What's wrong with this camera/lens combo...?

Groucho

Why a duck?
Joined
Jan 16, 2006
Messages
5,903
Notice anything a little, well, unusual about this lens on this camera?

PentaxNikkor-01.jpg


Let's take a closer look... notice the lettering by the top of the frame...

PentaxNikkor-02.jpg


That says "Nikkor" on it... yup, a Nikon lens mounted on a Pentax! Here's another one.

PentaxNikkor-03.jpg


Here's a shot of the smaller lens on the K100D along with a "loaner" lens cap on the larger one, with its big velvet-lined leather case in the background.

PentaxNikkor-04.jpg


Here's proof that you can indeed mount Nikon F-mount pre-AI lenses on the Pentax. The two here are a Nikkor-P 105mm F2.5 and a Nikkor-Q 20cm (that's 200mm to most of us!) F4.0 with built-in hood (pulled out in the first photo.) Both date from somewhere in the early 1960s. I picked these up from a local Craigslist ad where, surprisingly, these had apparently been used on a Pentax film SLR for a number of years. (They belonged to a deceased relative of the seller, so he didn't know any details.) I passed on the camera but decided to pick up the lenses after some hemming and hawing. They are in very, very nice condition but missing their caps. The 20cm came with its (huge) leather case and the 105mm came with a clear plastic "tub", which seems quite strange? I also got a vintage Nikkor polarizing filter (in box) and another Nikkor lens shade. The 20cm will probably be going on eBay in the next day or two as it's OK but nothing spectacular, but I'll probably hang on to the 105mm - it seems to produce quite nice lenses. It's a little silly as I already have a Super Takumar 105mm which is quite a bit smaller and probably even better optically (I haven't done a direct comparison yet) and a Lester A Dine 105mm macro, one of the best macro lenses ever by most reports... so I'm getting a little overloaded in the 105mm department! :)

They mount a little "crooked" on the Pentaxes, with only maybe a 3/4-inch or so turn. They are quite snug though, I have no fear of one falling off in normal use. Apparently different lenses mount somewhat differently, some even click into place like a proper K-mount lens. Infinity focus is not an issue (I think they focus just past infinity.) I've heard of some people successfully mounting Ai lenses, too, but it sounds like that's much more hit-or-miss.

Here's a shot from the 105mm, along with a 100% crop. These were taken with the K20D so the 100% crop is from a 14.6mp image. This was wide open, at F2.5.

Nikkor105-01.jpg


Nikkor105-01-100.jpg


Not too shabby! Here's a shot from the 20cm, I think it was stopped down a little but I don't remember how much.

Nikkor200-01.jpg


...and a 100% crop. Not quite as sharp as the 105mm, I think.

Nikkor200-01-100.jpg
 
Nice find Groucho!

Haven't had much luck with our local Craigslist finding anything nearly as intersting.

Are there adapters involved or are they a variation of the bayonet mount?
 
I have the Craigslist photo RSS feed set up in Mozilla Thunderbird and it automatically forwards any messages with "Pentax" in the title to my main inbox. That helps me stay on top of the ads. :teeth:

There's no adapter necessary - the Nikon F mount is a bayonet very similar to the K-mount. The later ones have more stuff hanging out the bottom that infers with mounting on the K-mount, but the old ones are very simple, with no electronics, so they slide right on. :)
 












Receive up to $1,000 in Onboard Credit and a Gift Basket!
That’s right — when you book your Disney Cruise with Dreams Unlimited Travel, you’ll receive incredible shipboard credits to spend during your vacation!
CLICK HERE











DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest DIS Tiktok DIS Twitter DIS Bluesky

Back
Top Bottom