For 25 years I have used my trusty old Pentax KM 35 mm SLR.

Can I buy a digital Pentax body only and use my SLR lenses (bayonet type)?

If so where can I look for prices please. Hope this isn't a daft question. DL

:eek:He said Pentax - STONE HIM!:eek:

Pentax? :confused:

I think the only digi SLRs available are the 300D and the D70, no others exist as far as I'm aware! :Suspiciou

My lenses fit both my 35mm and my 300D but that's Canon, I should imagine these Pentax people you mention will be the same :) You could always take your lenses into a shop and check :)

Pentax, it'll never catch on! :D

Didn't know I had mentioned the "P" word :D

I asked because I was chatting to a chap (well the Landlord actually :) ) who has a Cannon 300D and made this suggestion. But I think he paid circa £900 for the Cannon and that is before you start adding fancy lenses. That is out of my budget which led me to the Pentax question.

At the risk of being flamed beyond recognition what is wrong with Pentax - mine has lasted 25 years and still going strong?

DL

Nowt wrong with Pentax SLR's known a good few pro's who have had one in their bag. It is also worth considering adapter rings to convert to another format if required, although you may loose some functionality. Not sure if Richo are doing digital SLR's but their standard SLRs took a Pentax K mount.

What is the mount type of your lenses? the Pentax DSLRs, the catch-ily named *ist D and *ist DS are available as body only (around £1000 for the D and £650 for the DS) but they use the KA and KAF lens mount.

If the lenses are old they may not be compatible without an adaptor (if one exists)

paul.

I'd definitely want to try it before buying. If you have old lenses, then there is a good chance that they might not work with the latest dslrs. I know the older Sigma lenses had this problem and had to be re-chipped to get them to work with the Canon 10D etc...

Are your old Pentax lenses auto-focus, or manual?
They really need to be a/f to get the best of the modern bodies.

PS: Nowt wrong with Pentax, bodies or glass.:)

Alcazar

They are old manual lenses. I will pop a couple in my pocket and go and see what they fit (if anything). Thanks for all the helpful comments. David

Pentax DSLRs get good reviews. If you have a good investment in glass they are the obvious choice. I believe that all old Pentax lenses will work, but like Nikon, if they are old and manual, you won't get things like TTL metering (or any meterig at all probably), AF etc.

Despite all the badgering that goes on round here, all the entry level DSLRs are very good. You won't be disappointed if you make the move to digital, no matter which route you take.

Geezer

Thanks Geezer,

In fact I've had a little pocket digicamera (Sony P50 2.3m pix) for a couple of years but only just getting to grips with it. However it can't do all the things I wanted to with the old SLR hence the post about digital SLRs.

Having said that the quality that I can get out of the little Sony seems super to me and just as good as a regular photo from the old Pentax. I've got a very poorly doggie at the moment so I wanted to take some pics and I am very happy with the results.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/broquet/Fernie-A.jpg

My other half, did this with his Canon lenses..... bought a really top digi camera but kept his lenses from his SLR and used those. Good luck with the Pentax, and nothing wrong with Pentax, my dad swore by his, bless him !

Nothing wrong with Pentax at all. I've taken thousands of pictures with an ME Super (it finally packed up :-( ) and replaced it with a 2nd-hand Z1 which also takes great pictures.
I have looked at the istDS (only one vaguely in my price range) but it's still pretty pricey (the ME Super was only about £70, and the Z1 £250). The Pentax manual lenses are great - you just need a little more patience to focus properly - so I'd rather not replace them if possible!
I've now also got a Canon Powershot G5 for when I want digital photos which gives a lot of the SLR-type control without the need to carry lenses around.

Edited to add: there's also a lot to be said about technique rather than chucking £100's of technologyt at photography.