| Author: | | New Member Registered: January, 2012 Posts: 6
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 26, 2012 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Super Sharp | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
| |
This is a perfect lens. i love the bokeh and handling on this lens. the bokeh actually is crazy. I am using it with my canon 50D with an adapter to EOS mount.
overall a perfect lens.
Here is a photo made with this lens on flickr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ermali/6752564429/in/photostream/lightbox/ | | | | | | | Inactive Account Registered: October, 2010 Location: Richmond, Virginia Posts: 36 | | Review Date: December 17, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $280.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharpness, Bokeh, Contrast, Color rendition | | Cons: | None | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
| |
Personally... I hadn't put much thought into buying this lens until I saw the auction and did a bit of research on it. An online google search found some intriguing photos and I figured I'd bid on it. I got it for a steal and have noticed the price continues to go up. I figured if the lens was average... I'd make my money back selling it considering it is the fastest 200mm lens Pentax has made thus far... I won't have to worry about ever selling it. This lens is a keeper for sure.
Compared to my now gone Pentax-M 200mm F4, this lens is sharper at 2.5 in my opinion. In harsh sunlight at 2.5 some very mild glow is noticeable... which in my opinion makes its pictures very pleasing... in normal and other lighting conditions the lens is very sharp and contrasty. One click past 2.5 and it becomes extremely sharp and looses all glow... at F4, compared to the M200 f4... it just whips it in every direction possible. The richness of the way it renders colors is outstanding as well. It's simply a very special lens which handles wonderfully. I can hand hold it easily and I like the fact that it allows for me to take candid's without intruding very much and end up with quality photos that just knock my socks off.
I'm never letting this thing go!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivanbelmonte/6494804717/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivanbelmonte/6494804265/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivanbelmonte/6494803723/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivanbelmonte/6494803125/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivanbelmonte/6494802843/ | | | | | Inactive Account Registered: September, 2009 Location: SoCal Posts: 1,292
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 8, 2011 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
|
Very nice lens. The fastest 200MM Pentax has ever made.
| | | | | New Member Registered: October, 2008 Location: Paris Posts: 1
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 4, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $350.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | speed, sharp , very good bokeh and very well built | | Cons: | habit is needed to focus accuratly | |
The K 200mm 2,5 is the 200m pentax lens with the biggest aperture ever made by Pentax. It is a pleasure to use such a very well built piece of glass and metal which seems indestructible (its design is terrific as it seems built like a tank)
Before it, I use the k 135 2,5, but now for the same aperture, I have more magnification
I can use it outdoor (sport event, life details) or indoor (portraiture, sport or artistical events too). No fear when the sun decreases in the afternoon. It is always able to give great shots even in low light ,which is a great pleasure. I have never been really embarrassed by its weight as it remains speed.
It is very sharp when focus is accurate even wide open. I use it mainly at 2,5 and sometimes until 5,6 but not beyond. I admit that it takes me some time to use it efficently and to determine its optimal sharpness at 2,5 at the beginning of the focus zone (little front focus) with my k10. I have already notice that for others great aperture lenses, but I personally find that it is not a big problem, because when the good focus zone is found, you take it into account in all your shots . The bokeh is great and I use it for natural portraiture too, where I can shoot from 5 meters without disturbing the person, which stays perfectly natural
I also use it with a teleconverter A 2xL (not originally made for it) that I carefully filled for that: see review https://www.pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/Pentax-Rear-Teleconverter-A-2x-L.html . It gives me a 400mm 5,6 , not very heavy (around 1,2 kg) and with less than 3 meters of minimal focus distance and very few quality loss. Again the accurate focus of the lens is very important and with the teleconverter it back focuses a little this time (it is like that !). So, another advantage of this lens is that you can reasonably use it with a good teleconverter due to its great aperture.
You can compare the 2 photos taken with 200mm at 2,5 1/45s and with 200mm and A 2XL converter at 2,5 1/10s a rainy day at 5 pm in December
If you find it, I really think you can buy it. I think I was lucky to find it in perfect condition for less than 400$
| | | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: October, 2010 Location: capital city, the land of eh (Ottawa, Canada) Posts: 329
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 4, 2010 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Precise, sharp, impressive looks, fast as it can be | | Cons: | Heavy, large, still focus ring, light CA | |
This is one of my favourite lenses - it is quite sharp wide open and has a nice bokeh. With the size of the front glass the DOF is very thin - it can blur the background so much that it is practically unrecognisable. This is one of my favourite lenses, however I find it a little long on a APS-C sensor cam. I don't even want to think what comparable glass would cost today - this older lens can be a great bargain. Grab it if you can.
 | | | | | New Member Registered: August, 2010 Location: Las Cruces, NM Posts: 14
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 10, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp wide open, great color, excellent bokeh | | Cons: | Stiff focusing ring, weight | |
My experience with this lens has been great.
Some of the most fun I’ve had with a camera thus far has been using the K 200 f/2.5 for candid portraiture. Between the fantastic color, sharpness, and excellent OOF rendering it works absolute wonders on vibrant markets and festivals.
As for concerts and other low light situations the high ISO grain only builds on the already strong character of this excellent lens. At ISO 3200 and 6400 on my KX it’s handily sufficed in ease of handholding and image quality to shoot some VERY badly lit events.
Taking quick walk-by shots with this lens requires you to anticipate changes in focus distance and prefocus. After just a few days of manipulating the focus ring (akin to wresting a boa constrictor) you’ll never again be shamed by a recalcitrant jar. You can focus quickly if you’re so inclined, just be prepared to crank harder than you probably want to on your nice gear.
I live in a never ending financial crisis. The thought of selling this lens never crosses my mind.
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: September, 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 365
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 1, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $550.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Fast, hand holdable, built like a tank. | | Cons: | Only one, some purple fringing at times. | |
Rating at a 9 only because of the purple fringing I get under extreme conditions. I use the AF 1.7 teleconverter with this lens a lot and it works very well. Over all it is just a great Pentax lens.
| | | | |
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 10, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $550.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Great build quality, very sharp, amazing speed (a half stop 1/2EV better than 2.8) | | Cons: | Weight, expensive. | |
The fastest and probably sharpest 200mm lens Pentax has ever made
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: October, 2008 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 8,090
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 22, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $685.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Speed, build and optics. | | Cons: | Some may find this lens heavy. | | Camera Used: K Series film bodies (K1000, KM, KX, K2, K2DMD)
| |
The K200/2.5 is still the fastest 200mm lens that Pentax has made and is also the fastest Pentax lens over 135mm. Not bad for a lens released in 1977, as a late addition to the K series lineup. Pentax already had the K200/4 as a budget 200mm and the K200/2.5 was added as a fast high end alternate. The K200/2.5 replacement, the A*200/2.8ED, is very similar in looks and has the same 6 elements in 6 groups optic design. The A*200 is also 100grams lighter, which I suspect is less metal and more plastic parts.
The K200/2.5 has a built in lens hood and a 77mm filter thread. This makes filters rather expensive, especially multi-coated ones. A good UV filter is still a must, especially when shooting film. The K200/2.5 is very well built and is a thing of beauty to hold. It is on the heavy side, but I still find it easy to hand hold down to shutter speeds of 1/125 second.
The K200/2.5 is very fast for a lens of this focal length and this makes for a nice bright camera view finder. The K200/2.5 is also quite sharp and good wide open. The K200/2.5 is definitely the best K series lens over 135mm and a must purchase if you are after a solid manual focus medium telephoto lens. You’re not going to find a faster, better built one.
Update April, 2019:
I recently purchased a FA*200/2.8 to see how it would compare against my older K200/2.5. The K200/2.5 is sharper wide open as well as in the corners, better built and also faster. While I really like the FA*200/2.8 lens, it’s just another example how a classic K Series prime can still compete/surpass a newer lens with all the “bells & whistles”. Newer does not always mean better…
Sample shots taken with the K200/2.5. Photos are medium resolution scans from original negatives.
Camera: K2 Film: Kodak Portra 400VC ISO: 400
Camera: KX Film: Kodak T-Max 400 ISO: 400
Camera: KM Film: Lomo Earl Grey 100 ISO: 100
 | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: March, 2009 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 509
5 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 28, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $240.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | High IQ and large aperture | | Cons: | Heavy, moderate CA at f2.5 | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 9
| |
Mine was beaten up a bit. But it does not affect the image quality at all. Built like a tank.
In combination with my 1.7X converter, it makes a 340mm f4.25 lens or (510mm on DSLs). Not bad at all.
The sample photos are automatically down-sampled and the resolution is lower than what it really is. Click on the picture to see the real resolution.
Tight focusing ring (may be not prevalent). The lens hood could be a bit bigger. BTW, my copy has been beaten up quite a bit. But it is built like a tank. I am not worry about it.
There is moderate CA and PF at f2.5. It is a bit soft at f2.5 if toward light source. But it is acceptable for regular portrait use.
I have the K 135mm. These two use a similar optical formula. I am not sure why, the images out of these two brothers are different from other lenses that I have used. I have used about 20 lenses more or less. It is not only about resolution. It is also about how the lenses present images. Can anyone explain why?
Tried and compared with Tamron SP 80-200mm ED (old adaptall). It seems that the Tamron offers slightly better contrast at the largest aperture (200mm). Tamron has less CA. But I like to the K better in terms of resolution and color rending.
EDITED 03/05/12:
Another example:
200mm at f2.8
100%crop
Made a quick and dirty comparison with the famed DA*60-250: here is the result
Would have increased the rating to 9.5 if that is possible.
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: November, 2008 Location: South Florida, USA Posts: 39
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 2, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $400.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | very sharp, well built, great manual focus "feel" to it. | | Cons: | very slight but noticable CA towards the corners | |
Great lens but there is one caveat. It has a very slight but definitely noticable
amount of visible CA. This can be corrected in photoshop fairly easy on something critical but thats not as good as not having to deal with it. My A*300mm.F4 is better in that regard. Other than that, this is a really nice lens. | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: February, 2008 Location: Waterloo, Ontario Posts: 4,461
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 18, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $525.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Fast, razor sharp, contrasty, great bokeh, world class build, very bright in viewfinder | | Cons: | Fully manual, hefty, expensive, fairly rare | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 9
| |
Like all its K-series brethren the Pentax K 200mm f 2.5 is beautifully built, optically great and feels just wonderful in the hand. As in sports so it is in photography, there is just no substitute for speed. Fast glass is like fast cars and fast women - it's always more fun, more exciting and a lot more expensive. I do a fair bit of image making in school gyms, auditoriums and murky light and this lens delivers. Boz Dimitrov provides additional technical details for the curious:
http://kmp.bdimitrov.de/lenses/primes/tele/K200f2.5.html
Weighing in at 950 grams (just under 2 1/2 lbs.) the lens is heavy but is so fast it can still be hand held in many situations. I don't find the lack of a tripod collar a problem at all. It is unusually bright in the viewfinder and tight tolerances make manual focusing smooth with the large checked rubber focusing ring providing a sure grip. In a bit of a departure from other K series lenses information such as: focal length, lens speed, serial number etc. is engraved on the barrel just above the focusing ring. There is a double knurled ring around the short but handy built-in lens hood. This is a small thing but illustrative of the attention to detail found in this series of lenses. The K series as group appear to have been built for a lifetime and to break a salesman's heart. No coming back in 3 years for a new one. How times have changed. The lens takes 77mm filters which add to the front end weight and such filters can be on the expensive side. The lens is tack sharp, contrasty and provides those alcoholic out of focus highlights one wants in a telephoto lens.
The “digital dividend” on the Pentax K10 turns this brute into a 300mm f 2.5 telephoto. At f 2.5 this is the fastest 200mm lens Pentax ever produced. The K10’s shake reduction is an added bonus which makes it even more versatile in low light situations. Shake reduction really does work! It is good at sports venues but bear in mind this is not an auto focus lens and has its limits on a digital camera. Metering will be stop-down only with no AF and there will be no aperture reading in the viewfinder. Great shots are possible but you will have to practice and refine your manual focusing technique. On the plus side this sort of practice is pretty cheap on a digital camera. As I experiment with the SMC K 200mm/2.5 I keep finding more uses. Currently I am alienating most of my family with "ambush portraits." I like the look of the people picutres I am getting. This lens is a joy to use in the field and ranks as my all time favourite manual focus optic. It is the only one of the 12 or so manual focus lenses I have reviewed in this forum to get a ten rating. Highly recommended if you can find one.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: September, 2007 Location: Logan, Utah Posts: 971
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 13, 2007 | Recommended | Price: $350.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharpness, general image quality | | Cons: | Slooooow manual focus, lack of 'A' setting on aperture ring | |
Bought this beast used in 2006 from B&H. It's a great lens for any film camera (except the MZ/ZX 50/60 and any others using the 'crippled KAF' mount) and for the K10D. Operation can be a bit of a pain with the K100/110D but the Green Button changes all that with the K10D.
Sharpness is great, as is the way it handles Chromatic Aberrations. Head to head with the DA 50-200, FA J 75-300, and a Quantary (Tamron) 75-300 it consistently outperformed the other three at all apertures. The focusing is very, very slow so it can be hard to catch action with it. If you can find it, it makes a great addition to an LBA collection as well as being an excellent telephoto lens.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: September, 2006 Posts: 181
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 5, 2007 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Amazing image and build quality, a fast f/2.5 | | Cons: | CA wide open, Weight. | |
The optical quality of this lens is great, and its a K lens, so build quality is superb. Many from the PDML consider this lens to be as sharp as the M* and A*. While I have no experience with the * lenses, I do not see how they could be any sharper. This lens is SHARP from f2.5 and a razor at and above f/4. Out of focus rendering is very smooth, and visually appealing, rating right up there with Pentax's best. All in all, a great lens that lives up the to the Pentax name.
(Non working links removed)
| | | | | New Member Registered: July, 2007 Location: Hollister, CA Posts: 1
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 18, 2007 | Recommended
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | A workhorse, and it's great in low light | | Cons: | It's a telephoto so you have few options | |
It's a fast telephoto. I bought it around 25 +/- years ago so I don't have a clue as to what it cost. I originally bought it for low-light situations, so it's worked out well. It's next to impossible to find information on this lens anywhere on the Internet!
| | |
;)
;)
