Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
06-08-2011, 06:13 PM   #1
Veteran Member
agsy's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Florida
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 551
My newly accuired Sears 135mm f2.8

Well, I'm sure many of you know this lens. What's really exciting about mine is that I was able to convert it to an "A" lens, therefore I get metering, full aperture control and aperture value in my EXIF.

The conversion has been done and discussed here before.
Some useful info that I used to to the conversion can be found here and here.

I attached a picture I took at f3.2 set in my K-x. For a budget lens, it's pretty sharp.


Last edited by agsy; 06-23-2013 at 06:04 AM.
06-08-2011, 06:23 PM   #2
Veteran Member
RioRico's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Limbo, California
Posts: 11,263
Nice shot! Yeah, Sears 135/2.8's are decent lenses. I have had three (or was it four?) different versions, and I know of at least two others. What's the serial number on your lens, and country of origin? We might be able to tell which version from which lensmaker. Have fun!
06-08-2011, 07:10 PM   #3
Senior Member




Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Antioch, CA
Photos: Albums
Posts: 197
Glad to see you are enjoying it mate Didn't know it could be converted to an "A" lens !
06-08-2011, 07:11 PM   #4
Veteran Member
joe.penn's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Maryland (Right Outside Washington DC)
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 2,902
I had one at one time that was ok, nothing great, right about par. I then got my hands on a brand new one, that was KR Ricoh mount that was manufactured by Samyang for Sears - removed the ricoh pin, and wow, really good piece of glass - the build quality was sub-par, but the optics were outstanding - the great thing was the contact were already in place on this lens, so it has "A" functionality...


--

06-08-2011, 07:12 PM   #5
Loyal Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter




Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: N. Calif
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 3,644
Nice shot and thanks for the info on the conversion. I did have a few older lenses in one of these cabinets...could be a great summer project.
06-08-2011, 07:18 PM   #6
Veteran Member
joe.penn's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Maryland (Right Outside Washington DC)
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 2,902
For reference, here is a pic of the one I had, note how it is a KR mount and is cross compatible with both Ricoh K camera mounts and Pentax K camera mounts (note the "P" and the "A" on the aperture ring, translates to "Ricoh P" and "Pentax A")...
Attached Images
 
06-08-2011, 07:27 PM   #7
Veteran Member
ryan s's Avatar

Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Madison, WI
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 2,383
QuoteOriginally posted by joe.penn Quote
For reference, here is a pic of the one I had, note how it is a KR mount and is cross compatible with both Ricoh K camera mounts and Pentax K camera mounts (note the "P" and the "A" on the aperture ring, translates to "Ricoh P" and "Pentax A")...
Ha, that's the "macro" or what I call the "soft focus" version. Someone on here, a few years ago, discovered that the macro modes created uncorrected aberrations. For a portrait lens, why not give it a shot, you know? Especially when it's nice and sharp out of the macro modes...but it's not particularly sharp wide open.

The Mod 202 and Made in Korea on the side give it away, as does the green markings on the barrel.

No one wants to buy mine though

06-08-2011, 07:34 PM   #8
Veteran Member
agsy's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Florida
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 551
Original Poster
Thanks for the replies .

Yes SirJangly, the lens is a lot of fun. It was great doing business with you. A+

QuoteOriginally posted by joe.penn Quote
For reference, here is a pic of the one I had, note how it is a KR mount and is cross compatible with both Ricoh K camera mounts and Pentax K camera mounts (note the "P" and the "A" on the aperture ring, translates to "Ricoh P" and "Pentax A")...
I have the "M" version of the KR (it says PK), looks exactly the same except without the "A" setting on the aperture. Serial number 840716978 made in Korea.

Last edited by agsy; 06-08-2011 at 07:42 PM.
06-08-2011, 07:34 PM   #9
Veteran Member
wshi's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Illinois
Posts: 455
I've got one, pretty nice lens and I've used it in a pinch during an assignment where I didn't have anything longer than 50mm.
06-08-2011, 07:48 PM   #10
Veteran Member
joe.penn's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Maryland (Right Outside Washington DC)
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 2,902
QuoteOriginally posted by ryan s Quote
but it's not particularly sharp wide open
Yep, sure isn't - stopped down a bit it does produce great and relatively sharp images. When I had it, never used it for any macro photog, seems mostly all third party macro lenses (with the exception of the great classic viv'ee ones) perform sub-par, at least that has been my experience with third party macro lenses...


---
06-08-2011, 07:54 PM   #11
Veteran Member
agsy's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Florida
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 551
Original Poster
I find the catch-in-focus to work very well with this lens. Here is a pic of the lens and the modification on the mount.

Last edited by agsy; 06-23-2013 at 06:02 AM.
10-22-2012, 10:21 PM   #12
Veteran Member




Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Durham, nc
Photos: Albums
Posts: 951
I hate mine. I have a the same Ricoh version (with the pin removed), and it's the softest, most worthless low-resolution piece of crap I've ever used. At f2.8 don't even think about rotating that front element, unless you want blur, blur, and more blur. If you don't, it has a minimum focusing distance of about a mile and a half, and it's still not even remotely sharp. There's still some glow at f2.8, no matter what you do. If you really stop down it can be marginally useful, but this is a $20 lens and you get what you pay for.

Here are some samples.

Rotated one click. Used flash and 1/125 shutter speed to eliminate possibility of blur. ISO400. Contrast adjusted, that's about it though, no sharpening.



Here's a real nice showing of how craptacular this lens is at f2.8 with the front element rotated into the macro zone. This is straight out of the camera, without any edits. Trust me, this is correctly focused.



And here's the same photo with a bit of post processing work. (Still no sharpening though)



What's even worse, the uncorrected aberrations completely screw up the focusing engine. It "dink-dinks" for catch-in focus when it's not even REMOTELY close to focused. The only way to focus the lens is using the screen. This lens is junk.

Charles.

Last edited by ChopperCharles; 10-22-2012 at 10:27 PM.
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
aperture, conversion, k-mount, lens, pentax lens, sears 135mm, slr lens
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
New Sears 135MM Lens... magkelly Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 12 12-04-2010 02:26 AM
For Sale - Sold: Manual Sears 135mm f2.8, Sears 80 - 200mm f4.0 Macro, Takumar Asahi 28-8 (Worl vytas Sold Items 5 10-08-2010 04:13 AM
For Sale - Sold: Sears 135mm F/2.8 rajubhai55 Sold Items 6 01-19-2010 12:15 PM
Sears 135mm 2.8 lens jboyde Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 11 12-27-2009 03:31 PM
For Sale - Sold: Pentax 28-80mm, 35-135mm and sears 135mm YJD Sold Items 5 07-15-2009 01:42 PM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 06:27 AM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top