[SSGGeezer]

Vivitar Series 1 28 to 105 close focus. Really a macro at 28mm. Or maybe my K-200.

[clickclick]

Vivitar Series 1 28 to 105 close focus

Is this the 2.8-3.8 variant with 67mm filter size? I picked one of these up off eBay for nothing due to a problem with the aperture. I fixed that, but it turned out to be decentered. I've gone through it several times, but can't find anything to explain it. I like the size, and if it weren't decentered, I'd use it on my K-1 II. I've thought about looking for another copy.

[Cerebum]

Yashika auto yashinon 55mm f1.8. Incredibly sharp and the silver one is soooo pretty. I also have a tokina RMC 28mm f2.8 on a Fuji X-E1 and it is astonishing for such a cheap lens, although, saying that, prices have recently doubled so maybe the secret is out

[robbiec]

I'm just going to say my fav mf lens is the smc k55/1.8, it has its weaknesses sure, but it is small, sharp enough, has interesting bokeh wide open and achieving focus at 4 or 5 feet away @f/1.8 is like watching a light come on in slow motion.

[bikehead90]

Vivitar Series 1 28 to 105 close focus. Really a macro at 28mm. Or maybe my K-200.

Have you ever shot the Pentax A 35-105? Because I've been curious about the performance of the similar Series 1. I found a Series 1 hard case at a yard sale and kind of want something to fill it with.

[SSGGeezer]

Have you ever shot the Pentax A 35-105? Because I've been curious about the performance of the similar Series 1. I found a Series 1 hard case at a yard sale and kind of want something to fill it with.

No, sad to say that I have not used the A 35-105, There have been several for sale here recently but my current situation means I can't grab one. I have the case for the series 1 and it is nice! Nicer than the case that came with my Pentax 135 f3/3.5, that is for sure!

[pepperberry farm]

Have you ever shot the Pentax A 35-105? Because I've been curious about the performance of the similar Series 1. I found a Series 1 hard case at a yard sale and kind of want something to fill it with.

I have... and it deserves every bit of the moniker, "Stack of Primes"...

[bikehead90]

I have... and it deserves every bit of the moniker, "Stack of Primes"...

That’s why I love mine, I was just wondering if the Series 1 was worth getting

[Thagomizer]

I have... and it deserves every bit of the moniker, "Stack of Primes"...

I've got one I'll have to play with more; I haven't really given it a good workout. It's a bit beat up; I had to replace the rubber grip on the zoom ring, but other than some abrasions on the finish, seems to be okay.

[Wheatfield]

It’s a very simple question: what (Pentax) manual focus lenses would you never want to be without? Part of this is to get some ideas of lenses to look out for, and also I’m simply curious.

In no particular order
A*85/1.4
A*600/5.6
A15/3.5 (it's not a really great lens, the 15-30/2.8 is better, but it's a really cool lens).
A20/2.8
A50/1.2 (Even though I have a D FA*50/1.4, I will never let my A50/1.2 go.
K150/3.5 (an unsung gem of a lens).
K Bellows 100/4
A400/5.6.
I also have a number of Nikkor, Fuji and Shcneider enlarger lenses that I use for macro that I won't let go of, but you specified Pentax, so I won't list them all.

[JensE]

My favorite Pentax manual lens is actually a choice out of only 3: I like my CJZ 135/3.5 better than the Pentax-M, the lightweight A 200/4 is a purple fringing monster, so my favorite is the compact A 24/2.8. Nothing spectacular, but a solid performer that fills a gap in the currently available primes on the K-1.


Across brands, as many mentioned, the Helios 44-M-4 (58/2) is nice, I absolutely love the rendering of the medium format Biometar 80/2.8 MC, I never leave without the superbly handling Color Skopar 20/3.5 in my K-1 bag, but my favorite by some margin is the modern Samyang 12/2.8 fish-eye. Extreme angles, excellent handling of flare, very useful projection and great resolution across the frame.

Reviewing the above, 3 of 4 of my 'favorites' are classic Carl Zeiss, or Zeiss-based lenses. They'd see more use if only they wouldn't flare that much and handled better. I should resume my quest to find 'ZKs' at an acceptable price.

[pleo]

As for

- Zeiss ZK:
I Had the Planar 1.4/50 and it's a very good lens. I found it to be better than the Pentax K 1.2/50.
From f 4.0 the is hardly to find any difference though.
But Zeiss seems to have decided not to build ZK-line any longer....


- Vivitar S 1 28-105
I had 3 copies of this lens, one (my first one) for quite a Long time.
I disliked the vario-focus-system: very Little bit of changig the focal length changes the focussing too!... and that happens quite often with a one-ring zoom.
Wide opened it's not really optical great/good but 1/2 stop is enough to improve noticeably!
The lens seems to be built very solid but the internal zoom-ring-mechanism isn't.
On a 6 MP dslr it's a quite useful lens but with the more demanding dslr with much more Megapixel I found it not to be good enough.

Quite differently to some of the 28mm-primes.On film-slr there wasn't a difference to the Vivitar S1 but on any dslr.....
I'm still using my 2.8/28 and Tamron 2.5/28.

[ryanM]

K 28 f3.5 and the K 35 f 3.5 are a couple of my favorites when shooting Kodak Portra 160 or 400. They do a pretty bang up job on my K 5IIs too.


I really like the M 135 f3.5 quite a bit. It's a great small size, has a built in hood, and I really like the image quality.


And I don't own it anymore, but I thought the 77mm f1.8 limited was very special. I had that back in the day and loved it when shooting film, especially black and white.


K 50 f1.4. I don't know why, but I always have this lens in my bag. I love it.

[pschlute]

I really like the M 135 f3.5 quite a bit. It's a great small size, has a built in hood, and I really like the image quality.

One of the most under-rated Pentax lenses. Probably because they produced and sold so many they are cheap as chips. A great addition to anyone's camera bag.

[Serkevan]

One of the most under-rated Pentax lenses. Probably because they produced and sold so many they are cheap as chips. A great addition to anyone's camera bag.

I got mine for 10€ and it's pretty darn great on the K-1. Nailing focus on the VF can be a bit too difficult but when you do the results are oh so satisfying...
I'd love it if Pentax reissued some -let's say the M20/4, the M85/2 and the M135/3.5- of the M series lenses with AF and HD coatings as budget primes (I guess the M135 could be sold for 200€ or even less, as it's a quite simple optical formula). Heck, for the M20/4 maybe even skip the AF, just make it WR.