Lenses for mountain photography

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 Only a hill 03 Nov 2014
I'm enjoying playing around with my new 35mm cameras. My collection now consists of an Olympus Trip, an original Spotmatic (with broken light meter) and a Pentax MV1 (manual aperture but automatic shutter speed).

I'm by no means averse to using a handheld meter with the Spotmatic, but it's quite a heavy rig—so for hill use I'm leaning towards the MV1, which has a Pentax K lens mount.

At the moment I have a 35-70mm lens. I'm thinking about what other lenses, if any, I might find useful for mountain photography. The key considerations are versatility and weight.

If you were only going to take one or two lenses into the hills, what would you choose? A 35mm and a 135mm, maybe, or some other combination? Perhaps just a 50mm and nothing else? The 35-70mm lens I already have is quite versatile but it's also large and heavy.
 dek 03 Nov 2014
In reply to Only a hill:

There is no easy answer to 'what lens' you want to use, It all depends on the kind of image perspective you want to portray.
You could look at any of Gordon's books for info on how he made an image, with the gear etc.
You could also save the 'weight' of a light meter, by using an app on your mobile phone?
In reply to Only a hill:

When I used my Pentax ME Super on the hill I took a 28 & a 50mm lens - I found the 35 just wasn't wide enough for some scenes. They both took the same size filters which was useful - I was using mono film so a yellow & red filter were always in the kit.
 PPP 03 Nov 2014
In reply to Only a hill:

I used to use a 50mm lens on film camera. It covers pretty much everything, but I sometimes wanted a 100mm lens. I still wish I had a little bit longer lens for this photo: https://www.dropbox.com/s/zr4fhluxz8dmziz/69900033.JPG?dl=0 .

Now I use Lumix 20mm F/1.7 and Sigma 60mm F/2.8 on Olympus E-PL5, so 40mm and 120mm on Full Frame. Take a look at my photos, most of them are taken with these lenses. I am quite happy with such range as I don't like taking too wide photos.
OP Only a hill 03 Nov 2014
In reply to dek:

> You could also save the 'weight' of a light meter, by using an app on your mobile phone?

I was referring to the overall weight of the Spotmatic camera compared to the MV1, but you're right — I have found a light meter app that seems to work pretty well.

Thanks for your other tips.
OP Only a hill 03 Nov 2014
In reply to keith-ratcliffe:

> When I used my Pentax ME Super on the hill I took a 28 & a 50mm lens - I found the 35 just wasn't wide enough for some scenes. They both took the same size filters which was useful - I was using mono film so a yellow & red filter were always in the kit.

Thanks. I believe the ME Super is similar to the MV1. Out of interest, did you ever have any issues with the electronics in temperatures below freezing?
 dek 03 Nov 2014
In reply to Only a hill:

I took mine up point five in the early eighties, where it was doused in continous spindrift, and still worked a treat.
If you get one, the tiny 40 mm 'pancake' Pentax lens is a cracker!
In reply to Only a hill:
I have 2 ME Supers and both have proved very reliable - I used one of them for some fairly cold winter trips in England but not deep frozen stuff so I can't vouch for that.
OP Only a hill 03 Nov 2014
In reply to keith-ratcliffe:

The only fault I've seen so far on my MV1 is that the exposure counter doesn't advance. I gather it's a common problem, but it doesn't bother me—I've taped a bit of card on the back so I can keep a tally of how many shots I've fired.
In reply to Only a hill:
Just looked up the MV1 which seems to be very similar to the ME Super except it is aperture priority only. The joy of the MES was its fully manual mode which I normally used - set the aperture on the lens and adjust the shutter using the LEDS in the viewfinder according to the scene. It also had a simple compensation dial for -2 to +2 stops.
I rarely had an unusable negative.
 Hannes 03 Nov 2014
In reply to Only a hill:

I'd without a doubt get either a 24 or 35mm lens depending on the mood, probably a 24. Combine the 24 with a 135mm and you have a great set
Dorq 03 Nov 2014
In reply to Only a hill:

My preference would be for 28 and 85 (or 50 if you cannot afford 85). Outdoors does not often need the large max aperture lenses, so they should be reasonably priced at about f3.5. A 35-70mm will leave you wanting a wider option (both angle of view and max aperture), but if you are prepared to foot zoom - often going further back from the subject - then 35mm at the wide end is manageable. For just a single lens, 28mm would be my choice as 24mm gets everything but also misses something aesthetically, especially with foreground subjects (unless they are in your face, which is a separate aesthetic anyway).
OP Only a hill 04 Nov 2014
In reply to Only a hill:

Thanks for your input, everyone. I must admit I hadn't really thought about a wide angle lens, but after looking through my mountain photography a lot of it is either wide angle or heavily zoomed in (to capture a particular detail).

I'm definitely going to purchase a 28mm lens, and will look into getting a telephoto as well.
 malk 04 Nov 2014
In reply to Only a hill:

i would have thought a Kodak vest pocket is the camera for you..
 malk 04 Nov 2014
In reply to Only a hill:

this site is a good resource for pentax lenses eg http://www.pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/SMC-Pentax-M-28mm-F2.8-Lens.html which is pretty good and cheap (got mine for about 20 quid)
 felt 09 Nov 2014
In reply to malk:

> i would have thought a Kodak vest pocket is the camera for you..

That would be tempting fate.
 Skyfall 09 Nov 2014
In reply to Only a hill:

Yes, a 24 or 28mm plus something longer.

The electronics on my old and beloved ME Super went years ago.
 malk 09 Nov 2014
In reply to felt: maybe this then? http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Agfa_Record_I
100MP in my pocket..

 felt 10 Nov 2014
In reply to malk:

But you've got big pockets.
OP Only a hill 10 Nov 2014
In reply to Skyfall:

I have settled on the following lens combo:

28mm f2.8
50mm f1.7
2x teleconverter (probably won't carry this all the time, but useful if I need to get closer to a subject).
In reply to Only a hill:
Nice thread, though it appears I'm a little tardy! The previous recommendation of the pentax forums is a good one, as it's an excellent rescource. I sport a Pentax SV, (similar to the Spotmatic but without a meter; though I have a Gossen Profisix for that), with the GDR Pentacon 30mm f3.5, (great perspective in most situations), and a Super Takumar 55mm f1.8. I've been looking at the following wide angles:

Tamron 17mm f3.5
Tamron 24mm f2.8
MIR 20mm f3.5 (though is allegedly heavy).
Super/SMC Takumar 17mm or 24mm (if money was no object!).
Post edited at 09:59

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