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Showing all 13 reviews by tromboads

Review of: SMC Pentax-DA L 50-200mm F4-5.6 ED by tromboads on Tue January 10, 2023 | Rating: 10 View more reviews 
SMC_Pentax-DAL_50-200mm_F4-5_6.jpg

Views: 110473
Reviews: 17
Terribly surprised with this lens. I’m a snob, and pretty much wrote of all these “kit” lenses because I had superior f2 and Takumar glass. A recent hiking trip had me reach for this because I was half convinced,I would drop it down a mountain. It wascarried wrapped in a spare scarf in my bag and when on camera, spent most of it’stime out being banged against trees and rocks. The images at the end of the day were really really good. Nota single AF miss, excellent fringing control (assuming camera is helping withit’s auto math), plenty of detail. Andlet’s be honest, when out and about on hills looking at mountains you end upshooting at F6.7 / F8 all day anyway. Why would I want a F2,8 DA* with all thatweight? This is destined to become the standard exploring lens. The weight oh the weight, its as heavy as apair of hiking socks. That’s important! Itreally really is. Looking forward to the next adventure with it.

Review of: Pentax-F 70-200mm F4-5.6 by tromboads on Wed November 17, 2021 | Rating: 10 View more reviews 
Pentax-F_70-200mm_F4-5_6.jpg

Views: 69520
Reviews: 9
This lens was tossed in with a K5 i recently bought, thought nothing of it, another old 90's zoom righht? Well... Suppose it is, heavier then similar lenses today (looking at you DAL 50-200) but, dam the auto-focus is great and images look bloody fine. Have been comparing it to the DAL 50-200, not much in it. DAL 50-200 perhaps with slightly more contrast on the JPEG, but who cares? Move that slider in post and boom. And, the 80's is long enough ago that it's style is nearly cool again. The grey looks stupid on the K5, I imagine I'd want a Z10, MZ, etc to properly dress the part, Really impressed, so much so that I'm now trawling ebay for second hand Pentax-F's First image @200, f5.6, second @70 f4, JPEG's from camera & just resized. https://www.pentaxforums.com/gallery/images/48876/large/1_IMGP2288.JPG https://www.pentaxforums.com/gallery/images/48876/large/1_IMGP2283.JPG

Review of: SMC Pentax-A 35-70mm F4 by tromboads on Tue August 11, 2015 | Rating: 8 View more reviews 
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Views: 165628
Reviews: 31
so um... it's a bit like Vanilla Ice cream this lens. I recently had good experience with a 75-150 M f4 and so went about looking for one of these, and well it's a fine lens sure, it's just not a "wow" lens. At f4 my 40+yr old busted up Super Tak f3.5 is sharper, better corners, more contrast. At f4 the Super Tak is better in all those ways again. At the longer end it's much the same, just ho hum. It's not to say this is a bad lens. it's just very vanilla? I suppose that's what one should expect from a 80's zoom?

Review of: SMC Pentax-M 75-150mm F4 by tromboads on Fri August 7, 2015 | Rating: 9 View more reviews 
SMC_Pentax_M_75-105mm.jpg

Views: 198342
Reviews: 58
JPEGS found via link. https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B54h0BnJ-q35fm90eGtmZzdMYUpRS2N6MkxIdWt4NWtKeG1TX2JHbUUxOTdqMUdhRk9GaE0&usp=sharing So I lined them up; -Super Tak 105mm f.28 -Super Tak 135mm f3.5 -Pentax M 75-150 f4 And shot my wall. well my bookcase. EXIF will say: Pentax K5, ISO1600 f4 = 1/20 f5.6 = 1/10 f8 = 1/6 Subject was about 2m away. Jpegs at max quality, shot with 2sec timer, no PP. Super boring subject matter true, but maaaaaan next to the Super Taks, it's well.. this Zoom ain't so bad... well... @105(ish)mm, The Tak is sharper at f2.8 then this things is at f4. At 5.6 the 105mm Tak is still cleaner, but by f8 the zoom looks sharper. @135(ish)mm At f4, I'll give it to the Tak just. There isn't much in it at 5.6 and by f8 I'm calling it a draw. I've included shots at 75mm and 150mm for you to look over also. Not a very scientific test, but perhaps consider for a general overview? Sadly the 40yr old Taks are the only lens of similar focal length I have to compare it too. So... This 80's zoom is more or less at quality of the 135mm f3.5 Super Tak of 1975ish http://forum.mflenses.com/images/smiles/icon_razz.gif Perhaps some more modern glass would leave it for dead? But honestly pleasantly surprised with it. I was happy with the quality from my Tak's and since this is not that far behind I can't be not happy with it. It is slightly longer then the 135mm f3.5 Super Tak, but you have access to the varied focal range. Perhaps "80's zoom" isn't as big of a swear word as I first imagined.

Review of: S-M-C/Super Takumar 24mm F3.5 by tromboads on Mon May 26, 2014 | Rating: 10 View more reviews 
SMC_Pentax_Takumar_24mm_F35.jpg

Views: 161321
Reviews: 15
#Super Tak version I was surprised at how big it was honestly. And then surprised to see it it not much taller then the 28mm Super Tak. It's wider and heavier which helps with that illusion. I sad as much as I was too claim it being big as a negative. But it's not, although unconsciously it feels like it should be. Did any of that make sense? I found performance similar to the 28mm Super Tak. I think with careful framing, you could be very happy with the 28mm if you already own one. The 24mm will just allow you to get closer, and give you that extra room when you find you are back against a boundary. 24mm will focus down to 25cm(ish) whilst the 28mm is down to 40cm I confess to buying this mostly to settle my own curiosity than out of a desperate need of the FOV. Still, the difference in FOV is significant enough to be noticeable on APS-C. Along with the closer focusing it is going to allow some fun perspective. Some quick unmolested examples at f3.5 Click 1 Click 2 I'm sure I'm going to enjoy it, but if you don't need to get in down at 25cm.. well I'll find it hard to recommend it to you over the cheaper (and much more readily available) 28mm f3.5

Review of: SMC Pentax-A 50mm F1.7 by tromboads on Sun May 12, 2013 | Rating: 9 View more reviews 
smc_Pentax-A_50mm_F1_7.jpg

Views: 565977
Reviews: 143
Its a fast 50. Its light, it has an "a" setting, its probably no different to the M 50 1.7 The A is handy, but no big deal. If you have a M 50 1.7. just use that for peets sake. If the stop down metering bothers you that much, sell it and find one of these. The Aperture ring does feel like crap. but you are going to buy it and leave it in A mode aren't you? This is my "I'm outside drinking and I want to take photos of things lens". In that leaving in in Green SUPER COMMANDER mode, you can be sure exposure will be accurate :P Thats exciting because I really haven't got that sort of accurate results from a non "a" setting glass before. Anyway. If you want a excuse you buy one, It looks alright if you are facing front on. :P But have no illusion it feel like a proper 1980's artifact. plastic, disposable, all that jazz. you can just feel the pending economic recession of the early 90's in the air when you use it :P Still. Optically it's great. Heaps of colour like an M, A, K glass.

Review of: S-M-C/Super Takumar 200mm F4 by tromboads on Fri November 16, 2012 | Rating: 10 View more reviews 
Super-Takumar_200mm_F4_PF_a_t_side_43761_.jpg

Views: 281120
Reviews: 42
Firstly some heavily cropped images. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DCdvaEOGhCo/UKWmX7GSEHI/AAAAAAAAEU0/N_nzWTwfYKs/s800/200mm%2520cut%2520sharp%2520small.JPG yeah yeah went a bit stupid with some plastic colours there. :P https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-X6dKOuXQw8I/UKWmW7FU9pI/AAAAAAAAEUs/D7hOCbcqVBc/s800/200mm%2520cut.JPG https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Y409hfZMQyA/UKWmYa798QI/AAAAAAAAEU4/f7QSB6zQE0A/s800/200mm%2520face%2520small.jpg I mean this is why you buy a long focal length prime yeah? The field of view is narrow, so forget about vistas and interesting scenes, unless of course you are 20km away.. Its a massive friendly big and heavy cropping tool. That's all it is. if a 100mm lens is double the magnification of a 50mm lens, and a 200mm is double the magnification of a 100, to keep this in perspective, things with this lens will appear on your sensor 3x as large then if you had used a 50mm. Forget about crop factors and all that crap, it's not important. All you need to know is this lens will make things otherwise shot with a 50mm appear 3x as large on your sensor. That is naturally cool because now you have a hope in giving that bird some decent real-estate on your sensor. By the time you further crop the image you might even have a subject to look at :P "see above" Like every Tak I have ever laid fingers on, its beautiful to use and hold. CA and other crap seem about the same as the 150 f4 and 138mm f3.5 Taks I have played with. FYI you can't adjust the man-auto switch whilst its not on a camera body :S I haven't worked out whats going on with the mount to prohibit that.. but if you are playing with it off the body and it doesn't move, don't fret! :p This lens will be fun. Primes are fun.

Review of: S-M-C/Super Takumar 150mm F4 by tromboads on Thu October 18, 2012 | Rating: 10 View more reviews 
Pentax_SMC_Takumar_150mm_F4.jpg

Views: 94626
Reviews: 17
It seems I'm forever scoring highly for any Tak I come across.. perhaps its more the Tak then me. Anyway... this arrived today. Gob smacked by how light it is. I was worried at f4 it might be a little slow to use handheld and low shutter speeds, but its not. You could shoot at 1/15 and be happy. This focal length will be interesting to get used too. Its only odd because I haven't really shot at 150mm before. So I'll sit down and work out how big things are going to be on my sensor so I can get some appreciation for this wonderful little thing. Sharp at f4, like any Tak to handle smooth and wonderful. Mine came with a hood (just to gloat) and its all a wonderful size / weight combo. This is going to be fun :p Oh. f4 is fast enough to dissolve fly screen doors that may be in your way ;) Straight outa camera, scaled down to 1600x1200 https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xNhYsCdJn-k/UJsglWBKDFI/AAAAAAAAETs/H74jL9JqlXk/s1600/IMGP4378.JPG https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-STcV2EmorfU/UJsgkv5O2HI/AAAAAAAAETo/DxrFzgOzBEI/s1600/IMGP4354.JPG

Review of: SMC/Super-/Auto-Takumar 55mm F2 by tromboads on Tue October 2, 2012 | Rating: 10 View more reviews 
Super_Takumar_50mm_F2.jpg

Views: 243265
Reviews: 37
The more people forget about this lens the better for you and me. I stumbled across mine on a Spotmatic I purchased. They are probably forgotten next to the 50mm 1.4's every seems to be after. As for quality, handling etc etc Its wonderful. Like all the other 50ish mm Takumers out there optically great, But don't tell anyone. Just secretly buy them up and cherish them as long as you promise to dam well shoot with them! I find it so very hard to justify purchasing "new" fan-dangled lenses with auto this and that when these old forgotten things work a treat! This skyline shot at f2, infinity, during dusk last spring I think on the k10d, iso 100. http://tromboadsclicked.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/imgp0919.jpg The bottom of the frame that looks like film guides, well that's a train :p but I was hoping it would look like film guides :lol:

Review of: SMC Pentax-M 50mm F2 by tromboads on Mon October 1, 2012 | Rating: 10 View more reviews 
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Views: 365228
Reviews: 100
The auto-go-too. The do it all wonder cake, the super fantastic image debater, The hero of the highlights, the singing simpleton. well you get the idea. I have ended up with 3 or 4 of these little things. (They seem to bond together in numbers) and heck I'm glad i did. They say glass is forever, indeed it is! With three 50's I can rest comfortably knowing they will undoubtably outlive me. I could use this lens exclusively and be as happy as all get out. No kidding. There is nothing wrong with it. People taking point of this little baby because it doesn't go out to f0.000001 is just unfair. As if it had a choice in the matter? It is what it is, and its unbelievable for what it is. Yes I'm a little excited, yes this post doesn't make the most sense, yes its only a 50mm f2 for peats sake but there in lies why it is so wonderful. Its simple and it simply does everything :) What this means in days of autofocus I'm not sure. For all yee brave enough to venture out into this bargain of manual focus land, you will be reward with the elegance encrusted in this ever lasting simple, elegant, do it all wonder cake! https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-FPYE2iI_bts/TDFR9XG7QmI/AAAAAAAAD1M/WZ0sOZVGzYw/s600/yellow%2520starship.jpg https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-OUQnV_lG4xY/Sz1ucbO71SI/AAAAAAAAD1Y/hDmQ_J5jKMw/s600/57810024.JPG https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Wfn7OAm6j4s/Sz1vFjvgT7I/AAAAAAAAD1Y/anqN1ZAMQK0/s600/57820036.JPG

Review of: SMC Pentax 55mm F1.8 by tromboads on Sun September 30, 2012 | Rating: 10 View more reviews 
SMC_Pentax_55mm_F1_8.jpg

Views: 311440
Reviews: 77
K series, M series, FA, Tak, who really cares honestly? The fact of the matter is it's a 55mm K mount that looks boring, but smells and feel exquisite. Feels? really? Yes. All this nonsense of it being butter smooth. correct! And when you are dealing with fast lenses you need the focus to be quick and easy. Compared to focusing on a Helios 44m for example. Focusing is more an event. :p You have to pre torque your fingers in grip in order to take the weight of the thing if you are going to focus is quickly. With this little thing, you just blow at it and it falls into line. That never really bothered me with the Helios to be honest. But its important! If you want anyone to be in focus under a single meter at f1.8 you had better be able to move that ring quickly. and thank Christ you can. Its a bit scary but i haven't come across a poor focusing pentax M, K, or Tak piece of glass. Even the dirty ones that look like they have been buried in mud for the past 20yrs still are smooth. Why am I talking about a focus ring? Because it's important. Optically you already know what its like. It's Good. Sharp everywhere and with that bullsh1t "painterly quality" you often hear in reference to the Taks. Ie.. its blend from in and out of focus (I cant believe I'm even caring about such a thing) coupled with its small depth of field, along with its ability to be sharp at 1.8 for peats sake, makes things look dam pretty. Now, contrary to popular belief, this doesn't transform into a 80mm+ lens when used on a crop sensor. The depth relations (being of 55mm) are retained. You are getting physically lens image tho as it has a Field of View comparable to a traditional 80+mm lens when used on said crop body. 80mm+ lens are fun for portraits because of the flattening that occurs to shapes around the composition.. This lens has the flattening if you will (or depth relationship) of a 55mm. So don't buy this thinking its a 80mm lens. Its not. Its a 55mm lens with the Field of View reduced to a 80mm odd lens when used on a crop body. Who cares? I'm not sure. Whats the point? It just annoys me shirtless when ppl run around in circles exclaiming to have found this mystical portrait lens of qualities that would make Babylon itself weep.. This actually brings me back to the fact that I listed it as being romantic as both a positive, and a negative. I mean, it's a lens. It's not going to cure your marriage and it's not going to turn you into Picasso. In order to describe that mystical quality tho, that feeling of itchiness when using it, that shortened gate you have when running after that blonde in the street with those heals whom would have made a wonderful political statement if she has just stayed under the do not eat meat sign long enough.. That care you have walking through an antique store... Well it's all apparent when you use it. It's romantic because it controls you, and it's romantic because you love submitting to its stupid requests at 2am in the morning even tho you know the dog has water but she insists it "looked" empty when she was half asleep sleeping walking through the kitchen some hours earlier. Sigh. Just take photos with the dam thing. ISO 800, f1.8 s1/20th f8ck all light, yet still sharp enough to show bits of her hair. This also shows the shallow depth of field you are using and why being able to cycle through the focus ring quickly is uber uber uber important :P In this case.. I wasn't quick enough. I wanted the scarf to be the focal point with the hair getting softer and softer as it bleed into the gold and earthy tones behind it. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Gmq1Z5vSh9Y/UGjNBLrzn8I/AAAAAAAAERI/teYBJT2KMRc/s800/sim%2520red%2520small.JPG Nickers. Just because I can. ISO1600 this time with f1.8 again, still usable even with all that noise. Awesome. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-5zPFbyvlKuA/UGjM_B2bRyI/AAAAAAAAERA/OAT7zZSbHkw/s800/princess.JPG Now for some colour. f2, iso100, s=1/20th Sif you'd buy a new one.

Review of: SMC Pentax-M 35mm F2.8 by tromboads on Fri September 14, 2012 | Rating: 10 View more reviews 
SMC_Pentax-M_35mm_F28.jpg

Views: 171414
Reviews: 27
LOVE IT!!! I kind of collected this just because I had the 28 M, and a 50 M at either end, turns out the (on a crop) the 50 feels to portraity, and the 28 a little fickle to focus. (Slowly developing a lens collecting persuasion here..) Can't explain it, why the 28mm feels fickle that is, but in regards for general use, the 35mm just feels good. I suppose it's having started with a 50mm on film, the 35mm covers the same amount of area so here I am in familiar territory Can't fault it wide open, out of focus areas are clean, its a ripper :)

Review of: SMC Pentax-M 28mm F2.8 by tromboads on Sun August 26, 2012 | Rating: 10 View more reviews 
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Views: 496804
Reviews: 93
With film its wide, on the crop bodies you get 40odd mm. Great! Naturally wide enough to get everything you'd ever want*. Like all the other K, M, A series lenses you have read about, wonderfully built, one finger focusing, and yes, f2.8 is fast enough. Wonderfully small and light. If I woke up tomorrow and everything else had vanished, I'd be ok. In the ages of digital if you want that 2mm wide angle craziness, just take 4 images in a pano and stitch the dam thing together for that crazy cinema scene. I've never done as much, but these little bastards are plenty accurate enough in the corners for that to be a possibility. Crazy Bokeh Love? The dots are traffic lights and cars hurrying past Rod Lava Area in Melbourne. @f2.8 https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=5561&pictureid=47742 https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=5561&pictureid=47743 This was a mirror of a reflection from a window on a glass table. Up is down and inside is out. @ f5.6 from memory https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=5561&pictureid=47744 And lastly, doesn't every review need some back lit flowers? https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=5561&pictureid=47745 These lenses are usually cheaper the the cult following the Takumers and K series have. Win for us whom aren't into cults :P *probably not wide enough for you hardcore guys :P



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