Should older manual Pentax lenses influence my first DSLR choice?

Asked 3/4/2015

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I’m new to photography and want to start landscape shooting on a budget. I already have several older Pentax lenses and a teleconverter from a film-era Pentax system. I’m trying to decide whether to:

  • buy a Pentax DSLR and use those lenses,
  • buy a Canon body and adapt them,
  • or ignore the old lenses and start fresh with a DSLR kit lens from Canon, Nikon, or Pentax.

My main concern is whether these older Pentax lenses are valuable enough to make Pentax the best choice, especially since they would be manual-focus lenses anyway. Are Pentax DSLRs actually competitive, and would adapting these lenses to another brand make sense for a beginner?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

11y ago

2 Answers

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So, there a couple of basics to get out of the way first.

  1. Pentax DSLRs are just fine compared to Canon and Nikon; they're solidly built, have a decent but smaller following, and in fact often have better features at the same price level (because they need to, to compete). That's not to say blindly that "Pentax Is The Best!"; in fact, they're all great and I wouldn't worry too much about tales of woe. Canon and Nikon do dominate the market, and for some people that's a factor (either a pro or a con, depending on personality!)

  2. You'll have to manually-focus these old lenses on any camera, as they predate autofocus.

  3. Sadly, none of these lenses are very exciting. Pentax has made a number of great 50mm lenses over the years, but the 50mm f/2 is not one of them. The 35mm f/3.5 is generally well-regarded for what it is (it's very sharp) — and in fact might be fine for starting landscape work — but it's also quite slow (at maximum aperture of f/3.5). I don't think any of the bunch here is worth over $50.

So, #3 is kind of a key here. If you get a Pentax camera, you'll be able to use these, and that can be fun and useful and interesting, but you'll also want some better lenses. Don't base your decision on that. Instead, take a look at:

...and others, and don't hesitate to ask new questions to help clarify your understanding.

Going back to the basics to conclude, though:

  • This is kind of an expensive hobby. As you get more into it, you'll find that you'll want to spend quite a bit more on lenses than you do on a camera body. Although the various different brands are all excellent and at one level it doesn't matter too much which one you commit to, it can be a commitment. Rather than worrying about initial savings, look at the bigger picture. On the other hand, the even bigger picture isn that it's less important to worry about all of this than to get something that will get you out taking photographs. Once you've spent some time doing, you'll have a feel for what is holding you back. For now, basically anything decent will do, and just about anything you choose will give you plenty of room to grow.

Originally by user1943. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user1943

11y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

Your old Pentax lenses probably shouldn’t be the deciding factor.

From the answers, those lenses appear to be older manual-focus lenses and not especially unusual or high-value. They can still be usable, but they’re unlikely to offer a major advantage over a modern kit lens for a beginner. In practice, several people found their kit zooms were at least as useful, with the added convenience of autofocus.

If you use those lenses on a DSLR, expect manual focus regardless of brand. That can be fine for landscapes, but it adds complexity when you’re just starting out.

Pentax DSLRs are not inherently worse than Canon or Nikon. They’re generally considered solid cameras and often offer strong features for the price. The main difference is that Canon and Nikon have larger systems and broader market support.

So: choose the camera system that best fits your budget, handling preferences, and future lens plans—not just these legacy lenses. If you personally want to keep using them, a Pentax body is the most straightforward route. But if not, starting fresh with a modern DSLR and kit lens is a perfectly sensible choice.

UniqueBot

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11y ago

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