| Review of: SMC Pentax 28mm F2 by hoanpham on Mon January 2, 2017 | Rating: 10 | View more reviews | |
| Review of: SMC Pentax-FA 35mm F2 AL by hoanpham on Thu August 8, 2013 | Rating: 10 | View more reviews | |
Views: 329657
Reviews: 82
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Dependable lens on a K5.
One lens for street, cityscape, portraits, travel.
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| Review of: PENTAX-110 24mm F2.8 by hoanpham on Wed June 12, 2013 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
Views: 37903
Reviews: 6
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this is my smallest 24mm ever. center sharpness is excellent. very portable. not so good for landscape, but very good for close portraits.
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| Review of: SMC Pentax-M 100mm F2.8 by hoanpham on Thu May 24, 2012 | Rating: 10 | View more reviews | |
Views: 273138
Reviews: 58
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A perfect lens for concert. Small, light, sharp wide open, far sharper than tokina, soligor.
Very good for manual focus.
I have used this lens in many events. Delivers superb results, both daylight, indoor, and concert in relatively lowlight.
I also have several 90mm, 100mm and 105mm, both AF and MF, but this lens is just perfect. MF when AF is giving up, small and light for walking tour. Currently the sharpest 100mm at f2.8
Highly recommend.
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| Review of: SMC Pentax-A 28mm F2 by hoanpham on Tue May 8, 2012 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
Views: 116608
Reviews: 13
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This is a very good lens. You need a focus screen to use with manual lenses.
Among many lenses I have used from different makers, this lens is tiny, light weight, beautiful rending, lots of contrast, and razor sharp, even wide open - and therefore my to-go lens when size and weight is an issue.
The lens is hard to find and a bit pricy, but it delivers very good photos for the money.
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| Review of: S-M-C/Super Takumar 24mm F3.5 by hoanpham on Tue January 24, 2012 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
Views: 161907
Reviews: 15
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Center sharpness very good. Extreme edges average. CA visible toward edges. PP does help. Bokeh smooth in close range.
The worst property of this lens is CA/PF. I have several other in 24mm to compare. Not so good for landscape in snow/sunny, but there is very few lenses that can handle this kind of condition.
The lens is optimized for closer range, from MFD to about 2m/5feet. At close distance, wide open, it's razor sharp at the center, and acceptable sharpness at the edges. Very good for 1/2 portraits.
The lens flare a bit, so using a hood is required.
Build quality is superb. Nice throw focus. Best of all, it is in M42 mount, which can be used with different camera brands.
Lens came with dedicated case, dedicated square hood with its own hood case.
Recommended.
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| Review of: SMC Pentax 30mm F2.8 by hoanpham on Fri August 12, 2011 | Rating: 10 | View more reviews | |
Views: 183390
Reviews: 32
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Cant say much negative about this lens. Awesome. Sharpest lens i currently owning, sharp even wide open. Beautiful contrast and color.
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| Review of: SMC Pentax-A 24-50mm F4 by hoanpham on Fri August 12, 2011 | Rating: 10 | View more reviews | |
Views: 157063
Reviews: 18
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If you need only f4, this lens is superb. Sharp all focal length, even sharper than some of my prime lenses. To have bokeh, the object needs to be closer than 5-6 feet /1.5-2 meter. Very good value for IQ. Another 'stack of primes' :ugh:
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| Review of: SMC Pentax-FA 28-70mm F4 AL by hoanpham on Thu May 5, 2011 | Rating: 8 | View more reviews | |
Views: 285990
Reviews: 49
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Got this lens from a gentlemen jump ship to Nikon.
This lens has very good sharpness at f8. It is soft at f4 and usable at f5.6. f11 gives minor improvement on sharpness, but f8 is good allround. That concludes my use of this lens: outdoor, landscape, architecture. Very small and light. Feel a bit cheap.
I would rate this lens some thing between 8 and 9, but softness at wide aperture implies less useful as overall lens. This lens is far more better than F-serie zooms.
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| Review of: SMC Pentax-F 35-80mm F4-5.6 by hoanpham on Tue April 19, 2011 | Rating: 3 | View more reviews | |
Views: 187848
Reviews: 49
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I give my kids this lens to play and to learn photography at very basic level. Worthless for print, only worth as a toy for small children. You should buy this lens supporting the local flea market.
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| Review of: SMC Pentax-A 50mm F2 by hoanpham on Thu March 10, 2011 | Rating: 8 | View more reviews | |
Views: 250363
Reviews: 73
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I have 10+ copies of this lens through the years, mostly came with a lens lot and an old body. Some made in japan, some from taiwan, both M and A versions. Build quality is compact, very light weight and feel just fine.
Price listed is estimated as average; higher if several of other lenses in the lot is not working; lower or free if other lenses are working fine.
As for physical and design rules, wide open is never good. f2 is the weakest spot. One/two click down does help a lot, but best at f5.6 and f8. As for bokeh at this best f-stops, the lens is almost as sharp in all distances, more like a PS pocket camera. That means this lens is only good for walking tour in day light when you are not need for bokeh.
50mm is not long and not wide. Putting this lens on a DSLR will litterally convert the DSLR to a 'cheap PS camera with MF'. Image quality is some what better than PS but no zoom, no AF, no stunning bokeh.
Why do I recommend this lens? Because it is cheap and gives good quality, and commonly available with every old body. At f8 it is very good. IQ is not bad at all as people uses to rate this lens by it's weak spot. After all, it is a F2.
Give this lens a try if you can get it cheap or with a lens lot.
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| Review of: SMC Pentax 135mm F2.5 by hoanpham on Wed March 9, 2011 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
Views: 372479
Reviews: 71
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This lens contributes another reason to stay with K-mount.
My low light MF in concert and theatre, or walking tour in low light, city streets. The DA*50-135 is just too big for this kind of shoot.
Excellent image quality when stepping down one or two click and still very good at wide open. Excellent color rendition even in street lights. Did I mention bokeh? It is so lovely.
Manual focus is a challenge in low light, especially street walk in the evening.
I consider it is still cheap when compares to the image quality and fast lens.
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| Review of: SMC Pentax 135mm F3.5 by hoanpham on Wed March 9, 2011 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
Views: 114349
Reviews: 13
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If I have to select between DA*50-135, M135f2.5 or M135f3.5, this is my to-go lens for walking tour in daylight. Perfect focal length for children candid shoots.
This lens has very good flare control using the hood. Very good color rending compares to other MF zooms or even the DA50-200. At f5.6-f8 it is very sharp. Beautiful bokeh in f5.6 and f8. It is also cheap for this focal length compared to image quality.
Canon shooters with large zoom and grip looked down due it's size on my K20 and just stop laughing after have seen the image result. Tiny size and light weight but excellent result.
Highly recommended.
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| Review of: SMC Pentax 50mm F1.2 by hoanpham on Sat March 5, 2011 | Rating: 10 | View more reviews | |
Views: 305105
Reviews: 60
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I use this lens mostly @f1.2 and @f1.4 (one click down).
Due to it's very shallow DOF, every shoot at f1.2 needs to think twice, especially near the minimum focus distance.
This is a specialized lens. Other FA/A/M50f1.4/1.7 is a better choice for normal use; they are also excellent in low light.
Excellent IQ, but it is a real challenge in MF.
Highly recommend if you ever find one.
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| Review of: SMC Pentax-F 35-70mm F3.5-4.5 by hoanpham on Thu March 3, 2011 | Rating: 8 | View more reviews | |
Views: 389020
Reviews: 100
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For it's price and IQ, I rate this lens as 8.
This lens is often ignored by new DSLR owner. Also it is cheap and feels cheap plastic, but respectful when you compare with the kit lens DA18-55 AL II at focal 35-50/55. This lens is a stop faster than the kit lens. At comparable apertures, this lens is significantly sharper and less CA. Half size of the kit lens, this had been my first choice when walking out with family.
This lens flares easily. A rubber hood is needed for highkey photos like snow, sun or flash.
How much you can get for 20 usd? - A tiny gem, with AF and designed for FF.
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| Review of: SMC Pentax 50mm F4 Macro by hoanpham on Thu March 3, 2011 | Rating: 10 | View more reviews | |
Views: 77127
Reviews: 13
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Always with me when I heading out for a walk. Very light, very good sharpness, very good color, perfect focal for touring, but no action, less bokeh. It is good when I have time to enjoy the moments with family, teaching kids to see in macro world. Only one lens needed.
For real macro, I use M28 with reverse ring.
Highly recommended.
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| Review of: SMC Pentax 35mm F2 by hoanpham on Wed March 2, 2011 | Rating: 10 | View more reviews | |
Views: 122098
Reviews: 16
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This is one of the lenses make me stay with K-mount. Excellent IQ with one click down. A bit soft wide open, but it's still sharp and good IQ. I have no problem using this lens in low light conditions wide open.
I also use this lens from time to time to shoot in snow/white bright background, using f3.2 for best image quality and blurred background. The subject in focus area is sharp, but the bokeh/out-of-focus area does have some CA and hard to be fixed in post processing.
I have seen a Canon shooter using this lens on their body.
Highly recommended.
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