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| Pentax SLR Lens Discussion Discuss any Pentax K-mount, screwmount, or medium format SLR lens, as well as filters and attachments. |
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| 07-03-2009, 02:08 PM | #46 |
| Site Supporter Location: Brooklyn, New York Gallery Photos:
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Posts: 565 | Originally Posted by stevebrot True enough. Different priorities for different situations. I own 4 Pentax 135s..... M42 SMC 135/2.5 & SMC 3.5, K-Mount 135/3.5 (52mm filter) & the aforementioned M135. Although a very good lens, my M offers me less quality than my other 135s. I do, however, use it often when I'm looking to travel as light as possible, with my "newsman's combo", consisting of the M135, an M50/1.7 (again, a fine lens, but of lesser quality than other larger Pentax 50's I own), and a 28mm/3.5M (another fine performer, but of lesser quality than my M42 SMC 28/3.5 & Pentax 28mm 52mm filtered lens). Along with these small, light lenses, I use an *ist DS body..... quite a small, light combo that is tightly fitted into a surprisingly small case. But if size & weight is not an issue, the other lenses you mentioned would certainly suffice.
Last edited by raymeedc; 07-04-2009 at 12:45 PM.. |
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| 07-04-2009, 12:50 AM | #47 |
| Pentaxian | Originally Posted by Blue Or the Pentax-K 135/2.5...Oh, I forgot...the OP wanted a reasonably priced option!
Steve (Wish the 135/2.5 were a little less expensive...) |
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| 07-04-2009, 01:29 AM | #48 |
| Site Supporter Location: Florida Hill Country Gallery Photos:
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Posts: 5,553 | Originally Posted by stevebrot After 4 pages, the $50 barrier is bound to be broken.
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| 07-04-2009, 01:40 AM | #49 |
| Site Supporter | If money is an object... cheap Lets go back a few pages, all the way back to the 2nd comment. Steve had it absolutely right The Vivitar 135 2.8 with a 28xxxx serial number is the ticket. I paid $25 for mine. It rules over my Pentax M135 3.5 - Super Takumar 135 3.5 and my S-M-C Tak 135 3.5.... And they all cost more than the Vivitar. The only 135 even close to 50 bucks that beats the Vivitar is the Tair 135 and it is huge by comparison and costs between 60 & 100... I know this 'Pentax Forums" and the folks here are very loyal to the brand... but reality is what it is and if the OP wants to spend $50 or less... well listen to Steve, he is wise beyond his years.  Actually they are all right... most of the 135s are pretty darn good. And many can be had for 50 bucks, but the vivitar is pretty darn special IMHO But if you stumble on a cheap Tair 11A it is as the russians say... Лучше, чем секс My New Favorite Lens From Tair 135mm to Pentax M-50 F4 macro Last edited by Igilligan; 07-04-2009 at 02:03 AM.. |
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| 07-04-2009, 09:05 AM | #50 |
| Site Supporter | I respectfully disgree - The Rikenon XR 135/2.8 fits this category well. It is sharp and contrasty from F2.8 on and extremely well built. It even has a built in hood. These can be found for less than $50. I ran some lens tests against some other 135s (not the Vivitar) and found it to be by far the sharpest lens. It also displays almost no CA even wide open. I have seen APO lenses with more CA. A very high quality prime. Originally Posted by Igilligan
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| 07-04-2009, 09:15 AM | #51 |
| Site Supporter Location: Florida Hill Country Gallery Photos:
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Posts: 5,553 | Originally Posted by pentaxman I don't know that anyone specifically slammed the Rikenon. That had their lenses built by a third party, likely Tokina as did some of the better Vivitars.
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| 07-04-2009, 09:40 AM | #52 |
| Site Supporter | Pentax Man Originally Posted by pentaxman
PentaxMan, I respectfully respect your right to 'First Right of Respectful Denial' The Rikenon XR 135/2.8 is a fine lens and it has many of the qualities of the Vivitar and other leading leading 135's. But it is 'Rare as Hens Teeth' by comparison. Where as the Vivitar is so common that some people use them to tie down Helium balloons for the Forth of July Parade. P.s. many as in most of the 135's have the built in Hood. The Vivitar and the Tair both have the built in hood... It made me smile that I made a little dig at all the Pentax folk recommending Pentax lenses, and the first one to disagree with me is named PentaxMan and ironically recommending a Rikenon... The rikenon is one of the better ones, and is a very good option as are many of the of the others mentioned in this thread. Other than the 50mm length, no other focal length has so many great old options... With my tongue firmly planted in my cheek, and all of my respectful kidding aside... Yours truly and correctly, TairMan |
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| 07-04-2009, 12:21 PM | #54 |
| Site Supporter | You are right - The Rikenon XR is a more difficult lens to find, but well worth the effort IMHO. I am not a Pentax snob by any means. My main lens is a Sigma 18-50 F2.8 EX. I use a Sigma 10-20 for a wideangle. For telephoto - I just bought a Pentax 60-250 after receiving three bad samples in a row of a Tamron 70-200 F2.8. I use a Pentax DA* 300 F4 for my long lens. I just bought a Pentax K7 which I will be receiving this Tuesday. A good camera body can make all of my lenses look better. I am a macro fanatic - I have a Vivitar Series 1 90/2.5, a Vivitar Series 1 105/2.5, a Pentax DFA 50/2.8 and a Pentax K 50/4. I need to pare this down at some point. Originally Posted by Igilligan
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| 07-04-2009, 07:00 PM | #55 |
| Site Supporter Location: NYC Gallery Photos:
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Posts: 975 | Originally Posted by stevebrot Sears 50mm lenses yes (usually); others no...
Chris |
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| 07-04-2009, 08:03 PM | #56 |
| Site Supporter Location: Florida Hill Country Gallery Photos:
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Posts: 5,553 | Originally Posted by ChrisPlatt The 135mm KR/A lenses and a zoom are Korean made although the 135mm lenses are pretty good on film.
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| 07-04-2009, 09:35 PM | #57 |
| Site Supporter | Originally Posted by pentaxman I agree completely. Also, the prices are very good for this great lens, I picked mine up for appox $40.
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| 07-05-2009, 01:05 AM | #58 |
| Pentaxian | Originally Posted by ChrisPlatt Not particularly wishing to be contrary, but...
Depends on which generation of Ricoh/Sears. As noted above, later Sears K-mount lenses (PK/A and PKA/R) were often made in Korea or by various minor lens houses in Japan. My brother owns one of these nasty items. There were also Mamiya-made Sears lenses that were clearly labeled as Sears/Sekor. That being said, based on my personal experience as a consumer (I purchased my first Ricoh in 1969, though not from Sears), I can pretty much assure you that if it was a camera lens at the time and if it was in the Sears catalog under the Sears name, it was procured through Ricoh. My understanding is that this relationship remained essentially intact from the late 1960s through the early 1980s when I bought my second Ricoh (again, not from Sears). Now I have been wrong before, but as a consumer at the time, the common statement in photo magazines and Consumer Reports when referring to Sears cameras, lenses and flashes was some like this..."essentially a re-labeled Ricoh product...". As a result, these cameras and lenses were almost never reviewed on their own. When you asked the guy at the camera counter at Sears (yes, they really had such a thing) the clerk would always confirm the relationship with Ricoh. Does that mean that the lenses were always re-badged Ricoh? Who knows for sure? Maybe they were really made by Chinon, Cosina, or Makina or some firm in Korea or Singapore?  Steve (Strangely, there was a camera counter at JC Penney and at K-Mart as well. They sold brands like Penney (duh), Focal, Vivitar, and Soligor. Lets hear it for off-brands...Woo! Hoo!) |
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| 07-08-2009, 07:11 AM | #59 |
| Site Supporter Location: Philadelphia Gallery Photos:
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Posts: 279 | Well, I never imagined this thread would turn into this mega information source that it is. I have learned quite a bit and now have a few lenses on my radar. In the interim, I have decided on a Sears 135 f2.8 that was very reasonable. Anxious to get it and start shooting... |
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| 07-08-2009, 08:24 PM | #60 |
| Loyal Member Location: USA Gallery Photos:
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Posts: 737 | You mean after reading all this info you didn't opt for this 135mm: Pentax-A* SMC 135/1.8 #5565363..Minty/Case..EX.Rare - eBay (item 390043103236 end time Aug-06-09 20:05:27 PDT) Gosh, if the one from Japan for $1900+ has been sitting in ebay stores, unsold for a while, what makes this seller think they can get that??? I guess that Sears will save you some coin, though. |
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