Latest Review Posted | SMC Pentax-M 28mm F2.8 What I Like: While not a "pancake" it is a very compact lens. It easily fits in a pocket when you don't want to lug around a bag. It's about the size of my 2x teleconverter. Line up all the red markings for easy hyperfocal shooting at f8. I did an entire day in Seattle with a ME Super in Av mode like this, practically a point and shoot. The price is very affordable for such an attractive focal length. Probably because it is not an "A" lens or uncommon. The front element is not sticking out too far and I only encountered light flare when pointing it directly at a bright light. Since it is a "M" lens it has excellent build quality. One thing that I like that others would probably scoff at is that it is only a 5 bladed aperture. However, OoF bits do not really show it noticeably. It is not a bokeh monster by any means. All in all it is a very inexpensive lens that fulfills many roles and fulfills them fairly well. On FF it is the perfect length for taking "Rolling Shots" of cars.
What I Do Not Like: It might just be my copy, but the focusing ring feels like a cheap autofocus lens to me and zooms from lock to lock while focusing. Once you have been shooting with it for awhile you get used to it.
Seeing as how you can get fancier/wider/faster lenses than this one I would recommend it as a good/affordable FF wide-angle and a "point and shoot" convenience travel lens.
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