| Author: | | Inactive Account Registered: September, 2006 Location: D/FW area, Tx. Posts: 1,710 | | Review Date: January 8, 2007 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | light weight, great contrast, very sharp lens, price nowadays | | Cons: | only 1:2 macro | |
i loved this lens for over 25 years but i wanted a true 1:1 macro. i sold it as the vivitar was as sharp.a great lens for the beginner macro photog.. highly recommended.. and usually around used for 100usd.
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1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 10, 2007 | Recommended
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | clear, sharp, well-built | | Cons: | only 1:2 macro, despite the name | |
I borrowed this lens from a fellow Pentax user a while ago, and was very surprised at how sharp and clear the images were, and how nice the focus ring felt to turn.
| | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: November, 2007 Location: Sparwood, BC, Canada Posts: 12,385
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 9, 2007 | Recommended | Price: $250.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Very, very sharp | | Cons: | 1:2 only without extension tube | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 6
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 7
Value: 8
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I use this lens for the next week on my MZ-S, where it snaps-in-focus beautifully. (My K10D arrives in a week) I purchased it used two years ago. It is smooth focusing and sharp as can be. Mine is the "dental" version.
[Edit] Update 2011 August. This lens is still superb for its age, even on my K10D. I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone. I have recently tried the AFA 1.7X on the lens, and the combination is just as sharp as the lens alone.
| | | | | New Member Registered: July, 2008 Location: Queensland Australia Posts: 8
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 26, 2008 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | cheap, good contrast, nice colours | | Cons: | manual everything, not 1:1 | |
Saved it from the dumpster at work and I find it to be a great first macro lens and it is a nice portrait lens too.
| | | | | | | New Member Registered: December, 2007 Location: Izmir / Turkey Posts: 19 | | Review Date: January 22, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Very Sharp, Nice Bokeh | | Cons: | 1:2 magnification | |
I bought it second hand from Ebay to 200 USD. It has got hard focusing ring but maybe it can be a problem of my copy. Generally I love it and use on both film and digital.
| | | | | Forum Member Registered: January, 2009 Location: Seattle Posts: 54
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 15, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Very sharp, precise focus | | Cons: | Not really a macro lens, focuses past infinity. | |
Been using for about 1 month on a K200D
I'd give this a 9 if it didn't say "macro" on it. I don't find it to be very useful as a macro lens, especialy since I can get the same shot with my da 16-45.
But as a 100mm this thing is awesome. Focus ring is huge, has a great feel and is very precise. Images, so far, have been very pleasing and sharp. Gives a good feel to close subjects.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: October, 2008 Location: Albuquerque NM Posts: 9,830
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 12, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Tack sharp, compact | | Cons: | No A setting, Could be faster | |
I bought this lens in the early 80s so my price would not be relevant, and it was one of my favorites for years. It is super sharp, and works great in macro as well.
Here is one from Tours, France 1988, MX, TMax 400:
 | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: January, 2009 Location: Champagne Ardennes, France Posts: 20
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 10, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $110.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Quality of built, low price, focusing for close-up | | Cons: | not 1:1 macro, slow | |
A nice lens like most M series, especialy for the price I paid.
I use it for nature pictures, to keep some distance from the subject (insects)
Not a true macro, but 1:2 is ok for pleasant shots of butterflies.
Good for architecture details too...
 | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: December, 2007 Location: In the most populated state... state of denial Posts: 1,852
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 5, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Construction, accuracy, image quality | | Cons: | none | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 9
Camera Used: Film Cameras (KX, MES, ME, Program, MZ) DSLRS K100, KX, K5ii
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Wonderful 1:2 macro, excellent image and nice out of focus areas
Highly recommended
UPDATE (2011/04) After shooting spring colors.....
Color rendition is on the saturated side, very nicely contrasted.
It can be used for everyday photography as well with no hesitation, and because of the long barrel screw focusing is very accurate
Portraits are outstanding! Skin tones with a DSLR are very nicely rendered.
UPDATE (2020/08) It works great as a copy lens for old negatives. It allowed me to digitalize my grandfather's negative and slide collection (Medium Format, 43mm square, etc) in a very short time with amazing results
 PlazaGrande 1921 | | | | | New Member Registered: March, 2011 Location: Tuktoyaktuk, NWT Posts: 6 | | Review Date: March 27, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Sharp | | Cons: | None inherent | |
I would rate it more but mine seems to be delaminating the front two elements, but in spite of a flaw that can be seen obviously on inspection of the front element it still takes sharp pictures. I wish I had a better copy because it is ideal for me, I do not need a 1:1 macro, this is just fine, and it is a great telephoto lens as well. The mechanical construction and the feel of the lens is of extremely high quality.
Sorry about the 8 but this issue (in an admittedly old lens) does spoil it somewhat for me.
| | | | | Inactive Account Registered: February, 2011 Location: Vancouver BC Posts: 4
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 14, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $150.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp, wonderful construction, great smooth manual focus | | Cons: | A bit heavy | |
This is one fantastic lens! Works very well on my Pentax K-x. I got it used a few months ago, right here on the forums,    and I use it mainly as a macro lens. Attached are some pictures with it.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: October, 2009 Location: Kolkata Posts: 120 | | Review Date: May 6, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $60.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharpness, build, weight and balance, smooth and easy focusing | | Cons: | None to me | |
Been using this one for a while. got mine here in Kolkata, India god alone nows how many hands! It was not in a good shape and the lens elements had come unglued. A wonderful artist with his tools put humpty dumpty back and it works like a dream. At the price I paid- a steal!
Before using this lens I had little (read nil) experience to macros. Started off trying closeups with the 55-300mm and the results were promising enough to delve further. This M 100mm f4 macro is wonderfully sharp and has a perfectly (??) creamy bokeh. It handles blues like no other lens but is harsh on carless focussing. It might be only 1:2, but it is one fine fine glass. The examples show its capabilities. If my greenhorn capabilities can do this, someone with the eye for macros can do wonders.
(Non working links removed)
Get one if you can
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: February, 2011 Location: Hoek van Holland Posts: 1,393
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 11, 2011 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | build quality, super sharp | | Cons: | none | |
I used to like this lens when shooting film, now with digital I love it. Yes it is only 1:2 macro, but often use it with extention tubes, and then you can get some really nice magnifications.
The only downside (if it is), it is hard to focus with the small viewfinders on the digital cams.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: October, 2009 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 2,030
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 28, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $91.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharpness, Bokeh, Value, Handling | | Cons: | None, really | |
This is a great piece of glass. Very versatile, can be used for portraits, candids, macro. Long rotation for focus which gives you plenty of time to get it right.
Colors literally jump off the page or print, extremely vivid and warm.
Bokeh is superb, as good as any M lens I've seen.
For around 100 bucks, you can't get a better macro!
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: September, 2010 Location: Somewhere in the Southern US Posts: 12,285
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 7, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $120.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Stunning, solid, smooth, great range | | Cons: | None | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
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I got this as part of a Macro kit, with the M50 Macro, an M200, and some filters through a thrift store and it was dirty. I sent it out for a CLA and when it came back Eric had made it look like it must have straight out of the box! The price listed reflects both the purchase cost (1/3 of the overall for the kit) plus the CLA cost.
It's super sharp and has no distortions to my eye. Bokeh is very good, but its a macro so its not as buttery as some but its still superior to most IMHO. Focus is so incredibly easy with this as the throw is super long for the macro and makes fine tuning a breeze. Its good as a portrait lens, its a solid macro (even if not 1:1), and its a descent short tele lens as well. It's a bit slow at f4 but that's better than the kit lens and its so much sharper across the entire field. Did I mention that its sharp edge-to-edge The other factor for this one is that the pictures seem to have more of a 3D aspect than nearly any other lens I own. Its hard to explain but it seems to separate the items at different distances better thereby lending that 3D feel to a 2D image.
As another review I read said -It's an incredibly well thought out lens. The reproduction ratios are on the front of the focus ring, making them easier to read on their own scale than having them mixed in with the focus scale. This makes this lens much easier to read than any of the other macro lenses. I own the M50 Macro as well and its a good lens, but this one is head and shoulders ahead of that one.
If you can't make a sharp photograph with the M100 Macro, well......... | | |
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