[iheiramo]

What a month. M50/1.7 is such a solid performer. Time for the monthly wrap up. This was my first manual vintage lens and it got me hooked with old gear. With APSC it was a bit long and on travel I preferred 35mm or 40mm as main lens. Now with FF 50mm is right there in flexible normal angle of view and can be used as main lens on travel.

This is the best fifty in M series for travel use. F1.4 has some advantage in wide open and f4 naturally in macro, but f1.7 has an edge in landscapes and in versatility. I really can't find much weakness in this lens. Of course, it's soft wide open, but that is how these were designed and it makes bokeh real soft. There is a clear difference in sharpness and bokeh already at f2. OOF highlights loose their roundness already f2 and turn hexagonal, which might be negative for some. I don't really care. Sharpness increase a little with every step down to f5.6. At f5.6 this lens is so sharp that there is no need to talk about it. Didn't really pay attention to corner sharpness, but atleast at f5.6 lens is sharp from corner to corner and that's enough for my way of shooting as I like to do my landscapes between 5.6 and 8 anyway. I don't think I used apertures smaller than 8 during the month.

I like the bokeh from this lens. Wide open f1.4 is better, but once stopped down I think f1.7 has advantage. At least that was case in APSC format. Transition form sharp to bokeh is one of the strong points of this lens.

I had DA50/1.8 before I bought M50/1.7. From the first test shots I was really exited about the rendering of this lens. There was such graceness and easiness that DA was missing and what made my shoots look better. Same aspects can be found in a lot of M series primes, so it doesn't feel so unique to me anymore, but I still love what this lens can produce. You can shoot macro, close up, portrait, landscape or whatever and it delivers great results. Magnificent lens and due to huge amount in used markets these are practically free. The very best value in Pentax world

I'm going to continue SIC with M primes next month, but I still haven't decided what lens I'll be using. Something longer for sure, but there are so many possibilities between 100 and 150mm.

Wide open:


f2:


f2:


f?:


f?:


f?


f5.6:


f8:

[jcdoss]

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Unlocked
K-1, M100f2.8

[edom31]

Brooklyn Bridge area - M 28/2.8

[edom31]

M 28/2.8 - More Vessel shots - this is a very interesting structure to get some cool imaginative compositions (not that I did, but I tried)...

[djb47]

That is one cool looking building Ed.

[mroeder75]

These are incredibly well-thought out compositions.

[microlight]

Astonishing architecture, and very well-caught.

[edom31]

That is one cool looking building Ed.

These are incredibly well-thought out compositions.

Astonishing architecture, and very well-caught.

Thank you - the place makes it easy to take a good shot - lots of symmetry everywhere, just needs a non-distorting wide angle = I wonder how the pentax shift lens would perform!

[paulh]

Yellow & pink - M50/1.7 on *ist D:

[northcoastgreg]

Side of El Capitan, with the M 75-150:

[jcdoss]

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Buffalo River rock bluff and foliage on the right
Pentax K-1 mII, M*300

[Jonathan Mac]

M 35mm f/2.8 wide open on Fujifilm X-T20


Yellow by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


Crumbling by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr

[edom31]

M 28/2.8

[iheiramo]

K1ii & M135:

[edom31]

M 28/2.8