All pentax cameras since the adoption of the bayonet mount in 1975 are
'compatible', in the sense they will work --- almost any lense on almost any
camera. The exceptions are the low end ZX series which don't have an aperture
preferred mode, and therefore won't
work with the first series of K mount lenses which support only the aperture
perferred mode.
Various permutations of the K mount include:
Original K mount: identified as "SMC" or "Pentax-M" lenses.
These don't do 'program mode' or auto focus.
the "KA" mount. ----- Introduced in Early 1980's to support the
"program mode". Identifiable by the electric contacts on the mount ring
and the 'A' position on the aperture ring.
The "f" and the 'FA' series. --- These do auto focus with the 'fa' being the current
style, but the older 'f' series (contemporary with The SF series of cameras) are fully
usable as auto focus.
To my view (and this is a prejudice), Pentax made no cameras that I would own
between 1985 (when the Super Program was discontinued) until 1995 when
the ZX-5 was introduced. (I dount count the LX) The problem is that in that era the
cameras looked like something
that you would find in a cereal box. --Black plastic toys.
The zx 30 and zx50 are to be avoided at all costs because they are the culprits
that don't work with older pentax lenses.
A very useful feature on the ZX3/5/7 is the panorama mode. UP to date 2 hour
processors will process those now
mixed and matched with regular shots, and it
really helps ultra wide angle lenses do their thing (without your shoes and hat brim
in the photo.) IT is also a
cheesy way to save the day cheaply if you are caught without your telephoto. Flip
to Pan and the developer shop
blows up the
negative to 4x12 automatically -- and then you whack it back to a 3x5 print with a
paper cutter and no one knows you
left your telephoto home.
One advantage of the SF series: --- it works with both the old analog flashes and
the newer digital flash units. You will not want to stick an old flash unit on a Zx
camera.
Skip Leib wrote:
> Hi
>
> Me again. (Skip). I'm still looking to purchase a Pentax SLR; AF and AE with
> manual overide, and motor drive. Dave Scott from this group was nice enough
> to put me onto KEH's used stuff, but then that opened up a whole new world
> of choices, choices, choices.......
>
> Question: KEH has used Pentax SF10/SF7 bodies, in excellent condition, for
> just over a c-note. ($100.) These cameras seem to have everything I'm
> looking for; AF, four AE metering modes, motor drive, 1/2000 speed, built-in
> flash...
> The only thing I'm not sure about from the write-up is their lens
> capability? Do they accept the newer AF lenses? The write-up says KAF
> bayonet lens mount, (SMC-F). K and KA lenses accepted with loss of
> auto-focus...?
>
> Can anyone give me some pros and cons on this camera? It seems to have
> almost everything the ZX30/50's have, including an optional AA battery grip
> and also a metal lens mount. (So why then is it so inexpensive? Performance
> problems?)
> Any help you can give here would be appreciated...
>
> Another question, although not related to Pentax. I'm coming back to more
> serious photography after being years away from it. I remember Yashica as
> being a pretty good brand, but when I look at their stuff now, such as the
> the 300AF or MP109 SLR's, their stuff (new) seems very very cheap. Has their
> quality disappeared? (I know they still accept the Contax lenses..)
> Any opinions on Yashica here?
>
> Thanks,
> Skip
>
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