| Latest Review Posted | SMC Pentax-M 135mm F3.5
I got this lens in a condition almost new at a throwaway price. Actually I bid for a different lens on the bay. The seller shipped it after 20 days. But when the shipment arrived, to my surprise, it was this little baby and not the other lens! The lens was almost new well protected in its original leather pouch (that even says Pentax 135/3.5 on its lid). It is almost a collector's item! So I didn't complain much. It was a steal and I thought whatever the other lens was, it couldn't be as good a deal.
Whatever has been said about this lens so far is true and more! It is compact, lightweight but extremely well built - full metal build with a fully functional built-in hood. I'm glad Pentax has stuck to the classy old days' design principle and still builds lenses like this (the limiteds, and I own quite a few of them). It has a huge focus ring and the focus throw is quite large. That, for me is a good thing because when you are at manual, and at 135mm the DoF is quite thin. A large focus throw gives you a lot of room to fine-tune your focus. The lens is a joy to handle and balances perfectly well on my K-70. I don't use it much, but whenever I mount it on, I am amazed at the beautiful things it can do.
Image quality wise, it is a bit soft wide open at 3.5 and has some CA (which can be easily corrected in PP with one click). But stop it down, and you'll be amazed by it's sharpness. From 5.6 on it is razor sharp even on my K-70 which, we know, demands a lot from its lenses w... |
