Samsung GX10 I picked up, but I ran into the incompatibility issue 😪. Still it's fun to mix & match old with new, sometimes the results are a nice surprise!

[@jaysonlee5231]

I've been using the Pentax PZ20 lately and it's one of my favorite cameras thus far. Coming across your channel has been great, I've been learning alot.

[@LeeIveson]

Nice! And here's me saying the K3 & K5 are old cameras haha! Glad you like the content, cheers!

[@Stokey_73]

Very enjoyable video Lee. My KP shots have benefited from sticking a 55-300 PLM based on your extensive use. Can’t quite justify the jump to K3iii and sticking the nice but heavy 16-50 PLM. Toying with going for monochrome body and keeping my KP? Love your work, ambassador class

[@LeeIveson]

Thanks mate that's made my day! Yep the 55-300PLM is just such a great all round option, speed, reach, weather sealing, image quality & price are combined to make this a must have in my opinion. The 16-50 PLM ticks all the same boxes & excels in image quality, granted it is an expensive lens but one that unlocks the true potential not only with the K3iii but all of my Pentax bodies have benefited when paired with that beast of a lens! The Monochrome is next level image quality, outstanding at high iso & perfect for anyone looking for a camera to refine their photography 👌

[@danielbrown5541]

Thanks for the tips on lens compatibility. I would have had a small freak out when I mounted up and couldn’t control aperture. lol. Good content. I think the 55-300 will be carving out some real estate in my bag soon.

[@LeeIveson]

Glad it helped! And you can't go wrong with the 55-300 PLM I'm sure you will love that lens!

[@raymondpenalver7095]

Sounds like a very interesting video to watch Lee, looking forward to this one 😀

[@LeeIveson]

Hopefully! It's a little longer than usual, but I think it needed to be to get all the points across.

[@semperfi-1918]

Well dont have new lenses. But got some good clean f- series lenses for my k50 i got for a bargin. Nice video. Shows that even new lenses can make a difference once the user gets good with the camera.

[@Big.E]

Love the chanel Lee followed for years now

[@LeeIveson]

@@Big.E Thanks buddy I really appreciate it 👌📷

[@Grga17]

The shoots are very, very good. Especially with 16-50. Even tho there are evident post-production skills involved :)

[@LeeIveson]

Thanks mate 👍 yes I used a couple of my LR presets on these images. Although I will say the shots from the K5 & 55-300PLM only had minimal edits. Maybe I should show the sooc vs the post edits?

[@Grga17]

@@LeeIveson hmmm... Does SOOC mean Straight out of the camera as a RAW (dng) or JPEG? :) But anyhow, that is a great idea.

[@LeeIveson]

@@Grga17 yes, sooc stands for straight out of camera 👌 It can be either, I RAW most of the time, then process in Lightroom (for 95%), Luminar Neo & Photoshop.

[@rokoshrokosh]

Lovely video, very informative! Must dig out my K20D

[@LeeIveson]

Definitely dig out your K20D & start using it again 👌

[@mohnkern]

There are a couple of things that I really think makes Pentax stand out -- 1. The camera's "age" well. You even see people using K-1000's from the 80's today. Who would know a 40 year old camera would still be so functional? And -- Compatibility. Other than K vs M mounts, if the mount fits, you can be sure the lens will work, at least part of the way. I've got everything from super spiffy APS-C auto focus coated lenses to manual 50 mm prime lenses from the 80s and they all work.

[@LeeIveson]

I agree, so much choice with old & New combined!

[@dbkfrogkaty1]

I have the Pentax K-5II. I also have the original DA 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED WR. The non PLM. I saw no point in getting the PLM lans since my camera and my older K10D were both not compatible. I find this lens works just fine for me.

[@LeeIveson]

I've never shot with the older versions of the 55-300 but the images I've seen from those lenses are very nice. The biggest reason I really love the PLM is simply how fast & accurate the AF motor is! It's on a different level in terms of speed to any other lens from Pentax, at least from what I've used so far.

[@shawndonnelly5317]

Excellent video Lee.

[@LeeIveson]

Thanks mate much appreciated 👍

[@TheSquirrelMafia]

This lens is practically glued to my K-3II. Autofocus speed is very fast. AF.C is a bit more useful with this lens & the DA 55-300mm PLM, but the old AF algorithms in the K-3II can only do so much when it comes to reliable tracking. I sound like a broken record, but Ricoh really needs to update the DA* lens lineup with faster AF motors. It'll give Pentaxians more motivation to purchase the K-3III.

[@LeeIveson]

DA*50-135 PLM 😍

[@exitar1]

Thanks Lee!

[@taterandy3958]

I have a K10d and always wanted to try other Pentax lens but never got a chance to look thanks for the link!!!! Especially the 2 cameras you have the K3 and the K5!!!😊

[@LeeIveson]

Ironic that I'm keeping an eye out for a cheap deal on a K10d!

[@xmeda]

@@LeeIveson Bought one K10D recently with Sigma 17-70/2.8-4.5 and some Tamron 80-210 for about $75 equivallent.. but the issue is, that the lens AF calibration is only available through service menu and only for one lens. And that is HELL!! I'm glad that I cancelled my order for K10D+17-70 in 12/2007 because shop was not able to get that Sigma and that I bought K20D+Sig17-70 in early 2008 from other shop instead. It is much better camera. Usable ISO has more range, AF fine tune is available for 20 lenses in standard menu, it has Live-View (first Pentax camera to have it and in general one of first DSLRs to have it) and with this LV it is possible to use M42 and old K mount MF lenses effectively, SR is better. While working as external photographer for local weekly newspaper my main camera was K5 at that time (2012-2014), but at one point the lens release button failed and it needed service. Since the service took about 25 days I had to use my backup K20D during that time. It was interesting to attend various meetings, events, shoot politicans with such camera and DA12-24/4 + Sig17-50/2.8 + Sig70-200/2.8HSM + AF540FGZ while all around were those other photographers using hi-end machines like Canon EOS-5DIII, Nikon D800 etc :D But I have to say, that K20D did the job with dignity and RAWs were perfectly fine enough for frontpage without any complaints from graphic department. And I probably like colors from that Samsung CMOS a bit more than later Sony CMOS sensors do. Samsung is tinted more into green. Sony CMOS is more into pink. Both need a bit different PP while developing RAWs. But sude, if you want to punish yourself with terrible AF, no live view and usable ISO range only within 100-800 limits, get the K10D :D Yes it has CCD which is fancy thing today, but to be honest, I see zero advantage in color reproduction or other things over K20D CMOS.

[@pentax-paul.]

I have the pentax k70 , with the pentax 18-135mm, and the pentax 55-300mm plm, ( and a sigma 10-20mm) the 55-300mm plm is hands down my favourite lens that I currently own , super fast focus , great pictures- even from an amateur like me . I'll Add the 16-50mm plm to my very long wish list ...

[@LeeIveson]

Yes the 55-300PLM is a brilliant all around lens, and it pairs perfectly with the DA*16-50 PLM to cover everything from wide shots to tight zoomed in shots. And it's a fully weather sealed setup 👌

[@pentax-paul.]

@LeeIveson what would you recommend for apsc pentax wide angle lens ? ( on a budget ) ..... I use a sigma 10-20mm which I picked up used for £100 but I'd like to use pentax , even better if wr ....

[@LeeIveson]

@@pentax-paul. I had both versions of the Sigma 10-20 I ended up keeping the f3.5 HSM version as it preformed a little better for me. To be honest I think your sigma is going to be as good as it gets for that focal range & price. I have the Pentax DA 17-70 which gives nice images but the SDM is hit & miss, and of course its not really a syper wide angle lens.

[@pentax-paul.]

@LeeIveson thanks Lee , I have the other version of the sigma , the 10-20mm F4-5.6, I like it as it does give me much wider than my 18-135mm, even though I have to shoot at 12 or 13mm to overcome slight vignette when using my filter holder it still gives me options that I can't get on the 18-135mm. I've seen the smc pentax DA 12-24 mm f4 ED AL IF knocking about on the used market- any experience of that one ?

[@LeeIveson]

@@pentax-paul. I haven't had any experience with the DA 12-24, I remember looking at that lens as a possible option but ended up with the Sigma. It may well be a better lens but I can't say.

[@scrptwic]

Lee Love the 55-300 PLM WR a fast focusing lens good for wildlife. I have od Tamron 75- 300 autofocus lens i use on my older Pentax Cameras as well as my Pentax 16-50 SDM lens as the screw drive wirks mo older Pentax Cameras

[@LeeIveson]

I had a really good copy of a Tamron LD 70-300 when I started out, some of my best shots using the K70 came for that Tamron! The lack of weather sealing & noisy AF lead to me selling it and picking up the 55-300 PLM.

[@andrewmartin8739]

Superb video , do I understand from this that the 55-300 PLM will only operate at widest aperture only on the K5 , it cannot be further stopped down then 😢

[@LeeIveson]

Thanks mate. Yes sadly the K5 can not change the apature value with either the 16-50 PLM or the 55-300 PLM. Although I will say that it's not that big of an issue depending on what/how you shoot. For me the 16-50 is brilliant wide open at f2.8 and my copy of the 55-300 is great at the long end wide open at f6.3, it does suffer at the shorter end wide open at f4.5 but still very usable.

[@krustysurfer]

Great video Lee

[@LeeIveson]

Thanks mate 👍

[@PentaxLife]

Yeah, I love my PLM55 to 300. It fell apart just recently in 2 pieces. Never dropped it never banged It. 😢😢

[@LeeIveson]

Ahh man that's a bummer 😢My 55-300 PLM has been through the trenches at the off road tracks with me for the past 3 years & is still working well, although I have noticed lots of dust on the inside elements, so I'll have to get it cleaned soon I think.

[@riccardo3642]

Hi Lee, hi everybody! I always appreciate your videos. But I have a question, maybe a stupid one - sorry, I’m new in this wonderful world of photography. Is it possible and does it have any sense to use a modern lens (HD 43mm FA f1.9 limited) on older manual film cameras (Pentax MX)? Thanks in advance!

[@LeeIveson]

@@riccardo3642 hey 👋 Well why not? I'd give it a go, if for nothing else just to see what results from that combo? Rules are meant to be broken right? 😁

[@riccardo3642]

@@LeeIveson you’re so right! 😄😎

[@tigershoot]

Looked a grim day with poor lighting but your shots were just superb! Do you sell prints to the riders, or just a JPEG once you have processed it?

[@LeeIveson]

Thanks! Yes I sell both digitals & prints to the riders.

[@barryhiggott9458]

I’m not surprised, they’re two fantastic lenses. Will you be keeping the 16-50 ?

[@LeeIveson]

They are mate, very nice lenses indeed! It's on loan to me at the moment, so I plan on using it for the foreseeable future at least.

[@jmdelr]

Hello from France. Very interesting video. Conversely, what do you think of the quality of the photos when using lenses purchased with 1 K7 or a K5II and used today on the K3 III. Do you think that we should invest in new objectives (increasingly expensive, by the way). Where do you think the gain won doesn’t justify the investment. I wonder a lot about the advisability of investing and if so, what new versatile goal to buy first. Thank you in advance for your reply.

[@LeeIveson]

For myself personally I rate the PLM lenses highly, it all comes down to what you want to use the cameras & lenses for as well as budget. Just the other day I was using my DA17-70mm f4 lens on the K3iii, the images are really nice the only downside is that the SDM motor in that lens is very slow (I think my copy is going to dye 🙄) but the cost of that lens in comparison to the DA*16-50 PLM is far cheaper. It all comes down to the individual photographer I suppose. I'm really grateful that Pentax have loaned me the K3iii along with the DA*16-50 PLM as I wouldn't have been able to afford to go out & buy that combo new for myself.

[@jmdelr]

@@LeeIvesonThank you for this quick and honest response

[@LeeIveson]

@@jmdelr No problem 👍

[@sdhute]

Amazing pics

[@Othmane.FETTAKA]

unfortunately we don't easily find Pentax lenses here in Algeria I would like to have the duo 16-50mm * plm and the 60-250mm * sdm

[@LeeIveson]

Out of interest which Pentax cameras do you own?

[@Othmane.FETTAKA]

@@LeeIveson Pentax k3, 18-135mm and 50mm manual

[@LeeIveson]

@@Othmane.FETTAKA I could only suggest the obvious places to shop around for second hand gear: Facebook marketplace, eBay, thrift stores & shops like MPB. The K3 works very well with these PLM lenses & all of my previous DA* lenses too. Hope you find some deals soon buddy 👍

[@xmeda]

What about Sigma 100-300/4 instead of 60-250/4? .)

[@walterhall9682]

Lee, where do you live Australia or England? Let me know.

[@LeeIveson]

Rainy England sadly, but at least the summer is just around the corner now 🌞

[@marcp.1752]

My #1 SLR was a Pentax MX into 87, as teenie. Pentax K5 was cool, but the K3 III is really overpriced, 2K, for an APS-C DSLR. For this price, i can nowadays buy a fine FF DSLR, 3 fine lenses, and still have money left, via MPB.

[@LeeIveson]

@marcp.1752 I thought the same when the K3iii was released, however after using the camera extensively, I think if your looking to shoot Pentax going forward the K3iii is by far and away the best option (APSC). It ticks all the boxes I wanted to capture fast action and still life. I agree it is expensive, but all flagship cameras are expensive no matter the brand. I also agree that there are fantastic deals to be had on the used market both for cameras & lenses 👌

[@marcp.1752]

@@LeeIvesonYes, since early 2014, after i bought my A7 for full price, i only buy gear 2nd hand nowadays, mostly MPB.

[@LeeIveson]

@marcp.1752 I've never bought from MPB yet, although I've heard they have good customer service and seem to rate the gear condition accurately.

[@Oskar-g9j]

Zdjęcia robine w raw czy jpg ?

[@LeeIveson]

RAW and processed in LR with my presets. Although I didn't do much at all to the K5 files.

[@marcp.1752]

At least, it does work on Pentax. Try to run a 2016 released AF-P Nikon lens onto an old body, say D90....no chance, it'll never work.

[@DeanHughes-um1um]

Just purchased the 16-50*DA plm. Let me know what you think at f2.4

[@LeeIveson]

Congrats your going to love it! The maximum apature of the DA*16-50 PLM is f2.8 👍