One of the reasons for choosing the Pentax K-5, as well as the great reviews it was getting, was that I already owned lenses from the film days for my ME-Super and with the shake reduction built in to the body I get that feature even with my old lenses. This shot was taken with my 28mm f/2.8 – and who knows – one day there might be a full frame Pentax DSLR and this lens might be wide angle again.
I like the bokeh in this shot mirroring the blossom on the tree. The old lenses need manual focusing, this one happens to be an ‘A’ – so it does handle the exposure better than the fully manual lenses – but it doesn’t take long to get used to working with non-manual. The focus detection still works too – so you can get some indication of focus (as well as obviously just seeing for your self – a lost art in these days of auto focus.
With many old K mount lenses affordable second-hand – and the new K-30 and the striking Marc Newson designed K-01 now available, the Pentax range is certainly a good way to get into digital photography with prime lenses. I think I’ll need to see the K-01 in the flesh to decide if I like it – certainly attracting a lot of attention!
Lunch with a Lens 