| Author: | | New Member Registered: August, 2021 Location: SEVA Posts: 3
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 13, 2021 | Recommended | Price: $80.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | The 19 blade preset aperture is a real joy | | Cons: | Heavy, bulky, and huge focus throw. | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 4
Value: 8
Camera Used: Pentax KP
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First, a note about adapting this beast. I spent more money futzing with adapters than I did on the lens itself. Don't do what I did.
This lens has three native mount tubes - Pentacon 6, Exacta, and M42. I purchased it with an Exacta mount already installed and purchased an M42 mount tube seperately. I have a large supply of M42/PK adapters and figured it would be fine. It isn't. You want to lock this lens in place.
Purchase this lens with the Pentacon 6 mount and a P.6/PK adapter. That will provide a secure lock to your camera. The mount tubes are easily interchangeable.
Also understand - this is a medium format lens that I'm adapting to a crop sensor camera. Any imperfections in the lens will be magnified drastically.
But, somewhat surprisingly, I have found that there aren't very many imperfections to the glass. It lacks sophisticated coatings, so color and contrast can be lackluster, but abberations are well controlled for a lens of it's age. Also, the built-in lens hood helps.
Sharpness is okay at best, regardless of aperture or focus distance. I expect it is good on a 6x6 medium format film camera.
Problems arise in the handling.
First, the lens alone weighs 4.74lbs (2.15kg). A sturdy tripod is required. The lens has a tripod mount, but it is ⅜” instead of the sandard quarter/20. Adapters are available.
Second, the focus throw on this lens is about 300°, and it is not a small barrel. Getting the thing into focus is a multi-motion slog. Most of that focus throw is the near-end of the focus distance range, so don't expect to take quick photos closer than about 35ft (11m).
I would completely can the handling on this lens if it weren't for the preset aperture. The 19-blade aperture is snappy, solid, and quick to use. I wish all of my lenses had this aperture mechanism. Also, 19 blades is really unique, so it is fun to watch operate.
Bokeh is beautiful. Soft and inviting without effort.
This lens is not a part of my regular kit (it doesn't fit in any of my camera bags), so I only take it with me if I know I will use it. When I do, it performs well.
This was taken from about 500ft away from the climber at f8. Foreground objects blur nicely. The background focuses to infinity, but all with some compromise to sharpness throughout.
This was taken about 70ft away. DoF is thin wide open with almost no change to sharpness. Foreground and far background objects blur nicely.
The cat's whiskers have that soft glow to them.
This was taken by adding extension tubes to the back of the lens, reducing the minimum focus distance from about 11ft to about 6ft. Bokeh is pristine.
| | | | | | | New Member Registered: October, 2011 Posts: 5 | | Review Date: August 3, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 6
Value: 9
Camera Used: Chinon CE4-S, Canon 6D
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Firstly the positive. If you're looking for thin depth of field, and superb bokeh, this is an amazing lens. It has character, and looking into it as the aperture changes in a perfect circle of bright metal blades... almost worth the price of admission itself. On the Pentax K-1, with it's big sensor and built in anti-shake, it's going to be an exceptionally good choice; and it'll also work nicely with the rest of the Pentax range. All in though, it's optical qualities are hard to beat. Mild CA wide open (and sharp), almost gone at 5.6, gone at F/8 (and sharpest).
Bokeh, as you would imagine, is incredible. Smooth like silk, great throughout the range thanks to the circular aperture. I can't think of any lens with better bokeh stopped down to F/8 and F/11. There is very little distortion at all with this lens, and the reach is staggering.
The downside is the size and the weight. It isn't an inconspicuous lens, and unless you feel as though you could fell a tree with a firm slap, the weight will almost certainly be a thing to consider. I'd recommend shooting this from a braced position or from a tripod to allow for a greater range of apertures at lower ISO; in daylight, I was shooting ISO 400, with a shutter of 1/250 to get to F/11.
| | | | | New Member Registered: August, 2015 Posts: 13 | | Review Date: October 30, 2015 | Not Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: 4 |
| Pros: | Useful for self-defense against robbers | | Cons: | To heavy, to blurry... | | Sharpness: 4
Aberrations: 4
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 3
Value: 6
Camera Used: K-5
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Completely useless. Sharpness is worse than that of Tair-3, as well as greater weight.It can be used as an observation telescope when installed on a fixed support. Carry impossible. But it is not necessary because the decent photos obtained by the aperture of f / 11. But why such a sumo wrestler lens, if she can not shoot wide open?
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: June, 2011 Location: Amsterdam Posts: 43 | | Review Date: October 5, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp, nice colours | | Cons: | Heavy | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 7
Value: 9
Camera Used: K5
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I love this lens. I use it for birding and sports.... Yes indeed sports. If you pre-focus you can get nice results. The added bonus of this lens is that the photographer also gets a workout..
Wide open at F4:
 | | | | | | | New Member Registered: August, 2015 Location: Hamburg Posts: 2
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 19, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $150.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Sharp, Colours, Daily Workout | | Cons: | Heavy, Flare, Daily Workout | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 6
Value: 9
Camera Used: K-30, P30, SFX
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I have recently purchased the Pentacon version in mint condition because of many good reviews and because I lack anything else at 300mm. I was obvioulsy aware of this beeing a very huge and heavy lense, but I was not prepared for what ended on my doorstep.
Taking this lens out for a walk is not easy, but its worth it. The build quality is very nice and it looks good. The results are very sharp and the colours are beautiful. Eventhough the lens features a build in hood, flare can be very bad at times. Focusing can be tough, especially when also trying to prevent gravity from doing its job. The aperture ring is continious, something you may need to get used to.
Sample Pictures with my K-30. Aperture was probably at something like f8.
    | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: January, 2012 Posts: 1,972 | | Review Date: May 3, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $150.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | sharpness, bokeh monster !, colors , aberrations, tripod collar | | Cons: | HEAVY, HEAVY and HUGE | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 8
Value: 9
Camera Used: K-01
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I went through several cheap 300-400mm lenses and was very frustrated with the IQ.. so when I got a chance to grab this puppy - I did and was never looking back again ! Later I also bough a SMC K 300mm f4 to either accompany the Meyer or to replace it. It turned that the Meyer stays for its fantastic bokeh and colors and very good sharpness AND for tripod use, where Pentax will be used mainly on outings with light gear and for hand-held use.
I did a comparison of those two - which you can see from the following link here on Pentax Forums : https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/1...ml#post2800845
Just to quickly sum up - the lens is having a really good sharpness - right from wide open the detail is there and keeps coming as you stop down! I found that in some situations SMC K was having a slight edge ( perhaps due to SMC coatings and overall good contrast ) but in others the Meyer was actually delivering much more details - so I call it a draw!
The aberrations on the other hand ARE superbly controlled - in super contrasty situations you will find some CF / PF - but they are gone after 5.6 is touches and by f8 there is literally NO color aberrations. I had several examples of shots that were ABSOLUTELY BUTCHERED by SMC K because of color aberrations - so do not ignore that issue - you NOT always can fix them in the post processing.
The colors this Meyer is producing are LIFE - LIKE - honestly they are absolutelly stunning - again the aberations kept at minimum are helping a lot - this lens delivers reallygood punchy colors which are very accurately matching what you see with your eye !
the problem and on certain situations they will ruin your shot. Meyer is performing much better in this area. The worse news is that Pentax doesn't quite stop color fringing even when I stop the lens down - after f8 it is nearly gone - but not fully, so watching out for this flaw is important and this lens will not deliver in every situation.
Handling is superb WHEN you are using it on TRIPOD - hand-held this lens is a bit of a pain - heavy and you really need some support for prolonged use - a monopod will do but only sturdy one !!
Lens feels very solid, focusing is superb and aperture flawless . The tripod collar is helping a lot when you work with tripod - the lens is so heavy that it will perfectly balance ANY camera - even my K10D with grip was superbly matching it.
Very happy with this lens and I would recommend it to everyone. If you can live with the heavy weight - you will be very happy with what this lens is capable of!
I would personally rate this lens 8 for hand-held use and 10 for tripod use - so for me it is a clear and well deserve 9 !
--manntax
PS: here is how SMC K 300mm looks against my Meyer Orestegor 300mm f4.0
| | | | | New Member Registered: November, 2013 Posts: 1 | | Review Date: November 22, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $120.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Very nicel bokeh, well made | | Cons: | It is heavy | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 8
Value: 10
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I was searching for this lens because I was very impressed by the Meyer Gorlitz (Pentacon) Orestor 135/2.8.
This lens has the same effect or character in the photo's. The overall pictures are very nice, and sharp too.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: June, 2013 Location: Newcastle Posts: 1,954 | | Review Date: July 27, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $150.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | sharpness and speed | | Cons: | A little CA and weight | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 7
Value: 10
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All I can say is WOW.
An old lens that I have specifically sought to satisfy the 300mm length as I could not afford the Pentax 300mm star lens.
The attached picture says it all. Sharp and fast (no post processing used in the shot).
Unfortunately, you need to have a decent left arm to carry and maneuver - its weight is substantial making lens positioning tiresome after a while. Fortunately, focusing is smooth and when coupled with the K30 it is manageable (focusing with the K01 is challenging).
CA was noticeable in a few shots where a bright background merged with an in focus edge. Avoidance of this negative aspect through careful shot selection is probably the best remedy.
Im going to love this lens and over time will probably benefit from the weighting too 
[Edit]
Shooting a flower at about 4m in bright conditions using ISO 100 and f8 was quite pleasing. CA does not seem to be as bigger problem as I originally thought. Handling using a K30, when compared to the K01, is significantly better.
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