Rikenon P 50mm and Pentax M 50mm f1.4

[Zeeke]

I might have paid a little too much given the condition on this Rikenon P 50mm f1.4.But I was curious about it and it seems worth it...
A few meaningless pictures from the first round with the lens they are jpg just scaled down and sharpened,all att f1.4

[Zeeke]

This lens have better wide open contrast than any othe Mf f1.4 50mm i have tried,8 elements Takumar.Revuenon 55mm f1.2 and Zeiss Planar(Contax and ZK) are close,I think it's as good as a good 50mm f1.8 like for example Rollie planar or Olympus Om.

[wolan]

[Zeeke]

Does anybody know anything about this lens it doesn't seems that common.is there any clones? Sears.Chinon or other.

[caspert79]

Is this a Tomioka made lens? In that case it is very common and sold under a wide range of brand names.

Plenty of sharpness with this lens. I find the bokeh a bit harsh though.

[Zeeke]

No it's a newer K mount Ricoh 50mm but the bokeh reminds me of the Revuenon 55mm f1.2 and that lens could be based on a Tomioka design.

This lens is it

https://www.pentaxforums.com/userreviews/ricoh-50mm-rikenon-p-f-1-4.html

[caspert79]

I couldn't say for sure. Depending on the picture the bokeh is quite pleasant actually.
Sharpness quite remarkable at f/1.4.

[y]

Looking great. Bokeh is not that great, but the rest is.

It seems to be a part of the Cosina's K mount lens family (Revuenon == Rikenon == Cosinon). These lenses were designed for Ricoh XR cameras. IIRC, they were available even in 90's. So it is a quite recent technology.

[Zeeke]

It's easy to get carried away...... I bought a Pentax M 50mm f1.4 for about half the price of the Rikenon and I thought I should try it and at the same time compare it to the Rikenon.
And was I surprised when it's as sharp and contrasted as the Rikenon.
Either this camera is very good with fast lenses or this M is exceptional because I have had Ms before and the were hazy wide open.outside or the center Rikenon is sharper.

[itsfozzy]

I had a Chinon 50/1.4 which was suspiciously similar to the ubiquitous Tomioka 55/1.4, it's a shame I did not have a 55/1.4 to compare it with at the time, as it would not have surprised me if they were the same lens.

Neither lens is in my view special, although others disagree with me. One thing I've learnt about assessing lens performance, is that it's impossible to truly compare lenses unless the the comparison shots are taken within seconds of each other or the conditions are controlled. A great lens can under perform in some circumstances and an average lens can be stellar in great light.

[Zeeke]

Yes it's not easy testing lenses some times you just have too trust your feeling because the results may vary.Sample variation makes big impact on wide open performance which makes it even harder to say something for sure.

[Zeeke]

I have done some more comparison shots between the M and Rikenon and the M have a little better center sharpness/details but the Rikenon has a little more contrast.
The M surprises me because a think it's sharper than the best of the SMC Takumars I have owned but the Takumars may have an edge in contrast.