I keep seeing Top Ten lists of all sorts of things, so I got to thinking about my lens collection and wondered what my Top Ten lenses would be. I puzzled over the question and switched lenses in and out. I use my P67 and P645 lenses on the K-1/3 and on the 645N/D/Z as well, so I just mixed the different format lenses on the same list. Most of my amateur photography involves flowers and landscape, and I have a bit of a bias toward macro and close-focussing lenses in general. I do not use AF very often, so it is easy for me to include non-AF lenses in my Top Ten. Almost all my lenses are prime, and I seldom use zoomers, so none of these are included in my Top Ten, although I am well aware that there are some truly excellent ones available. Nowadays I try not to buy any new lenses unless I think they have a fair chance of taking the place of a lens that is already in my Top Ten.
I look forward to comments and suggestions about these lists. Please feel free to tell me that I have included a bad lens (and why) . . . or tell me of something better that I should have put on the list from my Honorable Mention list or elsewhere.
Top Ten Favorite Lenses
Pentax-D FA 645 90mm f 2.8 (The lens that has everything so you can even take flower pictures in the rain.)
Carl Zeiss Planar 100mm f 2.0 macro T* (The lens that turns casual shots into art work.)
Pentax 67 75mm f 2.8 (Great lens and very good all around focal length.)
Pentax-FA 85mm f 1.4 (Good for taking pictures of people.)
Pentax-FA 77mm f 1.9 (My wife calls this one our magic lens.)
Pentax-FA 31mm f 1.8 (Lens I need to start using more than I do.)
Pentax-FA 645 35mm f 3.5 (Fantastic MFD and sharpness.)
Pentax 67 100mm f 3.5 macro 1:1 with extender (This one may be one of the world's most perfect lenses even when not using as macro.)
Pentax 67 105mm f 2.4 (Thousands of wedding photographers can't all be wrong!)
Pentax-FA 645 120mm f 4.0 (Nice macro to reach 1:1 without tubes or extenders.)
Honorable Mention
Pentax-D FA 645 55mm f 2.8 (I kept putting this one on the Top Ten list and then moving it out in favor of something else.)
Pentax-FA 43mm f 1.8 (Great normal lens, destined to live in the shade cast by the 31 and 77 limited.)
Pentax 67 55mm f 4.0 (This one should be in my top 10 because of image quality, sharpness, and close focus, but I cannot figure out which one I would remove to in order to include it.)
Pentax-D FA 50mm f 2.8 macro (My "reference" lens, the one I grab when sharpness and accurate documentation are needed.)
Mamiya C 645 80mm f 1.9 (The one for shooting in the dark, only wish it could fit on the Pentax 645 cameras.)
Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 180mm f 2.8 (Great image quality, gives impression of effortless naturalness, but heavy to carry around.)
Kiron 105mm f 2.8 1:1 macro
Canon-FD 55mm f 1.2 (converted to K mount)
Canon-FL 55mm f 1.2 (converted to K mount)
Tokina AT-X 90mm f 2.5 macro
Carl Zeiss Jena 80mm f 2.8
Crl Zeiss Jena 120mm f 2.8
Last edited by ivanvernon; 09-21-2019 at 06:38 AM.
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