| Review of: SMC Pentax-F 1.7x AF Adapter by red5isalive on Thu October 13, 2022 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
Views: 140857
Reviews: 27
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This TC is excellent.
It offers you an experience no other TC would and it is that is a "MAGIC" Tc that brings AutoFocus to old manual lenses up to F2.8.
I mean, I have paired mine with a Pentax M 135mm f3.5 and worked perfect, but specifications say that it goes only with lenses up to F2.8 or lower.
It brings a 1.7 times magnification of your image and overall it works very really well. Of course, pair it with F Series lenses and probably will be the best combination.
As this TC is quite compact (for it's age) you can easily carry an F 28mm of an F series 50mm f1.7 and have two lenses in one the 50mm and the 50x1.7 = 85mm lens in you.
I find it not very accurate with my zoom lens at 300mm but probably it is because zooms at the end (its a 100-300mm lens) tend to prone to loose sharpness. Not in this case but probably attaching the TC to it then it produces this effect.
Other than that this is a gem no other brand has ever been able to create that I know.
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| Review of: SMC Pentax-DA* 50-135mm F2.8 ED [IF] SDM by red5isalive on Sun October 4, 2020 | Rating: 8 | View more reviews | |
Views: 551113
Reviews: 154
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I bought my copy knowing the SDM motor was broken.
So following a tutorial I have converted it to screwdrive mount.
I don't care much as I use to use my lenses for motorsport.
This lens is great. The image quality is fantastic and the bokeh even at F4 is delicious.
Yet, for my taste, my likes and the use I give it to its a bit too slow in the AF. I have shoot motorsports with it and can do the work, the range is fantastic in apsc (70-200mm equivalent) and its not heavy at all. But that AF is not the best. My Sigma 100-300mm f4 beats it every day, and I wonder if the Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 would beat it easily every other day also.
Yet it creates delicious images when doing portraits
 _IMG6969 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 _IMG6964 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 IMGP6516 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
It does work well in low light environments
 _IMG5980 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 _IMG6048 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 IMGP6575 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
And for motorsport purposes if you are close enough to action, you get good results. (my copy has even been champagne sprayed into)
 _IMG2015 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 _IMG1678 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 _IMG0473 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 _IMG0347 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 _IMG0327 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 _IMG0435 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 _IMG0235 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 IMGP6558 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
It is also a Grid Killer, shoots thru glass in the cars as a knife in butter. Smooth and silent, but precise.
 IMGP6634 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 _IMG2898 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 IMGP6744 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 _IMG2958 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 _IMG3016 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 _IMG3048 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
Update 2021:
I have been using this lens also for some more time and for some more races and it just works. It is NOT the fastests AF lens, but you can always pre-focus it and shoot in MF.
 _IMG9343 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 _IMG7487 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 _IMG5501 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 _IMG5768 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 _IMG5875 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 _IMG9865 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 _IMG1802 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 _IMG7908 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 _IMG0410 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 _IMG9887 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
The best part for motorsport is that it is quite a compact lens so it is not intrusive to anybody having a chat, or working.
Yet as I said before I doubt wheter a Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 would work better for me.
This is a lens that is no wonder if you can carry it around as its light weight, no issue to add it in the backpack for a weekend with the 2 cameras, flash/es, long lens short lens, laptop and so on.
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| Review of: SMC Pentax-FA* 200mm F2.8 ED [IF] by red5isalive on Sun August 12, 2018 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
Views: 87177
Reviews: 15
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I also bought this lens second hand some months ago (maybe a year already) and my main purpose was to use it for Motorsport.
And so I did. Just don't do that. Is not even close to good when used to capture action. It is no friend of hard lights like car lights and it tends to purple a lot, and it's not focusing right.
So I was about to sell it, but then last weekend we did a Pentax Barcelona Meeting and I used it a bit for portrait and the results are so amazing that I just decided to keep it.
 _IMG1491 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
Please notice that was in a day that temperature was +36 at around 12AM and yet still the bokeh is great, and the sharpness.... check his face! you can even feel the wrinkles!
Definitelly a keeper!
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| Review of: SMC Pentax-M 135mm F3.5 by red5isalive on Wed August 8, 2018 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
Views: 453471
Reviews: 112
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I bought this gem shortly after reading a lot about it over here.
For years my friend (that uses Canon) told me he wanted a fixed 135mm lens (AF of course) because they are awesome. So after reading about this small one, i decided to get one.
The lens itself is very tiny, i did not expect it to be as small.
This past Saturday I went out with my fellow Pentaxeros from Barcelona (Pentaxeros is the Spanish Pentax Forums) to enjoy our city walking around and man, this is an stunning lens! It can fringe and go purple in some images easy (don't ask me how) but stopped down properly and in the most ocasions it offers stunning images.
I was very surprised, and the images delivered I just love them.
Let me show you some
 _IMG1760 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 _IMG1902 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 _IMG1856 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 _IMG1739 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 _IMG1842 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 _IMG2149 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 _IMG1423 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 _IMG1730 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
 _IMG1452 by Daniel Gonzalez Aguilera, en Flickr
So I'd say that if you have a couple bucks to spend, try get one and play with it. Seems to me that you won't be dissapointed. And if you do, you can always get the money back re-selling it again.
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| Review of: SMC Pentax-DA 55-300mm F4-5.8 ED by red5isalive on Fri July 11, 2014 | Rating: 8 | View more reviews | |
Views: 526726
Reviews: 119
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I bought this zoom lens 3 years ago and still love it. It was in my first trip with my old K110D, and I must say I had no idea about zooms. I was looking for a 300mm as my goal was to use it in race tracks, and outdoors to take pictures of race cars. Once in NYC we've found that shop and well, I ended up buying it.
Today I must admit most of my best pictures have been done with that lens, as most of my pictures are about Rally, MotoGP, F1, or some other motorsports, and I might say the lens has impressed me because it even has bokeh! Yes it does! It's such a surprise for me finding that in a 55-300mm lens.
It is nice to use, but sometimes it is slow focusing, in low lights you won't do much, and it is not super bright; i would like it to be f2.8 or even f4 constant, but well.... you can't ask for everything.
It is a great lens to use during day light to shoot at vehicles, even at night if there is some light, of course if it's total dark and you depend on the car lights, you'll suffer, as it lost focus with them; you might need the help of a flash light.
Anyway, if you find it at a good price, I'd say you won't be dissapointed.
Here you can see some examples of what you can do with that lens:
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| Review of: SMC Pentax-F 50mm F1.7 by red5isalive on Thu June 5, 2014 | Rating: 10 | View more reviews | |
Views: 360818
Reviews: 99
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Some months ago I just bought a copy of that sensational lens, in this same forum to a person from Canada.
I payed for it 180 CAD $, and I can't be more happy with my purchase.
It's been a while that I have been using a 50mm manual lens, since that one got issues with my camera.
Then, I just simply started to check out, and found that the F 50mm looks impressive, after reading everyone's opinion in here, I decided to buy myself a copy and I think I will never regret myself for doing this, I love this lens absolutelly!
It is sharp, quite fast focusing (yes, sometimes not so much), it's bokeh is simply wonderful, the colours it takes I just love them. Of course, it's a 20 - 30 years old lens, but to me is well made, not feeling much plastic on it.
I was looking for a 50mm lens, and I can only recommend it. And hey! I have not yet had a hood, but I guess once I'll have it, pictures would look even better!
It is true some times it does not focuses on the object that you would like to, correctly, but 8/10 of the times it does.
Here some samples:
   
If you are considering in getting a copy, I can only say : " go ahead, you won't regret and you'll have so much fun with it ".
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| Review of: SMC Pentax-DA L 55-300mm F4-5.8 ED by red5isalive on Sun November 24, 2013 | Rating: 10 | View more reviews | |
Views: 217978
Reviews: 44
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I am the happy owner of a copy of this lens. I bought it in the US when visiting NYC in 2011 when I got my K110D.
At the time I wasn't sure this lens would give me so many satisfactions, but it did and does.
I am a petrolhead, so I do love to go watch cars races and so I knew I needed a lens like that one.
I am very happy with it, it's sharp, it's fast focusing, it has some bokeh if you try to find it, so usually I won't complain.
The only problems? It's weight, and it's f4.5-5.8, if that lens would be brighter that would be amazing (and of course probably it's price would be the double).
Some samples here:
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| Review of: SMC Pentax-DA 16-45mm F4 by red5isalive on Sun November 24, 2013 | Rating: 8 | View more reviews | |
Views: 462349
Reviews: 120
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I bought this lens quite few after buying the K-r, and after reading lots about it mainly over this forum.
I found it great! Payed 189 euros for a second hand very well treated lens, wich not only gaves me -2mm from the 18-55mm but also a plus of quality.
I found it's images great, and even I have played a bit with it, I have to keep playing. It's sharpness is great and I do like the results from this lens.
I have read people complaining about the lens compatibility with flash, well I guess it's about the flash in the body of the camera, because with an external flash I haven't had any problems yet.
Here an example:
So, what does this lens gives you that the 18-55mm doesn't? Better sharpness, two more milimiters below, wich seems a bit not much but it is indeed at a great value, and really I don't remember about the bokeh, probably tried quite a few ago.
Would I recommend it? Indeed. If you are looking for a lens to replace your kit one, this is the one you are looking for. Of course, the 16-50mm it's quite better, but it would cost you lots more.
Edition on December 3rd 2016:
After having been able to use that lens a lot more, i have to say its been my main lens for travels and lots of hours and usually I loved it! Now i bought a Sigma 17-50mm f2.8 to have a faster lens but generally this Pentax is a great value for money!
Attached some of the pictures I have done with it, and you'll find its a beast of a lens
https://flic.kr/p/NSENER https://flic.kr/p/NXd9hq https://flic.kr/p/H4QiDY https://flic.kr/p/GmYTRP https://flic.kr/p/Donozk https://flic.kr/p/AJCKBK | |
