| Author: | | Junior Member Registered: October, 2007 Location: St.-Petersburg, Russia Posts: 40
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 9, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | sharpness, small size, all metal built | | Cons: | Longitudal CA | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K5 II
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Compared to FA 77mm lens, K85 produces slightly less crisp images wide open, it rather displays a soft effect w/o much losing resolution, which is good for portraits as it renders the skin tones more gently. Wide open it's nearly impossible to spot a focus at f/1.8 even with AF confirmation on, due to extreme shallow DOF (use AF-confirmation fine tuning feature "for all lenses" to achieve better results). Stopped down the resolution figures look similar on both lenses - super crisp and sharp images corner to corner. Lateral CAs are well controlled, on pair with FA77, K85 also produces less purple fringing at edges of overexposed areas compared to FA77. Still, K85 displays a fair amount of LoCA (bokeh fringing) on wide apertures, similarly to FA77, which affects color reproduction (some greens and purples in OOF zones). This reduces greatly stopping down, disappears by f/5.6. OOF zones rendering of K85 is slightly less smooth than FA77, which I personally find rather attractive, as it makes OOF rendering more characterful, more oil-painting-like.
 | | | | | | | Senior Member Registered: April, 2013 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 114
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 18, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $300.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | sharp, gorgeous, smooth, bokeh, handling, color, contrast | | Cons: | none | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-01 and Fuji X-E1
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I feel very lucky to have stumbled across this lens at a local camera shop in the used cabinet. It's just fantastic, everything people say it is. Beautifully sharp and in a warm, realistic way, not too clinical or edgy-sharp. The color and contrast factor is top-notch Pentax. The feel and focus throw is wonderful, they really tapered the focus range so that you can easily focus manually and fine tune with great precision. It's nice and compact, very fast. It's a real gem, one of the best. Wide open with high-contrast edges it can get a little purple fringing, but that's not a real issue. It resolves subtle shades of foliage wonderfully. It's very clean and coma-free across the image. What a beauty!
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: May, 2016 Posts: 33
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 31, 2016 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | sharpness, bokeh, colour differentiation | | Cons: | no A, no AF | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 7
Value: 10
Camera Used: anything between K2 and K-3
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K85 @1,8
Not much to add here... one of the greatest Pentax lenses ever.
Perfect sharpness, bokeh, colour differentiation and rendition.
Much, much better than the M 2/85 which I owned before and much easier and safer to use than that huge A 1,4/85 which I sold off after two weeks  Due to its AF the FA 1,4/85 might have a point though.
On the K-3 the 1,8/85 is one of my favourites for video shooting. AF is not needed, instead you are thrilled by the large, smooth, super-silent focus ring... Leave the aperture wide open and play with the minimal DOF. You get razor-sharp, movie-like pictures with a stunningly creamy background.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: June, 2015 Posts: 235 | | Review Date: September 13, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $10.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, Nice focus ring, MF, fast, built like a tank | | Cons: | None | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-5
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Now this is byfar one of the sharpest lenses in the telephoto range if not the sharpest that I have used and is probably the cheapest (my paid price) one of my kit. Bought it for $10 from a guy selling a K2 and had no idea what it was. The bokeh is beautiful and I swear it out resolves my K-5's sensor at f5.6. The focus throw is nice and long allowing easier focus and its nice f1.8 aperture is quick for nice night stuff. Overall beauty of a lens and for the price I paid its probably the best bang for my buck. Just an amazing lens!
| | | | | | | Forum Member Registered: December, 2012 Location: Warsaw Posts: 83
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 23, 2015 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Compact, speed, bokeh, perfect portrait FL, color rendering,..... and the sharpness outresolving 16MP K5 sensor | | Cons: | Very rare. Not cheap, but worth the price. | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K5, LX
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Top class lens.
Formidable portrait glass.
Produces breathtaking portraits. With "velvety clearness".....
One of the best classic 85's without modern high-tech glass inside.
It has a S-M-C Takumar 85mm f/1,8 optical construction so has much the same top performance.
According to BDimitrov produced for very short time: 1975-1977.
I found very interesting article about 85mm lenses race:
http://www.klassik-cameras.de/Pentax_Takumar_85mm.htm | | | | | New Member Registered: September, 2014 Posts: 1
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 17, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $380.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | small size, bokeh, colour rendering, sharpness | | Cons: | none | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 9
Camera Used: K30, Super A
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Fantastic lens, little soft at f1,8, sharp at f2,8-4, razor sharp at f4-8.
Great bokeh, rendering..
 | | | | | New Member Registered: October, 2013 Location: NW Indiana Posts: 19 | | Review Date: October 21, 2013 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | All around great lens. | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-x K-30
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This is a great lens, I love the colors it produces.
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: July, 2012 Posts: 928
10 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 11, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $428.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, great color rendering, smooth bokeh | | Cons: | Not the easiest lens to produce the best results | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 9
Camera Used: K20D
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The K85mm f1.8 is a beautifully engineered film-era portrait lens. It was very highly rated in the film and early digital days. It produces sharp images, excellent color rendition and smooth bokeh, and doesn’t suffer from the kind of purple fringing produced by the FA77mm.
Today, however, it’s not so universally admired/valued, perhaps because of the quality of new competitors. And from f5.6 onwards, of course, it can be hard to tell the difference on aps-c cameras between this lens and a new budget zoom at 85mm. So if you want one of these rare and relatively expensive MF lenses, be sure to have a good reason for taking photos at or around f1.8, and be prepared to work hard on metering, focusing, composition etc. for the best results, which are stunning – it’s not the most forgiving lens.
The lens is not unreasonably soft wide open; instead it produces slightly creamy skin tones. As others have written, this effect can be extremely attractive for portraits, and adds to that artistic 3D effect.
If you’re on a tight budget and looking for a great value MF Pentax lens for portraits on cropped sensors, you may want to look at the K 55mm f1.8. If money is no object, the Pentax starred 85mm 1.4s are probably a better option.
Nevertheless, the K85mm is an exceptional lens and a 10/10 for its type; I’d rate the M85mm, which I’ve also used, a 9/10. It’s a worthy, lower cost MF alternative to the FA77mm and it is much more portable than newer 85mm 1.4s. It would probably have a more legendary status (like its Takumar M42 predecessor) with more top reviews, if it wasn’t so rare, or used on a FF camera to show off the advantages of its focal length, extremely narrow/artistic DOF possibilities and optical qualities, especially where other lenses' purple fringing problems can become more pronounced.
Edit: I couldn't find a lot of photos to judge this lens's capabilities when I was thinking about buying one, so for others here are two @f1.8 and a few others:
 | | | | | Forum Member Registered: August, 2012 Posts: 90 | | Review Date: April 7, 2013 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Great rendering, excellent for portraits | | Cons: | Manual focus, manual aperture | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 9
Camera Used: K-01, LX, *ist DL
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This is without a doubt one of the best lenses Pentax has ever made. Hard to beat as a portrait lens, either on film or digital cameras. Sharp, beautiful colors and bokeh. Well built, like the K and M series usually were.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: January, 2009 Location: Champagne Ardennes, France Posts: 19 | | Review Date: October 26, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $180.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Fast, Nice Bokeh an color rendering, compact size | | Cons: | difficult to find | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 9
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It 's a sharp lens that offers good color rendering, bokeh and pleasant handling. Nice for portrait or fine details or to get 3D style picture. It's a 10 (for this price you can't find better).
Test photos :
 | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: October, 2008 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 8,088
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 7, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $780.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Speed , quality, soft-focus area. | | Cons: | Not really a telephoto lens. | | Camera Used: K Series film bodies (K1000, KM, KX, K2, K2DMD)
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The K85/1.8 is one of three K series portrait/telephotos released in 1975, the others being the K105/2.8 & K120/2.8. The K85/1.8 actually weighs more than the K105/2.8, which is due to the extra lens element. (6 compared to 5)
The K85/1.8 was designed to produce a soft-focus effect in the areas just beyond the DOF, so it is ideal for portraiture and close-ups of other objects. This soft-focus area is very appealing and is unique. You will have fun playing around with the DOF.
The K85/1.8 is also incredibly fast and I have used it for night city scapes. The K85/1.8 is part of my new “night kit” along with my K28/2 and K50/1.2.
The K85/1.8 is sharp for a lens of this focal length and is decent wide open. Though I have only used it wide open at night. It’s also much sharper than the M85/2 version.
The K85/1.8 shares the same 52mm filter thread lens hood with the K105/2.8 and the K100/4 Macro & Bellows lenses. I highly recommend getting one.
The K85/1.8 is more of a specialty fast portrait lens than a telephoto. But it is brilliant at what it is designed for and is a must have in any collection.
Note my review is based on using the K85/1.8 on a film camera only. Also the price I paid is on the high side, as it was mint- and came with the original lens case and hood.
Sample shots taken with the K85/1.8. Photos are medium resolution scans from original slides or negatives.
Camera: K2 Film: Fuji Velvia 100 ISO: 100
Camera: K2 Film: Ilford HP5 Plus ISO: 400
 | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: March, 2009 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 509 | | Review Date: May 25, 2009 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | high optical quality, portable, extremely well built, perhaps better than a M | | Cons: | A little bit soft on f/1.8; shortest focus distance a bit long; getting too expensive | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 9
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Better than my Pentax M 50mm f/1.4 when wide open. Performs well with a doubler or a 1.7x. Extremely well built. Easily one of my best lenses. Reluctant to use due to its rarity and its high market price Maybe I should buy another one just in case.
In short distance, the resolution and contrast are on par with FA77. FA77 wins on longer distance and CA. FA77 also does better with contrast at the largest apertures. But the dreamy effect at f1.8 is very attractive for portrait. It seems more flavorful that Rokinon/Samyang 85mm f1.4. F1.8 is perhaps better choice than f1.4 in the vast majority of situations because of razor sharp DOF. The color is very attractive and unique. This lens has grown on me.
BTW, Rokinon/Samyang 85mm f1.4 is sharper with higher contrast at the largest apertures. But I still love my K85 
Pentax SMC K 85mm f1.8 Examples | | | | | Senior Member Registered: February, 2007 Location: Michigan/USA Posts: 173 | | Review Date: November 6, 2007 | Recommended | Price: $400.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Color, sharpness, oof rendering, size. | | Cons: | K lens have to use in manual mode, prefer PK-A. | |
I have a lot of nice lenses, this one is a favorite. The focusing is so easy and smooth, bright viewfinder, the color and clarity of the photo even at 1.8 is impressive.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: September, 2006 Location: Chicago, IL, USA Posts: 147 | | Review Date: January 26, 2007 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | small, crisp focusing, superb bokeh, sharp at f2 | | Cons: | not f1.4 but that is rather obvious, non-A | |
The tag line "beat by the speed of the FA* and A*" is sort of silly. As if that sums it up. I'm happy with this lens so far -- I have a sample locally for a relatively low cost compared to eBay. A few photos here:
http://oomz.net/mf/viewtopic.php?id=4572
Update: Here are some more photos (a lot at f1.8 with ND4 filter during day):
(Non working link removed)
At first, I hesitated to use it wide open but I decided to give it a try and I like it. Sure, it is less sharp wide open but the images it produces are very good. Even if you pixel peep! The DOF is razor thin though at close range. This is my favorite lens.
| | | | | New Member Registered: August, 2013 Posts: 7 | | Review Date: September 9, 2023 | Recommended | Price: $300.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | K-mount, very good wide open, great bokeh, superior build quality | | Cons: | 8 bladed aperture | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 9
Camera Used: Sony A7RII
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From all lenses within this focal length category that I’ve used, this Pentax probably ticks the most boxes. It really doesn’t have any real weaknesses.
First of all, its K-Mount makes it easier to adapt than the M42 Takumar version. The lens is very usable wide open; there is really no need to stop down for crisp portraits, unless you want more DOF of course. There’s plenty of ‘pop’ already at f/1.8; post processing is not necessary. Contrast and colors of the lens are great. Build quality and smoothness of operation is second to none.
Bokeh is great as well, in this range only my Summicron 90/2 from 1976 has slightly better bokeh stopped down because of it’s perfectly round aperture.
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