[jawats]

All,

I am looking at buying an inexpensive 28mm to experiment with landscapes, close-up, etc. I see two which may serve my purposes and are in my price range on some auction site you may know.

One is the:

Tamron-F 28mm (here: Tamron-F 28mm F2.8 Lens Reviews - Tamron Lenses - Pentax Lens Review Database),

and the other is the:

Sears 28mm macro (here: Sears 28mm f2.8 Multicoated Macro PK (manual)/KR (auto) Lens Reviews - Miscellaneous Lenses - Pentax Lens Review Database)

I also have the Pentax 18-55 AL, which I have found...meh. However, would either of these 28mm primes be any better? I am not concerned with AF / MF particularly.

[pepperberry farm]

price range?

which camera body?

there are simply dozens of potential candidates for you at the 28mm focal length.... but why not start with a Pentax SMC lens? an M or an A 28mm?

[conniption]

That's simple, K 28 f3.5

[tvdtvdtvd]

As you are considering both AF and MF, I second the recommendation for the K28/3.5. Stellar lens with beautiful pop. The M28/3.5 is
also quite good. A personal favorite is my older M42 Auto Sears 28/2.8. It has lovely colors and a beautiful rendering but does suffer from
low contrast and will flare like a nova.

[Ronald Oakes]

I actually have that lens sitting on my table right now getting ready to list it For Sale here on the forum !
Like many other 28mm lenses its a good solid choice among several dozen lenses.

---------- Post added 07-05-18 at 07:21 ----------

All,

I am looking at buying an inexpensive 28mm to experiment with landscapes, close-up, etc. I see two which may serve my purposes and are in my price range on some auction site you may know.

One is the:

Tamron-F 28mm (here: Tamron-F 28mm F2.8 Lens Reviews - Tamron Lenses - Pentax Lens Review Database),

and the other is the:

Sears 28mm macro (here: Sears 28mm f2.8 Multicoated Macro PK (manual)/KR (auto) Lens Reviews - Miscellaneous Lenses - Pentax Lens Review Database)

I also have the Pentax 18-55 AL, which I have found...meh. However, would either of these 28mm primes be any better? I am not concerned with AF / MF particularly.

Since I have shot with all 3 lenses mentioned. Either of the 28's are quite good , and either will easily equal or better the DAL18-55 AL Kit lens when you do your part.

[marcusBMG]

Plenitude of choice at 28mm. However my experience is that only the highly rated ones offer something more than the kit lens - the 18-55's are good at this focal length and not yet too slow. As a generalisation the MF 28's may offer a bit more detail and more consistent resolution across the frame on apsc stopped down but the kit lens has AF and brighter, contrastier (esp colour) results. See my reviews.

The "K" 28mm f3.5 is a plum but costs a lot more typically than the "M" 28mm f3.5 and is more difficult to find. So I would suggest the "M". The f2.8 version is pretty good too, perhaps a little less consistent than the f3.5.

The sears could be a rebranded tokina, -update not the one linked to, that's made in Korea - which is a reliable choice in all its various incarnations. That review is a for sale listing!!
Overall there are few bad 28's, but not many that really impress.
One lens I can recommend for landscape is the vivitar (komine) 35mm f2.8 - my copy is sharper at f8 than my DA 35mm f2.4! Or, if you want wider, the sigma superwide II 24mm f2.8.

[kernos]

It's a 24mm, but the Spiratone Plura-Coat 24mm 2.8 is a sweet lens. Sharp in the center, 3D and can be made to do bubble bokeh. I think there is a 28mm Spiratone, but I don't know if its the same lens design.

[jawats]

Plenitude of choice at 28mm. However my experience is that only the highly rated ones offer something more than the kit lens - the 18-55's are good at this focal length and not yet too slow. As a generalisation the MF 28's may offer a bit more detail and more consistent resolution across the frame on apsc stopped down but the kit lens has AF and brighter, contrastier (esp colour) results. See my reviews.

The "K" 28mm f3.5 is a plum but costs a lot more typically than the "M" 28mm f3.5 and is more difficult to find. So I would suggest the "M". The f2.8 version is pretty good too, perhaps a little less consistent than the f3.5.

The sears could be a rebranded tokina, -update not the one linked to, that's made in Korea - which is a reliable choice in all its various incarnations. That review is a for sale listing!!
Overall there are few bad 28's, but not many that really impress.
One lens I can recommend for landscape is the vivitar (komine) 35mm f2.8 - my copy is sharper at f8 than my DA 35mm f2.4! Or, if you want wider, the sigma superwide II 24mm f2.8.

Marcus,

I have a Takumar 35mm which works well on my K-3 when I added a hood. I love the color reps. However, I was looking for something a bit wider.

[ChristianRock]

I think if the OP wants closeups and landscapes a 24mm lens might be better. They will typically focus a lot closer than the 28mm lenses. The Cosina and Tokina made lenses (including those sold under the Vivitar name) perform very well and are not going to be expensive.

[Ronald Oakes]

Plenitude of choice at 28mm. However my experience is that only the highly rated ones offer something more than the kit lens - the 18-55's are good at this focal length and not yet too slow. As a generalisation the MF 28's may offer a bit more detail and more consistent resolution across the frame on apsc stopped down but the kit lens has AF and brighter, contrastier (esp colour) results. See my reviews.

The "K" 28mm f3.5 is a plum but costs a lot more typically than the "M" 28mm f3.5 and is more difficult to find. So I would suggest the "M". The f2.8 version is pretty good too, perhaps a little less consistent than the f3.5.

The sears could be a rebranded tokina, -update not the one linked to, that's made in Korea - which is a reliable choice in all its various incarnations. That review is a for sale listing!!
Overall there are few bad 28's, but not many that really impress.
One lens I can recommend for landscape is the vivitar (komine) 35mm f2.8 - my copy is sharper at f8 than my DA 35mm f2.4! Or, if you want wider, the sigma superwide II 24mm f2.8.

Im going to digress a bit on my earlier statement "can easily best the DAL 18-55AL lens".
Markus is right that the kit lens is strongest at the wider end , and if you work with it a bit is a better performer than gets mentioned very often.

[kernos]

As an addendum to the 24mm Spiratone, here is my review with some flower closeups including some extreme shots on extension tubes. Agree with ChristianRock that a 24mm will focus closer. Bubble bokeh has to be worked at but can easily be achieved at MFD wide open. Closing down the aperture will make it disappear and sharpen the overall photo.

[Ronald Oakes]

If $$$ is a major issue , and you really want to jump into a 28mm Prime ?
My recommendation is to get a Ricoh Rikenon "P" 28mm 2.8 !
You should be able to find one on Ebay for possibly as little as $10-15......a great little performer !

I have had 5 copies that I paid less than a Pizza at Papa Johns , that were acquired from Goodwill auctions.
Kept the best after testing and figure they are so good , that its not even worth selling.
I kept two ….one for FF and one for APS-C.

That says alot for a Lens that gets overlooked daily !

[edom31]

I used an M 28/2.8 for a whole vacation shoot a few years ago (beach, mountain, city, family) - it became my favorite lens.

It also does great portraits, but of course the subjects must be comfortable with the lens to their face (think non-toddling babies)

[stevebrot]

Conventional wisdom on this site for manual focus is any of the Komine-made* Vivitar 28s. They are inexpensive, nicely built, compact, and above average for optical quality. They originally sold in the same price range as the Pentax-M and Pentax-A 28/2.8 and are of at least equivalent quality.

My perennial recommendation is the Adaptall2 Tamron 28/2.5 (02B). A K-mount adapter is required (I recommend the standard K/M over the often problem-prone KA version), but even with that factored in, the price is usually under the contemporary for excellent build, compact size, and above average optical quality. Price new for the Tamron was about twice that of the Pentax product. I know that from personal experience, having bought mine new in 1982 with no regrets.

A good resource might be the 28mm club on here at Pentax Forums...

DSLR fun with 28mm: Club for any 28mm lens - PentaxForums.com

FWIW...there is an old adage that it is pretty hard to make a crummy 28mm (ditto for 135mm). The quality has been uniformly good, industry wide, since the late-60s/early-70s.


Steve

* For a number of years (70s-80s), Vivitar serial numbers betray their origins. Those made by Komine begin with "28". Vivitar Lens Manufactuers

[stevebrot]

My recommendation is to get a Ricoh Rikenon "P" 28mm 2.8 !

Warning! Ricoh Pin may jam with the AF drive pawl.

While not all "P" series Rikenons have the "pin" variant that is sure to foul your Pentax AF camera, all potentially are sources of significant grief. Do a Web search on the term "Ricoh Pin" for many sad stories as well as guides for detection and assessment of risk.


Steve