| Author: | | New Member Registered: June, 2020 Posts: 24 | | Review Date: November 29, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $30.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | small, fast enough for most of photos, affordable, light, sharp | | Cons: | aperture ring feels stiff | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K110D
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Excellent handling and performance. This lightweight little prime highly enjoyable to use and results are great for it's price.
My unit had a stiff aperture ring but because of "A" mode using in camera controls is possible, it doesn't affect my usage.
| | | | | | | New Member Registered: March, 2016 Posts: 5
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 13, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $15.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Covers medium format digital sensor without any vignetting | | Cons: | Less sharpness bit made up with excellent colors and bokeh | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: Fuji GFX 50R MF
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Lens covers medium format sensor when adapter. No vignetting whatsoever.
Beautiful colors relatively fine sharpness as compared to mf pentax equivalent lenses and dirt cheap in price but not in value.
I couldn't upload the photos because this website is still stuck in 1997.
| | | | | Forum Member Registered: September, 2012 Location: Tokyo Posts: 72
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 10, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Tiny, Light, Smooth Focusing, Auto Aperture | | Cons: | None for the price | |
A lens that were it made today would have to be premium priced for its combination of compact size, excellent handling and performance. Capable of very good results. Automatic aperture makes it easy to use on any Pentax DSLR, and full-frame means you can re-use it on a mirrorless or Pentax full size sensor camera too should you end up there one day.
Aperture ring is a little crunchy but leave it on A and use the camera controls. Focusing is just as smooth and tactile as any Takumar, Leica or Nikon manual lens I own.
I use it on my 2005 Pentax istDS, which makes for a very small and light package. Example in first picture, followed by photos taken with this camera/lens combination.
      | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: November, 2010 Location: California Posts: 2,223
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 4, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $70.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, Useful, Easy to Use, Good Bokeh, one of the best | | Cons: | Came as a Kit lens, and it is abundant | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Kx, K5
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After several years of having this lens, and after selling it, I bought two copies recently. Afterying so many other lenses, I discovered that this is probably the best lens made by Pentax in the A model.
Here are some samples:
SMCPetax-A-50mmf2-a-1 by Palenquero, on Flickr
K5-SMCPentax-A-50mmf2-TheGarden1-1 by Palenquero, on Flickr
K5-SMCPentax-A-50mmf2-TheGarden2-1 by Palenquero, on Flickr
K5-SMCPentax-A-50mmf2-Mandarine1-1 by Palenquero, on Flickr
| | | | | | | New Member Registered: September, 2011 Posts: 2 | | Review Date: September 8, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Nice Bokeh !! Cheap !!! | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
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This is the cheapest yet best prime lens you can get in the market .. Since the aerture is automated .. You can just focus on the focus ring .. Nice OVERALL !!!
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: May, 2011 Posts: 1,889 | | Review Date: August 6, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $30.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Cheap, Easy to use, Sharp, Nice colour and bokeh. | | Cons: | None. | |
For its price, this old lens is unbeatable. I get so much mileage out of it, it's not even funny. I needed a cheap prime after blowing all my money on a new K-r, and found this one on Kijiji.ca for $30, and thought to myself why he heck not? It came with an old film body, flash, tripod, so in reality it was much cheaper than I paid, on its own. If you hunt around you can probably pick one up for $20.
It has nice bokeh, great colour rendition, and while it's a bit soft wide open this can actually be a quality rather than a deficit. It's great for adding that dreamy soft focus look. Stopped down, nice and sharp - no complaints there.
I'm using this lens a lot as an inexpensive way to get into macro photography, on the end of a set of extension tubes. It has the aperture ring required for type A tubes, and is an ideal choice for getting started in macro on the cheap. (Non working link removed) is the first macro shot I ever took.
I think the best aspect of this lens is the massive throw on the focus ring. It allows for very precise focus, and makes the lens a joy to use. For a cheap kit lens from 25 years ago, this is one that should have a place in anyone's bag. It's a keeper.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: April, 2008 Location: Minnesota Posts: 1,529 | | Review Date: July 24, 2008 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Cheap, easy find, small, | | Cons: | none | |
I really don't know why this lens gets a bad rap. This was my first non-AF lens that I used and I think it performs great. For anyone starting out like me this lens is easy to get a hold of and even easier to use because of the "A" setting.
 | | | | | Senior Member Registered: January, 2007 Location: Phoenix, AZ USA Posts: 165 | | Review Date: June 16, 2007 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Very sharp and accurate exposures | | Cons: | None | |
I just acquired this lens from my son's K1000 camera that I bought him in the early 1980's. I also have an M50 1.4 that gets great reviews and several other lenses for my K10D (kit lens, Quanatarays, Vivitars etc.). I never saw any real differences in any of these lenses until I used the A2.0. I immediately noticed the sharpest image I've ever had on my K10 and I do not need any exposure compensation like I do with all of the other lenses. In comparison, my M50 1.4 takes very soft photos at all aperature settings and needs a +.7 EV comp. I wish I could explain this discrepancy given the mediocre ratings above. | | | | | Forum Member Registered: March, 2011 Location: Ontario Posts: 89 | | Review Date: December 1, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $4.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Small, effective and a huge bargain. | | Cons: | For the price, there is no much I can add here | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: Super A, K3ii, PZ20
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I picked up mine at the local Sally-Ann for about $4US. For that price this is the best value out there. Do I have a better 50mm lens? Yeah for sure. I own: A50/1.7, FA50/1.4, K50/1.4, M50/4 macro, FA50/2,8 macro, Super-Tak 50/1.4 and a SMC Tak 55/1.8. They all have better image quality, but they are also all bigger (except the A50/1.7 - its exactly the same size), heavier and cost me a lot more. Even the cheapest one, the A50/1.7 was more than 15 times the price but it's not 15 times the lens.
Once stopped down to 2.8 or more it's as sharp as you could need for 90% of applications. Color rendition is Pentax great and contrast is excellent. You could use this for 11x14 or even 16x20 enlargements without a concern. It has the coveted 'A' setting, focus is smooth and the aperture setting is positive and precise even if the ring is plastic - which does not bother me one bit. The aperture setting is not quite as smooth as M and K series lenses, but is better in that respect than the F or FA series. But on today's cameras how often do you take it off 'A'.
This lens has an overall rating of over 8, and it deserves that on it's merits alone, not taking the value into account. Taking the value into account it's a solid 10. If you can pick up one of these for under $30, go for it. At that price is a heck of a bargain. At $4 it's like winning a lottery!
Mine has a permanent home on my PZ20 and is a backup for the A50/1.7 on my Super A.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: July, 2014 Location: Nagoya Posts: 577 | | Review Date: August 13, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $25.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Small, light, Pentax rendering | | Cons: | Nothing for the price | |
This lens (along with its M sibling) gets a bad rep, which seems to be mainly based on the fact that it's slower and cheaper. It really is still an excellent lens. Sharp (in fact, sharper and more usable wide open than my A50/1.7), nice bokeh, lovely Pentax handling and colours, and so tiny it's essentially pocketable.
The A50/1.7 is probably my favourite Pentax 50mm prime, but if I only had the f2 version instead I certainly wouldn't be complaining.
Wide open on K100D:
 | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: October, 2012 Location: Colorado Posts: 1,437 | | Review Date: October 11, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $6.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Color quality, contrast, sharpness, size, weight, speed, handling | | Cons: | | |
I'm not sure why this 50mm lens has such a different rating than the faster lens. Sure, it lacks the added fractional and whole stops of the 1.7, 1.4, and 1.2, but it's a sharp little lens, very light, it handles well, and the image quality is great. I've had, I think, seven of these now and all have been good performers. To my eyes, this lens transmits color better than most any lens I've used. The same is true with contrast. It is not quite as sharp, across the aperture range, as the 1.4, but you have to go to the FA Limited lineup to find lenses sharper than the 1.4. So, take this lens for what it is: a fast 50 that typically sells in good condition for about $15 (including shipping, in 2015) on eBay and makes a great walking around general-use lens.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: August, 2012 Posts: 678 | | Review Date: August 22, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $10.50
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | very light weight, precise build quality, nice bokeh | | Cons: | Fully functional only in 'Auto Pict' mode on my DSLR camera bodies | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-x, K-2000, K-100D
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I learned SLR photography back in the '80s with a very similar lens on a Minolta X-570 so this one takes me for a ride in the way back machine. I find that I really enjoy getting back to basics with this lens. The simplicity of manual focus and a fixed focal length forces me to compose my shots more carefully. One thing I do miss on my DSLRs when using this manual lens is split screen focusing. It is thus doubly important to make sure the viewfinder's diopter is dialed in correctly. After setting it with my sharpest autofocus lens on the camera, I feel reasonably certain I'm focusing accurately with this manual lens. User control over exposure setting is also somewhat limited as this lens only seems to work in 'Auto Pict' mode, which leaves the camera body in charge of setting the aperture and shutter speed. To work around this somewhat, one can bracket exposures or manually set the ISO. These limitations give the lens a somewhat short depth of field when used on a DSLR body, but that can be great for medium to close up shots where a soft background is desired. Considering that I grabbed this lens on eBay for $10.50, including shipping, I have no real complaints about it at all. It can be fun to use and will produce nice results if you take the time to understand its inherent strengths and weaknesses, especially when using it on a DSLR body, for which it was never designed.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: June, 2014 Location: Springhill Nova Scotia Posts: 397
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 2, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $35.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | build quality | | Cons: | none | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: ist D
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Very nice lens. Having A setting makes it very quick to use. colour is nice and the build quality is good, not a lump of plastic feel. | | | | | New Member Registered: April, 2014 Posts: 4
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 1, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $60.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Not too bad wide open, Cheap, f/2.0, Great colours, Sharp when stepped down ! | | Cons: | None so far. | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 9
Camera Used: Kr
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It is a great lens ! I have it almost a year. I love it ! totally replaced my Kit.
I have mentioned everything above. Plus manuals are way better for the learning curve.
 [/url]  | | | | | New Member Registered: January, 2013 Location: Washington State Posts: 9 | | Review Date: January 14, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp, smooth focusing ring, great DOF | | Cons: | CA (purple fringing) | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 6
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K-5
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For an older film lens, this is fantastic. I use it mainly for still life and it does deliver. When shooting at f/3.5, I still get a tiny bit of purple fringing, but it can be easily fixed in post. The focusing ring on this lens is incredibly smooth and hefty. On newer lenses built from plastic, the rings are much looser. It is light for it's metal construction and is a great lens for the price.
KEYS by Kristy Jarczak, on Flickr
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