Originally posted by 8540tomg I wasn't aware of this either. In general I would agree with this statement but M 35/2 is the smoothest focusing lens I own. An exception to the rule perhaps?
I'm not sure I would classify the M series lenses as "cheap" feeling. I have a number of both K and M series lenses and no question the Ks are larger and more substantial. It wasn't until the A series came out that I felt Pentax lenses began to look "cheap", at least some of them, with the increasing use of more plastic in the lens bodies.
I guess I must have liked the MX better than the OM-1/2 as I actually did buy the MX. No regrets on that score. I do recall when looking at SLRs in the early 1980s I preferred the look and feel of the Pentax M series to the Nikon, Canon and Olympus glass I was able to compare them to.
Tom G
Olympus gained a substantial reputation, mostly in the UK, because it came out first with a small SLR with a large FOV viewfinder (OM1), and excellent lenses. Pentax followed later with even smaller camera (MX) and smaller lenses, though slightly short of the quality of the Zuikos sold with the OM-1. Overall, the MX was a more modern camera with a battery system which still uses D-76 cells from the corner store, is as modular as the OM series and has a series of lenses which can be used,
mutatis mutandis with all Pentax DSLRs; Olympus lenses cannot. Olympus was reputed to be more fragile than other mainstream marques but this was not true in actual use. Olympus was aided beyond imagination in the UK by the patronage of Eric Hosking in wildlife photography and Patrick Lichfield in fashion and high society pictures, by Maitani's undoubted talent and Olympus advertising. Pentax never made a serious bid to be a staple of professional photography; these claims were made almost entirely by Pentax users. One was never entirely sure just what Pentax aimed at in their advertising.
I chose and used Pentax MX bodies for thirty years on the basis of a review I saw in Hongkong of a large number of similar cameras in a now-forgotten British photography magazine in 1980. I needed system long lenses and only the SMCP-M 400mm f5.6 came within my budget. The Zuiko 400mm f6.3 was better but substantially more expensive. In the long run, my choice has served me better as I still use eight Pentax system lenses on the GX20 and K200D cameras, several of which are original purchases in 1981. None of this was foreseen and I still think that the Olympus lenses were superior for the most part.