LENS ADAPTATIONS I: Pentax K Lenses On Olympus Digital Bodies

One of the great joys of the Olympus E-System for me is to be able to use legacy lenses from different manufacturers on a digital platform. The E-System has perhaps the most adaptable mount in the industry, surpassing even the Canon EOS mount.

Now why would you want to use old, manual focus lenses on an E-1, say, when there are many great Zuiko Digital lenses out there? Well, for one, you now open yourself up to a vast array of choices for great lenses, some esoteric stuff, some legendary stuff, and many at bargain prices. The other answer is why not?

As an example, the image above shows the E-1 with the classic Pentax 40mm f/2.8 pancake lens. The equivalent Pentax 40mm Limited lens of today goes for about $300 or so. This old lens can be gotten for a little over $100, sometimes less on Ebay. The adapter was an el-cheapo I got on Ebay for $20. On the E-1, the 40mm Pentax becomes an 80mm f/2.8 due to the 2x conversion of the 4/3 sensor.

The lens had to be modified to fit the adapter. The lens aperture lever had to be modified (cut, slightly) to fit into this adapter. I hate to "butcher" any lens, but have become quite proficient at it, adapting several lenses for myself, and others. Adapting lenses for the Sigma dslrs was even worse, as I had to crudely sand down the plastic on the rear of the lenses to get a fit. But in the end, it's the usability, and my comrades were happy to have some nice, manual focus lenses to use on their machines. None of these modifications are particularly difficult, only a little time consuming to get it right. If you're not inclined to do it yourself, I may be offering a service for a nominal fee in the future.

There are other, more expensive Pentax K to E-System adapters out there, and I am not sure if they allow a perfect fit for the K lenses to the E-System, but if you have a vast array of K lenses, it would be worth checking out.

Results? The 40mm f/2.8 pancake was a little soft wide open, excellent stopped down. I wouldn't say it was better or worse than any other standard lens out there. It does have nicer bokeh wide open to my eyes than most standard 50mm lenses. But other than being 10mm wider, the only real difference between the pancake, and say, your plain-jane 50mm f/1.8 is simply the "cool-factor" in how it looks when mounted on your camera. For that the lens gets a 10!

Tech Note: "Bamboo," Olympus E-1 with 40mm f/2.8 Pentax @ 2.8

Copyright 2006 Sam Charupakorn