| Author: | | New Member Registered: August, 2019 Posts: 1 | | Review Date: June 15, 2023 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | sharp, colours, size | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
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 | | | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: June, 2014 Location: Florida Posts: 3,189
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 19, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $25.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Build quality, price, IQ | | Cons: | Sharpness is a little low, but expected for an old manual zoom | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 7
Value: 10
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The pentax M75-150 is a very interesting zoom lens. I'm not usually a big fan of older manual zooms as the IQ and image rendering tend to be really poor on them. This lens is absolutely an exception.
Let's start with the pros of this lens. For one this lens is build like an absolute unit. Nothing loose or iffy in terms of build quality. The weight and size are also pretty acceptable. The constant F4 aperture makes using this lens pretty easy and the IQ wide open is more than acceptable throughout the range. Colors and rendering on this lens are really the star of the show. This lens is pretty excellent at showing depth even at higher f stops. Contrast out of the camera is pretty good even without editing. At higher F stops the lens becomes pretty sharp corner to corner making this lens suitable for landscapes as well.
The only cons I'd really say with this lens are that:
1. The zoom creep can kinda be annoying.
2. The sharpness throughout the range is not the best. However this is just the compromise you get on a lens like this and it doesn't affect usability.
3. I'm really glad we don't use push/pull zooms anymore.
But that's about it. If you're looking for a lens in this range, especially for telephoto landscapes, I'd highly recommend this lens. It's a joy to use and the pictures really sometimes feel like they have some pixie dust in em. Just don't pixel peep too much and you'll really enjoy it.
For the price I think it's basically unbeatable, I'd take this over the 50-200 any day.
 Sunset Bokeh by Brian Mckee, on Flickr
 Great Blue Photoshoot by Brian Mckee, on Flickr
 Gulf fritillary taking a rest by Brian Mckee, on Flickr
 Lake View 2 by Brian Mckee, on Flickr
 Everything has gone sideways! by Brian Mckee, on Flickr
| | | | | New Member Registered: February, 2019 Posts: 15
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 23, 2020 | Not Recommended
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Relatively small and light | | Cons: | Not as good as some say | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 5
Handling: 7
Value: 7
Camera Used: Film
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Many lenses are very good on digital cameras because the camera software partly compensates for sharpness and chromatic wobbles. This is one of them. You can see the digitised images, below, and those that show editing beyond the basic image. Put this on a film camera and it's good, but not outstanding. Sharpness is pretty low through the two extremes of the zoom capacity and f-stop scale. That leaves you with the usual zoom range of minus 10% top and bottom end of the mm scale and the top and bottom f-stop. In other words, you can use a 135mm and 50mm Prime Pentax M for better, sharper, images - and with a far greater mm and f-stop range - for the same price. Bokeh is nearly impossible, so I don't know why so many people rated this high. It's a neat and nice lens, but it's not outstanding and falls far short of prime lens equivalence. It does "feel" good and it's great to use in a tactile sense, but both of these factors do not take better photos.
Beware! many people on some online auction sites ask a fortune for this. Don't think that means it is worth a fortune.
| | | | | New Member Registered: April, 2015 Posts: 11 | | Review Date: February 1, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $130.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp wide open; small size; light-weight: robust construction | | Cons: | Bit haze wide open. CA | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 3
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-S2; NX500
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Sharp wide open but a bit hazy. Verry small in size and weight. One of the best lenses to carry in bag all the time. CA control is not good.
| | | | | | | Senior Member Registered: August, 2018 Posts: 240 | | Review Date: November 4, 2019 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Solid build. Short for a 150 | | Cons: | Heavy. Zoom creep at high vertical | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: KP
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If you want a professional lens, then this might not be it. But if, like me, you want to do some art, this is great. I printed out test shots today on 4x6 and it was like being back in the 80's again. Good results in terms of colour. I have a bit more work to do on getting the manual focus spot on, but, that will be practice. I've ordered a lens hood for it, as the built in isn't very long.
 | | | | | New Member Registered: February, 2016 Location: lake constance Posts: 1
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 22, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $30.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | surprisingly sharp at all the focal lengths even at wide open | | Cons: | out of production | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: ME Super, MX, Sony A7
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This vario lens is phantastic - I bought it for a low price - 25 Euro, in use for school events.
Mechanics are on top, like on the first day after production. This is Pentax M like. Optics have a slight fog between the first two lenses. But only in the edges of the lenses.
I took this lens to a favourite place in my favourite light in very wet weather. I wanted to find out, how this lens is working under extreme conditions. I have not been disapointed. It is a sharp and very handy lens, which has a reasonable range of focal lenghts. You are able to use it on cold days with stiff fingers, because it has a big distance/focal ring. The built in hood is a great help on rainy days to keep the front almost dry.
Even wide open, it is a sharp lens. It has a little CA, but you only can see it on digital images. In considering the lens is almost 40 years old, you will love this solid, old school zoom. Like the other M lenses!!!
 | | | | | New Member Registered: November, 2013 Posts: 14 | | Review Date: November 10, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $40.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | extremely sharp | | Cons: | very few CA's in the corners | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: k-s1, k-x, k200D
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I use the zoom lens for macro shootings in combination with an achromatic focal reductor and a macro ring.
Excellent results with f 11
| | | | | New Member Registered: March, 2013 Location: NE England Posts: 13 | | Review Date: October 4, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $20.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Build, sharpness, colour, Pentax, cheap. | | Cons: | None for the price. | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: KP
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As others have said this is a wonderfully sharp lens and really nicely built. Quite heavy but balances well on the KP with a grip. The one touch zoom/focus system is a joy and something I'd not used previously. It gives lovley colour and feel to images: great old-school M lens rendering. Good examples can be found very cheaply. I would highly recommend getting one if you like to use legacy glass.
| | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: April, 2018 Location: Ottawa Posts: 8,380
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 10, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Compact, sharp, smooth | | Cons: | f4 | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K7 and K-3 II
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Yes, it's manual, yes DXO can't deal with it automatically, yes there's no EXIN info, but it is a great lens. I am more of a 18-55mm guy so when I clip this onto my camera I am usually in the mood to really think about my shots and manual doe snot bother me then. That said, I have, more than once, just left the camera in auto and let it shoot at f4. If you are like me and a long lens is something you like to have in your bag but you want to avoid the $$$, try this out. I am including a couple of shots with this lens.
K7
K7
K-3 II
 | | | | | Forum Member Registered: April, 2014 Posts: 61
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 10, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $140.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | weight, size, build quality, IQ, sharpness, colour, contrast | | Cons: | noner | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: sony a7r3
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This is such a great lens for those looking for a light and portable medium length zoom.
I use it with a FF system and the results are terrific.
Very easy to use and focusing is a dream with image mag and focus peaking.
Great bokeh despite being F4.
No CA, defringing or vignetting.
Built in hood is great.
My current travel bag (Billingham small) sony a7r3, pentax m20 f4, pentax k28 f3.5, pentax k55 f1.8 and pentax m75-150 f4. All work so well with this camera and together provide a very light and dynamic travel solution.
 | | | | | New Member Registered: January, 2017 Posts: 19
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 2, 2017 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
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Super build quality, wonderful feel and accuracy in zooming and focusing, sharp, compact and it even has a built-in lens hood. I cannot think of any flaws in this lens - it's one of those lenses I'd like to take under my pillow at night =)
 | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: July, 2014 Location: Nagoya Posts: 577 | | Review Date: November 10, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $40.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Build quality, compact, image quality | | Cons: | Built-in hood rather short | |
75-150 is a golden range in the M series anyway - the 85mm, 100mm and 135mm prime lenses are all lovely. This lens is much the same. Everything that can be said has been said, so I will simply agree with it - image quality is great, handling is superb and the focal length really does work for walking around, particularly street shooting. What surprised me when I first got hold of the lens was its compactness, and the fact that it is entirely internal zooming - the barrel does not extend at all when you slide the zoom mechanism.
If I had to pick holes, I'd mention that there's a little fringing (but no more than any other old lens, and less than some new ones), and that the built in hood is a bit short to be really effective. But Camera RAW and Lightroom exist for a reason, and metal tele lens hoods are silly cheap. As is this lens, so get out, buy one and enjoy it.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: May, 2015 Location: Hampshire Posts: 892 | | Review Date: November 6, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $15.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharpish, cheapish and it's a Pentax | | Cons: | Nothing major | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 9
Camera Used: K-5
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I compared this Pentax with a seemingly mint Tamron 70-150mm F:3.5 model 20A (nothing very technical, just took some images) and found it to provide sharper images with less purple fringing.
In a nutshell, it is not fast, has a limited range of focal lengths and I got my copy (well used with zoom creep) at a great price.
Recommended if you are looking to use this range....but a good 70-200(210)mm might be just as sharp with a better range.
| | | | | New Member Registered: June, 2016 Posts: 11 | | Review Date: September 26, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $45.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Constant aperture, Size, Sharpness, useability | | Cons: | slightly heavy, CA | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: MX, K-1
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I don't use longer focal lengths often, but i'd prefer this lens over a good telephoto prime any day.
Not much to add on previous reviews, other than the following:
- Sharpness is really, really excellent. Not as sharp as a 50mm prime, but could easily make large prints of images taken with this lens. Example below is shot wide open and at the tele (softer) end of the zoom. I'd call that sharp 
- The zoom creep is an issue on my copy, but as for the push/pull design I think it's a matter of preference... Unless you really don't like the push/pull design in general, don't let it put you off buying this lens! The focus is nicely dampened (i just wish the length of the zoom was, too), and the throw length is perfect.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: February, 2010 Location: Northern Michigan Posts: 5,970
6 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 27, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Compact, build quality, built-in hood | | Cons: | zoom creep | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 6
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K-5iis
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What this lens provides is very good optics throughout its entire range in a fairly compact package combined with superb build quality. With a little improvement to the optics and coatings along with some AF technology, you'd have a beautifully crafted Limited zoom.
The major downside to the lens is, because it doesn't report its focal length to the camera, using SR with the camera becomes much more tedious. The push-pull zoom design, while it might help facilitate quick framing and focusing, also can lead to annoying zoom creep issues. My version is fairly stiff. Even then, if I point the lens upward while on a tripod, the zoom will slip to the bottom position (which is 150mm).
The aperture ring features some curious particularities that provide insight into how the designers of the lens thought it should be used. Throughout most of the aperture ring, f-stops are distributed by half a stop. But at each end, there is a whole stop. So the lens starts at f4, and goes all the way to f5.6. From there it's half stops until f16, and a full stop to f22. This suggests to me that the designers of the lens thought the most usable stops were f5.6 to f16, and that f4 and f22 were only added for special circumstances, not for everyday use. And if you actually use those extreme apertures, you begin to understand why: those are the two stops where the lens performs at its worse. Wide open, the lens is a bit on the soft side; and by f22, you've found yourself well within the confines of diffraction. But between f5.6 and f16, the lens performs quite well, with an impressive consistency throughout it's entire range. Unlike most telephoto zooms of its period, it's not sharpest at the wide end, and softest at the far end. While there may be variations in performance through the range of the lens, they're not significant enough to be noticed in everyday use.
I bought the lens to use for telephoto landscapes. While I already own a Tamron 70-200 f2.8, that lens is just two big to carry with me wherever I go. This is where the compact size of the M 75-100 really pays dividends. I can carry it in a large pocket --- or, since it only cost me $50, leave it in the car and not worry about it. I don't use it all that often. But I'm glad it's there on those few occasions when I need it.
Optically, it's not as sharp or as contrasty as the best contemporary lenses. My Tamron 70-200 is sharper, as is my DA16-85. But the 75-150 is sharper than any of the consumer grade telephotos I've tried. The M series zoom replaced in my kit the F 70-210. At 70mm, that old first generation AF telezoom, at f8, was a little sharper than the older M series telezoom. But by 100mm, the M 75-150 was sharper, and by 150mm the M zoom was significantly sharper. Another big advantage for the M 75-150, at least in landscape photography, is that it focuses right to infinity, rather than past infinity. The F 70-210 would not focus accurately at long distances, and it was very hard to attain infinity focus manually because of the very short focus throw and the fact that the lens focused passed infinity.
The built-in hood is another nice feature. I rarely find myself using hoods with older lenses, because there's no such hoods that can be stored by reversing them on the lens. But that's not a problem with the M 75-150. The hood is always there when you need it.
The lens features typical M series color rendering, with rich, aesthetically appealing "Pentax" colors, rather than boring "neutral," "accurate" colors. It really does work quite well as a landscape lens, particularly for those looking something compact. If you want something better, optically, you're going to have to get something bigger and heavier and much more expensive.
Some examples, first at 75mm:
And one shot at 150mm:
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