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Help with Pentax lens
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 23, 2014 8:08 pm    Post subject: Help with Pentax lens Reply with quote

Me again guys,

I am trying to build up my collection and I am wondering if an SMC Pentax M50mm f1.2 is a good bet to add as my prime 50mm lens.

I am using a Pentax K-50 and want to make sure there are no issues.

Thanks in advance for all your help

Regards,

Gavin


PostPosted: Sun Mar 23, 2014 8:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Common mistake, but that lens in the picture is an f2, not f1.2.

It'll work fine, but I recommend picking up an Pentax A 50 f2 instead, it will allow all metering modes and P-TTL flash. They are a decent lens, though under appreciated. I have 2 M series and an A series, I keep the A series on my K100D almost all them time as a general purpose lens. They are all optically identical.


PostPosted: Sun Mar 23, 2014 8:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Personally I'd spend a little more and get the 50/1.7 version, it's a cracker!


PostPosted: Sun Mar 23, 2014 8:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi,

I agree with Graham, go for SMC Pentax-M 50 f/1.7 and very often you could find one in very good condition for a small money.
I had SMC Pentax-M 50 f/2 and sell it for about £10 just after I bought SMC Pentax-M 50 f/1.7 for £5 in pristine condition Wink.

They both worked very well in strong light, but f/1.7 ver. was a lot sharper than f/2 and f/2 version had very annoying glow when using wide open. I'm not sure, maybe it was just my copy, but it looked very well and clear so I assume it's just less good than f/1.7 version.

I'm using them on Canon 600d and tried them both on my friend's Pentax K5 and worked fine. However as elliott said, maybe you should invest in Pentax-A series, from what I read, their build quality is worst than M series (they're plastic instead of metal), but they have electric connectors which allows you to use them more comfortably on Pentax bodies. As I saw on my friends K5 you need to press green button with M series for camera to set exposure, as I understand with A series camera will set exposure automatically, but I hope some friend who has Pentax will step in and correct me if I'm wrong. It certainly depends on how do you shoot, I mainly set exposure manual so I would go for M series as it's cheaper and build like tank, but if you prefer Aperture Priority shooting, than A series maybe more comfortable.
I'm not sure if M and A series are identical in terms of optics quality and setup however, I've never had any of A series in hand so I cannot say.

Mateusz


PostPosted: Sun Mar 23, 2014 8:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

PhantomLord wrote:

I'm using them on Canon 600d and tried them both on my friend's Pentax K5 and worked fine. However as elliott said, maybe you should invest in Pentax-A series, from what I read, their build quality is worst than M series (they're plastic instead of metal), but they have electric connectors which allows you to use them more comfortably on Pentax bodies.

The A series are still mostly metal construction. The aperture ring is plastic and the name ring is plastic.

PhantomLord wrote:

As I saw on my friends K5 you need to press green button with M series for camera to set exposure, as I understand with A series camera will set exposure automatically, but I hope some friend who has Pentax will step in and correct me if I'm wrong. It certainly depends on how do you shoot, I mainly set exposure manual so I would go for M series as it's cheaper and build like tank, but if you prefer Aperture Priority shooting, than A series maybe more comfortable.

Beyond the automated modes, the A series is nicer for manual mode. An M lens must be stopped down to meter, that is what the green button is doing, an A lens can meter wide open. The K-50 has two dials, so an A series lens is very nice to use.

PhantomLord wrote:

I'm not sure if M and A series are identical in terms of optics quality and setup however, I've never had any of A series in hand so I cannot say.


In the case of the 50/1.7 and 50/2 they are identical optically. The 50/1.4 K, M and A series are all different optically.


PostPosted: Sun Mar 23, 2014 9:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks elliott for correcting me, I wasn't sure about how you can handle those lenses on Pentax bodies. After what you wrote, I would go for A series Wink for Pentax, especially if they're optically identical to M series.

I actually don't know about price difference as I was always looking for M series as I'm using them on Canon (so A series wouldn't change anything in terms of ease of use), but I pretty sure they reach higher price tags.

Mateusz


PostPosted: Sun Mar 23, 2014 10:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lots of options for K-mount fifty: Ricoh, Chinon, Cosina as well as pentax, and then of course there's M42 options starting with the takumars. They're all at least decent, and taks of course have an excellent reputation.


PostPosted: Sun Mar 23, 2014 10:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I both use and collect, and Pentax is, in both DSLR and SLR, my personal camera of choice in 35mm.

If you want an f1.2, you are going to have to drop about $500.00 US for one. I've not seen any cheaper on Evil Bay, so if you do, PM me! I had one once, but sold it because I'm an idiot. Laughing

It's sharp wide open, and critical sharp by f5.6, maybe the best f1.2 ever put out by anybody. That being said, I think the sharpest normal lens Pentax produced was the M Series 50mm f1.4. It's sharp even wide open. They can be had or $125 or so, and this would be my recommendation. It is NOT the same design as the A series f1.4, which is also a great lens, but not as sharp wide open or at f2 or so. I always use my Kx or K10 on manual, so the automatic mode availability on the A series is not an issue, and certainly not worth spending the extra 75 bucks or so it will cost.

If you are collecting them, you'll want all of them, but if you're after a user, go the f1.4. The M series is sharper than the f1.7 A series, but if you're after a great lens on a budget, I don't think you'd do better than the f1.7. The f2 lens doesn't have the crispess of any of them and I'd avoid it.

Another alternative is the 50mm A series f2.8 Macro, which might be the sharpest lens I've ever used. If you don't mind the f2.8 and are going to use it outdoors, this is dazzling glass.


PostPosted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 3:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

haha, definitely opinions differ Wink
the M 1.7/50 is an excellent lens and many users recommend it, me too, but prefer the 1.4/50 any time. Again the Pentax M 1.4/50 is a great performer, not much to criticize in theory, but for some reason I find the results somewhat boring as compared to those from earlier Takumars and also the later A version.
If used on a Pentax dSLR the A version, as explained by elliot, certainly has advantages, the only thing I don't like about A lenses is their often more clunky aperture ring


PostPosted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 4:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

kuuan wrote:
the only thing I don't like about A lenses is their often more clunky aperture ring

Which is not an issue on Pentax since you just leave it on A and control aperture with the body.

I have the M 50/1.4 too and agree, a technically awesome lens, but without much in the way of personality. I mostly find myself using it on the front of my Vivitar macro teleconverter. No shortage of 50s with plenty of personality though.


PostPosted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 4:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

elliott wrote:
kuuan wrote:
the only thing I don't like about A lenses is their often more clunky aperture ring

Which is not an issue on Pentax since you just leave it on A and control aperture with the body.


right! thank's for pointing that out!

elliott wrote:
I have the M 50/1.4 too and agree, a technically awesome lens, but without much in the way of personality. I mostly find myself using it on the front of my Vivitar macro teleconverter. No shortage of 50s with plenty of personality though.


haha, it seems that the M 1.7/50 and also the M 1.4/50 are the ones that slowly got discovered by non-Pentaxians, but..just as you say Wink


PostPosted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I cant bring myself to sell my M 50 f2's

I have... Heck four of them, :s

I prefer the M's then then the a's just for the quality of the aperture ring.

And I'm a control freak :p


PostPosted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

tromboads wrote:
I cant bring myself to sell my M 50 f2's

I have... Heck four of them, :s

I prefer the M's then then the a's just for the quality of the aperture ring.

And I'm a control freak :p


Enjoy them. I have two. One of them is very good, the other mediocre. I've had many pass through my hands, and they haven't seemed to be as consistent as the f1.4s or f1.7s. I've had only one f1.2 and it was really excellent. But stop any lens down to f5.6 and it will be sharp - it's those open and one-stop-down apertures that are critical to raise a fast lens into the superb category.

My post above mentioned the M series f1.4 as being the sharpest of the normal lenses - not just my opinion. God, in the form of Herbert Keppler, did a lens test of all major brands of normal f1.4s, somewhere back in the early '70s if I remember correctly. The Pentax M f1.4 beat out Leica, Zeiss, Nikon et al to take the kewpie doll.

I've had only one, still have it, and you'll have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers. I do confess to being concerned only about sharpness - color cast, "look", that kind of thing is very subjective and a matter of personal taste - and I can alter that in post-processing or the darkroom. But resolution, no. Garbage in, garbage out.

I'm reminded of a friend of mine who is an international class target shooter (another of my hobbies.) He says "the only interesting rifle is an accurate rifle."