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Pentax 200mm f/2.5
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PostPosted: Tue May 14, 2019 10:11 pm    Post subject: Pentax 200mm f/2.5 Reply with quote

Anyone with this lens?

It has caught my eye lately, any good?


PostPosted: Tue May 14, 2019 10:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It is a rare lens with mixed reviews.
I don't have one , sorry, so no direct experience with it.
From reviews, I got the impression that while it was faster, it was actually not as good as the SMC Pentax A* 200mm F2.8 ED or the SMC Pentax FA* 200mm F2.8 ED.
Yet it is priced near to those by sellers - because of its rarity I suppose.
I will be interested to hear from any other photographers who might have actually used it
Tom


PostPosted: Wed May 15, 2019 6:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't own one either, but with that fast of a wide open aperture, a 200mm lens almost has to have ED glass. Consider the Nikon 180/2.8 ED and the Tamron 180/2.5 ED. Which benefit greatly from having that ED glass. Then consider another lens very similar to that Pentax, and a lens that also garners mixed reviews -- the Canon nFD 200/2.8. Mostly its mixed reviews have to do with the loads of CAs it produces under certain situations. I went to the Pentax Forums website and read up on this lens. First of all, it's an old model -- the oldest fast K-mount 200mm lens, in fact. Second, it also garnered mixed reviews there. Some folks loved it, others found that it had way too much CAs. So, speaking as one who's had a lot of experience with the Canon, which has similar issues, all I can say is, you gotta be aware of its limitations in order to get the most out of it.


PostPosted: Thu May 16, 2019 7:01 pm    Post subject: Re: Pentax 200mm f/2.5 Reply with quote

Nordentro wrote:
Anyone with this lens?

Yes!

Nordentro wrote:
It has caught my eye lately, any good?

Yes!


cooltouch wrote:
I don't own one either, but with that fast of a wide open aperture, a 200mm lens almost has to have ED glass. Consider the Nikon 180/2.8 ED and the Tamron 180/2.5 ED. Which benefit greatly from having that ED glass. Then consider another lens very similar to that Pentax, and a lens that also garners mixed reviews -- the Canon nFD 200/2.8.
Mostly its mixed reviews have to do with the loads of CAs it produces under certain situations. I went to the Pentax Forums website and read up on this lens. First of all, it's an old model -- the oldest fast K-mount 200mm lens, in fact. Second, it also garnered mixed reviews there. Some folks loved it, others found that it had way too much CAs. So, speaking as one who's had a lot of experience with the Canon, which has similar issues, all I can say is, you gotta be aware of its limitations in order to get the most out of it.


I do have quite a few fast 200mm vintage MF and AF lenses, among them the Minolta AF 2.8/200 APO, the Nikkor AF 2.8/180 IF-ED, and - apart from the mentioned Pentax 2.5/200mm - also the Canon FD 2.8/200, the nFD 2.8/200 IF, the Minolta MD-II/MD-III 2.8/200 and the original computatione of the 2.8/180mm CZJ Sonnar.

The Pentax is quite soft wide open, while having a good detail resolution. This makes it very suitable for portraits. CAs are there, of course, but i like their soft blueish/yellow tint better than the pronounced magenta/green CAs of the Canons and the Minoltas. In fact, the rendering of the Pentax is similar to the early 1950s CZJ Sonnar 2.8/180mm, a nother lens i really like for portraits.

If you want a tack sharp, high contrast landscape lens, the something like the MinAF 2.8/200mm certainly is a better choice ...

Stephan

PS the Hexanon AR 3.5/200mm (second computation) has a similar rendering as the Pentax 2.5/200mm, but of course the pentax is faster and has more background blur ...


PostPosted: Thu May 16, 2019 8:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The old 200mm Takumar 3.5 with the preset aperture is an excellent lens also.


PostPosted: Thu May 16, 2019 9:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Pentax 200mm F2.5 and the Pentax 135mm F2.5 use virtually the same optical formula, suggesting that the 200mm is a scaled up version of the 135mm.



PostPosted: Fri May 17, 2019 11:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thx guys for valuble comments. I see his lens as quite affordable compared to its speed. I don't mind some CA as most of it can be corrected in post. Would just be fun to test out some speedy 200s without spending to much.


PostPosted: Fri May 17, 2019 11:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Gerald wrote:
The Pentax 200mm F2.5 and the Pentax 135mm F2.5 use virtually the same optical formula, suggesting that the 200mm is a scaled up version of the 135mm.



it looks very similar indeed, thx Wink