[photoleet]

I'm not sure if the Vivitar lens is the one I'm thinking it is. Does anyone have any experience ? Is this lens worth it for macro work ?





Buyer assured me that the dust on the 50 is on the outside and no fungus on these lenses.

[Adam]

I would say $80 or so for both. Check the lens review section- I haven't used the vivitar.

[RioRico]

The Vivitar is by Kiron. It's not really Macro, just Close-Focus. I haven't tried that specific lens, but my various Vivitar-Kiron zooms in that neighborhood haven't disappointed me. I'd pay about US$30 at most but 1) I already have similar and 2) I'm a cheap bastard. If you're looking to do actual macro shooting, there are better options. See https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-lens-articles/152336-cheap-macro-b...lose-work.html

I think the M50/1.7 might be US$50 now (but I could be out-of-date) -- check the COMPLETED LISTINGS on eBay for current market prices. If you don't mind doing VERY CLOSE macro work, you could get a 49mm-PK mount-reversal adapter and a set of cheap PK macro tubes, about US$6 each, and reverse the M50. Your working distance will be about 2 inches. Good luck!

[Just1MoreDave]

Buyer assured me that the dust on the 50 is on the outside and no fungus on these lenses.

The M 50/1.7 has a filter on it in that photo. It has the metal trim ring - not that it matters.

[ducdao]

I'm not sure if the Vivitar lens is the one I'm thinking it is. Does anyone have any experience ? Is this lens worth it for macro work ?





Buyer assured me that the dust on the 50 is on the outside and no fungus on these lenses.

I would pay $60-$70 max. for both, $40 for the 50/1.7 and $20-$30. The 50/1.7 is an excellent performer while the zoom is an average lens which I normally get for free when buying in bulk

[stevebrot]

I would pay $60-$70 max. for both, $40 for the 50/1.7 and $20-$30. The 50/1.7 is an excellent performer while the zoom is an average lens which I normally get for free when buying in bulk

+1


Steve

[photoleet]

The M 50/1.7 has a filter on it in that photo. It has the metal trim ring - not that it matters.

not sure if that's good or bad

[Just1MoreDave]

not sure if that's good or bad

The later years of the M50/1.7 had a trim ring made from stamped plastic, not engraved aluminum. Some of these were made in Taiwan. You can tell the Taiwan ones because they left Japan off the trim ring. The essential parts are all the same, so performance is the same.

I would not shell out full value for this sale. These lenses can be found elsewhere. The seller only has one terrible cell-phone photo of the valuable lens in the sale. The most obvious thing in the photo is giant dust, which any idiot would have attempted to blow away before taking the photo. Of course you are assured that the problem you can see isn't a problem. Second most obvious is the filter which is useless except for obscuring any decent view of the front element. Third, since the lens is mounted on a camera, the aperture is fully open so the blades are not seen. The other terrible photo doesn't even show that much. When they are insulted by your $30 offer, move on to a better seller.

Without a lot of effort, the M50/1.7 has a beautiful reflection off the front element. You can tell that this trim ring is stamped plastic.

[photoleet]

The later years of the M50/1.7 had a trim ring made from stamped plastic, not engraved aluminum. Some of these were made in Taiwan. You can tell the Taiwan ones because they left Japan off the trim ring. The essential parts are all the same, so performance is the same.

I would not shell out full value for this sale. These lenses can be found elsewhere. The seller only has one terrible cell-phone photo of the valuable lens in the sale. The most obvious thing in the photo is giant dust, which any idiot would have attempted to blow away before taking the photo. Of course you are assured that the problem you can see isn't a problem. Second most obvious is the filter which is useless except for obscuring any decent view of the front element. Third, since the lens is mounted on a camera, the aperture is fully open so the blades are not seen. The other terrible photo doesn't even show that much. When they are insulted by your $30 offer, move on to a better seller.

Without a lot of effort, the M50/1.7 has a beautiful reflection off the front element. You can tell that this trim ring is stamped plastic.

It's a craigslist seller, so I will have the option to take a picture before buying the lens. Do you think if he agrees to $25, I should go for this as my first prime ?
Haven't had a manual prime before so will have to learn on how to properly shoot with it. Read the thread here on the forums, but doing it practically will be something else.

[RioRico]

It's a craigslist seller, so I will have the option to take a picture before buying the lens. Do you think if he agrees to $25, I should go for this as my first prime ?

Assuming the lens is good, the glass clear with no scratches-fog-fungi, then US$25 is a good price. I'm looking at eBay's Completed Listings and the cheapest sales price lately was US$22+$10 shipping. Most sold for rather more.

Haven't had a manual prime before so will have to learn on how to properly shoot with it. Read the thread here on the forums, but doing it practically will be something else.

Its optics are great. The challenge is that this is an M-type lens. It can be used in Av mode only when the aperture is wide-open. For stop-down metering+shooting, use M(anual) mode and the Green button. Be sure to try CIF (catch-in-focus) and zone focusing. Have fun!

[abacus07]

Buy the 50 but pass on the zoom. I love my A50/1.7 version that I have and it is my daily walkabout kit with the K24/2.8. The zoom is pretty decent from everything that I've read but also nothing to get excited about. I actually have a promaster version in MN from an Ebay lot that I don't care whether or not it ever makes it to Taiwan. It won't replace the compact M135 or the recently acquired Supertak 105.

Here are the photos that I have tagged as A50f1.7. Flickr: abacus07's stuff tagged with a50f17 I particularly like the streetlight starburst from this lens.