[Athanassios]

Many days of trial and error. I feel that whoever owns an SMC Pentax-A 50mm F1.2 will be smiling for the DA level sharpness I managed to get at F1.2. They have to understand my struggle!
ISO400, f/1.2, 1/320s,
+
WITH a KP at Manual-U4 mode, Clarity +4, xS +2 in color profile, spot metering, DOF priority, High Speed priority at ISO settings.
AND: Adobe RAW with lens profile and sharpness at 125 with Radius +3
🤯🤯🤯 this lens is almost untameable!
PS: if you have any other settings/tricks please tell me !

Attached Images

 

[Michail_P]

I see a shot that almost doesn’t explain the struggle you mention above! Is the lens so soft ?

[photoptimist]

Alas, if you want sharpness, the best trick is to stop-down that lens!

Seven elements in six groups (and no fancy-pants exotic optical materials and aspheric surfaces) is just not sufficient to create super sharpness at f/1.2.

Some people love this lens for exactly the way it is but that's because they know it works best with scenery and photographic intentions that benefit from the glow and softness of the images.

One of the deeper lessons in photography is that the base specs of a lens such as focal length and aperture are just the opening lines of the story of that lens. Thus, a photographer might find themselves owning several 50mm lenses and using all of them at different times because each one has its respective special qualities.

Note, I have the K version of that lens and find it quite versatile because it is nicely sharp stopped down and then also delightfully ethereal wide open.

[FozzFoster]

ISO400, f/1.2, 1/320s,

High Speed priority at ISO settings

There is nothing moving in this image. Why such a high shutter speed?
Perhaps slow that shutter down and put that extra light into lowering your ISO.

spot metering

not sure why spot metering would be chosen with this image.
You'll get a drastically different exposure if you pupil of the eyeball rather than the whites.

I also agree with @photooptimist
If you are looking for sharpness with this lens, you'll want to stop down.
Wide open on this lens is used for dark scenes or artistic phrasing where sharpness is not the paradigm purpose.

[pres589]

I wonder if this is a lens where, when the results are shot on film instead of digital, the output will seem more acceptable to the viewer. Shoot some TMax 100 or Portra 160 or push some HP5 to EI 3200 and see what you think of it then.

[garywakeling]

Some people love this lens for exactly the way it is but that's because they know it works best with scenery and photographic intentions that benefit from the glow and softness of the images.

One of the deeper lessons in photography is that the base specs of a lens such as focal length and aperture are just the opening lines of the story of that lens. Thus, a photographer might find themselves owning several 50mm lenses and using all of them at different times because each one has its respective special qualities.

I have the A version of this lens and have used and loved it since it was used on my LX film cameras, I have the current HD DFA 1.4 as well, it is clinically sharp but I still love the A 1.2, it feels like I am with an old friend, I just know what I am getting with each lens and enjoy both of them. The way you are using it and learning how it behaves is the right way to go, as the months go by you will just work out where it's strengths are and what it isn't that good for, enjoy the journey, it really is a wonderful lens and I hope it gives you many years of pleasure in your photographic journey, the only hint I can give you is to enjoy the narrow band of focus when wide open, yes, it can be challenging to nail the focus, however, when you do, as photoptimist says, you will realise the special qualities this lens can deliver.

[gofour3]

I have multiple Pentax 50/1.2 lenses and mostly use all of them wide open for the bokeh they produce. For me that's where they shine and the sharpness at f/1.2 is not an issue. (Note I only shoot film)

If I'm going to shoot a 50/1.2 wide open for close focusing, then I usually use my LX with a focusing screen/finder designed for fast lenses using a tripod. (Things get trickier using one of my auto-focus film cameras, where I can't change the finder or focusing screen and have to rely on the green focus confirmation light)

Phil.

[pepperberry farm]

PS: if you have any other settings/tricks please tell me !

no settings or tricks - just practice with the lens/camera as much as you can....

I shoot straight jpg and am quite happy with all my fast lenses...

[Athanassios]

I see a shot that almost doesn’t explain the struggle you mention above! Is the lens so soft ?

You see a shot that is sharp after all the struggle and effort was put in it. This lens with it's F1.2, it's manual focus and character can easily produce blurry images that some misjudge as soft. Even a moderator once called his shots and the lens "soft" at F1.2 as he was also using a tripod only to later take it back and took the blame on him.

---------- Post added 12-19-22 at 10:56 PM ----------

Alas, if you want sharpness, the best trick is to stop-down that lens!

Allow me to disagree. What's the point spending hundreds of $ if you can't use the F1.2 at it's best possible sharpness? Stopping-down is just admitting that you didn't do/know what it was necessary for optimal results at F1.2.

I don't disagree that narrower apertures are in deed sharper in general but you just can't overpass a problem so easily.

Seven elements in six groups (and no fancy-pants exotic optical materials and aspheric surfaces) is just not sufficient to create super sharpness at f/1.2.

Once again, I have to disagree. It's construction yes, is truly "sharpness unfriendly" but with some modern TLC (eg my camera settings and post processing tricks) you can manage getting DA sharpness out of Pentax-A.

One of the deeper lessons in photography is that the base specs of a lens such as focal length and aperture are just the opening lines of the story of that lens. Thus, a photographer might find themselves owning several 50mm lenses and using all of them at different times because each one has its respective special qualities.

The opening line of this Pentax-A is F1.2; not something narrower (ie higher aperture number) and F1.2 is not there for mere "artistic" photos (blurry/soft results with a sweet bo-keh). I do also have the FA 50mm F1.4 as well as "Kaiser", a copy of the monstrous HD D FA* 50mm F1.4. I have the "Grenade", my Pentax-A 50/1.2, dedicated for "walk around night shootings".

Note, I have the K version of that lens and find it quite versatile because it is nicely sharp stopped down and then also delightfully ethereal wide open.

After all my struggle and pain allow me to suggest you look again at the camera settings that enhanced the image's overall sharpness in a natural way. All my settings have a purpose. Even spot metering or high speed. I use a KP btw

[Athanassios]

There is nothing moving in this image. Why such a high shutter speed?
Perhaps slow that shutter down and put that extra light into lowering your ISO.

My initial setting on the KP for this lens in ISO is "100-3200" with a "high speed priority"; the opposite settings when I use my DA lenses.

Yes an ISO200 with an 1/160s seems more logical but the KP is handling ISO400 like other cameras do an ISO200. I did have pressed the "round green" button for metering and this is what Pentax KP decided even if I was aiming at a while-glossy plastic; the brightest area of the scene.

not sure why spot metering would be chosen with this image.
You'll get a drastically different exposure if you pupil of the eyeball rather than the whites.

One thing I've painfully learned with this lens is that its center is so bright/light absobring that with the other two metering modes the center gets over-exposed. In Adobe RAW for example, in AUTO correction, the application is reducing to -87! the highlights and after such modification the photo becomes properly exposed.

The F1.2 of the lens, coupled with it's construction make me guess that the lens is doomed to produce an over-exposed center on the image. Hence the spot metering.

I also agree with @photooptimist
If you are looking for sharpness with this lens, you'll want to stop down.

As I wrote above to @photooptimist it's pointless to spend hundreds of $ if you just stop down that is basically a problem avoidance. After all these days of trial and error I am convinced that this lens does have a great level of sharpness if you set your camera right. For more please do read my reply to @photooptimist

Wide open on this lens is used for dark scenes or artistic phrasing where sharpness is not the paradigm purpose.

I've done exactly what you described already and here's an example.

And guess what? the exif is ISO100 , -1ev, f/1.2, 1/30s with mult-segmet metering on a night in a park with only light available the one of the christmas decoration on the trees. The sharpness on the leafs was acceptable while the bo-keh and colors just like and why people love this glass. I was "lucky" in a sense since my spot focus was at the darkest part of the scene (save for the corner background that metering doesn't take into account).

[Sandy Hancock]

The A50/1.2 is a special lens, for all its qualities and flaws. Its rendering wide open is a perfect example of both.

A few photos (actually, quite a lot) HERE

[Mikesul]

Thanks for sharing these shots, Sandy. That album is a case book study of why people love that lens.

[photoptimist]

First, let me applaud what you were able to do!

Allow me to disagree. What's the point spending hundreds of $ if you can't use the F1.2 at it's best possible sharpness? Stopping-down is just admitting that you didn't do/know what it was necessary for optimal results at F1.2.

If sharpness is the goal, then you've done a good job and I do agree that sharpness is sometimes a goal.

I merely offered an alternative definition of "optimal" with 50/1.2.

I don't disagree that narrower apertures are in deed sharper in general but you just can't overpass a problem so easily.

Everyone loves a challenge, but which challenge do we want to tackle?

Some look at this 50/1.2 lens and think: how do I get more sharpness out of it?

Others look at the lens and think: how do I make great images that make the most of the lens' natural glowy/soft rendering?

Once again, I have to disagree. It's construction yes, is truly "sharpness unfriendly" but with some modern TLC (eg my camera settings and post processing tricks) you can manage getting DA sharpness out of Pentax-A.

Agreed! In addition to the many advances in optical materials and designs of lenses since the 50/1.2 was made, advances in computers and digital signal processing have made it possible to sharpen soft images.

The opening line of this Pentax-A is F1.2; not something narrower (ie higher aperture number) and F1.2 is not there for mere "artistic" photos (blurry/soft results with a sweet bo-keh). I do also have the FA 50mm F1.4 as well as "Kaiser", a copy of the monstrous HD D FA* 50mm F1.4. I have the "Grenade", my Pentax-A 50/1.2, dedicated for "walk around night shootings".

I'd love to see the "before" image that you started with and maybe the same image taken with the HD DFA 50/1.4 as a direct comparison. An even more powerful test of optical & digital sharpness is an image of a newspaper or several printed pages. B&W text on a white background is pretty unforgiving of softness.

After all my struggle and pain allow me to suggest you look again at the camera settings that enhanced the image's overall sharpness in a natural way. All my settings have a purpose. Even spot metering or high speed. I use a KP btw

Again congratulations on finding ways to digitally correct a lens that could not be corrected with the optical technologies of it's time.

I don't disagree with what you did - it's a great accomplishment. What I wrote was more of an alternative view on the K & A 50/1.2 and how some pursue the challenge of making the best of it's natural tendencies.