This is a gem of a video! I have a few older Pentax lenses, but this has fired my enthusiasm to explore what is available, particularly the Takumars, of which I have only one (SMC-Takumar 50mm f1.4). Incidentally, Pentax chose 43 mm for it's first FA Limited because that is the exact diagonal of the 35mm film frame (now called full frame). This, they reckoned, gave the most natural perspective vis a vis the human eye. I lusted after it when it was first introduced, but it was a bit too expensive for me then. I now have all three amigos, and there is no way I'm selling any of them!
Comfy Reviews commented: "Awesome retrospective on Pentax lenses. They're still probably the most affordable option for people who want to get into digital photography in my opinion. Full kits with amazing lenses going for a song on ebay." (Apologies...I deleted Comfy Reviews comment on this page by mistake)
14:00 - I laughed out loud about the comment on F series aesthetics - I agree!! I own that F 100mm 2.8 too. I'm enjoying listening to this very much. Learning a bunch. Thank you for putting out the effort to put it together and share your knowledge and excellent collection.
F28 is really nice, I'm selling mine soon however as I have acquired a FA31 and I think they are too similar to justify both. But man I was surprised by the F28, colours and sharpness are insane.
Hi Simon, Ray from the UK. Thank you so very much for this video! Pentax's lenses is minefield for those like me, that don't know or are very unfamiliar with the brand. This really clarifies things. Much appreciated.
One of the most comprehensive and inspiring guides to Pentax prime lenses I've come across so far. Share your admiration of the wonderful DA 35 Macro Limited, BTW. Subscribed.
Agree with many others - this is a wonderful video. I had been ignoring the F lenses previously, but found a great deal on the SMC Pentax-F 50mm f/1.7 and have ordered. I would love a similar video about the Pentax zooms.
Great video. Very well produced and I think it's educational for anyone with a passing interest in Pentax lenses and the different series that they were made in.
The M 75-150 is good but the M 35-70 (both pair nicely) is amazing and not too expensive (you could find one for as low as 60-80€). And since it has no glued glass inside it wont suffer from balsam separation so if stored correctly its practically immortal!!
Ya, I agree. Very well composed review, very informative. Congrats! - I remember how it felt 1977. - By the way: Pentax enlarged the mount with introducing K-mount - Nikon behaved similar recently with introducing the Z-mount ...
Just when I thought I was getting over a severe case of GAS 😎 I have to say, my recently acquired mint condition: SMC PENTAX-M 1:1.4 50mm, is my go-to MF lens on my GH5, G9, and S5 Lumix cameras, Both for stills and 4K video. Simply superb rendering. Liked and Subscribed 👍
I still use my Pentax Spotmatic with the 55mm Super Takumar f1. 8 which is excellent in every way. My son has my K1000 with the 50mm 1.7 lens and loves it.
Very interesting video. About a year and a half ago I picked up a Honeywell Pentax Spotmatic 35mm SLR camera with a Pentax Super Takumar 55mm f/1.8 lens. That lens yields very sharp photos with excellent color rendition.
Thanks for another great video! I've only recently started looking into the various Takumars, and I didn't know anything about their more recent lenses, so this was really helpful!
The 50mm F series 2.8 is a banger for sharp portraits and actually had just a smidge of swirl in the bokeh. I know the small focus ring is not the best but I've gotten used to it and it's now one of my favorites. I also enjoy the A-50 2.8 for a better focus ring and a slightly more classic look. I've owned the K 28 3.5 and the Hollywood. Very different creatures. Overall I took some amazing photos of my wife with the Hollywood but it never had as much center sharpness as I was hoping for. I think it was worth the 20 bucks I spent.. and the 900 I sold it for.
Wow... glad I stumbled upon this really awesome review. I was given a bunch of Pentax prime lenses recently and could not figure out which ones to hold on to!
Great overview of a topic I know some little about. Agree with you on the yucky F and FA series, though optically these models are usually superior to their predecessors. Agree also on the wonderful FA Limiteds. Really the entire FA set should have been made like this! Pentax would then have established a stellar reputation alongside Zeiss and Leica. I must say, however, that the FA77 doesn't produce a little purple fringing, it is a fringing monster!
Fantastic overview. I have owned several lenses from just about all these series (except the most recent) and you've picked out some real stars. And yes, the F series is pig ugly... but the F 28mm f2.8 is one of the best 28mm lenses I've ever used. The lens that stays on my camera the most is the FA 43mm Ltd - it's not always easy to get the best from this lens, but when it shines... there's pixie dust everywhere!
Very interesting and informative, as a Pentax user from early film days I still have a few early bodies and many lenses. One of my favourites is a tack sharp f/4 300mm Asahi Opt Co. lens made in Japan. My gem item is a brand new Pentax complete bellows kit with all its extras, including the slide copier, each component is in a separate box, unpacking is like a Russian doll, a box within a box within a box, instruction manuals are in Japanese, as is all the text on the boxes. I have several Pentax accessories, light box copy stand, bellows macro with twin tracks and a macro f/4 100mm, and of course a range of 42 and K mount lenses. I got started with an Edixflex SLR 42mm mount with its removable pentaprism and waist level finder, so useful as a medical/scientific photographer where so much work had the camera on a vertical column with illuminated base box set up for various illumination options. I am experimenting with all these lenses using a Nikon Z6ii body in astrophotography, star test across the field and vignetting shows every flaw in a lens, other than colour, but colour correction, spherical aberration etc. I wish we had your comprehensive review in years past. However, it is a very useful guide in which lenses are potentially worth tracking down, so much of my camera work is manual, so the older manual lenses are easy to use. Greetings from Tasmania Australia.👍🇦🇺🦘
Just to note the DA 35mm f2.8 is 35mm on a full frame and a crop sensor it’s equivalent to 53.5mm. All lens focal lengths are stated in what they are based off of 35mm full frame. Doesn’t matter if it’s full frame, crop or medium format, the lenses focal is that in full frame. The only thing a crop lens differs is in coverage on the image circle. You’ve got it backwards. www.pentaxforums.com/reviews/pentax-da-35mm-f28-macro/review.html If you want to test it out take a full frame 35mm lens and compare that same lens to the crop 35mm on a full frame and take a picture of the same thing from the same distance. It will look exactly the same except the crop will potentially have heavy vignetting. Put that 35mm crop lens on a crop body and it will act more like a 50ish mm lens. Compare it to a 50mm on a full frame and you’ll see they are close to the same focal length. Hence why it’s called a crop body/lens it’s cropping in.
Thank you for this clarification. Apologies if I've confused people. The DA 35 Macro was, of course, designed for crop sensors. I do infact use it regularly on my FF camera where it vignettes. But I was thinking of its use on crop sensors - and did mention in the video that it is equivalent to 52.5mm (1.5 times 35)....not the 53.5 you mention.
Great video! I have a bit of a sweet spot for Pentax being my first SLR's I used. To me their best lenses were the M42 period and early K's. My last Pentax standard prime was an A series 1.4 50mm and I just couldn't get on with it (maybe I had a poor sample?) in my opinion the K 55 1.8 or M 50 1.7 kicked it's behind, in particular I really liked the the K mount 55, amazing bang for the buck and incredibly sharp.
Really enjoyed this. It's of genuine interest and use to me, as I am now the proud owner of a Pentax K to Q adapter. Yes, I use Pentax Q system cameras. And while I'm at it, the Pentax Q 01 Prime 1.9 produces the most breathtakingly vivid images I've ever managed to grab, especially when it is wide open and there's lots of natural light.
Great video! You made me wish I'd bought another lens during the black Friday discount. I'd love to know why the word bokeh (ぼけ) is mispronounced by so many people. Unfortunately my phone doesn't have the correct kanji. Anyway I wish I had more time to scour second hand stores in Japan for older lenses.
I bought my first 'good' camera in 1980 for photography college. A Pentax ME Super with a 50mm f1.7 SMC lens. Wonderful lens, which I still use on my DSLRs. So light compared to modern 50mm 1.4 lenses like the Sigma. Very well made and the coatings give lovely colour images, although I mostly took black & white film with it. Got me my Degree so I'm very fond of the camera and lens ;-) Had to chop off the aperture lug to stop fouling the mirror on my Canon 5D and 6D bodies. All manual settings so a slower kind of photography which I enjoy.
Thank you for this video, which I immensely enjoyed as a fan of film-era MF lenses. My favourite analogue Pentax are: SMC-K 28mm F3.5 and SMC-A 50mm F2.8 Macro. When the focus is right, the picture makes me feel as if I were looking through a microscope bypassing impurities. I use these on my Sony a7 series camera and they can outperform modern digital lenses.
Thank you for a well produced and information rich video. I have been fortunate to use the newer DFA 50 and 85mm lenses and the best way I can describe them is that they are as good as my F* 300 4.5, they are that good. I look forward to you doing a similar job on Pentax zoom lenses over the years. Have you tried any of the M37 Takumars from the Asaahiflex era? The early, tiny 50mm is worth trying. If you do go for the zooms, please try the classic F 70-210 lens, compact, autofocus , great results and colours and best of all that wonderful F series star wars aesthetic.
Simon, you have raised the bar, I could binge watch your videos, for quite a while, so much info, I have to watch this again, and again until it all sinks in. Great content, exquisitely presented, if a bit faster than I would have preferred - but UA-cam allows me to slow it down to taste, if I need to., . What I enjoyed the most was the highlights of specific lenses, and the evolution/history which is probably more difficult to glean, if I had to search for this myself and piece it all together. You obviously know your onions, and present the info superbly. For the photography devotee which I am fast becoming, your channel has become a Mecca., a place of rest from the din of the lens marketplace.. If you have not already covered this in other videos, could you consider one which discusses how to buy and how to where necessary clean these lenses (the vintage ones) - I do not think anyone should be opening up any of the digital era lenses, and I doubt if that will ever be needed - I've had zooms on my mirrorless bridge and compact camera for up to 13 years- which from what I can see - as long as one protects the front and rear of modern lenses with caps, may never need any internal cleaning, unless I drop them in dirt, rain, or mud deliberately). Do you maintain your vintage lenses yourself or farm this out to camera specialists. I'm in the UK. For newbies like me who have been inundated with the marketplace din of fanboys from Canon, Sony, Fuji, Nikon, the current kings of the digital camera age, until I saw this video, as well as an image taken by a Pentax lens on a Pentax digital camera (link below), never knew anything about the significance of Pentax, and their prior dominance. Definitely makes me look at Pentax vintage lenses in a whole new light. My 1st serious vintage lens - a Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 arrives soon, and from what I have seen, in your summary, as I grow, I definitely would like to add one or two vintage Pentax lenses, to my toolkit, over time, when I find them at affordable prices. Thanks again, super super video. www.flickr.com/photos/carlinwebster/6047457194/
Thank you so much for your kind words, much appreciated. I've been thinking of doing a video about buying and cleaning old lenses. I maintain my lenses myself, and take them apart and sometimes attempt to repair broken lenses with stuck blades etc. Mostly successfully, a lot of vintage lenses are quite simple inside, but I've had a few mishaps. I tried to boil a stuck front glass element apart, took it out of the pan, and it was so hot (through a washing up cloth!) I dropped it on the kitchen floor and it smashed. But generally it goes OK. All the best and thanks for that link..
I am about to buy the 40mm 2.8 pancake for my old P3n. I will shoot it stopped down to F8 mostly and zone focus for Street photos. Throw in some TRI-X 400 and I think it sill be a nice pocket fit street kit. Many I love that gorgeous Spotmatic you have. I was given a 55mm 1.8 Screw mount Pentax but no camera for it.
One great thing for Pentax is, their body can adapt well with their history legacy lens, I still enjoy with takumar lens on my K1 today, the time gap between takumar lens & K1 body are almost 50 years.
I have a Pentax system since 1985 and my preference goes to some Taks and some M lenses. From the m42 series my favorites are the 135mm f2,5 and 200mm f3,5. From the M series I prefer the 35mm f2 (according to my tests, surprisingly, much better than the K version), 50mm f4 Macro and the 85mm f2. Some good Pentaxes (M) I had in the past are the 20mm f4 and the underrated 28mm f2,8. Recently I bought the 28mm f3,5 K, although very reluctant, but was very cheap and grab it; for the moment can not say my opinion, it is too early.
Thank you from a hardcore Pentaxian! I have an early Takumar 55 f2.2 preset in my 1957 AP and it is a great performer as well. The M50 f1.7 is my favorite lens, followed by the A50 f1.7 and the F50 f1.7 See a pattern here? The M 50f4 macro is also great and together with the 1.7s are my most frequently used lenses. Too many favorites to list!
Thank you, glad you enjoyed the video. That Takumar 55 f2.2 is one of my favourite lenses. Much under-rated and 10 blades! And I also like those 50mm f1.7. I sold my M 50mm f1.4; it just didn't compare with the f1.7 in terms of results and 'keepers'. One day I will buy an A 50mm Macro, I suspect its a great lens too.
Wonderful presentation, thank you! My K-1 was my first Pentax (and first digital) camera. I was not at all interested in DSLRs until full-frame versions became available. Now I love my K-1. I only wish there were more high-quality prime options for this camera, particularly for landscape work, my personal passion. I would love to hear your recommendations for full-frame lenses to use with the K-1, even if not made by Pentax. Cheers!
The K-1 is a really good camera, and I think Pentax still sells some good full frame primes, which I'm sure you've looked at. Choosing prime lenses for the camera is such a personal matter of shooting style, subjects and budget. I personally like using old film era lenses on the K-1. However, if money was no object, I'd probably buy a FA31mm, a D-FA 50mm f1.4 and a D-FA 85mm f4! Plus a FA* 300mm f2.8. They would all keep me very happy for a long time.
Thank you very much. I am a Pentax owner since my first MX and have explored from the KM to the K-1. I have been this loyal because of the great lenses that I can still use with the latest camera.
Superb video. Makes a great reference video for Pentax lenses throughout history. I rented that 35 mm f/2.8 Macro lens years ago and it was simply gorgeous. Produced beautiful photos both macro and everything else. I'm going to buy one some day.
Great video. Love taking my k1 and ME Super film body on shoots and interchanging glass. I’ve owned three of the nifty 50’s: 1.7, 1.4, and kept the 1.2; plus the 135 3.5; and a vivitar 28 2.8 close focus - all superb lenses. I briefly owned one of the sigma 75-200 3.8 lenses, which I regret selling - hell of a bargain lens imo. Seems my shopping list has just gotten a lot longer!
Great video! have you done a side by side comparison of your favorite lenses here, against modern lenses like the 55mm 1.4 Viltrox. Could you explain and point out what you're seeing in the photos when you say 3d look, or clinical sharpness etc.. when comparing lenses. thank you!
Hi Simon. Fantastic comprehensive Pentax lens review. I had a full Pentax System 40 years ago. Made me appreciate them even more. Keep up the excellent work. Enjoyed watching and listening to your voice. Have been recently purchasing some of my 'lost' lenses. I can see the charm of vintage lenses.
Excellent review. I have a nice collection of Pentax-f lens. Yes they can be cheap and plasticky, but I love them. They just give me the 80s futurist feel.
Ha! I was using my F100mm macro lens the other day - I used to think it was so ugly....but it's now retro chic! But regardless of the looks, its a wonderful performer.
@@Simonsutak I have been racking my brain to remember where I purchased my 50 f 2.8. I know It was a good deal because I would definitely remember if I purchased it for ebay prices. I can't find any record of it in my facebook marketplace history. It's also the first auto focus lens from pentax I purchased. actually, up until the F 100 it was my only af lens for pentax.
The first 24 x 36 mm SLR cameras made by Asahi had a M37 mm thread mount. The rangefinder photographer made twostep before buying his Pentax. He went via a Praktica, Edixa,Kowa, Cosina, Soligor SLR cameras to Pentax. The TTL made Pentax popular. I traded my Takumar 200 mm in 1969, because of the insufficient close focusing and the lack of the tripod mount ring. I bought a Tamron Auto1 : 3,5 - 200 mm. Takumar is no brand name; it is the name of the optics made by Asahi for their Pentax cameras. Olympus cameras have Zuiko optics, Minolta had Rokkor, Konica had Hexanon. Most optics have a typical name or a single letter to inform on the optical construction I do not like the optics withthe focal length between50 mm and 90 mm. The focal length of the Takumar Macro 50 mm is too short. I hate 125 mm, 135 mm and 150 mm Takumars for the full frame SLR. Zeiss often sells lens formulas to Rolleu and toJapan; Asahi, Mamiya, Cosina, Yashica etc. Cosina is making lenses for every SLR brand. There are better and more famous opyical brands than Zeiis. In the Netherlands in a book on architectural photography, the author wrote always to buy optcs of the same brand as the camera. It is a shame, he does not kno w that Linhof and Sinar do not make lenses and shutters. Nor do Arri, Seitz, Eclair,, Paillard Bolex, Edixa and Exakta. Hasselblad lenses were made by Kodak, Ross, Kilfitt, Zeiss, Schneider, Rodenstock, Komura etc. I do not care for optical brands; just show me a decent 50 x 60 cm black and white analog print.
I agree, this is a gem of a video on Pentax's vintage to modern lenses and i also agree that Pentax should be proyd of you. But thank you for this video, I have a small collection of older lenses from Takumar onwards without full knowledge about them or their capabilities and full potential but now I have learnt so much I wanted to know about the ones I have and will be so much wiser for when looking for another. So a huge HUGE thank you. I have recently bought the K1 m2, one reason being specifically to use my vintage lenses to their best advantage on Pentax's digital full frame. Just one question though. For most of them, I still have their original felt-lined leather lens cases and originally stored them in there after spraying then 'sunning' them opened for a week to kill mould but then read this was not good, store them on an open shelf. Can you advise us on that, please. Again, thank you for this excellent video.
Many thanks for your kind words. Personally, I keep my lenses on an open shelf, even though I have the original cases for many of them. I feel they can "breath" properly on a shelf. The shelves are behind glass BTW - i.e. in a glass cabinet.
I owned at least a dozen in late 1960s. More than 2 were dropped while trying to mount them to the crappy screw mount. They fell 18" to my bed and the diaphragms immediately became sticky. This is not acceptable durability. Which were bad optically? 50 1.4- 3 samples, 35 2.0 with 49mm filter, 80/200 Zoom. Pretty decent 85 mm Takumar , 300 6.8, 200 5.6 ,135 3.5 , 35 3.5 Tak, 21 Take ok but bad distortion, Nice ones were 50 and 100 macro. ALL were purchased new. Now I own a bunch of Nikon glass for F2 cameras. They are far superior. My Leica lenses puts them all to shame.
I have almost all three recommended lenses, but my 28 f3.5 is an M. Most possibly the same as the K one. From the time, I bought my K10D, I was hoping for an FF body from Pentax to come. It took tooo long time, and I was thinking to change the brand, But FA77 ltd, kept me a Pentax user, until the great K/1 II, silver limited joined the Pentax family at my home.
Yes, the K-1 was worth the wait! Curiously, having waited so long for FF, I find myself quite happy to use many of my lenses on crop! (Except for the wide angle lenses of course).
People ask me why I use a Pentax K1 II and now I've got a great video to help explain why. I started in a photo store (anyone remember Jungkind PhotoGraphic in Little Rock?) back in the early 70's as a high school photo enthusiast. I took pictures at 100's of sports events, mostly for the Arkansas Democrat. I eventually earned enough to buy a Spotmatic F, primarily because I could not afford Nikon F series. I have never looked back. I earned my way through college with photography, and am now just a photo enthusiast that loves Pentax ergonomics. Favorite lens? The DA 24-70 f2.8 - only lens I need on vacation, incredibly versatile. Thank you for bringing back some nostalgia and maybe educating people Nikon & Canon & Sony are not necessarily the only options.
Thank you for your kind words. Yes, the Pentax ergonomics are great, right up to the present day. I've been collecting old film era cameras (by default, because they're attached to lenses I want). Holding these clunky old non-Pentax cameras just goes to show how well Pentax's Japanese designers thought through the ergonomics of their own cameras and lenses. I hear you on that DA 24-70! I don't have one, but I seldom take more than one or two primes on holiday any more (and one is always the DA 35mm Macro).
awesome video and my very first Pentax lens is an Auto-Takumar 55mm f/2 black and silver colors. It has 10 Aperture blades and I love shooting with it, especially wide open ! I'm still in the middle of finding more Pentax lenses for my collection, especially the really older ones ! Would you know if my Auto-Takumar 55mm f/2 lens is Radioactive ?
Greetings. The SMC Takumar 15mm F3.5 is rectilinear. The fish-eye is the Takumar 17 mm f/ 4 (or the 18mm f/11). 25 years ago I traded in my LX and MX + M lenses (which included the excellent 300mm f/4 *) to buy a Nikon F5. Considering the current prices of used Pentax cameras and lenses, I could afford to buy something of what I sold back...
Good point...I tend to think of anything under 18mm as fisheye (especially in full-frame)...but there is a distinct different between rectilinear and fisheye. It was around 25 years ago that I switched to...Canon! (I kept my three Takumar lenses...at the time they were worth so little money in part exchange, I kept them).
Simon's, thanfk you so much for your tutorial on Pentax lenses. Thorough, articulate and so informative. You mentioned "the early" version of the 50mm f/4 macro with 1:1 magnification. I've looked on line and am I correct in saying that the lenses with a front collar wihch states Super Multi Coated MACRO Takumar are all 1:1 lenses. Or only the early version of this branded lens. I'd like to buy one, but I don't want to buy the wrong one.
The early Macro Takumar is the only version that is 1:1. You can tell the lens because it has a preset aperture mechanism. The others don't. It looks like this, from my Flickr album: www.flickr.com/photos/95859572@N06/27344741885/in/album-72157644855700903/
What a fantastic review, thanks so much! Such a refreshing presentation style that's a sharp contrast to some of the loud, loquacious review videos out there, which, surprisingly, bash Pentax and their DSLR focus. The marque is arguably a doyen of Japanese optical engineering and has produced optical marvels that are frequently cross-mounted on non-Pentax bodies. The accompanying photos and links are superb and perfectly punctuate your spoken narrative, leaving virtually no room for dissenting opinions!. If you want to look at some 'classic' Pentax zooms, I've had great luck with the FA* 80-200 f/2.8 (and also the more recent 70-200 f/2.8 DFA*). Look forward to viewing your other videos!
Thank you so much for your kind words. Pentax Star lenses are indeed stars! I don't own or use many zooms but hopefully one day I have the chance to try some of the better ones.
Nice video! I cannot tell you enough how much I like Takumar lenses. That's why I wrote two books (1999 and 2021) about Takumar lenses, the cameras and the accessories. I even started a Facebook group for anyone interested in them.
Hi Gerjan, Many thanks for this, and your helpful comments on some of my other videos. I have the latest copy of your book. It's excellent and a treasured part of my Pentax/Takumar collection. It's good you produced the 2021 edition, as copies of your original edition had become very sought after and expensive. My only regret is that I didn't asked for a signed copy!! I'll take a look at you Facebook group. Kind regards, Simon
I’ve have the F*300mm f4.5 for many years and it’s excellent. Not large and optically excellent. I’ve had the ‘three amigos’ Limited for many years as well and will never part with them. There was no doubt I was going to get the full frame K-1 when it was released just to be able to use them at their original intended angle of view. Actually, when I look at many of the lenses you called out as special, I’ve got quite a few of them as well as some others right back to the Super Takumar 135mm f2.5 and also a Super Tak 300mm f6.3 with so many aperture blades I can’t accurately count them
You've got a great collection! The K-1 was an extremely important camera for me as well. I remember posters on Pentax Forums writing that a FF camera was not so important etc., etc. But as soon as a friend of mine got an early Canon FF DSLR, I knew that would be the way ahead for my film era lenses. Thank goodness the K-1 was worth the wait!
I think you hit my favorites Auto Takumar 35mm f2.3; Super Takumar 50 1.4; Super Multi-Coated 135mm f2.5; Takumar 200mm f3.5...the SMC 28mm f3.5 is an excellent performer...I also like the odd length Super Multi-Coated 120mm f2.8.
I bought a Nikon DSLR 10 years back by reading some popular internet site But i now i think Pentax is an underdog i should have bought What is popular may not be the best !
I'd honestly like something with a huge aperture on a budget but it's quite annoying because all of the apertures are rated in focal ratio instead of millimeters so quick comparison is nearly impossible.
Some great info Simon & some stunning shots. I purchased the Pentax K 135mm f2.5 after your video on that one.I love that image of the rear view mirror on the old car. You were right about the need for a deep hood which only just arrived and the photos are much better since using it. Trying these lenses could become a bit of an obsession which is a worry!!!
Many thanks Diane. I saw your comment/question on my Macro Mondays photo this week, and was about to let you know about this video...but you're here already! I do hope you think the K 135mm is worth it...it can be a bit quirky. To me the ideal conditions for the lens are sunshine after rain; it really likes bright reflective light, but as you've found, it does need a deep hood to add contrast. GAS/LBA is a healthy thing!!
A really fantastic camera, especially when paired with any of the lenses so nicely described in this video. The '3 amigos', 70-200 f/2.8, 150-450 and 15-30 (Tamron designed) should get you off to a running start, and throw in some classic Takumars for fun and 'pixie dust' rendering!
This is a gem of a video! I have a few older Pentax lenses, but this has fired my enthusiasm to explore what is available, particularly the Takumars, of which I have only one (SMC-Takumar 50mm f1.4). Incidentally, Pentax chose 43 mm for it's first FA Limited because that is the exact diagonal of the 35mm film frame (now called full frame). This, they reckoned, gave the most natural perspective vis a vis the human eye. I lusted after it when it was first introduced, but it was a bit too expensive for me then. I now have all three amigos, and there is no way I'm selling any of them!
An amazing comprehensive review; Pentax should be proud of!
Thank you!
Comfy Reviews commented: "Awesome retrospective on Pentax lenses. They're still probably the most affordable option for people who want to get into digital photography in my opinion. Full kits with amazing lenses going for a song on ebay." (Apologies...I deleted Comfy Reviews comment on this page by mistake)
14:00 - I laughed out loud about the comment on F series aesthetics - I agree!! I own that F 100mm 2.8 too.
I'm enjoying listening to this very much. Learning a bunch. Thank you for putting out the effort to put it together and share your knowledge and excellent collection.
F28 is really nice, I'm selling mine soon however as I have acquired a FA31 and I think they are too similar to justify both. But man I was surprised by the F28, colours and sharpness are insane.
@@SummersSnaps let me know when you plan to sell that F28, I'm a photo student and recently became a lover of these vintage beauties!
@@alexherr6855 Sadly it has already left the nest! I have a few other lenses to sell however. HD DA 20-40, DA 12-24, a Bayonet Tak 135 and a K200/4
Hi Simon, Ray from the UK. Thank you so very much for this video! Pentax's lenses is minefield for those like me, that don't know or are very unfamiliar with the brand. This really clarifies things. Much appreciated.
One of the most comprehensive and inspiring guides to Pentax prime lenses I've come across so far. Share your admiration of the wonderful DA 35 Macro Limited, BTW. Subscribed.
Agree with many others - this is a wonderful video. I had been ignoring the F lenses previously, but found a great deal on the SMC Pentax-F 50mm f/1.7 and have ordered. I would love a similar video about the Pentax zooms.
Another excellent video! I am continually impressed by your work and encouraged to try new lenses.
I've always had a soft spot for Pentax. I learnt to take photographs on an old MX. Even today I still prefer to shoot manually as a result.
Great video. Very well produced and I think it's educational for anyone with a passing interest in Pentax lenses and the different series that they were made in.
Thank you!!
I've had my M 50mm f1.7 for 20yrs now and it's still my number one for everything from stills to video work!
My M 50mm f1.7 is razor sharp and the colours are stunning. A hugely under-rated lens is the M 75-150mm. This is very sharp.
The M 75-150 is good but the M 35-70 (both pair nicely) is amazing and not too expensive (you could find one for as low as 60-80€).
And since it has no glued glass inside it wont suffer from balsam separation so if stored correctly its practically immortal!!
Ya, I agree. Very well composed review, very informative. Congrats! - I remember how it felt 1977. - By the way: Pentax enlarged the mount with introducing K-mount - Nikon behaved similar recently with introducing the Z-mount ...
Just when I thought I was getting over a severe case of GAS 😎
I have to say, my recently acquired mint condition: SMC PENTAX-M 1:1.4 50mm, is my go-to MF lens on my GH5, G9, and S5 Lumix cameras,
Both for stills and 4K video. Simply superb rendering.
Liked and Subscribed 👍
I just bought one yesterday, I can't wait to receive it!
I still use my Pentax Spotmatic with the 55mm Super Takumar f1. 8 which is excellent in every way.
My son has my K1000 with the 50mm 1.7 lens and loves it.
Watching this video cost me arm and a leg thnx Simon. ;D
Very interesting video. About a year and a half ago I picked up a Honeywell Pentax Spotmatic 35mm SLR camera with a Pentax Super Takumar 55mm f/1.8 lens. That lens yields very sharp photos with excellent color rendition.
Thanks for another great video! I've only recently started looking into the various Takumars, and I didn't know anything about their more recent lenses, so this was really helpful!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Uhm, yes, more videos like this, please! Thank you for the great overview. It makes me consider lenses I didn't consider before.
The 50mm F series 2.8 is a banger for sharp portraits and actually had just a smidge of swirl in the bokeh. I know the small focus ring is not the best but I've gotten used to it and it's now one of my favorites. I also enjoy the A-50 2.8 for a better focus ring and a slightly more classic look.
I've owned the K 28 3.5 and the Hollywood. Very different creatures. Overall I took some amazing photos of my wife with the Hollywood but it never had as much center sharpness as I was hoping for. I think it was worth the 20 bucks I spent.. and the 900 I sold it for.
😱😱😁😁😁😁😁 not bad!!!
That's an insanely high profit! Congratulations! haha
Very informative video inspired me to try out manual focus lenses I have a Pentax K5 and I love it.
Wow... glad I stumbled upon this really awesome review. I was given a bunch of Pentax prime lenses recently and could not figure out which ones to hold on to!
Insanely good video you made there, thank you very much!!
Great overview of a topic I know some little about. Agree with you on the yucky F and FA series, though optically these models are usually superior to their predecessors. Agree also on the wonderful FA Limiteds. Really the entire FA set should have been made like this! Pentax would then have established a stellar reputation alongside Zeiss and Leica. I must say, however, that the FA77 doesn't produce a little purple fringing, it is a fringing monster!
Fantastic overview. I have owned several lenses from just about all these series (except the most recent) and you've picked out some real stars.
And yes, the F series is pig ugly... but the F 28mm f2.8 is one of the best 28mm lenses I've ever used.
The lens that stays on my camera the most is the FA 43mm Ltd - it's not always easy to get the best from this lens, but when it shines... there's pixie dust everywhere!
Hello.
I regularly watch your videos. Very well done and very useful. Thank you!
I love historical information.
Very interesting and informative, as a Pentax user from early film days I still have a few early bodies and many lenses. One of my favourites is a tack sharp f/4 300mm Asahi Opt Co. lens made in Japan. My gem item is a brand new Pentax complete bellows kit with all its extras, including the slide copier, each component is in a separate box, unpacking is like a Russian doll, a box within a box within a box, instruction manuals are in Japanese, as is all the text on the boxes. I have several Pentax accessories, light box copy stand, bellows macro with twin tracks and a macro f/4 100mm, and of course a range of 42 and K mount lenses. I got started with an Edixflex SLR 42mm mount with its removable pentaprism and waist level finder, so useful as a medical/scientific photographer where so much work had the camera on a vertical column with illuminated base box set up for various illumination options. I am experimenting with all these lenses using a Nikon Z6ii body in astrophotography, star test across the field and vignetting shows every flaw in a lens, other than colour, but colour correction, spherical aberration etc. I wish we had your comprehensive review in years past. However, it is a very useful guide in which lenses are potentially worth tracking down, so much of my camera work is manual, so the older manual lenses are easy to use. Greetings from Tasmania Australia.👍🇦🇺🦘
*** Furiously scribbling notes on what to get and the pros and cons of selling a kidney for a lens from the 1970s ***
Just to note the DA 35mm f2.8 is 35mm on a full frame and a crop sensor it’s equivalent to 53.5mm. All lens focal lengths are stated in what they are based off of 35mm full frame. Doesn’t matter if it’s full frame, crop or medium format, the lenses focal is that in full frame. The only thing a crop lens differs is in coverage on the image circle. You’ve got it backwards.
www.pentaxforums.com/reviews/pentax-da-35mm-f28-macro/review.html
If you want to test it out take a full frame 35mm lens and compare that same lens to the crop 35mm on a full frame and take a picture of the same thing from the same distance. It will look exactly the same except the crop will potentially have heavy vignetting. Put that 35mm crop lens on a crop body and it will act more like a 50ish mm lens. Compare it to a 50mm on a full frame and you’ll see they are close to the same focal length. Hence why it’s called a crop body/lens it’s cropping in.
Thank you for this clarification. Apologies if I've confused people. The DA 35 Macro was, of course, designed for crop sensors. I do infact use it regularly on my FF camera where it vignettes. But I was thinking of its use on crop sensors - and did mention in the video that it is equivalent to 52.5mm (1.5 times 35)....not the 53.5 you mention.
As ex pentaxain, love you videos. your chanel is really reare beast. Keep doing.
P. S. Maybe some day I'll return to Pentax cameras.
A wonderful overview of my personal favourite brand. Thank you so much. As others have said, this is an absolute gem.
Superb video. Just wonderful in all aspects. May your viewers anticipate a video on M42 to k-mount adapters? Thank you.
I love your pentax showcase. It’s an awesome presentation!
Thanks so much!
Great video! I have a bit of a sweet spot for Pentax being my first SLR's I used. To me their best lenses were the M42 period and early K's. My last Pentax standard prime was an A series 1.4 50mm and I just couldn't get on with it (maybe I had a poor sample?) in my opinion the K 55 1.8 or M 50 1.7 kicked it's behind, in particular I really liked the the K mount 55, amazing bang for the buck and incredibly sharp.
Really enjoyed this. It's of genuine interest and use to me, as I am now the proud owner of a Pentax K to Q adapter. Yes, I use Pentax Q system cameras. And while I'm at it, the Pentax Q 01 Prime 1.9 produces the most breathtakingly vivid images I've ever managed to grab, especially when it is wide open and there's lots of natural light.
my experience is that the FA 50mm f1.4 is an incredible performer with a hood.
This is great. I've been searching around the internet for the last few days like a chicken with its head cut off. Now I have perspective.
Great video! You made me wish I'd bought another lens during the black Friday discount. I'd love to know why the word bokeh (ぼけ) is mispronounced by so many people. Unfortunately my phone doesn't have the correct kanji. Anyway I wish I had more time to scour second hand stores in Japan for older lenses.
I have two of the A series mentioned - the 50mm f1.7 and the 15mm f3.5, the latter surely one of the nicest built Pentax lenses ever.
I bought my first 'good' camera in 1980 for photography college. A Pentax ME Super with a 50mm f1.7 SMC lens. Wonderful lens, which I still use on my DSLRs. So light compared to modern 50mm 1.4 lenses like the Sigma. Very well made and the coatings give lovely colour images, although I mostly took black & white film with it. Got me my Degree so I'm very fond of the camera and lens ;-) Had to chop off the aperture lug to stop fouling the mirror on my Canon 5D and 6D bodies. All manual settings so a slower kind of photography which I enjoy.
Thank you for this video, which I immensely enjoyed as a fan of film-era MF lenses. My favourite analogue Pentax are: SMC-K 28mm F3.5 and SMC-A 50mm F2.8 Macro. When the focus is right, the picture makes me feel as if I were looking through a microscope bypassing impurities. I use these on my Sony a7 series camera and they can outperform modern digital lenses.
Best overview of Pentax lenses on UA-cam! Please do more.
"10" My tenth time watching this video while learning! lol Thank you
Thank you for a well produced and information rich video. I have been fortunate to use the newer DFA 50 and 85mm lenses and the best way I can describe them is that they are as good as my F* 300 4.5, they are that good. I look forward to you doing a similar job on Pentax zoom lenses over the years. Have you tried any of the M37 Takumars from the Asaahiflex era? The early, tiny 50mm is worth trying. If you do go for the zooms, please try the classic F 70-210 lens, compact, autofocus , great results and colours and best of all that wonderful F series star wars aesthetic.
Simon, you have raised the bar, I could binge watch your videos, for quite a while, so much info, I have to watch this again, and again until it all sinks in. Great content, exquisitely presented, if a bit faster than I would have preferred - but UA-cam allows me to slow it down to taste, if I need to., . What I enjoyed the most was the highlights of specific lenses, and the evolution/history which is probably more difficult to glean, if I had to search for this myself and piece it all together. You obviously know your onions, and present the info superbly. For the photography devotee which I am fast becoming, your channel has become a Mecca., a place of rest from the din of the lens marketplace..
If you have not already covered this in other videos, could you consider one which discusses how to buy and how to where necessary clean these lenses (the vintage ones) - I do not think anyone should be opening up any of the digital era lenses, and I doubt if that will ever be needed - I've had zooms on my mirrorless bridge and compact camera for up to 13 years- which from what I can see - as long as one protects the front and rear of modern lenses with caps, may never need any internal cleaning, unless I drop them in dirt, rain, or mud deliberately). Do you maintain your vintage lenses yourself or farm this out to camera specialists. I'm in the UK.
For newbies like me who have been inundated with the marketplace din of fanboys from Canon, Sony, Fuji, Nikon, the current kings of the digital camera age, until I saw this video, as well as an image taken by a Pentax lens on a Pentax digital camera (link below), never knew anything about the significance of Pentax, and their prior dominance. Definitely makes me look at Pentax vintage lenses in a whole new light. My 1st serious vintage lens - a Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 arrives soon, and from what I have seen, in your summary, as I grow, I definitely would like to add one or two vintage Pentax lenses, to my toolkit, over time, when I find them at affordable prices. Thanks again, super super video.
www.flickr.com/photos/carlinwebster/6047457194/
Thank you so much for your kind words, much appreciated. I've been thinking of doing a video about buying and cleaning old lenses. I maintain my lenses myself, and take them apart and sometimes attempt to repair broken lenses with stuck blades etc. Mostly successfully, a lot of vintage lenses are quite simple inside, but I've had a few mishaps. I tried to boil a stuck front glass element apart, took it out of the pan, and it was so hot (through a washing up cloth!) I dropped it on the kitchen floor and it smashed. But generally it goes OK. All the best and thanks for that link..
I really enjoy your videos and your photos...thanks for sharing!
I think more people should know how legendary K mount system really is!
Yes, enough people who really appreciate photography gear, but not enough to push prices up too high!
lf someone will invent Pentax medium format lens to modern DSLR/mirrorless cameras speed booster it will be awesome.
you could maybe find a speed booster for something that could be adapted for the medium format mount
Excellent subject and video
Thank you!
another wonderful and informative video made. so nice to see choice examples from your gallery mixed in.
I am about to buy the 40mm 2.8 pancake for my old P3n. I will shoot it stopped down to F8 mostly and zone focus for Street photos. Throw in some TRI-X 400 and I think it sill be a nice pocket fit street kit. Many I love that gorgeous Spotmatic you have. I was given a 55mm 1.8 Screw mount Pentax but no camera for it.
One great thing for Pentax is, their body can adapt well with their history legacy lens, I still enjoy with takumar lens on my K1 today, the time gap between takumar lens & K1 body are almost 50 years.
I have a Pentax system since 1985 and my preference goes to some Taks and some M lenses. From the m42 series my favorites are the 135mm f2,5 and 200mm f3,5. From the M series I prefer the 35mm f2 (according to my tests, surprisingly, much better than the K version), 50mm f4 Macro and the 85mm f2. Some good Pentaxes (M) I had in the past are the 20mm f4 and the underrated 28mm f2,8. Recently I bought the 28mm f3,5 K, although very reluctant, but was very cheap and grab it; for the moment can not say my opinion, it is too early.
You have great taste in lenses! I think you'll enjoy that K 28mm f3.5; I found mine a big step up in performance from the M 28mm f2.8, which I sold.
The 55mm lens in question is a ASAHI OPT. CO., SMC PENTAX 1:1.8/55 Ser# 1268677
Ah. OK its a K series lens and rather nice!
Thank you from a hardcore Pentaxian! I have an early Takumar 55 f2.2 preset in my 1957 AP and it is a great performer as well. The M50 f1.7 is my favorite lens, followed by the A50 f1.7 and the F50 f1.7 See a pattern here? The M 50f4 macro is also great and together with the 1.7s are my most frequently used lenses. Too many favorites to list!
Thank you, glad you enjoyed the video. That Takumar 55 f2.2 is one of my favourite lenses. Much under-rated and 10 blades! And I also like those 50mm f1.7. I sold my M 50mm f1.4; it just didn't compare with the f1.7 in terms of results and 'keepers'. One day I will buy an A 50mm Macro, I suspect its a great lens too.
Wonderful presentation, thank you! My K-1 was my first Pentax (and first digital) camera. I was not at all interested in DSLRs until full-frame versions became available. Now I love my K-1. I only wish there were more high-quality prime options for this camera, particularly for landscape work, my personal passion. I would love to hear your recommendations for full-frame lenses to use with the K-1, even if not made by Pentax. Cheers!
The K-1 is a really good camera, and I think Pentax still sells some good full frame primes, which I'm sure you've looked at. Choosing prime lenses for the camera is such a personal matter of shooting style, subjects and budget. I personally like using old film era lenses on the K-1. However, if money was no object, I'd probably buy a FA31mm, a D-FA 50mm f1.4 and a D-FA 85mm f4! Plus a FA* 300mm f2.8. They would all keep me very happy for a long time.
This video has made my pantaloons 200% more ffffaaaannncccyyyy
Dandy!
Thank you very much. I am a Pentax owner since my first MX and have explored from the KM to the K-1. I have been this loyal because of the great lenses that I can still use with the latest camera.
Superb video. Makes a great reference video for Pentax lenses throughout history. I rented that 35 mm f/2.8 Macro lens years ago and it was simply gorgeous. Produced beautiful photos both macro and everything else. I'm going to buy one some day.
Thank you! Yes, that DA 35mm Macro is a wonderful lens - the sharpness and colours.
Great video. Love taking my k1 and ME Super film body on shoots and interchanging glass. I’ve owned three of the nifty 50’s: 1.7, 1.4, and kept the 1.2; plus the 135 3.5; and a vivitar 28 2.8 close focus - all superb lenses. I briefly owned one of the sigma 75-200 3.8 lenses, which I regret selling - hell of a bargain lens imo. Seems my shopping list has just gotten a lot longer!
Great video! have you done a side by side comparison of your favorite lenses here, against modern lenses like the 55mm 1.4 Viltrox. Could you explain and point out what you're seeing in the photos when you say 3d look, or clinical sharpness etc.. when comparing lenses. thank you!
The K-mount SMC 85mm 1.8 is my favorite lens, also the sharpest lens I own
For a follow up would be nice to get a similar summary of 3rd party lenses. That might take a lot of work thought if you dont have many of those.
That would be a lot of work....but I'd like to watch it too!
Such an interesting video! Well presented and packed full of info. Thanks so much! :o) xx
Hi Simon. Fantastic comprehensive Pentax lens review. I had a full Pentax System 40 years ago. Made me appreciate them even more. Keep up the excellent work. Enjoyed watching and listening to your voice. Have been recently purchasing some of my 'lost' lenses. I can see the charm of vintage lenses.
Totally agree for the K 28mm and K 135mm
Holy. So sharp
Excellent review. I have a nice collection of Pentax-f lens. Yes they can be cheap and plasticky, but I love them. They just give me the 80s futurist feel.
Ha! I was using my F100mm macro lens the other day - I used to think it was so ugly....but it's now retro chic! But regardless of the looks, its a wonderful performer.
Great video, and highly informative. Just what I need for my morning yoga!
Just recently purchased the F 100mm 2.8. Glad to know it is well reviewed. I actually really enjoy the F 50mm 2.8 macro as well.
Yes, at Christmas I got a FA 50mm f2.8 Macro (a little cheaper than the F version), and it is very impressive.
@@Simonsutak I have been racking my brain to remember where I purchased my 50 f 2.8. I know It was a good deal because I would definitely remember if I purchased it for ebay prices. I can't find any record of it in my facebook marketplace history. It's also the first auto focus lens from pentax I purchased. actually, up until the F 100 it was my only af lens for pentax.
Thank for this video ,special lenses ,i have some ,are the best in my colección.
The first 24 x 36 mm SLR cameras made by Asahi had a M37 mm thread mount.
The rangefinder photographer made twostep before buying his Pentax. He went
via a Praktica, Edixa,Kowa, Cosina, Soligor SLR cameras to Pentax.
The TTL made Pentax popular.
I traded my Takumar 200 mm in 1969, because of the insufficient close focusing
and the lack of the tripod mount ring. I bought a Tamron Auto1 : 3,5 - 200 mm.
Takumar is no brand name; it is the name of the optics made by Asahi for
their Pentax cameras.
Olympus cameras have Zuiko optics, Minolta had Rokkor, Konica had Hexanon.
Most optics have a typical name or a single letter to inform on the optical construction
I do not like the optics withthe focal length between50 mm and 90 mm.
The focal length of the Takumar Macro 50 mm is too short.
I hate 125 mm, 135 mm and 150 mm Takumars for the full frame SLR.
Zeiss often sells lens formulas to Rolleu and toJapan; Asahi, Mamiya, Cosina, Yashica etc.
Cosina is making lenses for every SLR brand.
There are better and more famous opyical brands than Zeiis.
In the Netherlands in a book on architectural photography, the author wrote always
to buy optcs of the same brand as the camera. It is a shame, he does not kno
w that Linhof and Sinar do not make lenses and shutters. Nor do Arri, Seitz,
Eclair,, Paillard Bolex, Edixa and Exakta.
Hasselblad lenses were made by Kodak, Ross, Kilfitt, Zeiss, Schneider, Rodenstock, Komura etc.
I do not care for optical brands; just show me a decent 50 x 60 cm black and white analog print.
I agree, this is a gem of a video on Pentax's vintage to modern lenses and i also agree that Pentax should be proyd of you.
But thank you for this video, I have a small collection of older lenses from Takumar onwards without full knowledge about them or their capabilities and full potential but now I have learnt so much I wanted to know about the ones I have and will be so much wiser for when looking for another.
So a huge HUGE thank you.
I have recently bought the K1 m2, one reason being specifically to use my vintage lenses to their best advantage on Pentax's digital full frame.
Just one question though.
For most of them, I still have their original felt-lined leather lens cases and originally stored them in there after spraying then 'sunning' them opened for a week to kill mould but then read this was not good, store them on an open shelf.
Can you advise us on that, please.
Again, thank you for this excellent video.
Many thanks for your kind words. Personally, I keep my lenses on an open shelf, even though I have the original cases for many of them. I feel they can "breath" properly on a shelf. The shelves are behind glass BTW - i.e. in a glass cabinet.
Excellent program. Thank you so much.
Thank you very much for this excellent video!
I owned at least a dozen in late 1960s. More than 2 were dropped while trying to mount them to the crappy screw mount. They fell 18" to my bed and the diaphragms immediately became sticky. This is not acceptable durability.
Which were bad optically? 50 1.4- 3 samples, 35 2.0 with 49mm filter, 80/200 Zoom. Pretty decent 85 mm Takumar , 300 6.8, 200 5.6 ,135 3.5 , 35 3.5 Tak, 21 Take ok but bad distortion, Nice ones were 50 and 100 macro.
ALL were purchased new. Now I own a bunch of Nikon glass for F2 cameras. They are far superior. My Leica lenses puts them all to shame.
I have almost all three recommended lenses, but my 28 f3.5 is an M. Most possibly the same as the K one.
From the time, I bought my K10D, I was hoping for an FF body from Pentax to come. It took tooo long time, and I was thinking to change the brand, But FA77 ltd, kept me a Pentax user, until the great K/1 II, silver limited joined the Pentax family at my home.
Yes, the K-1 was worth the wait! Curiously, having waited so long for FF, I find myself quite happy to use many of my lenses on crop! (Except for the wide angle lenses of course).
People ask me why I use a Pentax K1 II and now I've got a great video to help explain why. I started in a photo store (anyone remember Jungkind PhotoGraphic in Little Rock?) back in the early 70's as a high school photo enthusiast. I took pictures at 100's of sports events, mostly for the Arkansas Democrat. I eventually earned enough to buy a Spotmatic F, primarily because I could not afford Nikon F series. I have never looked back. I earned my way through college with photography, and am now just a photo enthusiast that loves Pentax ergonomics. Favorite lens? The DA 24-70 f2.8 - only lens I need on vacation, incredibly versatile. Thank you for bringing back some nostalgia and maybe educating people Nikon & Canon & Sony are not necessarily the only options.
Thank you for your kind words. Yes, the Pentax ergonomics are great, right up to the present day. I've been collecting old film era cameras (by default, because they're attached to lenses I want). Holding these clunky old non-Pentax cameras just goes to show how well Pentax's Japanese designers thought through the ergonomics of their own cameras and lenses.
I hear you on that DA 24-70! I don't have one, but I seldom take more than one or two primes on holiday any more (and one is always the DA 35mm Macro).
awesome video and my very first Pentax lens is an Auto-Takumar 55mm f/2 black and silver colors. It has 10 Aperture blades and I love shooting with it, especially wide open ! I'm still in the middle of finding more Pentax lenses for my collection, especially the really older ones ! Would you know if my Auto-Takumar 55mm f/2 lens is Radioactive ?
That Auto-Takumar is a great lens!! I love it too. I don't think it's radio-active.
Greetings. The SMC Takumar 15mm F3.5 is rectilinear. The fish-eye is the Takumar 17 mm f/ 4 (or the 18mm f/11). 25 years ago I traded in my LX and MX + M lenses (which included the excellent 300mm f/4 *) to buy a Nikon F5. Considering the current prices of used Pentax cameras and lenses, I could afford to buy something of what I sold back...
Good point...I tend to think of anything under 18mm as fisheye (especially in full-frame)...but there is a distinct different between rectilinear and fisheye. It was around 25 years ago that I switched to...Canon! (I kept my three Takumar lenses...at the time they were worth so little money in part exchange, I kept them).
Simon's, thanfk you so much for your tutorial on Pentax lenses. Thorough, articulate and so informative. You mentioned "the early" version of the 50mm f/4 macro with 1:1 magnification. I've looked on line and am I correct in saying that the lenses with a front collar wihch states Super Multi Coated MACRO Takumar are all 1:1 lenses. Or only the early version of this branded lens. I'd like to buy one, but I don't want to buy the wrong one.
The early Macro Takumar is the only version that is 1:1. You can tell the lens because it has a preset aperture mechanism. The others don't. It looks like this, from my Flickr album: www.flickr.com/photos/95859572@N06/27344741885/in/album-72157644855700903/
Excellent review! Learnt so much about Pentax lenses.
What a fantastic review, thanks so much! Such a refreshing presentation style that's a sharp contrast to some of the loud, loquacious review videos out there, which, surprisingly, bash Pentax and their DSLR focus. The marque is arguably a doyen of Japanese optical engineering and has produced optical marvels that are frequently cross-mounted on non-Pentax bodies. The accompanying photos and links are superb and perfectly punctuate your spoken narrative, leaving virtually no room for dissenting opinions!. If you want to look at some 'classic' Pentax zooms, I've had great luck with the FA* 80-200 f/2.8 (and also the more recent 70-200 f/2.8 DFA*). Look forward to viewing your other videos!
Thank you so much for your kind words. Pentax Star lenses are indeed stars! I don't own or use many zooms but hopefully one day I have the chance to try some of the better ones.
Nice video! I cannot tell you enough how much I like Takumar lenses. That's why I wrote two books (1999 and 2021) about Takumar lenses, the cameras and the accessories. I even started a Facebook group for anyone interested in them.
Hi Gerjan,
Many thanks for this, and your helpful comments on some of my other videos.
I have the latest copy of your book. It's excellent and a treasured part of my Pentax/Takumar collection. It's good you produced the 2021 edition, as copies of your original edition had become very sought after and expensive. My only regret is that I didn't asked for a signed copy!! I'll take a look at you Facebook group.
Kind regards,
Simon
I’ve have the F*300mm f4.5 for many years and it’s excellent. Not large and optically excellent. I’ve had the ‘three amigos’ Limited for many years as well and will never part with them. There was no doubt I was going to get the full frame K-1 when it was released just to be able to use them at their original intended angle of view.
Actually, when I look at many of the lenses you called out as special, I’ve got quite a few of them as well as some others right back to the Super Takumar 135mm f2.5 and also a Super Tak 300mm f6.3 with so many aperture blades I can’t accurately count them
You've got a great collection! The K-1 was an extremely important camera for me as well. I remember posters on Pentax Forums writing that a FF camera was not so important etc., etc. But as soon as a friend of mine got an early Canon FF DSLR, I knew that would be the way ahead for my film era lenses. Thank goodness the K-1 was worth the wait!
I think you hit my favorites Auto Takumar 35mm f2.3; Super Takumar 50 1.4; Super Multi-Coated 135mm f2.5; Takumar 200mm f3.5...the SMC 28mm f3.5 is an excellent performer...I also like the odd length Super Multi-Coated 120mm f2.8.
Thanks for the tip...I'm now thinking of selling my Takumar 135/3.5, which I hardly use, to buy a 120mm 2.8.
Very informative, thank you for making this video.
I bought a Nikon DSLR 10 years back by reading some popular internet site
But i now i think Pentax is an underdog i should have bought
What is popular may not be the best !
I love your voice. :D
sir u are the university of photography..
Thank you!!
Subscribed. I’m a huge Pentax fan and would love to see more. Thanks!
Thank you - I'm working on more videos!!
Wow, thank you, that was a wonderfully informative tour!
Beautiful vidio. Im looking at buying a 55mm 1.8 to adapt to my sony a7rii. What would be the best to buy
I'd honestly like something with a huge aperture on a budget but it's quite annoying because all of the apertures are rated in focal ratio instead of millimeters so quick comparison is nearly impossible.
Pentax K-01 is the ugliest camera I've ever seen. I knew at once that this ugly camera never would be popular.
Very well articulated! 🙂
Some great info Simon & some stunning shots. I purchased the Pentax K 135mm f2.5 after your video on that one.I love that image of the rear view mirror on the old car. You were right about the need for a deep hood which only just arrived and the photos are much better since using it. Trying these lenses could become a bit of an obsession which is a worry!!!
Many thanks Diane. I saw your comment/question on my Macro Mondays photo this week, and was about to let you know about this video...but you're here already! I do hope you think the K 135mm is worth it...it can be a bit quirky. To me the ideal conditions for the lens are sunshine after rain; it really likes bright reflective light, but as you've found, it does need a deep hood to add contrast. GAS/LBA is a healthy thing!!
damn now I want to get the K1 even more
A really fantastic camera, especially when paired with any of the lenses so nicely described in this video. The '3 amigos', 70-200 f/2.8, 150-450 and 15-30 (Tamron designed) should get you off to a running start, and throw in some classic Takumars for fun and 'pixie dust' rendering!
I love pentax
There is one shot, one lens with a magnetic pulse in here. Just find it.
Great story about Pentax, thx a lot.