| Author: | | New Member Registered: August, 2017 Location: Ronneburg Posts: 1 | | Review Date: August 22, 2023 | Recommended | Price: $85.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | very sharp also at full open, smc colours, FF , excellent optics, fast and accurate AF | | Cons: | plastic housing, little CA's at digital | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-3,K-7,Z-1
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This is a well, compact lens. I'd have no problem making very good images with it.
Pros:
Very good value for Money, available today at an affordable price Image quality on film is excellent also on digital
Manual focusing action is average the focus ring is to small
Auto focus is screw-driven but it doesn't matter because it's a very fast lens.
Cons:
Plastic housing manual focusing but the lens is not intended for that, so it doesn't bother me
| | | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: February, 2010 Location: Blunsdon,Wiltshire, UK Posts: 1,504 | | | | | New Member Registered: July, 2013 Location: Essen / North Rhine-Westphalia Posts: 8
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 12, 2021 | Recommended | Price: $115.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | size, weight, build, color rendering, sharpness | | Cons: | AF noise | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-1, K-3. K-3 II
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Very nice Lens on a K-1.
I owne the M50/1.7 too. Sharpness, color rendering, bokeh...all fine. But it has no AF...The solution was this Lens or a DA50/1.8. But the F has a fantastic vintage design...the DA doesn't.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: June, 2016 Location: Paris Posts: 124
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 11, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | fast AF on k-1, small, good mf grip, 49mm filter, personality | | Cons: | zero | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: k-3, k-1
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having tested all pentax discontinued 50mm in m, f, af from 1.2 to 1.7, this is the best one without a doubt, on full frame K-1.
| | | | | | | New Member Registered: October, 2019 Posts: 3
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 26, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $150.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Super sklo,ve všech aspektech,ostrý jak břitva. | | Cons: | Nic. | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-5IIs
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Super,super,super. Nejlepší 50mm,co jsem kdy měl. Vřele doporučuji !!! . Skvělé sklo. Kdo se chcete podívat na první zkoušku... https://www.zonerama.com/Jindras/Album/5035609 | | | | | Junior Member Registered: January, 2018 Posts: 47
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 23, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | sharpness wide open, price | | Cons: | no wr | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-1
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Rather old Pentax-F lens with a good reputation. It has been a bit too long for my shooting preferences and I have only used it occasionally. When is use, the results have always been good.
Today, I decided to take a test series and only shot with this lens wide open. There is quite a lot of vignetting at f/1.7 but nothing which would make a typical night scene unusable.
Remarkably, the lens is sharp even at wide open. It is quite convenient to use and it focuses very well even in low light.
I think this is a remarkably good lens to be had for quite little money on eBay.
About the example image: 1/20s f/1.7 ISO 800 handheld, focusing into the fence. This is the image quality that you get without much effort in very low light with this lens.
 | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: May, 2011 Location: Arlington, VA USA Posts: 1,060 | | Review Date: October 9, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $65.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Color, rendering, sharp | | Cons: | None | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-1
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I picked up a used copy from a neighbor for $65.00 US. Having the the FA 50 and DA*55mm, this lens is on par if not better than those in my opinion. I have used it for studio portraits and just on the streets and it has not disappointed! Very sharp, compact and love the colors. Definitely has that Pentax magic!
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: March, 2010 Location: Sfantu Gheorghe, Romania Posts: 266
9 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 24, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharpness, Bokeh, Colors, Contrast, Pentax magic | | Cons: | None | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K500
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My preferred lens, my love, my limited, even if I have the real one: Fa 31mm limited! It's got magic, pixie dust, I just love the results! I won't talk about sharpness, contrast, colors, they're great! I think that the most appealing feature it's bokeh: it's smooth but well definied, creamy but noticeable! In my opinion this is the best tool for Flowers and Christmas pictures! I will show you why! I've tried almost all the variants of this lens: M, A, F. All are the same and all are beautiful lenses. Just pick one!
       | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: December, 2014 Location: Colorado Posts: 497
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 23, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp | | Cons: | None | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-1
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Center is sharp @ f2. Close down to f5.6 or f8 this lens is sharp from corner to corner. Fast and accurate focus. A Pentax classics.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: October, 2006 Location: North Face of Mount Shasta Posts: 120
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 17, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $205.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp at all apertures, light and small. | | Cons: | I will never get used to that F/FA exterior look. | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K20d, K3
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I bought this lens 3.5 years ago from a fellow forum member. It was in very good condition and only needed a hood. Collapsible from Amazon did the trick.
I had a K20d at the time and wanted one of the Pentax legendary 50's ... my budget dictated this lens.
As it turned out, it became a regular on my camera and consistently produced excellent images. My only issue was the occasional hunting in anything but good light (mostly attributed to the K20). I shoot a lot of my son's basketball games for the school and lost a few good shots because of this occasional hunting.
I eventually picked up a Sigma 50mm 1.4 EX DC HSM for his games and my F50 went into the bag ... that is ... until I got my K3. The other day I threw the F50 on the K3 and was blown away by the speed that this lens now focuses because of the stronger motor in the body and new focus algorithms of the K3's programming. I'm actually looking forward to the upcoming basketball season and see how she does.
This lens is now a complete pleasure to use ... sharp, fast and exhibits the beautiful look that only a Pentax prime can produce. It reminds me why I chose Pentax back in the 70's.
 | | | | | New Member Registered: August, 2013 Posts: 12
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 2, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $30.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, fast, great colors, quick focusing | | Cons: | No quick-shift focusing, no WR, occasional fringing in some situations | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 7
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-5
Sample Photos: https://www.flickr.com/search/?tags=smcpentaxf50mmf17&sort=relevance&user_id=25307231%40N00
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Found this one at a Goodwill, with a PZ-10 attached. The filter ring was damaged but it looked clean and straight and mechanically sound, so for $30 I decided to risk it.
Ha, ha! It's awesome! This thing totally surpassed my expectations for a thrift-store find, despite its cosmetic damage.
It's very sharp and quick to focus, and I appreciate the speed when shooting in available light indoors. I rarely open it up more than to f2.0, but even wide open the results are acceptable, especially for portraits. Closed down to f4.0 and beyond and it's sharp sharp sharp.
It seems to have the same optical qualities as my SMC-M 50mm f1.7. Not surprising--it's the same formula/coating, only in an AF mount. Mine played pretty well with the K-5 out of the box--maybe it needed 1 or 2 steps to correct a little front-focusing, but that was it. It's great as a short telephoto/portrait lens on APS-C, and a nice walking-around beater lens, too. Sharpness rivals my 70mm f2.4 Limited, and comes pretty close to my 35mm f2.8 Limited Macro.
The only issues I'm running into is that there's no quick-shift focus option. In addition, there's occasional CR apparent in some conditions (mainly below, say, f4.0 in bright sunlight), but that's about it. Other than that, it's plug-and-play with the K-5, and easily worth 4x what I paid for it.
| | | | | Forum Member Registered: July, 2014 Posts: 59
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 19, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $130.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharpness, size, quality | | Cons: | noisy, small manual focus ring | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K20D
Sample Photos: https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xaf1/t31.0-8/10750338_551936411607774_5550996592273569796_o.jpg
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I really love this lens, is small, sturdy and durable, love the colors and sharpness that it produces, I´m so happy that I found one, always makes me happy when use it on my K20D,  | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: November, 2013 Location: Barcelona Posts: 659
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 5, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $160.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, colours, bokeh | | Cons: | None | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K-r
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Some months ago I just bought a copy of that sensational lens, in this same forum to a person from Canada.
I payed for it 180 CAD $, and I can't be more happy with my purchase.
It's been a while that I have been using a 50mm manual lens, since that one got issues with my camera.
Then, I just simply started to check out, and found that the F 50mm looks impressive, after reading everyone's opinion in here, I decided to buy myself a copy and I think I will never regret myself for doing this, I love this lens absolutelly!
It is sharp, quite fast focusing (yes, sometimes not so much), it's bokeh is simply wonderful, the colours it takes I just love them. Of course, it's a 20 - 30 years old lens, but to me is well made, not feeling much plastic on it.
I was looking for a 50mm lens, and I can only recommend it. And hey! I have not yet had a hood, but I guess once I'll have it, pictures would look even better!
It is true some times it does not focuses on the object that you would like to, correctly, but 8/10 of the times it does.
Here some samples:
If you are considering in getting a copy, I can only say : " go ahead, you won't regret and you'll have so much fun with it ".
| | | | | New Member Registered: April, 2014 Posts: 1
2 users found this helpful
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: March, 2010 Location: Vermont Posts: 941 | | Review Date: January 15, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $110.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, fast focusing, low light, awesome bokeh | | Cons: | Some CA and purple fringing | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-30
Sample Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/69476808@N07/11932739096/
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Awesome lens. I've had it for one day and it has put a smile on my face....with the speed at which it focuses and the quality of photos so far. Yeah it's loud but it means business. A very fun lens. I also have the DA40 limited, but the F-50 seems to do better at getting accurate focus at a higher speed.
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