Pentax K to Nikon F Adapter

Tom Taylor · May 30, 2015

Hi all,

I want to mount a Pentax 85mm soft f2.2 lens on a Nikon F6 body. What adapter(s), new or used, are best for this?

Thomas

f/16 · May 30, 2015

You could probably find an inexpensive adapter on Ebay, but the flange distance on Nikon is longer so there's no way it would focus to infinity. It could be for macro use only. The only way infinity focus could be achieved is if there's a glass element in the adapter, and that would degrade image quality.

Tom Taylor · May 30, 2015

Thanks Bill.

I guess that I have no other option than to go with the inexpensive FotodioX Adapter ($40.00). After all the years of competing lens and camera brands, I thought that the adapters had been worked out long ago. Since the Pentax lens is a soft focus with aperature 2.2 to 5.6 (max), maybe I can use it with the glass removed and since it is soft focus maybe it wouldn't matter.

Thomas

cuthbert · May 30, 2015

Why don't you buy a good Pentax K body? There are many on the market and most of them excellent cameras.

Tom Taylor · May 30, 2015

I started out with Pentax and still have 2 K1000 and a PZ1P body with lens. I also have the 645NII and 67II. But I am now using the F6 for 35mm photography and would not want to carry another body just for soft focus shots. I thought about an adapter for the P67 120 soft which is a fantastic lens but the 85mm would be closer to a 35mm normal as the 120 is to 6x7.

Too bad Nikon didn't make a soft focus lens.

Thomas

Fixcinater · May 30, 2015

Yes, I know it is backwards from your situation so maybe it is of limited help and yes, I know it says digital in the URL but just read the content:

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/...ion/93569-nikon-f-mount-lens-pentax-dslr.html

removed-user-1 · May 30, 2015

Fixcinator is right, the F-mount and K-mount bayonets are very similar, and it might fit well enough. If that's not workable, you could always try actually replacing the Pentax mount on your 85mm with a Nikon mount, if you really don't plan to use the Pentax lens on anything besides a Nikon body.

Gerald C Koch · May 30, 2015

At one time you could get a soft focus filter. The idea being that the glass for the filter was imperfect enough to give a softer image to any lens. You can also use a small embroidery hoop with a bit of fine black netting to break up the image and cause the same effect. This can be done on both the camera or on the enlarger. A skylight filter with a very small amount of petroleum jelly also works. Use a cheap filter as it is almost impossible to get all the jelly completely off the glass.

Tom Taylor · May 30, 2015

None of that is a "soft focus" lens Gerald. A soft focus lens is one that exhibits spherical aberration in an artful way such as the Pentax, Imagon, Verito/Verito, etc. Filters, stockings, petroleum jelly, etc don't do it.

Thomas

Gerald C Koch · May 31, 2015

Tom Taylor said:
None of that is a "soft focus" lens Gerald. A soft focus lens is one that exhibits spherical aberration in an artful way such as the Pentax, Imagon, Verito/Verito, etc. Filters, stockings, petroleum jelly, etc don't do it.

Thomas

Technically yes, but the overall effect of the methods suggested produces a very similar effect to the average viewer. That is to soften detail and reduce contrast. Both techniques are loosely called "soft focus." The following link advertises one such filter. Note the entry title. Dead Link Removed

Some of the lenses use an internal perforated metal disk looking something like a sink strainer to increase the aberrations. With the filter I mentioned the amount of softening can also be adjusted by varying the aperture just like "the real thing."

My intent was to point out a simple and low cost alternative to the Pentax lens which could not be used on the Nikon camera.

Steve Smith · May 31, 2015

The only practical way is to replace the mount. I put a Nikon mount onto an M42 Helios 44 a while ago. You lose the automatic stop down mechanism though and the metering will not work.

Steve.

cuthbert · May 31, 2015

Steve Smith said:
The only practical way is to replace the mount. I put a Nikon mount onto an M42 Helios 44 a while ago. You lose the automatic stop down mechanism though and the metering will not work.

Steve.

Sorry Steve, it doesn't sound too practical at all!

Small Me super body, that's practical and weights very little.

I don't understand why some people are obsessed by doing major surgeries with lenses in order to make them work with bodies they were never meant to work with, for instance once I bought a nice Flektogon 20mm f2.8 for a good price, I thought it was a M42 but it was a B bayonet lens, so I looked for a good Praktica BC1 to use it with that lens and spent £10 in the efford.

gone · May 31, 2015

I understand where the op is coming from. It's not practical to have a different camera for every lens you wish to shoot. I always fit Leica R lenses w/ an inexpensive lens mount adapter that allows me to shoot them on my Nikon cameras. Who would want to carry two cameras when they go out to shoot when you can just carry one, and its the camera you want to shoot w/ anyway?

I also have my N8008s and FG cameras hacked so that I can shoot non AI lenses in stop down mode. I have a Nikkormat, but the little FG is much lighter and smaller, and makes a great setup because you can use the AE feature to achieve exposure very quickly, as it automatically sets it as you stop the lens down. Yes, I could have converted the non AI lens to AI, but the camera hack takes only about 1 minute and converting the lens is fiddley work w/ all that filing and measuring. And I would have to convert every "new" non AI lens that came my way.

Steve Smith · May 31, 2015

cuthbert said:
Sorry Steve, it doesn't sound too practical at all!

It was quite easy: (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

momus said:
I also have my N8008s and FG cameras hacked so that I can shoot non AI lenses in stop down mode.

Do you have any details of this or a link?

Steve.

Chan Tran · May 31, 2015

If you want to shoot film with the Pentax lens buy a Pentax body. It's cheaper than an adapter.

removed-user-1 · May 31, 2015

A quick thought about "major surgery" and adapting lenses: some of us enjoy tinkering. Just like I enjoy playing with developer formulas. There's no other reason for that, I could stick to Tri-X and D76 and be quite happy, but I like making different developers from scratch, just to see what happens.

Also, I really like shooting with my F3, over any other camera I've ever used, therefore I like to use lenses that fit it, or if they don't, make them fit. It's just a different approach from having multiple camera systems, an affliction I also have suffered and found very frustrating.

cuthbert · May 31, 2015

Steve Smith said:
It was quite easy: (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

I find unpractical converting this lens and losing the stop down and metering functions...I don't see the point of that operation, sorry.

P.S. An Helios was made in N mount, but it's the 81 made by Kiev Arsenal, it's not the same as the 44 and doesn't have the swirly bokeh, still it's a nice lens:

The 44 was indeed available as 44K and it's also an excellent lens, another good reason to have a small K body beside the 85 mm soft focus.

Tom Taylor · May 31, 2015

I ordered this adapter from B&H last night: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/995090-REG/fotodiox_pk_nk_g_pro_nikon_f_mount_lens.html

Hopefully this will solve the problem and I will have a quality soft focus option for the F6. I'll post a follow-up on the results.

Thomas

Steve Smith · May 31, 2015

cuthbert said:
I find unpractical converting this lens and losing the stop down and metering functions...I don't see the point of that operation,

You don't have to see the point. I did it for me, not you!

Steve.

frank · May 31, 2015

momus said:
... I always fit Leica R lenses w/ an inexpensive lens mount adapter that allows me to shoot them on my Nikon cameras. ...

Hello. I'm interested in doing this as well. With the adaptor that you have, can the Leica R lens focus to infinity? Does the adaptor that you have, have a glass element?

I also love the "lesser" Nikons (FG and 801s) for their lesser size and weight compared to my Nikkormats and various F's, and my Leica SL weighs like a brick!

cuthbert · May 31, 2015

Steve Smith said:
You don't have to see the point. I did it for me, not you!

Steve.

Very intelligent and respectful answer, sorry if i doubted of your mental sanity regarding this operation, the above post removed all my doubts on the matter.

Tom Taylor · Jun 6, 2015

UPDATE

After sitting in LA Customs for 3 days both the lens and the adapter were delivered on Thursday and tried it on the F6 yesterday afternoon with the F6 set to lens # 0 where I have not imputed FL aperture data. Works perfectly! You need the glass filter in the adapter to focus on infinity but the image through the lens appears identical with the one through the K1000. Additionally the F6's in-camera focus confirm is spot on as well as the exposure as checked with my Pentax spot meter.

Another Pentax accessory that I tried out yesterday was a Pentax 90 degree Mirror Adapter II lens which allows you to discretely photograph with the lens is pointed 90 degrees away from the subject. The instruction manual accompanying the Adapter says that it is usable with 135mm and 200mm FL lens both Pentax and from other manufactures as long as it meets the FL and aperture requirements (i.e., 135mm f3.5 and 200mm f4.0). I do have a 200mm Pentax f4 but since the adapter's mounting threads are 52mm it mounted directly on my Nikon 130mm f2.8 which I set to f4 and set the camera to the 135mm lens setting that I had previously programmed into the camera. Again it worked perfectly and the in-camera exposure indicator picked-up the correct focal length of the adapter which is fixed at f5.6 regardless of whether or not a 3.5 or 4.0 lens is attached with both exposure and focus indicators spot on.

Thomas

Pentax K to Nikon F Adapter

removed-user-1

removed-user-1

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency