I need an ultra wide angle (UWA) lens for my K5 for use on a project that I took on. The K5 being an APS-C camera, I have looked at the Pentax DA 12-24mm and the Sigma 10-20mm EX DC HSM zooms. The Pentax is way out of my affordability range. The Sigma is possibly within my reach, but it has its own focusing motor. I’m thinking that if I could find a lens without a focusing motor, the lens may be even more affordable. Is there another UWA in a Pentax mount that uses the in-body auto-focus motor of the K5? I haven’t been able to find anything on Google searches – I’m not very astute at constructing a google search query, I guess.

If there are no other Pentax mount AF lenses without in-lens focusing motors, I guess I’ll have to go with the Sigma 10-20mm with its HSM motor. Which raises another question. If I use the Sigma with its own HSM focusing motor, how will it interact with the K5’s auto-focusing function? Will the lens motor override the in-body motor or vice versa? The K5 in-body motor functions through a screw-drive connection in the mount. If the Sigma lens mount doesn’t have a matching connection socket, will the in-body focusing motor free wheel as the camera tries to focus? Or will the in-body motor be deactivated by the lens by way of information sent to the camera through some electrical contacts? Looking at the mount end of the Sigma I don't see a screw drive socket, but I do see two electrical contacts that appear as though they may mate with two contacts located in the lens throat of the K5. Are these the connection points for disabling the in-body focusing motor and controlling the lens focusing motor? My other Pentax lenses and Sigma 70-300mm DL Macro in Pentax mount don’t have those extra electrical contacts – only the ball contacts on the mount flange itself.

Thanks to you Pentaxians out there on UHH that can help me clarify this information. My apologies for being too wordy.

Stan

Great shot!

You might try layering some sky behind it to add another layer of realism to it.

Where do you guys find the time to do all this time consuming fun? I have about 30 aircraft models in their boxes in storage that I've collected over years but just can't find the time do anything with them.

Stan

Mine too!

Stan

!!!

Nope - I'm right there with you with a K1000, MX, ME Super, K5, along with a plethora of lenses and several IQZoom point 'n' shoot compacts. Also, I'm looking to acquire an LX if I find one at the same time I have a some extra cash.

Stan

I love the effect that lens assembly provides! Wonderful bokeh, but also wonderful painterly effect as well.

Stan

You have an uncanny ability to be in the right place, at the right time, with the perfect sky, perfect water, and perfect scene! Amazing!

Stan

Actually, Texas has only two seasons - Summer and Not Summer.

Stan

Having lived in the DFW area for 23 years, I'll have to say that standing on a bridge in the dark in that part of Dallas takes some cahones!

Stan

Nos 1 and 6 are Mercs aren't they? They are way cool!

Stan

Beautiful images! The colors are gorgeous! It seems to my eye that the colors in a landscape are more saturated in wet overcast conditions and you captured that wonderfully.

Stan

I get notifications about transactions with Apple and other online merchants all the time that tell me to enter critical information about my account. These are phishing scams. Never click on, or enter your account info, through one of these emails! You can got to your account yourself to check on and or dispute transactions.

Stan

Being a mere 5-1/2 feet tall myself, I feel your pain! Check this out:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Werner-16-ft-Aluminum-Folding-Multi-Position-Ladder-with-300-lb-Load-Capacity-M1A-8-16B/100658412

Looks like it would fold up to about four feet in length, making it fit in a car trunk and much easier to carry. It can also be set up as a scaffold with the middle section horizontal section about four feet off the ground.

Stan

Minolta lenses have a distinctive notch in the mount flange counter-clockwise from the aperture stop-down lever. This one doesn't seem to have that notch - at least it's not visible on the downloaded image. The shape of the vertical flange that shields the aperture lever looks just like the K-mount lens I have on my K1000. However, the slanted corner of that flange certainly doesn't look as smoothly machined as it should. I think the lens mount is a Pentax K mount - it certainly looks like the one on my Pentax. Of course, my familiarity with camera mounts is pretty narrow, since I've never owned a Nikon, Canon, Leica, Yashica ILC, Contax, Mamiya, etc., etc.

Stan

I'll take the megapixels over the fps any day!

Stan