| Latest Review Posted | SMC Pentax-M 40mm F2.8
I paid £19 for this online; don't ask me why it was so inexpensive.
It is very compact. It's not very good at f2.8, and this makes precise manual focusing tricky, but it is pretty much as sharp as the Pentax 50mm offerings across the APS-C frame when stopped down to f8 and f11.
The bokeh is inobtrusive.
The colours are great.
The minimum focus is 60mm, so not great, but sufficient for an arms length selfie.
It isn't weatherproof, but it is so small it is partially shielded from the elements by the DSLR bodies, and I have confidence it is as rugged as they are.
40mm on an APS-C is equivalent to about 60mm on full frame, so it's very similar to using the Helios/BIOTAR 58mm on a 35mm camera. I prefer the perspective of the 40mm to the 35mm.
I use it, a lot, when hiking, skiing, dog-sledding; any activity where I want to take my camera, but I want to minimise weight and it might be exposed to physical abuse. For views, I can just set it to infinity and f11 and they turn out well.
Unless you are actively seeking veiling flare, do not include the sun in your frame!
I like to boost the contrast out of the camera, but it's a matter of taste. As others have noted, the images from this lens are quite distinctive.
Well worth my rating of 9, I reckon.
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