| Author: | | Veteran Member Registered: January, 2010 Location: Ferguson, Mo. Posts: 1,348
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 19, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $110.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Fast,Solid | | Cons: | Metering | |
Bought in 1980. There is nothing I can say that hasnt been said,except maybe,
you can have it when you can pry it from my cold,dead fingers.
Dont really consider lack of metering abilities(with DSLR) a debit
rather,an asset,in that it forces one into thinking about the moment.
Others dont see it that way and I will respect their opinions.
This is the "stuff" that made Pentax what it is.
| | | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: October, 2008 Location: Albuquerque NM Posts: 9,830 | | Review Date: January 8, 2010 | Recommended
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Fast, sharp and inexpensive | | Cons: | Meters poorly on digital bodies | |
I have owned this lens for about 30 years. If I had rated it in 1980, I probably would have given it a 10. It is as sharp as you will ever need a lens (other than at 1.4) and as fast and easy to focus. It has also come through 30 years of use in perfect working order. It is only manual focus, but I can deal with that.
In the digital age, this lens stacks up less perfectly. Its metering on a K10/20 is the most erratic of any older lens I've used. With most other K and M lenses, I meter one stop or so off wide open, and they are pretty close at the middle apertures I use most. Not so on this lens. You really have to keep the up and down meter quirks of this combo in mind all the time.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: October, 2008 Location: Great Plain, Hungary Posts: 204
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 7, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $60.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Very good built quality typical of M series, performance | | Cons: | Nothing in its class | |
I haven't used this lens a lot but the few shots I made were impressive. One crucial aspect is that you need to stop it down to get the best results as it is soft wide open. For this reason I like its 1.7 sibling more.
Built quality is fantastic.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: March, 2009 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 509 | | Review Date: June 2, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $70.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | affordable, high quality, portable , well built. | | Cons: | Soft wide open, needs a lens hood | |
The most widely used lens in my weaponry. Very well built. Maybe slightly less so than the K version which I am going to get soon. But it is certainly smaller than the K version. Ever so slightly soft wide open. But better than my 50mm A f1.2 wide open. Also less CA. Much better flare control than my Ricoh 50mm f1.7 lens when facing light sources. Clearly, a very mature design even though it does not contain AL or ED glasses.
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| | | | | | | Senior Member Registered: January, 2009 Posts: 138
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 28, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $10.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Fast, solid build, great for portraits | | Cons: | Can't use built-in flash in dslr | |
This is the best lens I have. Got it from my neighbour with Pentax ME and some other lenses + accessories, it's 30+ years old and still beats many modern lenses I've tested.
Very solid build, smooth focus ring, optically great. I like the way this lens draws the subject when shooting people, a bit soft wide open but from 2.8 becomes very good. I thought i don't like shooting people but after some test shots with this one I was sold. Softness is not bad at all, I've used it many times as an effect. This one is with me and on the K200D most of the time in parties, bars etc. low light situations where tripod would be too bulky or impossible to use.
I also use this with my bellows and it works great.
This lens makes ugly people look good! That's how good this is.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: December, 2007 Location: New Zealand Posts: 440
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 12, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $25.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Low light abilty, Metal construction, Sharp | | Cons: | Manual focus | |
I've only had this lens for a week but already i'm loving it. Got it for a steal from a small market shop in Delhi on a holiday and haven't looked back.
I've got the M 50mm F1.7 too. Unfortunately slightly damaged, both of the lenses give me great pleasure in using, especially for portraits and the different Bokeh. 
Highly recommended, especially if you find one cheap!
| | | | | Moderator
Site Supporter Registered: June, 2008 Location: Florida Hill Country Posts: 17,377
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 14, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | well built, compact & fast | | Cons: | no A settings but then it wouldn't be an M | |
It is a great fast 50mm for my K2 and K1000 bodies. I like they way it is build and its compact size.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: May, 2008 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 1,725
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 13, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $89.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Well made, Great Low light | | Cons: | None | |
I just bought this lens based on what you guys said about it. I am not sorry at all that I did it. This a really nice lens that is build well and very easy to use. The only reason I gave it a 9 is because I can't use the flash with it but this is not the fault of the lens, it just the way it is.
If you are trying to decide, just buy it ASAP.
If you can't afford this lens then get the A 50mm F2 which is much cheaper and also very good.
| | | | | Inactive Account Registered: August, 2008 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 19
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 12, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | small, light, well constructed, aperture ring, very sharp when stop down | | Cons: | a little soft wide open | |
This is a beautiful lens, all metal construction and feels very solid. Focusing ring is well damped with my copy and the range is quite large-allow precision focus.
Personally, I find it is a bit soft at f1.4 but very acceptable for the price paid. Other than that, a very good lens. Would give this 9.5.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: August, 2008 Location: London Posts: 417 | | Review Date: August 4, 2008 | Recommended
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Works well after 50 years, is still impressive compared to modern fast lenses | | Cons: | build quality has degraded, could be better wide open | |
This is another lens i inherited from my grandfather/father along with the pentax MX. Its beautiful. It has never failed me!
Wide open the clarity isn't the best, but its still very very impressive compared to most modern lenses going down to 1.4
The quality must have been great to begin with. I dont know why people dont make more heavy full metal lenses any more, it really makes the difference.
On digital it faces some problems. Obviously the coatings aren't designed for digital, so it isn't the best for ghosting if you are facing light. Unfortunately you are also restricted to only using f/1.4, why, i haven't a clue. If you take the lens, set it on a different aperture and turn it as if you are removing it it will lower the aperture. You have to hold it in place though...
Having said that, i have used it with digital a lot. On my k20d with shake reduction on and a fairly high ISO it has no trouble whatsoever shooting after the sun has disappeared. Very impressive, but i think eventually i will have to get my hands on something designed for digital, for merely the convenience.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: February, 2008 Location: Waterloo, Ontario Posts: 4,461
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 19, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $150.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Build quality, sharp, contrast colour, bokeh | | Cons: | Fully manual | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
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Let me add another testimonial for the Pentax M-series 50/1.4 lens. I can’t say I’ve ever had a bad picture from this lens that wasn’t my fault in some way. Like all 1.4 optics it is a little soft at the widest aperture but that is just part of its charm. On the other hand the same 1.4 speed permits shots that just aren’t possible with a lesser lens. With a little time and effort the lens will deliver staggeringly good shots in either film or digital. It is sharp, contrasty and will teach you the meaning of bokeh. Focusing in low light is easy due to the 1.4 speed. If you have used nothing but slow zoom lenses you will be amazed how bright your viewfinder can actually be. I purchased a Katzeye split image/micro prism collar screen for my K10 and this greatly enhanced focusing with all my manual lenses. If, as I do, you shoot a lot in manual focus this focusing screen is a must in my opinion.
The M 50/1.4 is finished in typical Pentax M-series style with a generous checked rubber focusing ring ensuring a good grip. There is a wealth of lens data engraved about the front retaining ring including: focal length, serial number, SMC Pentax etc. If you judge it for what it is and don't compare features with a modern DA offering you will be impressed. Boz Dimitrov's Pentax site provides technical details regarding this lens:
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It is fully manual of course so there will be a digital learning curve if used in that format. Metering will be stop down in digital with no AF and no f stop information will be visible in the viewfinder. On the plus side on digital it becomes a 75mm lens which many consider ideal for portraiture. Like all good things in life it will reward the effort.
This was the first 35mm format lens I ever purchased. I bought it for use with my first 35mm camera - a Pentax MX in 1981. As I recall I think I paid about $150 for it back in the day. With current prices of $100 or less on EBAY this is a lens every Pentax user should have in thier bag.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: February, 2007 Location: Phoenix Posts: 1,056
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 18, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $90.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | fast, sharp, bulletproof | | Cons: | none | |
Awesome. A solid chunk of metal and glass, with a smooth focus ring and amazing image quality. On a DSLR, it is a terrific low light portrait lens. Sure, the FA version is autofocus and really not that much more expensive, but somehow it doesn't feel like photography using plastic lenses...
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: December, 2007 Posts: 8,237
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 5, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 9 |
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Great as a low-light-special, but also just great in general. Nice bokah at 1.4, and pretty sharp. 3.5+, incredibly sharp.
Nice crisp, neutral colors. I always produce something great when I put this on - if I have the time to do full-manual justice. When I don't have time, I go to the FA-50mm 1.4, but even though that's an incredible lens, sometimes this little gem can give me that something extra - hard to describe, just a crisp, contrasty, very 3-D shot. (maybe that's because I took more time and care getting the shot with the manual, I don't know...)
Very fun lens to own.
| | | | | Giveaway winner! Registered: December, 2007 Location: beantown Posts: 944
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 4, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $148.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Fast, sort of small, sharp 2.0+ or so... | | Cons: | Fuzzy wide open. | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
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I like it and use it a lot. Sharp for mostly all of my pictures and it delivers nice enough details wide open too. You can't go wrong with this lens and ignore the talk of poor performance unless you stop-down to f5.6. This lens is my Swiss army lens and normally I set it to f2.8, but when the light is low and I want the image, that 1.4 is handy. When I first tried to test the lens, I was getting numbers from 36lpmm all the way to 74lpmm at f2.8. I've tried to test it with Ultracolor 100. Tech-Pan and T-Max and tried different light and indoor and outdoors. Well, I gave up then... just didn't know which was the right method at the time. I am just happy that the lens always produces great shots.
Note: Please take the lpmm numbers with a grain of salt. I've been consulting sources and it looks like my test target scale is throwing off my figures... might be higher around 42 to 79 lpmm.
| | | | | Inactive Account Registered: September, 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 18
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 24, 2007 | Recommended | Price: $85.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | large aperture, very sharp, well built, solid | | Cons: | none | |
Very sharp, very solid and nice to handle (focus ring is very smooth). Great lens !
Pictures are very comparable to pictures with my DA 16-45 lens, which is more than I expected from it.
I don't even have complaints about it being soft wide-open (at least when you don't enlarge the images).
I would recommend this lens to everyone who isn't afraid to do everything the manual way, especially if you only have to pay the price I did (60 Euro).
This is my favorite lens up to now, and I will never sell it I think...
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