[Frito]

My favorites are the M 50mm f/1.7 and the M 135mm f/3.5 basically because they are the only 2 lens I have right now.

[phreon]

SMC Pentax M f1.4 50mm - It can enter a realm called "stupidly sharp", the shallow DoF can used to great effect, great bokeh and the build quality is perfect. Nice smooth controls. I'll take this lens to my grave.

SMC Pentax A Zoom f3.5 35-105mm - A beastly heavy lens and somewhat of a rarity in that it's a constant aperture zoom. It also has a trick up its sleeve; turn the focus ring to the near stop, slide it forward and you are now in macro focus mode. It was called the "stack of primes" in its day; I'm not sure it deserves that name in today's market, but it *is* darned sharp, versatile and gives images a quality that's very hard to describe. Three dimensional? It "pops"? Whatever it is, it's worth the hassle of dealing with stop down metering on the K3.

[steamloco76]

I have a manual lens addiction.
No single favorite.
ZOOM-
Pentax SMC-A 70-210 F4 macro. This lens bumps my 55-300 HD from my bag on many occasions.
PRIMES-
Samyang 8mm CSII fisheye
Vivitar 28mm f2 Close Focus
Sears (Rikenon) 50mm f2
Pentax SMC K 50 f1.2
Pentax SMC K 135 f2.5
Pentax SMC K 200 f2.5

[Ronald Oakes]

Here lately I have been very pleased with a SMC-M 28mm f3.5 lens I picked up in a ME Super kit.
I never played with the M series , but giving them much more consideration since Ive seen what they can do !

[Wasp]

This is a hard question to answer. Each focal length has its own charms.

My current favorite is the Rokinon 85mm f/1.4. Just the thing for doing bokeh. It works well for regular photography too.

Historically, it would be the SMC Pentax M 200mm f/4 - very compact for a 200mm. It was the first Pentax lens that I bought new and has seen a lot of use over the years. These days, it sits in a dark place. I really must take it for an outing.

Two lenses that have rediscovered this year are the SMC Pentax M 20mm f/4 and SMC Pentax M 28mm f/2.8 - just right for street photography. Compact, sharp and at f/11 you don't have to mess around with focus - just point and shoot.

PS: I don't have any manual focus zoom lenses.

[Cerebum]

My silver Yashika auto Yashinon 55mm f1.8 is beautiful, and soooooo sharp. Yep, its a tomioka! Also, another vote for the Takumar 55mm f2

And the Pentax-M 50mm f2 for that matter

[bikehead90]

This is a hard question to answer. Each focal length has its own charms.

My current favorite is the Rokinon 85mm f/1.4. Just the thing for doing bokeh. It works well for regular photography too.

Historically, it would be the SMC Pentax M 200mm f/4 - very compact for a 200mm. It was the first Pentax lens that I bought new and has seen a lot of use over the years. These days, it sits in a dark place. I really must take it for an outing.

Two lenses that have rediscovered this year are the SMC Pentax M 20mm f/4 and SMC Pentax M 28mm f/2.8 - just right for street photography. Compact, sharp and at f/11 you don't have to mess around with focus - just point and shoot.

PS: I don't have any manual focus zoom lenses.

Is that a modern-ish Rokinon? I’ve been wanting an 85mm, and Have been eyeing it. Also really need to shoot my own 28mm more.

[Wasp]

Is that a modern-ish Rokinon? I’ve been wanting an 85mm, and Have been eyeing it. Also really need to shoot my own 28mm more.

Yes, it is the one that is still on sale. I am not sure when mine was built, as I bought it used. The only thing that changed over the years was the lens coating AFAIK. It is the most affordable modern K mount 85mm lens. The aperture ringhas an A position, so it functions exactly like any Pentax A series MF lens.

The Pentaxian on a budget don't have many option in 85mm. The A* and FA* will make your wallet bleed. The SMC Pentax 85mm f/1.8 is legendary and so is the price. It is also available as a Takumar in M42 mount at equally high prices. The later SMC Pentax 85mm f/2 is not quite as legendary but can be pricey. The Jupiter 9 is bit of a weird antique, but if you get a good one it can deliver good results.

I can definitely recommend the Rokinon. I liked it so much that I got its Samyang brother in Samsung NX mount as well. I have since developed a bit of buyer's remorse about that, but it is not a fault of the product.

[grey goat]

This is a tough question. It'd be tempting to answer, "The one I'm using now" or "The one I need for this shot."

The K 28/3.5 is a sweetie, for sure. (I liked my M 28/3.5 a lot, too, but I sold it earlier this year.)

The K 85/1.8 would probably get the nod. It feels great, works great, and yields great images when I get things right. (And, yes, Wasp is right: the K 85/1.8 isn't cheap. But I noticed someone sold an M 85/2 recently for $100, so it's possible to get an affordable Pentax 85.)

And the K 135/2.5. I've got so many good photographs with that lens. . . .

But if I need a 50, one of my half-dozen Pentax 50s fits the bill.

I don't have young eyes anymore, and I'm very thankful for the diopter on my K-3ii. But I have only two AF lenses, the DA 70/2.4 and the DA 21/3.2; the 70 is particularly nice when I need it. Even then, I focus manually with it more often than not.

I guess I'm just used to focusing manually, and I enjoy it; and the green button's so easy to use for manual exposures. I can't imagine replacing my 35+ year old manual glass with more modern AF lenses.

[bikehead90]

The Pentaxian on a budget don't have many option in 85mm. The A* and FA* will make your wallet bleed. The SMC Pentax 85mm f/1.8 is legendary and so is the price. It is also available as a Takumar in M42 mount at equally high prices. The later SMC Pentax 85mm f/2 is not quite as legendary but can be pricey. The Jupiter 9 is bit of a weird antique, but if you get a good one it can deliver good results.

I’ve been wanting an 85mm, but am cautious to the steep price of entry to either the A* or FA*. I keep looking at the K 85 1.8, but for the price the Helios 40 keeps coming back to me. Something about the swirl bokeh. I’ve got the Helios 44-2, and am smitten with that Soviet beast.

What’s the Jupiter 9 like?

[guinnessman]

I’ve been wanting an 85mm, but am cautious to the steep price of entry to either the A* or FA*. I keep looking at the K 85 1.8, but for the price the Helios 40 keeps coming back to me. Something about the swirl bokeh. I’ve got the Helios 44-2, and am smitten with that Soviet beast.

What’s the Jupiter 9 like?

I was about to reply below as to my favorite lenses, but then I saw your question, and as it happens, the Jupiter 9 is one of them. The SMC 50/1.4 is the other.

It's softer wide open, but stepped down to 4 or 5.6, it's sharp. I know nothing about the Helios 40, other than when I read about it years ago when I first started dabbling in Soviet gear - the price then (and now) shy me away.

The Jupiter has some funky stepdown pre-set handling - you set what you want to stepdown to with one aperture ring, focus wide open, then twist a different ring to step down to that desired aperture.

[bikehead90]

The Jupiter has some funky stepdown pre-set handling - you set what you want to stepdown to with one aperture ring, focus wide open, then twist a different ring to step down to that desired aperture.

My Helios 44 and Super Tac 200 has double aperture rings. I’ve always wondered what these were for. It’s one of the more curious design choices of early camera lenses IMO.

[Lhorn]

sears 1358/f2.8 macro my most favorite lens!! have purchased 3 of them after the first one I had and fell in love broke....for as inexpensive as they are I bought a few so I would never be with out it ever again!

That was my first lens. In high school I saved up my meager dollars for a Program Plus. Didn't have much left over for a lens, so this was the lens I bought. I never got to use it much because I didn't have much money for film and the Program Plus broke. The lens got handed down to my Dad and his K1000. Hadn't seen it in nearly 30 years until my Dad gave me all of his old film stuff. Just yesterday I put it on my recently acquired new Program Plus and shot a pic with that lens for the first time since I was a teen. Looking forward to developing the film.

Got me interested in other Sears lenses.
Anyone know if the Sears 28/2.8 macro is worth picking up? I've got a Rokinon 28mm that I'm sure that I am impressed with and thinking of other inexpensive 28mm.

Should I get the Sears or pay a few bucks more for a Pentax A or M?

[kernos]

Ok in focal length order

Spiratone YS 24mm 2.8 - the bubble machine, 3D effect

Canon FL 55mm 1.2 - sharper than you would believe wide open

Tokina AT-X 90mm 2.5 macro - bokeh and sharpness

Formula 5 135mm 1.8 - literally described as exhibiting every aberration known to optical science. Nonetheless, it can produce impressionistic wonders under the right conditions.

[Aaron28]

Anyone know if the Sears 28/2.8 macro is worth picking up?

my inclination would be yes! have a plain jane sears 28/2.8 and use it often! I have a jc penny 28/f2.8 'a' lens that's a bit better because the flash capabilities being a 'a' lens

would think the macro version allows for closer focusing but don't know.....also don't know if the macro 'clicks' into place like the 135macro....since I have a few 28s and cosina 24/f2.8 macro I have not set out to get the sears 28macro.....right price I might be tempted

a few examples of the sears 28/f2.8.....