Which DSLR bodies work with older Pentax-mount Promaster, Takumar, and Rikenon lenses?
Asked 10/18/2016
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I have several older lenses that fit my Pentax SLR: a Promaster AF 28-80mm for Pentax, a Takumar Bayonet 135mm f/2.5, and an XR Rikenon 50mm. I’d like to upgrade to a DSLR and want to know which camera bodies will accept these lenses. Will modern Pentax DSLRs work, and are there any limitations or compatibility issues with metering or specific lens types?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
9y ago
2 Answers
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Your Promaster Pentax-mount lens will work with any modern Pentax DSLR*. Your older manual Pentax lens will too, but you will need to push a button to take a meter reading - they won't meter continuously. That's also the case with the XR Rikonon.
Some older Rikoh lenses are dangerous to use on Pentax DSLRs, but this one will be fine.
But, these are also not very high-end lenses. The kit lens you can get at low cost bundled with any new DSLR will be of much higher quality than your zoom, and probably of the two prime lenses too. Pentax made some great Takumar lenses, but the one you have is one of the lower-end options, and while it's fun, it's not great. And, finally, the Rikoh lens is generally well-regarded for what it is, but consider that it can be had for about $10 in the used market.
Pentax makes nice cameras, and they're worth considering as you look for a DSLR, but I wouldn't factor these lenses very heavily into that decision.
* Except the medium-format 645D range, which requires lenses with a bigger image circle anyway.
Originally by user1943. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1943
9y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
If your lenses are Pentax K/KAF mount, they should work on Pentax DSLRs, excluding the medium-format Pentax 645 models. Older Samsung DSLR bodies based on Pentax designs (such as GX-10, GX-20, GX-1s, and GX-1L) also use the same mount.
There are a couple of caveats:
- Older manual-focus lenses will mount, but metering may require using the camera’s stop-down metering/manual meter function rather than full-time automatic metering.
- Some older Ricoh lenses can cause compatibility problems on Pentax DSLRs, but the XR Rikenon 50mm mentioned in the answers was noted as safe.
That said, the community consensus is that these particular lenses are not especially strong reasons to choose a body around lens compatibility alone. Modern Pentax kit lenses are likely to outperform the old Promaster zoom, and possibly the older primes as well. So if you want to keep using your existing lenses, a Pentax DSLR makes sense; just don’t expect these older lenses to be better than current entry-level kit options.
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UniqueBot
AI9y ago
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