Pentax Lens Review and Specification Database

Return to the Forum · Database Index · Third-Party Lenses

Advanced Search

Pentax Lens Review Database » Pentax K-Mount Bayonet Lenses » A Series Primes

SMC Pentax-A 50mm F1.7

Reviews	Views
44	21845

Recommended By	Average Price	Average Rating
100% of reviewers	$61.58	8.8

supersize

Description:

This fast standard lens supports all exposure modes.

Weight	Length	Filter Diameter	Min. Focus	Max. Magnification
165 g	3.1 cm	49 mm	45 cm	0.15x
Diagonal FOV	Horizontal FOV	Horizontal FOV on Digital	Min. Aperture	Optical Construction
47 degrees	40 degrees	27 degrees	f/22	6 elements, 5 groups, 6 blades

Author

Artymous
Pentaxian

Registered: November 2006
Location: Kamloops, B.C.
Posts: 226

Review Date: Sun January 7, 2007

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): None indicated | Rating: 8

Pros:	Extremely sharp through the entire aperature range, solid build
Cons:	Only manual focus, can be hard to find.

This 50mm might just be one of the better 50mm lenses ever made. Despite it's age, this lens consistently performs with lenses made currently, and outperforms many of them. Even wide open, this lens gets great sharpness on your focal point, and is fantastic for close-up portrait work.

The drawback being that it does not have auto-focus. This can become frustrating if trying to use it in instances where you need quick focus, or situations that require more speed. However, this is more of a situational con, and certainly not something that should cause hesitation on its purchase. It's best to know what to use a lens for, and when to use it, rather than try to force a lens into a use it isn't built for.

If you're an old-school shooter, love to have manual control, or just simply like the look that old lenses give your camera, the A-50mm f/1.7 is a must-have.
Of course, finding one is another challenge, and the cost seems to be rising on the ones that do come up. My opinion, however, is that it is worth every penny.

Click here to Send this user a Private Message

johnyeros
Pentaxian

Registered: December 2006
Location: hartford, ct, usa
Posts: 147

Review Date: Sun January 7, 2007

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): None indicated | Rating: 10

Pros:	Extremely Sharp, Produce Great Color Range
Cons:	Focus can be a hassle sometime

I love this lens! You must find it !

joele
Pentaxian

Registered: September 2006
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 1235

Review Date: Sun January 7, 2007

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): None indicated | Rating: 9

Pros:	Great MF feel, solid build, bright enough
Cons:

This is a great little manual lens.. Very compact and very sturdy metal build, the manual focus has a great feel to it..

You can pick this lens up fairly cheap as obviously a lot of them were made, worthwhile if you an't afford the AF couterparts or like the feel of a manual lens.

carpents
Pentaxian

Registered: September 2006
Location: West Chester, PA
Posts: 1225

Review Date: Mon January 8, 2007

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $40.00 | Rating: 7

Pros:	Build quality, smooth focus, small size, sharpness
Cons:	Bokeh not as refined as the faster 50s

I found this lens to be fun to use, with a nice smooth focus throw. Images were sharp enough for me at any aperture.
I sold this lens only because I got the FA50/1.4 which (in addition to auto-focus) has subtly better (smoother) bokeh to my tastes.

ShadZee
Site Supporter

Registered: November 2006
Location: San Diego, California
Posts: 109

Review Date: Sat February 3, 2007

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $75.00 | Rating: 9

Pros:	Sharp, Very small,
Cons:

This lens is a gem. It's very small, but has great focusing mechanism. It compares very well with my FA50/1.4

cyg
Senior Member

Registered: September 2006
Location: Ottawa, ON
Posts: 135

Review Date: Fri February 23, 2007

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $45.00 | Rating: 8

Pros:	Build, smooth focus, speed, sharpness, small size, beauty, ...
Cons:	No AF (duh!)

My first pentax prime (and second lens) -- bought third or fourth hand (at least) for about 35€.

This is a great lens. No doubt one of the great Pentax primes.
Quite fast. Focusing ring feels wonderful. Very sharp. Great colour with a little je-ne-sais-quoi that I never could find in the FA 50/1.4.

Very highly recommended if you can get your hands on one.

I sold mine as redundant when I got the FA 50/1.4 and have been regretting it ever since.

BTW this lens made it as one of the "great 50mm lenses" according to the Online Photographer's Mike Johnston:
http://theonlinephotographer.blogspo...mm-lenses.html

For that kind of price it can't be beat.

Toshi
Moderator
Site Supporter

Registered: September 2006
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 408

Review Date: Wed March 7, 2007

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $25.00 | Rating: 8

Pros:	Fast, Clean Bokeh, Build, Image Quality/Sharpness
Cons:

The build quality of this lens is excellent. Image quality and sharpness is top notch as well, which is expected of most primes. Focusing is smooth and relatively easy to handle; and the fast aperture comes in handy for those low light conditions. Bokeh is beautiful (but that can be subjective) - overall a wonderful lens for a great price (luckily I picked one up before the recent price hike of old Pentax glass after the release of the K10D).

Finn
Pentaxian

Registered: February 2007
Location: Ames, Iowa
Posts: 985

Review Date: Wed April 11, 2007

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $70.00 | Rating: 8

Pros:	Image quality, compact
Cons:	Build quality

I bought this lens after reading about its great optical and build quality. What gives??? While it does indeed produce wonderfully sharp images, its build quality is terrible compared to K and M series lenses. The barrel is cheap plastic, and the aperture ring is jerky and imprecise. In fact, the construction is exactly like the A 50/2 which regularly gets disparaged for its cheap build.

Sorry, I don't mean to speak ill of a lens that takes such great pictures, but in the hand it just can't compare to a Takumar, K or M series lens. I'll keep it for the convenience of the "A" setting, but I think I'll pick up an M 50/1.7 for the better construction.

jslifoaw
Pentaxian

Registered: April 2007
Location: Waterloo/Toronto/Victoria
Posts: 219

Review Date: Sat April 21, 2007

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $40.00 | Rating: 7

Pros:	Compact, smooth focusing, fast
Cons:	A manual focus lens :)

This is a decent 50mm lens. For a MF lens it is fairly average. I got it as a more convenient lens to use over the M50/1.4. Compared to that lens, the A50/1.7 has the following:

1) A narrower, less smooth focusing ring
2) A delicate aperture ring (not really a problem for DSLRs where it stays at A, but but on older film SLRs it feels like it could wear out or fall apart)
3) Performance no better at any equivalent apertures. Slightly better at 1.7 than the M at 1.4, but not by much and at the next available aperture F/2, the M lens is better.

Still, for $40, it was worth it! For a DSLR at least. For old film SLRs, they deserve small M42, K, or M lenses, and maybe FA Limiteds!

jmax
Junior Member

Registered: May 2007
Location: Texas
Posts: 42

Review Date: Mon June 18, 2007

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): None indicated | Rating: 9

Pros:	Sharpness
Cons:	Construction, aperature ring not smooth

I can't give this lens a 10 because the construction is slightly lacking. My guess would be that corners were cut a bit because it was probably used as the kit lens for the Super Program. On the other hand, I bought mine in the 1980s with a used Super Program and it has been used constantly since then without failing. The aperature ring lacks smoothness, but that matters very little when used with my K10D since the aperature is left on "A".

The image quality more than makes up for its construction faults and I'd give it a 9.5 if it were possible. To list as a negative that it is manual focus lens seems a little silly--much like criticizing it for not being a zoom :-) If you like the focal length, it makes a great landscape prime. I don't know the current price, but it is most likely a good buy.

Matthew Allen
Junior Member

Registered: June 2007
Location: University of Edinburgh/Luxembourg
Posts: 39

Review Date: Tue June 19, 2007

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $40.00 | Rating: 9

Pros:	Very sharp, usable at all apertures
Cons:	Build not quite as nice as M series

This is a very nice lens that can be had for very good prices if you look around. Being an A lens, it is much more practical to use on a DSLR than the Ms, as metering functions normally and without limitations.

Wide open it produces slightly soft but very pleasing images and stopped down a little it is very sharp. The bokeh is smooth and never distracting.

TDN
Member

Registered: June 2007
Location: Belgium
Posts: 91

Review Date: Thu June 21, 2007

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $40.00 | Rating: 10

Pros:	Sharpness, low light performance, size.
Cons:	none

fantastic little lens, always in my camera bag. This is definitly one of my favourites.

When asked for the "cons", I was thinking about saying the build quality wasn't as good as the M series, but I couldn't because I've never had a problem with it.

The lens is solid compact and focuses smooth, nothing wrong with the build quality.

Very sharp, even wide open, and lets a lot of light in.

This one always goes with me when I go out of the house. I can always find a purpose for it. Very versatile.

Only "negative" thing I could say about it is that the FOV is a little narrow on a DSLR, but that's something you can expect. If you want a wider standard lens, get a 35mm...

Excellent value for the money.

Tom

bc_the_path
Pentaxian

Registered: March 2007
Location: Ankara, Turkey
Posts: 343

Review Date: Fri June 22, 2007

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $75.00 | Rating: 8

Pros:	Image quality, ease of use, lightness
Cons:	Nothing serious

I agree with most of the other reviewers that
- This is a decent 50mm lens;
- More convenient but not optically&mechanically better than the M50/1.7,
- The aperture ring is "delicate" but this should not be a problem for DSLRs.

For those who can live without the "A" setting (which is very handy, indeed) I suggest instead a Takumar 50mm f/1.4 in good shape. I have both and I cannot decide on leaving any one of them!

JMS
Senior Member

Registered: October 2007
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 273

Review Date: Thu December 20, 2007

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): None indicated | Rating: 10

Pros:	VERY sharp and light, almost no flare
Cons:	Sticky aperture ring

I'm not gonna bore you with a long discussion:

I LOVE THIS LENS!!!

jsherman999
Pentaxian

Registered: December 2007
Posts: 3715

Review Date: Wed January 2, 2008

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $30.00 | Rating: 9

Pros:	Fast, sharp, fun
Cons:	none

Picked this up for $30. I don't think it's possible to get better bang for the buck. This lens would be on my camera all the time if I didn't own the FA 50 f/1.4.

Fast, fun and great in low light, or stopped down during the day, crystal clear shots you just can't quite match with a consumer zoom.

Verdict1st
New Member

Registered: January 2008
Location: Georgia, USA

Review Date: Mon January 14, 2008

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): None indicated | Rating: 8

Pros:	Great Build, Sturdy, Beautiful Bokeh, Smooth Focus
Cons:	No Autofocus, more like a short tele than a normal on Digital

This is a beautiful lens! Focus throw is smooth, UV filters can be hard to find, no lens hood, Great performance at f1.7, easily as good as the new f1.4s. No autofocus can be a problem, and the focal length is less than ideal to me. This lens more than any other I own has a unique look to it. Very classic and cool.

GeoffreyS
New Member

Registered: August 2007
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 20

Review Date: Fri January 18, 2008

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): None indicated | Rating: 10

Pros:	Everything
Cons:	Nothing

This is the one lens I own that really performs in an APS-C world. The resolution is fantastic and the build quality leaves me wanting for the "good old days". Take into account, though, that I've never experienced the f1.4 or any of the other highly touted "legends", and I'm young enough that the "good old days" for me are late '70's to late '80s ". I can only attest to the fact that this lens blows my other FA and DA primes away for detail, especially when I do 20x30" or larger.

Youngster
Site Supporter

Registered: August 2007
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 133

Review Date: Wed March 12, 2008

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $75.00 | Rating: 9

Pros:	Good Wide Open. "A" setting. Light and Small
Cons:	Doesn't feel as nice as the K and M series.

If you go through all the other 50mm reviews, you will see I have tried a LOT of them.
From the M1.4,M1.7,FA1.4,FA1.7,DFA2.8, Super Tak 50's, 55's and other non pentax branded 50's.

In my opinion, the 50mm1.7's are the sharpest (by a good margin) wide open up to around f2.8. After that things even out.

If you want the sharpest lens shooting wide open in low light and you don't like running around with a hood, this lens is for you.

The "A" version of course allows easy use of the flash and on camera control, but otherwise the M version is much better built and very comfortable to use (also much cheaper).

The FA version is my preferred version, but they are hard to find. I have not tested the F version, but I understand it is just as good. (Probably the only one other than the f1.2's that I have yet to test).

This lens gets a 9 because its build quality just isn't as nice as the previous generations. Otherwise it is perfectly usable and optically just as competent.

TourDeForce
Site Supporter

Registered: January 2008
Location: Florida
Posts: 498

Review Date: Tue March 25, 2008

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $60.00 | Rating: 10

Pros:	Sharp! Sturdy feel, flair control
Cons:

My sample came used from Ebay & was supposed to be in excellent shape. Unfortunately, the aperture ring has something wrong with it and the blades are not very responsive.

I finally managed to wiggle the ring over to A and started shooting. Fantastic results! I haven't had it off the camera except to take a picture of the moon with a tele-zoom. Absolutely a joy!

Sadly, the earlier problems kept cropping up. The aperture ring moved off the Auto setting as I was putting the lens back onto my camera & I had to start the whole process over again. There is definately something wrong with this particular lens, so I'm returning it.

EDIT:
Return didn't happen, so I bought a $15 Auto F2 version and scavenged parts. Life is good again! I removed the build issues as a negative because mine was obviously abused. Been using it for a while & have raised the rating to a 10 because it IS and EXCELLENT lens!

moxfyre
Member

Registered: March 2008
Location: College Park, MD
Posts: 86

Review Date: Fri March 28, 2008

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): None indicated | Rating: 9

Pros:	sharp, fast, small, looks cool
Cons:	manual focus

For $50 on Craigslist, I got this lens, a Cosmicar 70-200 f/4, a Program Plus body, and a random Olympus lens (eBayed for $90). So basically I paid nothing for this =)

It's a great lens. It's sharp even wide open. The body is well-built, all-metal and compact. The focus ring is very smooth.

When I want to take low-light photos without a flash, at restaurants or bars, this lens delivers for me!!

Of course, I wish it had autofocus. Not so much for me, but so I can hand it to a friend and have them use it easily. Okay, and for me too :-) And I wish it were 35-40mm instead of 50mm, given the 1.5X crop of a DSLR. Lastly, I want a pony.

So, basically, this lens is awesome.

DanBachmann
New Member

Registered: April 2008
Location: London

Review Date: Sun April 6, 2008

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $100.00 | Rating: 8

Pros:	very well made, great image quality, fairly compact,
Cons:

This is a fantastic little lens and it has good clarity even open wide at f1.7. Like most other Pentax K/M/A lenses, the build quality is excellent and the focus ring glides around nicely.

Fl_Gulfer
Site Supporter

Registered: July 2007
Location: Florida Gulf
Posts: 1735

Review Date: Fri July 11, 2008

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $65.00 | Rating: 9

Pros:	Build, "A" Lens, IQ
Cons:	none yet

I think this is my best manual focus lens, and it's just as good IQ as my DA-40 Limited. If you can get one for under a 100.00 grab it. I know you will love this lens as I do.

Messer
New Member

Registered: July 2008
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Posts: 7

Review Date: Sun July 13, 2008

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): None indicated | Rating: 9

Pros:	sharp, well built, great bokeh
Cons:	with dslr it's more like a short tele

Great bokeh, very sharp - even on f1.7.

With "A" on the ring it's quite easy to use it with k10d.

This lens is excellent to use with low light situations - for example indoors, when we don't want to (or are not allowed to) use flashlight.

Usin this lens gives me a lot of fun - and I found that I don't really like to take this lens out of my camera!

Indianadinos
Senior Member

Registered: July 2008
Location: France
Posts: 116

Review Date: Sat August 16, 2008

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $50.00 | Rating: 9

Pros:	Sharpness, comptactness
Cons:	The plastic f/stop ring. Would have been better with a full metal ring.

Incredibly sharp even wide open, a great bargain especially because you can set the f/stop ring on the A position and then use the Kx0D handle to switch f/stop. I would have preferred a little more metal and less plastic, but, for the money ...

sveinmb
Member

Registered: September 2008
Location: Norway
Posts: 99

Review Date: Wed September 17, 2008

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $65.00 | Rating: 8

Pros:	Sharp, small, easy to focus, smooth images
Cons:

My first fast lens, used on a K100D it gave me some great results. Optically it is right up there with it's F and FA cousins. Color rendition seems to be the same. The extra small DOF and low light performance of the 1.4 is not *that* much of a difference from the 1.7 from my experience. Definitely worth the price of about $65.

This is one of the smallest non-pancake lenses out there. I'm not too sure about all the complaints regarding build quality on this one, because I find it to be rather good. Yes it has a plastic grip like all other A-lenses, but I cant say I feel the lens itself feel any less solid based on that. All in all a great buy if you don't want to spend all that cash on a new FA50/1.4.

legacyb4
Pentaxian

Registered: September 2008
Location: Tri-Cities, British Columbia
Posts: 1247

Review Date: Thu October 30, 2008

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $52.00 | Rating: 9

Pros:	Smooth focusing, sharp, small
Cons:	Will probably break someday

Picked up the lens on eBay and since the purchase, it has bumped every other lens I have off my K10D for general use. Still a little slow on focusing but am absolutely loving the image quality coming from this little gem.

If you can find one in good condition, buy without hesitation. In fact, I would almost consider picking up a second copy in good condition to make sure I always have one around.

Zivelot
New Member

Registered: October 2008
Location: Jászberény, Hungary
Posts: 8

Review Date: Thu October 30, 2008

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $50.00 | Rating: 9

Pros:	Sharp, good contrast
Cons:	Sticky aperture ring

One of my favourite lenses. Gives very good results on film and digital as well. I would say I like it better with digital cameras than the "A 1.4/50mm".

On the negative side I have to mention its aperture ring. I have two of these lenses and both of them suffered from "sticky aperture ring desease." Though it is not a big problem. Recently I disassembled them and helped the problem with cleaning and some special teflon grease at the right place. No such issues since then.

kthung
Pentaxian

Registered: August 2007
Posts: 279

Review Date: Fri December 12, 2008

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $46.00 | Rating: 9

Pros:	Sharp wide open, Very compact, inexpensive, long focus throw, A setting
Cons:	Feels cheaper than older MF lenses, afraid to touch aperture ring

Let me begin by saying this is probably my favorite lens to use despite the focal length being a little less than ideal on an APS-C sized sensor. Manual focus with this lens is an absolute joy with that long focus throw. This lens has convinced me to step outside of my relying-on-AF comfort zone. On top of being on of my first MF lenses, it is also my first Prime lens, and boy is it sharp. Comparing it to my brother's FA 50 f1.4, I find my lens to be much sharper and less than a quarter of the price!

I also love how compact this little lens is (well at least compared to a sigma 24-70 f2.8). On my K100D, I am able to fit the entire camera into the pocket of a hoodie. So there you go, a pocketable dSLR!

That being said, perhaps the only complaint I can think of for this lens is that its build quality leaves something to be desired. I recently picked up a Takumar 55 f1.8. The all metal build quality is soo nice. The only problems with that is switching between M42 and Kaf mount, and having to use stop down metering.

All in all I would highly recommend this to everyone looking for a fast 50 as its cost/performance ratio, i think, is the best.

Asahi_Fr51
New Member

Registered: January 2009
Location: Epernay, France
Posts: 4

Review Date: Sat January 24, 2009

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $120.00 | Rating: 8

Pros:	Compact, sharp, build quality, smooth MF, look of the camera with tis lens mounted
Cons:	Aperture ring, price

Well built lens but more "plastic style" than M's , very pleasant to use with DSLR (smooth focus ring).

The pictures are very sharp even wide open, and bokeh is very nice (see photo).

The only problem is the increasing price (in Europe), some of these lens are sold up to $200 !
Aperture ring becomes sticky with years...For this reason, my copy is always on "A" setting

Click on the image to view it in a larger size

Matthew
Member

Registered: February 2008
Location: Australia
Posts: 68

Review Date: Sat February 21, 2009

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $50.00 | Rating: 8

Pros:	Compact, simple design, sharp enough, good rendering, good value
Cons:	Getting old

A few observations on this fast 50.
I really appreciate the compact, almost pancake size of this lens. It has been slipped in my pocket quite often in the last few months. It is smaller and lighter than my other 50/1.7.
At about F8 I can't fault its sharpness on a K20D.
Possibly some edge softness at certain apertures.
Chromatically I haven't found any nasty surprises.
It seems to meter adequately on the K20D.
Works well on extension tubes.

Sometimes it is impossible to avoid hexagonal OOF highlights.
That said, the transition from in focus to out of focus is very smooth.

I might raise my rating to a 9 but I have to test it in a few more situations yet.

pradeepr
New Member

Registered: December 2008
Location: Deniliquin, NSW, Australia
Posts: 11

Review Date: Sun March 8, 2009

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $50.00 | Rating: 8

Pros:	Sharp, Built quality, smooth focussing
Cons:	Focussing is a bit difficult to achieve

Excellent IQ lens with sharp images.

I used this in taking some photos of my kids and got excellent results.

There's only one thing I found difficult with this lens is getting the right focus as the tolerance seems to be very tight, compared to my other 35-70/2.8-3.5 lens.

Built quality is solid and focusing is buttery smooth.

Chr1st0ph3r
New Member

Registered: September 2008
Location: Detroit
Posts: 14

Review Date: Sun March 22, 2009

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $39.00 | Rating: 9

Pros:	Sharp, Quality Lens!
Cons:	Sticky aperture ring.

This lens is worth its weight in gold. On my K20D it functions as a 75mm f/1.7 lens. Great for portraits, I repeatedly get sharp images and realistic colors with this lens. Not to mention throwing the background out of focus is a breeze. The speed of this lens is more than adequate for low light photography. However I do dream of the f/1.4 version of this lens :-) In my opinion it is a keeper!!!

DrNick
New Member

Registered: November 2008
Location: Glossop
Posts: 6

Review Date: Fri May 15, 2009

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): None indicated | Rating: 10

Pros:	Great resolution, small and compact
Cons:	None, if you can use manual focus lenses.

I got this as a portrait lens to take photos of my kids on my K10D once I realised that the kit lens was not quite up to the quality I was after. I have not had an SLR before, but it wasn't too hard to get used to using the focus confirm, and I also bought a cheap Ebay split screen (from jinfinance) to help with the manual focusing. This is brilliant, and adds confidence that you have got the right focus point.

The results from this lens are stunning, and it is also great with extension tubes as a macro. All the photos I have taken with this lens are at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/drnick3/tags/smcpa50mmf17/

if you want a look.

The build quality is gorgeous, and it is a joy to use, I can't think of anything to add. The A series lens exposures are spot on, which is not always true on the one M series lens I have.

yb_abq
Site Supporter

Registered: November 2008
Location: Albuquerque
Posts: 89

Review Date: Mon June 1, 2009

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $75.00 | Rating: 9

Pros:	Super sharp, great for indoors
Cons:	MF may be tricky

Not sure that this lens needs another review. Just want to say that if you are about to make a transition to the world of primes that's definitely the lens to start with. "A" setting makes it much easier. The lens is sharp and indoor portraits come out just great. I did not find this lens very helpful outdoors but it's probably because I am not skilled enough.
Here is the link to one of my pictures shot with A-50/1.7:
http://www.pentaxforums.com/gallery/photo-12438.html

stevebrot
Pentaxian

Registered: March 2007
Location: Vancouver (USA)
Posts: 4976

Review Date: Fri June 5, 2009

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $100.00 | Rating: 8

Pros:	Optical performance, "A" contacts
Cons:	Disappointing build

First off, I have to admit to paying too much for my copy of this lens. The more appropriate price would be $50 or less. After using it off and on for about two years, here are my impressions:

Excellent optical performance typical of the Pentax fast 50s
Smooth bokeh at wider apertures, though hexagonal highlights can be a bit distracting when stopped down
Build quality is a significant step down from the M and K series lenses

I would like to add a few more words about build quality. Most of the external parts of the A 50/1.7 are hard, black plastic. My copy is in excellent shape cosmetically and my expectation would be that the mechanics would follow suit. Such is not the case. Although the focus is nice and smooth, the aperture ring progresses from stop to stop with a herky-jerky motion. My understanding is that this a generic problem with these lenses due to a fragile plastic detent mechanism that is partially broken in a significant number of samples.

While the issue with the aperture ring makes the lens virtually unusable on my older k-mount film bodies, it does not affect operation when used on a modern dSLR. Normally, I would rank a lens with these build issues as a 6 or a 7, but because of optical performance and proper operation on the "A" setting, I will bump it up to an 8.

The recommendation to buy is "yes" with reservations

Steve

Rich_A
Site Supporter

Registered: August 2009
Location: Montana
Posts: 199

Review Date: Sun August 9, 2009

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $40.00 | Rating: 9

Pros:	Light weight, reasonably fast, very affordable, super sharp!
Cons:	loss of sharpness and contrast when shot wide open, hexagonal OOF highlights at f/2.8

This is a lens that could be recommended to anyone who has never shot a prime lens. There has always been a 50mm prime lens in my camera bag since I started taking pictures and this was the second lens I purchased for my current Pentax setup. The build quality was a pleasant surprise for me, especially given the price. Having been exposed to the cheap plastic kit lenses, this lens is a true pleasure to use. The bright view in the viewfinder, the ease of manual focus, and the small but solid construction makes it a great package, especially when you can find them for well under $100 USD.

The optical quality is simply stunning starting around f/2.8. I ran some tests at f/1.7 and f/2 and it might avoid these apertures when in contrasty situations. There's simply too much stray light bouncing around on a sunny day to be useable at these apertures. Stop it down to f/2.8 or smaller, however, and it's a totally different story. The lens gives great contrast and unbelievable sharpness at mid- to smaller-apertures.

I was fortunate to find a clean copy of this lens at a local camera shop and I'm sure glad I picked it up. I would highly recommend it for portraits and as a general walkaround lens. I'll be testing it with a UV filter and lens hood to see if I can improve the results at f/2 but it's not a deal breaker to simply use f/2.8, especially considering it is razor sharp at that aperture. The bokeh is pleasing at f/2.8, however, the hexagonal highlights might detract from a perfect score here. There's always the A 1.4 for those interested in smoother OOF areas.

What a lens. It really takes me back to the manual focus camera days and the build quality that we took for granted at the time. Imagine, a 162g lens capable of razor sharp details at f/2.8 for a grand total of $40.00 USD. Amazing!

Aggie89
New Member

Registered: January 2009
Location: Texas
Posts: 1

Review Date: Mon August 24, 2009

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $35.00 | Rating: 10

Pros:	Amazing color and sharpness
Cons:	lack of AF

I got this lens with a ME Super I purchased. Since I had an F 50mm 1.7, I didn't use it much initially. I ended up doing a comparison between the A, F and the kit DA 18-55 II set at 50mm. The A beat the others hands down. Sharper than the F at all apertures with better color reproduction.

The only drawback is I like to use fast primes indoors to capture dynamic shots and the lack of AF makes this difficult. Still, this has to be my favorite lens in terms of IQ.

spartan
Junior Member

Registered: December 2008
Location: NJ, USA
Posts: 26

Review Date: Sun August 30, 2009

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $80.00 | Rating: 9

Pros:	Excellent sharpness and redering
Cons:	Aperature ring

The only reason this is not a 10 is that it is manual focus.

Even though it is over 20 years old with older coatings, great rendering and excellent sharpness. I use it for portraits where the only drawback is that it takes me longer to focus.

THis is the second one I own. THe first one I had from 1985 broke its aperature ring. This seems to be fragile.

I was floored as to how sharp this lens is when I compared some 50mm shots taken with kit zoom and this lens...

aLpi
New Member

Registered: November 2008
Location: Bursa / Türkiye
Posts: 6

Review Date: Tue September 1, 2009

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $85.00 | Rating: 10

Pros:	razor sharp, good contrast, good wide open
Cons:	aperture ring

my lens samples is here >>> http://www.flickr.com/photos/4049772...7622204190532/

frozy
New Member

Registered: August 2009
Location: Singapore

Review Date: Tue September 29, 2009

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $80.00 | Rating: 9

Pros:	Image quality,
Cons:

i used to have this lens, and upgrade it to the autofocus one.
And i miss it.
The lens is dont know why sharper than my F50/1.7.
The bokeh is nicer and the focusing ring is smoother

The build quality is not as good as the M series, but the A functions, make it fun to used than the M series.

I really recommend this lens, if you can found it.

patriotap
Site Supporter

Registered: October 2009
Location: South Jersey
Posts: 34

Review Date: Wed October 28, 2009

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): None indicated | Rating: 9

Pros:	fast easy to use
Cons:	not af, if i have to say something?

I just found this lens, attached to my k1000, in a camera bag in a closet that i put it in 8years ago. I forgot I even had it (obviously). I remember that it was a difficult camera to figure out (at the time anyway and didnt want to figure it out). Now that Im into photog and understand everything AND I just bought a k20d with the standard da lens that comes with it, this is the bomb! Was looking at buying a faster lens to use and cant believe I had it. Its simplicity and ease of use on my k20d is awesome, just set the aperture and mf and bam, nice pics....i been even turning the lights down, just to take low light pics...cuz i could!

mr. jef
Junior Member

Registered: September 2009
Location: Paris
Posts: 31

Review Date: Wed November 11, 2009

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $45.00 | Rating: 8

Pros:	very sharp, nice bokeh, fast, A-setting, good color rendition, compact
Cons:	build quality

This is one of the nicest standard lenses i ever used (the other would be the MC Rokkor 50mm 1.4), it's so small it's almost a pancake lens, and it allows you to take amazing pictures in about any light situation. This is a very sharp lens, with very fine color rendition, and on my K20d it allows me to exploit every setting (i don't have a problem with the all manual approach of K- and M- series lenses, but it is a user friendly experience to mount this 50mm). The aperture ring on mine was very stiff when i got it (that's why i got a reduction), and even now it's not really smooth - so i just leave it on automatic. I tried opening it up to smoothen up the ring -which is made out of plastic and does not feel very reliable- and i advise you not to go at it too loosely - there's little springs jumping away in any direction upon opening the housing, it took my a while to find them all back (but it works better now). Build quality is not so impressive, the aperture ring feels flimsy. No complaints about the focus ring though.

wippapics
New Member

Registered: November 2009
Location: Birmingham, West Midlands, UK
Posts: 1

Review Date: Wed November 11, 2009

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $105.00 | Rating: 0

Pros:	Sharp from f1.7 upwards, light, small, inexpensive.
Cons:	Purple fringing at high to low light boundaries

A good lens, light, and will work on pentax digitals using the 'catch in focus' option.
Suffers badly from purple fringing at high/low light interfaces which inhibits its use for night photography around town. However, indoor portraits are fine, with good contrast and colours.
In my hands it is not as useful as the Zeiss Planar 50mm f1.7, which has similar resolving power, but doesn't suffer from fringing.
In my opinion, the newer digital lenses (e.g. Sigma 50mm f2.8 ex dg) will perform better on digital bodies, and have the advantage of auto focus. On many occasions the f1.7 aperture is not really necessary because the k200d, k10 & k20d are all image stabilised, and you can quite comfortably use 1/30th @ f2.8 instead of 1/60th @ f1.7 in low light (preferably with a monopod).

DSims
Site Supporter

Registered: September 2009
Location: Southern California
Posts: 48

Review Date: Wed December 9, 2009

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $85.00 | Rating: 9

Pros:	A-series color; as fast as F50/1.4
Cons:	Build quality appears less than some other A lenses

I think I slightly overpaid for mine, but my copy looks almost brand new and I am very happy with it and its performance.

I also recently acquired the F50/1.4, which is great starting at f/2. But this one also starts at f/2, unlike my FA50/1.7, which for some reason likes to be at f/2.2 or above. Practically speaking, that makes the A50/1.7 just as fast as the F50/1.4. I guess each one is worth what I paid for it, given its particular strengths (I paid the going rate on the others), but the A50/1.7, in many cases, has better image quality, at least to my tastes. So that makes it a great bargain, provided it's in decent condition. The good news is there are many out there, so it shouldn't be too hard to get one, and for a good price as well. This is the one I'd choose for many portraits or other situations where I have time to set up the shot. Based on many posted pictures I've seen, I think I even prefer its overall (vivid color) IQ to the other A50 lenses, including the faster ones. I think I also prefer the IQ over the nice FA50/1.7 and F50/1.7 I've owned. I'm not pretending it has the best build quality or bokeh, but take a look at the many pictures posted on the net at the photo-base sites and see if you agree. Fortunately, everyone does not agree, so it helps to keep the market balanced.

In any case, I guess I am (along with many others!) proof that all of the faster 50's are good, and one is not enough! I may end up trimming my collection to two (if I can bring myself to do it), but I'm planning on keeping this one!

All times are GMT -7. The time now is 06:36 PM.