| Author: | | Inactive Account Registered: April, 2009 Location: Massachusetts, USA Posts: 48 | | Review Date: February 26, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $385.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | solid build, crisp images, low light ability | | Cons: | none | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K5
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this lens is       a keeper. crisp clean images... CLICK ON PICKTURE TO ENLARGE
| | | | | | | Inactive Account Registered: April, 2009 Location: New York Posts: 2 | | Review Date: February 2, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $550.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Superb @ 1.2 | | Cons: | No exif info on Pentax | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 9
Camera Used: K5 and 1D's
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I'm using it on K-5 and Canon 1D's bodies. Best 50mm 1.2 @ 1.2 only.It's sharper than any canon, olympus or nikon 50's 1.2 and have less chromatic aberration. Bokeh quality is between Rokkor 58 and Canon 55 lenses. From F1.4 I recommend S-M-C Takumar 50 w/8 blades best in world standard lens. (you can use it on any DSLR-M42).
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: May, 2010 Location: Hong Kong / Irvine, CA Posts: 636 | | Review Date: October 31, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $370.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | fast, bokeh | | Cons: | not as good as expected | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 8
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Sorry guys, I am not impressed with this lens.
I owned a few of f1.4 and f1.7.
I expect more to get with this f1.2 lens.
The bokeh is not far better than my takumar 50/1.4, I will say very similar.
In terms of bokeh, I will take samyang 85/1.4 over this one.
I don't find it brighter in my viewfinder of Kx.
I don't find the fast aperture makes a great advantage in my Kx.
The focus ring turns about 3/4 turn from closest to infinity which I personally think it's too much. I prefer a little bit less than that but to each of their own.
Sharpness is acceptable IMO. As long as you get the subject in focus, you can get similar quality with the 50/1.4 lenses. Focus it at the right spot before you make a complain.
This lens is a heavy glass which I think it is very good.
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| | | | | New Member Registered: September, 2010 Location: 93420 Posts: 11 | | Review Date: September 28, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $150.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Fast, sharp, bokeh | | Cons: | heavy! | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 10
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I bought this lens used at Cal's in Costa Mesa 10 years ago and it is my go-to lens for low light or sharp shallow DOF shots. It started out on Richoh and Pentax manuals and now is used on my Pentax K110D. Cal did not know what he had, apparently, and I could make some money if I sold it but I never will... serial #1441298
 (Please see the review for the Vivitar 19mm 3.8 for my primary lens.)
| | | | | | | | | | Review Date: August 9, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $404.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | fast, bokeh, solid metal body, heavy | | Cons: | manual focus, heavy | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 8
Value: 10
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At 1.2 it takes some practice to get focus. I always use digital preview when shooting static objects to get the most precise focus. At the same time 1.2 lets you shoot moving objects even when there is no much light available.
Read other reviews to get full picture of this gem. Great lens plus historic value.
| | | | | | | | Review Date: July 31, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $530.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | very very sharp at F1.2, very well build quality, fast focus | | Cons: | expensive now | |
I just got the lens today, I take a fews photos, lot of fun, I will post it later, very good lens , nice color tone , sharp at F1.2 , very well build quality.
I have SMC K 135/2.5, is very sharp too
| | | | | New Member Registered: July, 2009 Location: Piatra Neamt Posts: 16 | | Review Date: July 23, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $550.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | low-light performance, build quality, quite sharp even wide open, superb bokeh | | Cons: | expensive | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
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This lens is unmatched in terms of low-light performance! I have shot photos with this lens in very low-light, and the pictures turn out great! They also have some sort of a "magical aura" that I haven't found in any of my other lenses.
Relating to the sharpness controversy: this lens seems reasonably sharp to me even wide open, throughout the whole frame (tested on APS-C), as long as you set the focus correctly. The apparent softness is in fact due to the very shallow DOF. When stopped down to f/2.8, it out-resolves my 14MP K20D sensor! (for the objects that are in focus, of course)
Build quality is exceptional, as with most of the lenses from that era.
I haven't noticed any chromatic aberration, not even wide open. (of course, if you're a pixel peeper, and if you just have a passion for tree branches on a white sky background, you will see a bit of it, but in regular use, CA is negligible)
Manual focusing is a delight, I don't miss auto-focus at all. It takes a bit of practice to set focus right, but I don't have difficulties setting focus with the standard focusing screen from the K20D. I actually think that the shallow DOF helps you in focusing correctly, because you can easily see the difference between in-focus and out-of-focus areas, so for example, when doing portraits, it's easy to set focus on the eyes.
More on focusing: It starts to get difficult to focus manually when the light really gets very low, but then again, auto-focus wouldn't really work great in these conditions either! And even if it would work, auto-focusing with such a shallow DOF could mean that, for example, the camera focuses on the tip of the person's nose, leaving the eyes out-of-focus. It often doesn't focus on what you want. If you set center-AF by default, then you could say that you pre-focus on your subject, then pan the camera to frame the scene, but the shallow DOF strikes again: when panning, you've also changed the distance to your subject a bit, and it will be rendered blurry. Therefore, there's no reason to miss AF! You can use focus bracketing to help you, and if you're patient, you will get a good shot.
The lack of an aperture AUTO position is an inconvenience if you tend to stop the lens down often, but in this case, just buy a 50mm A f/2 or 1.7 lens, it will be much cheaper and still deliver good results. Why are you buying an f/1.2 lens if you're always stopping it down?
I have done shots with this lens out at night, on the city streets, hand-held, and I often didn't even need to go all the way to ISO 1600, ISO 800 was enough! And they turn out reasonably sharp!
If you buy this lens, also get a hood for it, it improves image quality when you have all those street light shining into the lens.
Overall, I give this lens a 10, it is a magnificent lens, a pleasure to use and the results you obtain are really worth it!
All of the pictures below were shot at f/1.2, hand-held!
EDIT: I've also had a chance to test this lens on film, and it is absolutely amazing! I've used it to shoot quite a bit of low-light frames in the evening, and they've turned out very well. I find that the f/1.2 aperture really helps you focus easier when there's not much light available.
 | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: March, 2009 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 509 | | Review Date: June 20, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $370.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Looks and feels great. Professionally built. | | Cons: | Not as good as the A at f1.2 | |
This is a great lens. Well built as other Ks. A pleasure to use.
But there is sign of aging in the optical design. Chromatic abberation is more pronounced and contrast is slightly lower than the A version at f1.2, even though these two are claimed to have the same optical design. Could be a positive factor for some who want more soft feeling. Sensitive to lighting source.
BTW, I have not done scientific comparison of the lenses.
 | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: February, 2010 Location: Northern Michigan Posts: 6,175
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 19, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $365.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Very narrow DOF, superb bokeh, exquisite rendering | | Cons: | None | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K200D, K-5
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This is the best lens I have, and the best lens I have ever used. Nor is it simply an issue of the lens being fast. It's better than all my other lenses at equivalent apertures. Wide open, the lens produces some of the best bokeh you'll find in a lens in this focal range. Stopped down, the lens gains contrast and luminance. It renders detail with great clarity, being sharp without being clinical or brutal.
Despite f1.2 (fastest lens ever made by Pentax), this is not primarily a low-light lens. At f1.2 the DOF is so narrow that it presents great focusing challenges, which are only intensified in low light. Wide open this is primarily an isolation via narrow DOF lens. While it is true you can get good hand-holdable shutter speeds in sub-optimal light with this lens, you will be hard pressed to maintain the desired focus. Much of the complaints about the "softness" of the lens at f1.2 probably stem from an over-reliance on hand-held shooting. The DOF is so narrow that the slightest movement (as happens not infrequently in hand-held shooting) can nudge the camera out of the optimal focus zone.
Complaints, therefore, about the 50/1.2 being "soft" wide-open are largely baseless. Granted, it may not be "tack" sharp; but it certainly is not soft. Stopped down it quickly becomes one of Pentax's sharpest lens, bested only by the FA 43 and FA 50/2.8 macro.
At f1.2:
at f8:
 | | | | | | | | Review Date: May 4, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $350.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Fully usable at 1.2, gives very bright viewfinder | | Cons: | Very heavy on small bodies such as MX, ME, MG | |
Should I really rate this lens a 10? So far there was only one lens that I rated as "unique" or "perfect": My 2/105 DC Nikkor. Never have I seen such a creamy and fluently bokeh as the DC Nikkor produces. UNTIL I purchased this one. Of course it's hard to focus at f1.2, but the results are stunning! If you use it for a portrait, maybe one inch is in focus...and I mean sharp! The out of focus areas are of such a beauty that I'd call unique. I use it with my MX or ME Super and I hardly have never worked with such a bright viewfinder. It is also fully usable as walk around lens - it is sharp at f5.6 and razor-sharp at f8 - but of cours the 1.4/50 also is. I bought this one for the possibility to take pictures at f1.2 - they look different and reactions are very positive. Yes, it was worth the money and it is a 10!
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: March, 2009 Location: New Orleans Posts: 263 | | Review Date: April 14, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $250.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Amazing! You can get shots like never before in the dark, magical in the right light! Must have lens or get the "A" version.. | | Cons: | None but the obvious (hard to focus without liveview, manual) | |
This lens is amazing!
You can get shots like never before in the dark, and it is absolutely magical in the right light!
It's a must-have lens, unless you can get the "A" version, which is only slightly better in color, contrast, and sharpness. So the bottom-line is: get the ƒ/1.2 K or A the minute you can find one.
My version came to me beat-up and scratched. It looks like it was probably in a war. I only paid around $250 for it, because of the condition and bought it here on PF.
And it works PERFECT! It is all metal, and one of the most magical lenses I own in handling and image quality.
People say why not have the ƒ/1.4 FA for auto-focus? Well, I do. But the ƒ/1.2 can get shots in low-light the 1.4 CANNOT. Really.
The 1.2 sees more light than the human eye. It's like seeing in the dark. Especially snapped onto a K5, or whatever new Pentax there is, with the increasing ISO capabilities.
The best portraits I take of people are with this lens. And when it's in near darkness, it amazes them! When it's in full light, the beauty still amazes them.
I can't think of a single downfall besides the obvious (hard to focus without liveview, manual workings).
Just use liveview to focus and you're good-to-go.
In the right light, you get great contrast and colors. In plain, overall ambient light, of course you can lose contrast, any lens will - if you don't have a strong, direct light source. Even if the dark, there will be a light source... such as a candle, the moon, a streetlamp. So for best colors and contrast, even in near darkness, have a direct light source - plain, ambient light always lessens contrast. And in the sun, it is just fine! Just use a hood, and watch out for glare, etc.
I own nothing but great lenses, and if you can get your subject to stay still long enough to focus, then this is the lens to use on them! Wide-open at ƒ/1.2.
If you plan to use it at higher ƒ-stops, then yes, just go with an auto-focus for the ease.
This baby is made to shoot 1.2 full-time!
| | | | | New Member Registered: November, 2010 Location: Yokohama Posts: 1 | | Review Date: March 28, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Personality | | Cons: | Weight (but I like it) | |
If my place were burning down and I could save only one lens, this would be it. When I shoot I don't care about perfect clarity, I care about making beautiful shots.
On digital this lens is a little finicky with the white balance and exposure, which knocks it down a point, but on film it's a champ.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: November, 2009 Location: Strand Posts: 1,366 | | Review Date: March 5, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $450.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Excellent IQ, build quality, speed, sharpness, bokeh | | Cons: | Hard to focus @f1.2. Very shallow DOF. Hard to find. high price. | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
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I use this lens mostly @f1.2 and @f1.4 (one click down).
Due to it's very shallow DOF, every shoot at f1.2 needs to think twice, especially near the minimum focus distance.
This is a specialized lens. Other FA/A/M50f1.4/1.7 is a better choice for normal use; they are also excellent in low light.
Excellent IQ, but it is a real challenge in MF.
Highly recommend if you ever find one.
| | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: August, 2010 Location: Toronto Posts: 2,409 | | Review Date: December 3, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $360.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | shallow DOF, Bokeh, obvious quality of construction | | Cons: | A bit on the bulky and heavy side | |
I've only had the lens for a week, during most of which I've been confined to the house and near environs by illness, so am hoping to have the opportunity to shoot in a wider variety of conditions. But so far, I'm really, really taken with this lens. It's very sharp at normal apertures--I think I'd give it the edge over my M 50 1.7 at f8 say. Wide open it's really something special. If you can get your subject in focus, which isn't quite as difficult as I expected it would be, the way in which it--the subject--is set off by the bokeh (which is wonderful) can be quite captivating.
| | | | | New Member Registered: September, 2010 Location: Anaheim Posts: 7 | | Review Date: December 3, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $250.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp as a tack and f1:1.2. How great is that? | | Cons: | That it only exists in Manual Focus | |
I can honestly say this is the best lens in my camera bag. I know mathematically this isn't true, but I swear I can get another 3 or 4 megapixels out of this lens (meaning if I shoot with a 6.1mp *ist, it seems I can get larger, cleaner enlargement because of the tremendous sharpness of the lens).
The only thing I haven't figured out yet is why Pentax hasn't made an Autofocus version for the K5 or K7. I know it would be heavy, etc, etc, but I have shot weddings with this manual lens and have never been disappointed.
PLEASE PENTAX, make an autofocus version of this lens. The 1.4 AF's just aren't the same. You know it, I know it. The world will be eternally grateful. At least I WILL BE.
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