| Author: | | Veteran Member Registered: August, 2011 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 328
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 30, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $171.48
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, solid build, great bokeh, great color, | | Cons: | none | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
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I had been considering a DA 20mm lens for my K-3, but it is just too close to my DA 15. I jumped on this SMC-A 24 and was lucky to get this rather rare lens at a very nice price in quite excellent condition. It lands perfectly between the DA 15 and my FA 43 being equivalent to a 35mm on FF (my favorite focal length on 35mm film camera like my KX).
Lack of auto-focus is no concern, mainly because it becomes less and less important as focal length decreases and if you really need it, focus peaking works great on my K-3. Even wide-open at 2.8, the depth of field is very good and the color and contrast is great (not to mention the bokeh). I find it a wonderful lens for flowers and other landscapes, street photography. I need to test it at night with light sources in the frame to see if C/A is significant. I suspect there will be occasional purple fringing...easily fixed.
| | | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: November, 2010 Location: California Posts: 2,223
5 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 2, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $320.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Small, easy to use, A setting, Pentax, sharp, street shooting marks (hyper focal distance markings) | | Cons: | None so far | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K-5
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Yammy Seaweed by Palenquero, on Flickr
Sailing Boat by Palenquero, on Flickr
Sheriff Patrolling Too by Palenquero, on Flickr
Downtown by Palenquero, on Flickr
SMC-Pentax-A-24mmf2.8-Xing-1 by Palenquero, on Flickr
SMC-Pentax-A-24mmf2.8-Iglesia1-1 by Palenquero, on Flickr
Saddleback Mountains by Palenquero, on Flickr
Train Station by Palenquero, on Flickr
Jose El Pastor by Palenquero, on Flickr
| | | | | New Member Registered: December, 2011 Location: Yogyakarta Posts: 2
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 7, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $220.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | lightweight, easy focusing | | Cons: | none | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K-x, Pentax ZX-5N
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I really enjoy using this lens on my camera, both digital and film. It is a pleasure to use it with my pentax zx-5n. Maybe all of you wanna ask "is it easy focusing with this lens?" I with no doubt, will say yes because normally wide angle have a pretty large depth of field, and this lens is not an exception. Use Av and you will be good to go.
| | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: June, 2013 Location: Utrecht Posts: 254
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 15, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Compact, well build, very sharp stopped down, almost no CA | | Cons: | A bit flat rendering on distance | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 10
Value: 9
Camera Used: K1ii and K-01
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Nice wide angel on full frame and APS-C. The smaller sensor avoids the weaker outer aereas of this lens. You have to stop down a little bit to get the best results in the corners on full frame. CA and fringing are well controlled and center sharpness is good (wide open) to excellent (F8). Beautifull build, aperture ring works fine too. A-setting is not good calibrated, it results in some over exposure. In M-mode this works fine. I previously had the K-version of this lens, it looked untouched brand new but suffered balsem separation (low contrast, lots of flare). This A-version has none and is fine.
 | | | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: September, 2012 Location: Gloucester Posts: 1,199
5 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 19, 2016 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Small, sharp and light. | | Cons: | Not autofocus; only f2.8 | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax k-1
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This was my favourite landscape lens back in the days of film, even on auto-focus bodies, such as my Z-1p. Stopped down, it is very sharp: I rarely used it wide open because I usually wanted to maximise depth of field, but wide open, it is completely acceptable. When I moved on to digital, I didn't use the lens as its equivalent focal length of 36 mm on APS-C is not one that interests me very much. I was, however, pleased to find that it performs very well on the K-1 and because it is so small and light, it will find a permanent place in my camera bag (until Pentax bring out a D-FA 24mm, that is). On the accompanying picture, every blade of grass can be seen on the full sized original. The colour rendition is also pleasing to my eye.
 | | | | | Senior Member Registered: April, 2012 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 128
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 14, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $298.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | compact, street shooting markings | | Cons: | 5-blade aperture, wish it were ƒ/2 | | Sharpness: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax MX
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I dig this lens.
It is, of course, yet another A-series lens: excellent build quality, useful DOF markers, and the cool 'A' mode for auto exposure on later cameras.
This lens is pretty compact—I expected a heavier/larger lens for the focal length, but it's a lightweight. It's also pretty sharp: noticeably sharper than my A50mmƒ/1.4 but not as sharp as the A100mmƒ/2.8. The bokeh is good enough for rock and roll, but it's a wide angle so it'll be harder to get out of focus areas in the first place.
But my favorite thing about this lens is how it's made for street shooting. The ƒ/8, its hyperfocal distance, and
the indicator marker are all colored orange: just line up all of the orange things and you're ready to shoot! ƒ/8 and be there. 
Okay! So here's a picture I've taken with the lens.
 | | | | | Junior Member Registered: March, 2013 Location: Central Florida Posts: 39
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 23, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $125.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp, Solid build, low light use, 'A' aperature | | Cons: | none | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K200D
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I find myself using this lens more than any other of the 7 lenses I own. Small compact, easy to focus and can can be used in aperture mode in low light. Sharpness is excellent. I have both kit lenses as well 35mm 1:2.8, 50mm 1:2 and 135mm 1:3.5 in addition to a 300mm, but find I use this lens 80% of the time.
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: May, 2010 Location: now 1 hour north of PDX Posts: 3,897
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 3, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $150.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | solid build, sharp, close focus, 'A' aperture | | Cons: | nothing so far | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-5, K-01
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I had been using a really good Rikenon 28mm with excellent results, and I had used a Vivitar 24mm f/2 a couple years ago that was too heavy for comfort. When I found a copy of this in the Ugly bin online I took a chance, as it was commonly about $100 more than their asking price. This one has shown me flaws in the Rikenon that I had not noticed, most notably in its tendency to miss on White Balance; this 24mm is far more faithful with its color cast. It also focuses closer and is equally sharp as far as I can tell. I never thought the 28mm would be left behind on trips, but this lens did it.
A picasa collage with the K-01:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-EoSbb4mWUdc/ULVoyPmLEVI/AAAAAAAALcI/iOQ2G.../s800/K-01.jpg
I discovered why it was deemed Ugly: tiny short scratches in the front element, the effect of which I cannot perceive in any images. Other than the front element it's in great shape - it lacked a lens cap, which I now understand. | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: April, 2010 Location: Adelaide, South Australia Posts: 813
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 20, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $140.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | A lens colour, contrast and IQ, solid build, compact size, close focus! | | Cons: | Soft edges wide open | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 9
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Very nearly as good as the FA* 24mm, for 1/3 the price.
Wonderful central sharpness even from wide open, great colour and contrast.
Edge sharpness is very good from f4 onwards.
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: October, 2010 Posts: 6,242
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 12, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $216.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Small, solid, sweet colour, nice bokeh. Easy to handle. | | Cons: | 2.8 | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 9
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When i first got it, Iwas suprised by it's size. And another suprise was firm and solid body(my M 50/1.4 is not so solid). Focusing is smooth and it is nice to have 'A' position on your lens too. It is more convient than the 'Green button' 
I just adore colo r this baby is produsing straight out from camera. And it's rendering. It is quite hard to focus at poor light scenes and if your main target is close. Otherwise it just wipes floor with my 18-55 WR and cosina 28/2.8 wich is slightly narrower too. This lens makes me to look more of these 'A' lenses AND this one is a keeper for sure.
 | | | | | Senior Member Registered: August, 2007 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 233
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 8, 2010 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Very Compact. Great Focal Length. Easy to manually focus. Good color. | | Cons: | Not super sharp wide open. Not particularly fast. | |
This lens is somewhat rare. I've seen many of the K series 24mm, but A series come only once in a while.
Because it is a wide angle, manual focus is fairly easy. The focusing, as on most A series lenses, is a joy. Construction is robust and solid.
It is not particularly fast at f2.8. Sharpness is acceptable wide open. Gets much better around f4. Colors are saturated and very good. I've used it in very sunny conditions and flare resistance is pretty decent.
The main benefits of this lens is an extremely useful focal length on APS-C cropped sensors and an very compact size. If you feel 50mm is too long, then definitely give this a try!
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: September, 2009 Location: Southern California Posts: 3,236
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 9, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $220.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Good low light results; pleasing color rendition | | Cons: | A small compromise in sharpness | |
As another reviewer said, this is a lens I liked right away. I also have the A28/2.8, which gives nice color too, but I just don't use it that much. This one I really like to put on my camera and use. I sometimes use it for indoor candids, even though it's MF. It tends towards that type of bokeh where, like some more "exclusive" primes, out of focus objects in the background look almost like they're in focus, even though they're not. I think this is the effect the previous reviewer spoke of, regarding smooth out-of-focus transitions.
Although it doesn't give the utimate in sharpness, it does well starting at only 1/3 stop down (at f/3.2), which I can't say about most of my lenses! Image quality also appears to gradually get better at almost every 1/3 stop (up to about f/6.3). This is unlike most of my lenses which (at least on my DSLRs) show distinct "sweet spots" about every 2/3 stop, actually getting worse in-between.
For my needs, the rating should be closer to a 9.5, and I hold it in high regard next to my A100/2.8. Its great qualities often make me choose it over my excellent FA20-35/4, despite the latter's obvious advantages having AF, zoom, and nice wide open IQ.
The A24/2.8 gives me rich colors indoors on my K-x. While it's true that some lenses are slightly sharper, this one never makes me feel like I'm "missing" anything because of it (unlike my FA 28-105/3.2-4.5, which sometimes makes me feel like I'm compromising too much). If ultimate sharpness or even closer focus is what you need (two characteristics I also appreciate), try a lens like my Sigma 24/2.8 Wide II at f/4 or above. But if you want a pleasing picture from a lens that does a nice job of capturing the light, use this one. Most of the time, I do!
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: February, 2007 Location: Portland,OR Posts: 308
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 30, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $240.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | feel.,build,close-focus,resolution,perspective | | Cons: | nothing really | |
This is the first lens that i review..By now i have used a good number of Pentax manual Lenses..This one is the kind of lens that i liked right away after a few shots..It resolves very well wide open,and has good contrast and no flare or ghosty feeling(although one stop down probably improves resolution)and you can see this in close-focus shots,and by the way this lens close-focus distance is 0.26m(28mm 2.8 is 0.42 by comparison)so you can get really personal with small objects and details.Also impressive is the very little ,or non noticeable, image distortion (in digital).Lines are straight and although a wide view,the perspective is natural and the image have no vignetting.The cropped ratio results in a very nice format,among the most interesting of the wide angles for use in digital.For some reason metering is always quite accurate ,on my K200D as well.i also like the color rendering and the transition from In-to-out of focus(Is that bokeh?).The 9 rating is subjective,and it could be an 8 or a 10 ,depending in your level of exigence or perhaps the quality of your copy.My favorite lens to date is the S-M-C takumar 85mm /1.8.I say the Tak is a 10;And,Like this 24 ,was definitely a state of the Art lens at its time...
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: December, 2007 Location: Norway Posts: 4,371
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 20, 2008 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Optical quality | | Cons: | None, really | |
Slightly soft wide open. Sharp from F:4. It produces contrasty and colorful images. Very good metal built quality.
| | | | | Forum Member Registered: January, 2020 Posts: 81
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 13, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $115.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Very nice sharpness - | | Cons: | Handling sharpness from 5 m and beyond at f 2.8 | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 7
Value: 8
Camera Used: Pentax KP
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At f 2.8, up to 2m handling sharpness is no issue at all. Slightly beyond 2 m it's still okay but from 5 m to ∞ it can become tricky.
Depending on where you lay your focus in e.g. a landscape, you might want to consider a bit higher apenture.
For close range it is indeed a very nice lens. For indoor use, close range groups of people, nature.
Used it for astrophotography (first attempts in this area) - very nice angle to use straight up to the sky.
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