| Latest Review Posted | SMC Pentax-M 200mm F4
Here's my Flickr album with all of my images from this lens: CLICK HERE.
I bought it used from eBay, actually one of the first lenses I bought when I started my collection, but I've never really put it through its paces, and even after this (most) month, I still feel like I could learn some things about it.
It's a solid M lens, well constructed and responsive. Nicely dampened focus ring that goes on for miles and miles, so it was a little inconvenient to have to crank the thing around from infinity to MFD, when I was ever in that position. The aperture ring has half-clicks from 4 all the way up to 32, but I never stopped it down past f/16 for my purposes. The lens has a built-in slide-out hood, which did improve contrast noticeably. The hood on my particular lens is adorably and amateurishly engraved with the name "Wilber Havens". I'd like to know who he is, but I'm sure I'll never find out. ;-)
The lens doesn't disappoint with sharpness and rendering - it's a solid performer, but not remarkable. Contrast and color were not as dependable, but images responded well to PP. The CA was readily available in all high-contrast situations, but Lightroom knocked it down, and it was actually less intrusive at the most usable (or, at least, my most-used) apertures, f/5.6 to f/11. The bokeh was pleasant enough for me, when I could conjure it, but I'm not much of a bokeh connoisseur, so my opinion's not worth much.
The FOV was, frankly, shocking. I'm not a keen tele... |
