| Author: | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: October, 2016 Location: Euless Texas Posts: 268 | | Review Date: November 10, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $29.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Very sharp closeups, light and easy to use | | Cons: | very soft wide open on landscape shots | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-S2
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There is a lyric in an old Frank Zappa song "It that a real Poncho or a Sears Poncho?" I was worried this Sears lens would not be a real poncho but it is a nice little lens. My largest complaint is that my copy is very soft on landscape shots when wide open. However, I was very pleased with the sharpness of the close-up shots. So for portraits for close-ups this is a great little lens I will use from time to time.
9/26/2018 Edit - My beef with landscape shots was user error. I have taken some nice shots with the lens and for the money the value is a 10.
 | | | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: March, 2013 Location: Hamilton, Texas Posts: 779 | | Review Date: October 19, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $25.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | price, build | | Cons: | size, weight | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Sears KS-2, Sony A7
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This was the kit lens that came with my Sears KS-2 film camera, which I first learned photography on. (Incidentally, the KS-2 was made for Sears by Ricoh, so I'm sure this is also a Ricoh-made lens!) I used it for years and it never let me down. Trying it out on a digital "full frame" Sony Alpha A7, I find it's still quite good even today.
I have done a few comparison shots next to other vintage 50mm lenses, and my initial observation is that it holds its own pretty well. It's sharp, and I don't see any obvious optical problems relative to the more prestigious brands.
The objective lens element is recessed within the body so far, it effectively acts as its own lens hood. There's nothing to keep you from mounting an additional hood, but I've never found any need to.
The build quality, although not the most luxurious I've ever seen, is solid and attractive, and it handles well. It's a bit larger and heavier than my Pentax-A 50mm lens, for example. Focus action is good, and the aperture ring turns easily and with very positive clicks. I really like the one-stop-per-click action, without any half stops or third stops. That keeps everything simple.
In summary: A proven lens that I'd be happy to take out and shoot any time, and you can get them for peanuts.
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: March, 2014 Posts: 29
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 15, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $25.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Cheap, sharp, fast | | Cons: | Not as sharp as some alternatives | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K500
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This is just a lovely little lens. It is cheap, sharp, fast. It has some plastic parts, yet still feels very solid and is lovely to use. The price to quality ratio is perhaps the best of any lens out there. While there are slightly better lenses, like Pentax's own manual focus 50mm 1.7s, this is a great lens for new photographers. I put $20 down for mine, which is what I sold it for. However, I bought it with a few other lenses a camera for the same price, so these can be had for next to nothing. Writing this, I am actually regretting selling this lens, but there is only so many 50mm's one needs.   | | | | | Junior Member Registered: October, 2011 Location: Belton, SC Posts: 33 | | Review Date: October 31, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $2.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | small/light, contrast, color, f1.7 | | Cons: | none that I can see | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 10
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This lens is nearly perfect. Small, lightweight, gorgeous color and contrast, fast, beautiful bokeh, easy to use. This thing stays in my bag at all times, and is usually mounted on my K20D. I do a lot of shooting indoors, and you can't beat this thing.
IMGP8929-Edit by carlin.lusk, on Flickr
IMGP8992-Edit by carlin.lusk, on Flickr
| | | | | | | New Member Registered: April, 2011 Location: Chicago Posts: 3 | | Review Date: June 13, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $16.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | great color reproduction! fast, small | | Cons: | still looking for um | |
Awesome lens! Got it in a bundle deal, and its been a wonderful surprise. After you get good at focusing the kinda of small focus grip (I'm not sure on what angle it completely turns but it seems wide enough), it is a pleasure to use. While some may complain its a tad soft at 1.7, almost every lens is, and I find this one to stay pretty sharp even there. Maybe I just got an awesome copy, but the colors this lens produces are spot on. Its also pretty small, tiny enough that as long as you have the caps, you could toss it in your pocket if there's no room for it in the bag.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: February, 2011 Location: Maine Posts: 3,081
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 3, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $16.02
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Cheap, Sharp, 52mm filters and caps can be used on it | | Cons: | Hard to focus on digital wide open, if only it was automatic... | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 10
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EDIT Spring 2012: I came across a different 'version' of this lens using 49mm filter threads. This 'other' variant seems to have all the qualities of the 52mm, except it has a closer minimal focus distance and possibly equal or better results as far as clarity and sharpness. Unlike the 52mm with its red text on the lens, the 49mm is all white. If you spot it, I can only recommend grabbing it!
This is my first prime lens, bought for cheap online in order to learn how manual mode on the K-x works.
I wasn't expecting a lot for $16 and change, but the lens blew me away once I started getting used to it.
Everything about my copy seems solid, from the build to the heft of the thing. It seems like a natural addition to my K-x.
The bokeh is nice, colors are sharp and crisp and - with the aid of the LCD - images seem to be tack sharp edge to edge. Focusing with the stock viewfinder however is an experience in itself when trying to shoot at f1.7.
I'm giving this lens a 10 simply because for the cost it can't be beat. As an aside, some people warned me about the Ricoh pin - this lens (or my copy at least) does not have it.
Here are some samples, all shot on my K-x. All of these images were taken wide open - I tend to very rarely have reason to stop down.
 Main Street; Waterville, Maine by jroberts72, on Flickr
 Patrick by jroberts72, on Flickr
 Day 28 - Rain by jroberts72, on Flickr
 Day 41 - Patrick by jroberts72, on Flickr
 Frozen Water 2 by jroberts72, on Flickr
| | | | | Forum Member Registered: September, 2009 Location: Asheville, North Carolina Posts: 59 | | Review Date: February 19, 2011 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Small and Lightweight, Sharp stopped down. | | Cons: | CA <f4-5.6, Only full f-stops. | |
This lens was thrown in with a K10D kit I bought. At first I considered it redundant as I have an SMC-A f1.7 50mm. This lens is in a different category in my opinion. I value my A-50 much more and thus baby, plus having to use the green button/stop down metering with this lens provides more time for considering composition. The lens provides a nice balance of lightweight and build quality, it is plastic everywhere but the mount and internals. I did some amateur lens testing and CA was noticeably at a sharp, high-contrast edges until ~f4-5.6. You are stopping down to that point anyway for maximum sharpness, and it is not notable in average scenes when using an aperture below that. Running hood-less on a sunny day I did not note any flare, although I tend to not shoot scenes that bring about lens flare naturally. It has a 52mm filter size so it can share filters with almost all my lenses. Bright out-of-focus highlights are sharp hexagons, but everything else is surprisingly creamy. The one negative I have with this lens is the lack of half-stops on the aperture dial. If you find one for a reasonable price in good shape I would definitely recommend it, even as a backup to other fast fifties.
*I recently found out that my brother has a different version of this lens that is all metal and noticeably heavier than my more plastic version.*
At f4 or f5.6
At f2.8
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