| Author: | | Pentaxian Registered: September, 2017 Location: New York Posts: 1,206
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 7, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $70.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Sharpness, Color, contrast, build quality, overall image quality, bokeh | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 5
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 7
Value: 9
Camera Used: Pentax K-3II
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If you can find this lens, I highly recommend buying it. They aren't very common but they are very worth it.
Sharpness doesn't compare to modern lenses but it is decently sharp wide open. The pictures produced are very contrasty and it does produce nice polarized-like images. If you dont mind focusing manually, it's a wonderful lens to focus. A decently long focus throw makes focus very accurate. It's just a wonderful lens to use.
| | | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: February, 2008 Location: Hawkesbury Posts: 1,899 | | Review Date: July 13, 2009 | Recommended
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Good build, sharp, no nasty surprises in the optics | | Cons: | Manual, slow, large and heavy for specs. | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 5
Value: 7
Camera Used: K20D
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The test copy has been sitting in a cupbord on a broken k2 for the last 15 years. I never thought to try it until I saw the other glowing reviews listed here. All comments below relate to performance on a K20D. I had no exposure problems using the green button.
First impressions are good; a solidly constructed lens that has a bit of weight to it. I was surprised that f3.5 still gives you enough subject isolation to achieve reasonably accurate focus. The focus ring gives sufficient control and is very smooth.
The lens seems to be completely rectilinear, without any obvious distortions.
Testing on an overcast day, colours seemed to have good range.
I was able to force the images to have significant colour fringing by shooting the overcast sky behind various other objects. Stoping down one notch (to f4 or f4.5?) seemed to remove this completely.
The lens is sharp at most apertures, most notably when wide open and contrast is very high when wide open. This gives images a bit of punch.
Bokeh is a little busy for my taste with out of focus highlights being somewhat edge heavy when stopped down. Wide open gives a much more even treatment.
I tested this lens to see if it was better than my other three options at this focal length (18-55 kit, Sigma MiniWide II 2.8 and Kalimar KA28/2.8). Images are more consistently high quality across all apertures than the other options, however it introduces other limitations. The lack of auto aperture and the slow nature of the lens are the main ones for me. It also is larger and heavier than my Kalimar or Sigma, making a larger bulge in any pocket I choose to put it in. Ultimately I just don't use this focal length enough to make it worth carrying. Still a very good (and presumably affordable) lens if this is not a limitation for you.
Edit: I have upped my rating to an 8 because I'm weighting more for optical quality now.
This sample shows the nice performance at f3.5. Focus drop off is nice and smooth.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: March, 2009 Location: Washington, USA Posts: 85 | | Review Date: April 14, 2009 | Recommended
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | build, bokeh, colour rendition | | Cons: | sharp all across frame only significantly closed down | |
I got this lens for landscape, liking the focal length more than 35mm (in APS) and hoping it will be sharp wide open or only slightly closed down. Maybe it's just my sample but at f/3.5 is sharp enough in the center only with sides and corners visibly degraded, and it only slowly improves until f/9-f/11 when it gets as sharp as possibly rendered by K20D's sensor. Unfortunately this doesn't match its reputation (as started by Yoshihiko Takinami's tests) and my intended use. Seeing however its beautiful bokeh - possibly the best I've seen in a wide angle, I decided to employ it for more deliberate portraits and close work range, where it truly shines wide open.
Let me just add that it's a pity this superbly built lens is further handicapped by K20D's inability to correctly measure the exposure with it and other K lenses.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: September, 2006 Location: Tokyo Posts: 962 | | Review Date: January 7, 2007 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | great image quality, good colours, great to use | | Cons: | a bit heavy, oddball 52mm thread | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax *ist DS, OMD EM5 Mk II
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I paid little for this lens but quickly came to love it. This has long been my walk-around lens on my *istDS, in stead of the 21mm Limited I bought with the camera. I've found the images I get with it to be sharp and color-true, considerably better than I expected for the price I paid. There is a certain feeling to the pics—shapes are well represented and objects come to life. It's my favorite Pentax lens.
Flare is minimal, but I tend to use a hood. One drawback is the bokeh, which can be pretty jagged in mixed-light conditions that emphasize the effect. The mechanics on this lens are *very* good—the focus control is smooth and offers just the right amount of resistance and travel.
For me, the slow speed is irrelevant, as I tend to shoot in the f/5.6-f/8 range.
Here are some samples that show the rendering and colors captured with this lens.
https://michael.werneburg.ca/x/i/2008/02/200802249477.jpg
https://michael.werneburg.ca/x/i/2008/04/200804059729.jpg
https://michael.werneburg.ca/x/i/2008/04/200804069730.jpg
https://michael.werneburg.ca/x/i/2010/07/201007298847.jpg
https://michael.werneburg.ca/x/i/2010/07/201007228791.jpg
https://michael.werneburg.ca/x/i/2010/07/201007198779.jpg
Also, I participated in a PentaxForums challenge using only this lens.
I bought this lens seeing the fine review on Yoshihiko-san's site:
http://www.takinami.com/yoshihiko/photo/lens_test/pentax_28-30.html | | | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: November, 2016 Location: Prague Posts: 124 | | Review Date: January 12, 2024 | Recommended | Price: $120.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharpness, colors, build | | Cons: | None | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax MX, K-70
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I have originally bought this lens for my Pentax MX, because I needed a wider lens than my 55mm. I did some B/W shots and was very happy with it. However one day I decided to mount it to my digital K-70 and what a surprise that was!
This lens is superbly sharp, especially at f8 - whole photo is sharp, from the center to the corners, I was really surprised. The colors are also great. I do not mind that the lens is of course manual only, the quality of picture worth it.
I also did a MTF test, and this lens is the sharpest one in my collection! It is built like a tank and it is almost a miracle that almost 50 years old lens is that good. 
Highly recommended!
 | | | | | New Member Registered: July, 2022 Posts: 2
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 17, 2023 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Special lens but not the magic level. | | Cons: | I cant think of much its an old lens. | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
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I find it difficoult to rate less then 9. Its has some traits that is just fantastic. Used right it can outperform many many lenses on some areas. Colour... Contrast...
Yeah its manual and old but its so nice to have...
How could they even make something like this back in the time?
Get it of you can but be prepared to use time on it.
Time is the only negative i can think of. But thats how it is with manual lenses.
Its probably "50 %" better then my old M 28mm f2.8...
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: May, 2015 Posts: 3,306 | | Review Date: August 2, 2022 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Image quality, size, handling | | Cons: | not really, a bit slow perhaps | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K-1
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One of the few vintage lenses that really is good enough to compete with contemporary glass.
It's slow but performs very well for "pan focus" shooting. The size is perfect for the K-1, small but large enough for a comfortably wide focus ring. It has very nice colours if a bit gaudy at times. Sky colour in particular stand out. Besides having great resolution across the frame stopped down it is remarkably free of chromatic aberrations. This is somewhat unusual with Pentax lenses and gives an immediate clarity to the images.
Edit: I upgraded the bokeh rating from 5 to 7 because despite being relatively slow (f3.5) the out of focus areas look very, very nice indeed.
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: April, 2009 Location: Madrid, Spain Posts: 10,911
5 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 29, 2021 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Very solid build, great rendering, very sharp, wonderful in use | | Cons: | Big and heavy, slow | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 9
Camera Used: K200D, K-3
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I've used this manual lens for some years and while it's not the fastest 28mm around, it's one of the very best in terms of image quality. The build is typical K series - very solid indeed with focus beautifully smooth and nice clicks to the aperture ring. It's a very big, solid lens considering that it's relatively slow at f/3.5. Handling is really wonderful.
Image quality is fantastic - it's sharp wide open and the colour rendering and contrast are very good indeed. This lens is a lot better than the M version, which is much smaller and lighter (easier to find too) but, while sharp, has a very dull image rendering. It's also much better than all the other Pentax 28mm primes I've tried (A 28/2.8, M 28/2.8 (both versions)) bar it's faster sibling the K 28mm f/2. I'd certainly recommend this one over those A and M series ones - yes it's bigger, heavier and slower but the results and the pleasure in use make it a better lens to have.
The size and weight limit the use I give this lens for travelling but apart from that the only real limitation is it's f/3.5 maximum aperture. It's difficult, but not impossible, to get shallow depth of field and it's not the best choice for low light, though it can be used wide open and you'll get sharp results.
I really like using the lens and it produces great quality photos when used right, despite it's limitations. Some sample photos below.
Pots by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr
Balloon panorama K 28mm f3.5 43MP by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr
2020-03-28_05-04-18 by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr
_IMG6475a by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr
IMG_7720a by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr
IMGP1875a by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr
| | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: February, 2019 Location: Illinois Posts: 22
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 29, 2021 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp, good contrast, excellent landscape lens, cheap, easy to use | | Cons: | some noticeable fringing | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
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This lens deserves its reputation. I no longer own it, but it was a great landscape lens. It was so easy to use and so convenient in size and handling. Everything about it was great. I'm not going to ding it for its busy bokeh much, because I don't think bokeh is what the lens is about. It is for walking around and taking photos focused at infinity or hyperfocal or however you manage, f/8-f/11, that are sharp throughout the field. It always had blue fringing around tree branches in the sky when I shot on bright days, but they were fairly easy to fix. No other CA issues really. I don't think I ever adjusted the focus off its infinity or mark for the full year I used it almost exclusively.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: February, 2017 Posts: 2,034
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 20, 2020 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Build quality, overall optical performance | | Cons: | Rarity | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 10
Camera Used: K3 and KP
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I had been after the perfect (for me) 28-30mm lens for my K3 for year, as it is my favourite focal length on APSc. I have tried various options. M and A 28mm f2.8, F 28mm f2.8, K30mm f2.8, Sigma Ex Dg 28mm f1.8 and 30mm Ex Dg f1.4, Vivitar 28mm f1.9. And all of them have failed me in some way or another. The M and A models a little soft at whatever aperture, The Sigma 28mm -great IQ but hideous bulk. The 30mm Sigma and Vivitar bulk again but not so bad but poor performance until you get to f2.8, when I have no complaints. F 28mm and K 30mm have come close but are not quite perfect, it is hard to put my finger on just why. Anyway towards the end of last year a K 28mm f3.5 became available and I just had to try it, especially as it cost just £125 ( my K 30 cost £250!). I love this lens and here is why:-
1. Build quality - just like every other K lens I own the quality is superb
2. Handling - again just like all my other K lenses superb feel, focusing and aperture ring. The slight extra weight of the K compared to my M,A and F models feels really nice on m K3.
3. IQ - it is great. Plenty of sharpness and good colour rendition. Easily the match and maybe a tad better than both the F 28mm and K 30mm
4. Small max aperture - this is actually a benefit as it makes it easier to focus on DSLrs which do not have split image or other optical focus aids. Also F3.5 or 4 is plenty fast enough for general use and I have the fast Sigma or Vivitar if I need f2.8, which I rarely do.
I have since acquired a KP and grip and the K 28mm behaves almost equally as well on that as on the K3, though I tend to use the K 30mm or F28mm on the KP due to their compact size.
The only con I can think of with this lens is its rarity. You can not just go out and buy one as they do not come up for sale that often. You just have to wait until one becomes available.
I would like to try it out on a K1, but I am not in a position to do that at present, but here's hoping that may change in a few months time.
Anyway on APSC I can say - wholly recommended.
| | | | | New Member Registered: April, 2019 Posts: 1
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 4, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharpness corner to corner; colors; handling & build quality | | Cons: | Some field curvature | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Sony A7III
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After all these enthusiastic reviews of this lens who say that it is an ultimate landscape lens I wanted to know what all the fuss is about and got one via Ebay for 100 Euros in very good condition.
First impression: Built like a tank, looks like it was produced yesterday (but in fact it is 42 years old!), looks like it can be used for another 50 years without any problems.
Second impression: Yes, it's very sharp from corner to corner, at least stopped down (but that's what a landscape photographer does anyway, you don't buy a wide angle like that for "bokeh" and stuff). MUCH better than any other 24 oder 28 mm vintage solution I tried up to now. Of course there are 50s or 85s who have significantly higher resolution - but for a wide angle resolution is really good.
But the real shocker were the COLORS.
While with all my other lenses I "pump up" the colors a bit (mostly via vibrance or "camera calibration" in Lightroom) to get a punchy, saturated look, this is actually unnecessary with this lens! Colors are from the start really "life-like" and "pop"! Wonderful, but at the same time natural looking, blues and greens especially. I'm not a "SOOC" guy, but this lens comes near to "capturing how I saw it when I was there".
Flare resistance is very good, shooting into the sun or with the sun just a bit outside the frame is no problem at all.
Also no problems with color fringing. Pentax's coatings seem to be really great.
Only thing is that the lens has some field curvature - if you have something in the corners which is at or near infinity, you can't get it in focus. But in typical image compositions, this is rarely the case anyway. You just have to be aware of it and choose your composition accordingly.
Highly recommended!
  | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: April, 2007 Location: Toronto/Victoria Posts: 460 | | Review Date: February 4, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $75.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Very good on FF and finely crafted | | Cons: | Larger than successors, no aperture link | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-1, K100D
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The K28/3.5 is probably my best 28mm lens. The others were all nearly perfect on APS-C but were less perfect on FF. This lens is nearly perfect on FF. Even wide open, the IQ is very good and at F5.6-8 it is outstanding if you need sharpness in the corners and almost no CA (a bit of red/blue is visible).
Of course, it's a slow lens; the A28/2.0 is smaller (49mm filter), faster by over 1.5 stops, and supports automatic exposure. However, the trade-offs are generally worth it for this lens.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: November, 2012 Posts: 151 | | Review Date: September 12, 2018 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharpness Weight | | Cons: | Focal Length | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K5 IIs, K1
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I bought it used when am using K5 iis. I have 12-24 so i sparingly used this lens. But, i can clearly distinguish pictures from this lens.. they have a unique touch to them. Pictures are sharp edge to edge. Upon, buying K1 i am left with no good wide lens. So, K28 became my only wide lens and it didnt disappoint. Below are two sample pictures from my recent trip.
This was shot wide open.. so it isnt sharp around corners.. also, its not a stacked image but a 30'sec long exposure shot.
 | | | | | New Member Registered: January, 2018 Location: Paris Posts: 8
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 27, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $180.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Colors and sharpness from edge to edge | | Cons: | Green buton mesuring | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 8
Value: 10
Camera Used: K1
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Mine is mint copy
At F8 to F11 i have no 28mm Lens with such sharpness on borders and extrême corners. My kit zoom D-FA 28-105mm , wich i find no so bad at 28mm f8 , looks blurry when you make comparaison side by side on corners... this prime is razor Sharp on extrêmes.
Bokeh i dont care, this is not build as a fast Lens.
This is The Lens for landscape / infinity
Extrême corners and edges are such Sharp
Color rendering is really good and contrast
Build like all K
Manuel Focusing no problem with K1
I do recommended this Lens , it s quite cheap for the optical quality.
The Best Pentax 28mm prime choice for landscape at the moment
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: April, 2015 Location: USA Posts: 2,875
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 14, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $190.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Light, well built, smooth focusing | | Cons: | Horrible vignetting at 3.5 on K1 | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K1
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Today I tried out my new-to-me, $190 SMC PENTAX 28mm f/3.5 on my K1 camera.
My testing resulted in the following observations:
1. Lots of vignetting at f/3.5. Gone by f/4
2. Its' sweet spot is f/11 - f/13.
3. Good and sharp, however I have to admit that the much more expensive Sigma Art lenses and Zeiss ZK lenses are a tiny bit sharper (I know because I've previously owned them).
3. Beautiful Pentax colors.
4. Distortion is insignificant
I really like the 24mm and 28mm field of view. I'm quite pleased with this inexpensive little lens. It will easily get me by until Pentax/Sigma/Zeiss some day offer a new premium lens in this range.
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