[starjedi]

Good so far! But the "Bokina" is just awesome.

Yep. Tokina 90mm F2.5 is one of my favorited lenses, together with FA31mm legendary.

[jbondo]

My following faves get shared with Pentax as well as Canon FF bodies. I selected based on: how many 5 star shots in my catalog, ease of carrying, unobtrusiveness.
K17/4 - it's just so small and easy to carry and as long as you don't overdo the cliche, folks love the results.
K50/1.2 - at literally half the size of the Canon EF 50 1.2, this sweet and small to casually carry to events. This plus a 6D in available low light are a dream team.
K135/2.5 - despite the OOF color bokeh wide open, I have an unusually large number of keepers from this one. Surprisingly, I get more winners with this than with the 85/1.8.
Runners up: K35/3.5, M85/2 on the K-01 for excellent results in a small package. M35-70/2.8-3.5 zoom is very good for general video use.

[Vantage-Point]

I really enjoy using the FA 50 mm F2.8 macro. It's sharp, produces great color, and love the metal build!

[onlineflyer]

My favorite Pentax K-mount legacy lens is my SMC 30mm/2.8 due to its sharpness, color and overall picture quality. My favorite non-Pentax brand K-mount is my Vivitar Series 1 90mm-180mm flat field zoom. While it's large and heavy, pictures taken with this lens are simply incredible.

[8540tomg]

Lot's of legacy glass in my collection but if I had to pick one it would be the K 200/2.5.

200mm isn't everyone favourite focal length but I like it for sports, portraits and in a pinch birding. It's sharp, fast, light enough to hand hold but more importantly (to me) it just feels good.

What more could you want.

Tom G

[Kerrowdown]

What's your favorite K-mount Legacy lens & why?

Can I get away with just saying... any of my "Ladies" and it's because they treat me so well.

[BlakeShellman]

My favorite is the A series 50mm f/1.4. This lens adorned my father's ME Super. I have great memories of traveling with my parents and my Dad snapping away with that setup. He was so proud to own that combo. I remember him spending ages trying to get perfect focus with his degrading eyesight. Thankfully I have AF to lean on.

When I dug into the history of Takumar and Pentax lenses I got an appreciation of how fabulous this lens is I got another appreciation for it. The design is simple, classic, and timeless. In fact, the basic design is good enough to be made to do this day! There are cheaper 50mm lenses, like the DA 50mm f/1.8 but the A series design seems to live on in the FA series.

I'm pretty sure I had the same lens on my MX. Back then I had a 50mm and a 2X tele-converter I think. Vivitar if I remember. I just bought another one a few weeks ago. Haven't had a chance to use it but it looks and seems to perform like it's almost new.

[lesmore49]

My Pentax A 35-105 Macro Zoom. Bought it in '84, after a glowing review in Popular Photography. One of the reasons I kept with the Pentax system in this digital era, is because I wanted to continue using this great lens.

[toukan]

I love the A50/2.8 macro.....super sharp as a macro, can also be used as a regular 50, beautiful colors and great handling(like almost all Pentax legacy glass of course.

---------- Post added 12-15-14 at 10:36 PM ----------

Also, the F50/1.7 that I got for $10 is awesome as well.

---------- Post added 12-15-14 at 10:36 PM ----------

Also, the F50/1.7 that I got for $10 is awesome as well.

[LesDMess]

There are many but for this I will highlight the SMC Pentax-M 50mm F4 Macro.

I picked this up from a local CL listing and wasn't really sure what condition it was in until I tested it on my K20D and other film bodies - I was pleasantly surprised.

I test all my lenses using a 4 X 4 arrangement of ISO 12233 res charts to determine just how high resolving it is given its unknown condition. The results from these tests are multiplied by 4. Using the K20D, I can establish a baseline by comparing it to results from others like DPREVIEW showing the 14.6MP K20D ideally attains about 24 -> Pentax K20D Review: Digital Photography Review. My results below show the K20D+this lens achieves that wide open to F11.

But of course since I primarily use film, I also test it on my film bodies and in this case with Kodak Techpan @ ISO25 processed in Technidol and then scanned 4000dpi on Coolscan. As shown below, this combination achieves much higher results of about 30~36.

Since I have the Pentax Autobellows, I took a peak at the frame of film at about 4.5X magnification and as you can see from the far right blowup, this lens+film combination actually achieves an even higher 52.

Given these results, it is not likely to be the weak link - at least in terms of resolution, until a sensor of >50MP is available.


Full res version -> http://www.fototime.com/A08A371F28ED137/orig.jpg

Armed with this knowledge, I can feel confident in shooting sharp film like Kodak Gold 100 knowing it will not be the limiting factor.




Even high resolving film like Fuji Velvia (ISO50) takes good advantage of this sharpness.



BTW, since this is not a factory fresh copy, I am still not sure if it is the lens or the film that is the limiting factor . . .

[cbope]

My favorite would be my mint-condition M 28/2.8. I never owned this lens in my film days but always wanted one. The color rendition is classic SMC-Pentax, and it's pretty sharp as long as you keep flare under control, even at f/2.8.

My second favorite would be its twin, the M 50/2. You have to look very carefully to tell these lenses apart unless you have the cap off. Mine came with my first Pentax, an ME Super in the early 80's, so I have a sentimental attachment to it. It's also quite a good lens and I feel overlooked when compared to the bigger 1.4 and 1.7 versions.

All my M lenses work well on my K-5, but you have to be careful with bright light in the frame because they flare like crazy. I feel the problem is due to light reflecting off the surface of the sensor and hitting the rear element. Modern "digital" lenses have a specific coating on the rear elements to control this and of course it's missing on these vintage lenses.

[cali92rs]

K28/2, one of the best lenses Pentax has ever made. Built like a tank, easy to manual focus and superb optics. One of the Zeiss/Pentax lens collaborations, with floating elements.

Phil.

+1000
For me, it isn't even close. It is a wonderful focal length for both film and on APS-C. The rendering is magical.
And people like to talk about the Limiteds build quality. With this lens, you can smash all the limiteds into dust and then go out shooting a few seconds later lol.

[GeneV]

For me, it has been the SMC K135/2.5. It served me so well, that I held of purchasing the DA* 50-135 as long as I did. Now, I expect it will continue to see service attached to an adapter on a mirrorless body.

[monochrome]

For me, it has been the SMC K135/2.5. It served me so well, that I held of purchasing the DA* 50-135 as long as I did.

I had that one and my K200/2.5 on my finalist list. I posted the the 35/3.5 but I'm still wavering.

Now, I expect it will continue to see service attached to an adapter on a mirrorless body.

What are you saying!!!??

[boriscleto]

Now, I expect it will continue to see service attached to an adapter on a mirrorless body.

What are you saying!!!??

135mm is a very nice focal length on a Q...like having a 500mm on APS-C. You would need a 750mm on a FF...