[Eaglerapids]

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<note to self>
Do not look at those pictures again, repeat, do not look at those pictures again.

Peter, you had that lens in your hand and you didn't buy it? I mean if you could get it for a reasonable price and really couldn't afford it you could resell it on Ebay and probably make enough to get something else. I would seriously consider it just as an investment. Your pictures are unbelievable, I'd like to see one of those guys, wow.

[G_Money]

I noticed that it was listed on Ebay today. I'm assuming you're in Halifax. That would be a great lens to have. I have a screw mount 85mm f/1.9 that I've owned for 25+ years now. It was always my favourite lens on my Spotmatic, and I'm thrilled that I can still use it on my K100. A bit slow to use, but I always loved its images. I'm sure your "holy grail" would be off the scale in comparison.

[anomaly]

Pentax SMC-A 85mm/F:1:1.4 ..RARE!!!! - (eBay item 170161265648 end time Oct-28-07 12:01:19 PDT)

[Tom Lusk]

The new Zeiss is available for this same price.

Has anyone heard of a head-to-head comparison?

[Peter Zack]

Tom, I found another Zeiss on Ebay as a buy it now at 899 and Klaus reviewed it on a Nikon. He seems to think it's about as good as you could buy and it beats the Nikon equivalent 1.4 That's the route I'm going. As nice as this lens is I'm not going to engage in the feeding frenzy (nor do I have the money) that these seem to create.

Here's Klaus's verdict from the following review.

Zeiss Planar ZF T* 85mm f/1.4 - Photozone Review / Test Report

Zeiss ZF lenses are controversial beings because they lack auto-focus and an electronically controlled aperture. However, they also tend to represent a benchmark in their respective class and the same goes for the Zeiss Planar ZF T* 85mm f/1.4. The lens is capable to produce bitingly sharp results when stopped down a little. The color rendition is very Zeiss-like - very saturated and neutral. Vignetting is usually no issue and distortions are absent. Judging the lens bokeh (out-of-focus blur) is a little difficult because similar to wine it is simply matter of taste - generally I found the out-of-focus rendering buttery and pleasing (except with close-ups). Nonetheless the Zeiss also has also a few weaknesses. It shows a somewhat "dreamy" contrast characteristic at f/1.4. Whether this is a bug or a feature is a matter of application - portrait photographers will like it whereas still-life photographers will probably not. Typical for ultra-large aperture lenses there´s also some degree of purple fringing and longitudinal chromatic aberrations at large aperture settings. Due to the large front element the T* 85mm f/1.4 isn´t quite as resistant against flare as its (Zeiss) cousins but certainly not worse than comparable lenses. The build quality is also exceptionally high and a reminiscence to times when plastics were not the dominant form of mechanical design. The price tag of the Zeiss comes almost as a surprise - at 1200 €/US$ it costs about the same like the (optically slightly inferior) Nikkor AF 85mm f/1.4D. If you can live with its manual focusing approach you don´t need to go any further - highly recommended!

From another tech review he Zeiss 85 and 50mm are measured as a good as it gets. See below:

Carl Zeiss ZF - Lens test conclusion
The new lenses set a new benchmark record with up to 320 pairs of lines per mm. The test was performed with a Nikon F6 camera mounted on a professional heavy stand. The Kodak Eastman test table set-up was used in combination with Kodak Imagelink HQ film. The test with the Zeiss Planar T* 1.4/85mm ZF resulted into 250 pairs of lines per mm (lp/mm) with an aperture of f/5.6 and even lower (f/2), the Planar T* 1.4/50mm ZF even reach 320 lp/mm with an aperture of f/5.6 to f/2, and 250 lp/mm with f/2.

Carl Zeiss ZF price update | Digital Camera Review

So for my money this is what I'm going to do. Love the Pentax 85 but not at the prices they are going for now.

[Mike Bokeh]

There was a Harley parked at the curb that was nice and clean. The owner didn't mind me taking a couple shots of his bike. 1/60th, F6.3 ISO 160
Attachment 5401

Holy peanut butter and jelly, Peter - those are images are scary-sharp!

Especially the one above.

It's a drag that the Pentax 85 is so expensive.

Good luck with the Zeiss.

Mike

[ChuckB28]

Gee thanks and I just got my 77mm TODAY!!!! lol

[Kerrowdown]

I touched the Holy Grail today

You need to get the original hood to finish it off properly.

Don't want to worry you, but once you get this one, there's a must have companion lens, the SMC Pentax-A* 135mm F1.8 which IMHO is even sharper!!!

They just work so well together.

[ChuckB28]

Hate hate hate... lol

[fuent104]

Don't want to worry you, but once you get this one, there's a must have companion lens, the SMC Pentax-A* 135mm F1.8 which IMHO is even sharper!!!

I desperately want this lens for my cinematography.

[rawr]

He seems to think it's about as good as you could buy

Not to knock Klaus or Zeiss, but DxOMark would disagree. And those dxomarked 85's are on K-mount too.

[Digitalis]

the Planar T* 1.4/50mm ZF even reach 320 lp/mm with an aperture of f/5.6

According to the laws of diffraction 320lp/mm of resolution at f/5.6 is impossible. The diffraction limit at f/5.6 is around 228 lp/mm for monochromatic 555nm green light* - when I tested the original Carl Zeiss planar 50mm f/1.4 for Contax mount the lens only reached around 105 lp/mm @ f/5.6 - which wasn't any better than my own Pentax K 50mm f/1.2 Lens which is capable of 112lp/mm @ f/5.6

*the wavelength of light the human eye is most sensitive to, most camera manufacturers test their lenses and devise anti flare coatings to be most effective in this region of the visible light spectrum. The diffraction limit at f/8 is 175lp/mm - no lens no matter how good it is can resolve detail beyond 175lp/mm at f/8. However at f/4 it is possible to resolve 350 lp/mm, but very few lenses are capable of that.

[Mike Bokeh]

Over five and a half years between posts #21, and #22.

The members of Pentaxforums.com are stable, and devoted.

Mike

[RobA_Oz]

It is the search for the Holy Grail...

[kh1234567890]

Pentax A* 85/1.4 85mm F/1.4 Rare | eBay £1000 BIN
smc PENTAX FA* 85mm f/1.4 ED IF Exc 0027075033443 | eBay US$1598 BIN