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pentaxforums.com vs allphotolenses.com
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 18, 2015 9:38 pm    Post subject: pentaxforums.com vs allphotolenses.com Reply with quote
Hi,
I use to consult the following resources to evaluate lens quality:
- http://www.pentaxforums.com
- http://allphotolenses.com

Now the ratings are very oft contrasting, look for example at how Takumar lenses are rated (for example the 120mm f2.Cool:

http://www.pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/Pentax-Takumar-M42-Screwmount-Telephoto-Primes-c24.html
http://allphotolenses.com/lenses/brands/c_1/p_3.html

I understand overall ratings are based on user reviews, so there is a lot of subjectiveness involved.
Anyway which web site in your opinion is more trustworthy?

Thanks.


PostPosted: Wed Nov 18, 2015 10:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
You can just ask this forum Smile

I have both smc tak 120/2.8 and pentax K 120/2.8.

The optical formula looks the same (or almost the same), but the K120/2.8 is insanely sharp at all aperture, while the takumar is less sharp but still very good rending.


PostPosted: Wed Nov 18, 2015 10:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
You can read posts already on the forum. Smile Search for them using http://forum.mflenses.com/fs.php?sw=Takumar

You can search for older posts by members Spotmatic and CarbonR and ??? (somebody help me remember please)

For CarbonR there is:

My Takumar Colletion from 15 to 1000mm

and his web site

Takumar - The eyes of the Spotmatic

Others:

AOHC website


PostPosted: Thu Nov 19, 2015 12:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Yes, Pentaxforums is a bit of a circle jerk honestly Laugh 1


PostPosted: Thu Nov 19, 2015 1:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
When I start to look at a lens I hit google with something like 'takumar 120mm site:mflenses.com' and more often than not its a case of Happy Cat


PostPosted: Thu Nov 19, 2015 2:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
tromboads wrote:
Yes, Pentaxforums is a bit of a circle jerk honestly Laugh 1


??? Could you explain what you mean, please. Thanks.


PostPosted: Thu Nov 19, 2015 4:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
at 'allphotolenses' there are hardly any reviews, if I understand right e.g. on the 2.8/120 there actually is none, and if there are some at all seemingly always less than on Pentaxforums which therefore imo is the better source.


PostPosted: Thu Nov 19, 2015 4:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Wolan:

The best is to make a post and ask about the lens, and google it also. Pentax forums has many very experienced people. And others who have their own axes, or just rave about everything or....

It's always that way. On all the forums. Before I buy a new lens I have spent several hours on google with many resources.

Then I hope I get a good copy Smile

I bought a 150/3.5 pentax which was also hard to research, but the 120/2.8 is more rare yet I think. Intentionally soft WO for portraits?


PostPosted: Thu Nov 19, 2015 5:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
That is the key, multiple sources.. and hopefully from different authors Razz Honestly I've found this place to be the best Wink


Quote:
??? Could you explain what you mean, please. Thanks.


A circle jerk? Sure,

link NSFW http://lmgtfy.com/?q=circle+jerk

Still confused? Everyone is there to make sure all have a good time Laughing


PostPosted: Thu Nov 19, 2015 8:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I do trust this forum Smile
It is just that the pentax forums and the allphotolenses website show up in every Google search for MF lenses, so it would be better to know how to handle them.

Have a good day.

hoanpham wrote:
You can just ask this forum Smile

I have both smc tak 120/2.8 and pentax K 120/2.8.

The optical formula looks the same (or almost the same), but the K120/2.8 is insanely sharp at all aperture, while the takumar is less sharp but still very good rending.


PostPosted: Thu Nov 19, 2015 11:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I think the pentax forums are a higher-quality source of information and reviews for the lenses that they cover (generally, Pentax lenses;), while allphotolenses is a good source of specifications about a much wider range of lenses, but I don't pay much attention to their ratings.

(That said, it bothers me in general that in many cases if a site has some specifications about a lens, it's usually just copy-pasted from a different site, without bothering to verify the information, so that if one site posts bogus information it ends up all over the internet and it can be very hard to figure out what's accurate.)


PostPosted: Thu Nov 19, 2015 12:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
http://www.pentax-slr.com/ has some good information, a very interesting site.

and http://whitemetal.com/pentax/index.htm has also got some interesting stuff.


PostPosted: Fri Nov 20, 2015 5:26 pm    Post subject: Re: pentaxforums.com vs allphotolenses.com Reply with quote
wolan wrote:
Hi,
I use to consult the following resources to evaluate lens quality:
- http://www.pentaxforums.com
- http://allphotolenses.com

Now the ratings are very oft contrasting...
...
Anyway which web site in your opinion is more trustworthy?

Unfortunately, most reviews of old lenses have low reliability. For example, in the Pentax Forum, the Tamron SP 17mm F3.5 got a score of only 7.5, while the score for the Tokina 17mm F3.5 was 9.0. From these scores you would conclude that the Tokina is a much better lens that the Tamron, right? Wrong! When these two lenses were launched in the end of the '70s, the tests and reviews of the time indicated exactly the opposite. Not surprisingly, the prices reflected the difference in quality:

Tamron SP 17mm F3.5 ....... £ 224
Tokina 17mm F3.5 ............. £ 108

To give an idea of what you could buy with £ 224 in 1979, here are some prices of new lenses in 1979:

Júpiter 9A 85mm F2....................... £ 40
Zeiss Jena Flektogon 20mm F2.8 .... £ 99
Zeiss Jena Flektogon 35mm F2.4 .... £ 47
Carl Zeiss Planar 85mm F1.4 .......... £ 251
Hexanon 85mm F1.8 ..................... £ 90

In my opinion, properly testing a lens is not a trivial task. Besides, too many people buy cheap second-hand ultra wide-angle lenses to use them on APS-C cameras. A 17mm lens designed for FF performs poorly with a cropped format camera. A simple 18-55mm kit lens would be a better option.


PostPosted: Fri Nov 20, 2015 8:18 pm    Post subject: Re: pentaxforums.com vs allphotolenses.com Reply with quote
Gerald wrote:
Unfortunately, most reviews of old lenses have low reliability.

True. And a lot of reviews for new lenses, especially for those lenses that some people have spent dearly for,can be less than reliable, as well.

Gerald wrote:
Not surprisingly, the prices reflected the difference in quality:

But not necessarily -- price differences can also sometimes be misleading.

Gerald wrote:
In my opinion, properly testing a lens is not a trivial task.

Indeed. I benefit from (and enjoy) reading lens reviews, but one has to judge the sources (as well as one can). Furthermore, one has to look at numerical averages with some healthy skepticism, too.


PostPosted: Sat Nov 21, 2015 6:53 am    Post subject: Re: pentaxforums.com vs allphotolenses.com Reply with quote
Gerald wrote:
the prices reflected the difference in quality


I guess the new "Meyer" lenses are so much better than those from Samyang... the huge price difference proves it.. right?


PostPosted: Sat Nov 21, 2015 11:39 am    Post subject: Re: pentaxforums.com vs allphotolenses.com Reply with quote
Tedat wrote:
Gerald wrote:
the prices reflected the difference in quality


I guess the new "Meyer" lenses are so much better than those from Samyang... the huge price difference proves it.. right?


Not in this case. Whoever is behind the "Meyer" lenses is just taking advantage of the ignorance of people who do not know that the true Meyer company disappeared decades ago.

In the case Tamron versus Tokina I mentioned before, the prices reflected the difference in quality of the their lenses because Tamron and Tokina never were boutique lens manufacturers. The Tamron SP 17mm F3.5 was made for professionals who knew very well what they were buying.
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