Pentaxian Registered: November, 2015 Location: Durban Posts: 1,227
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 12, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $30.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Small for a 200mm; Build quality; Focus- and Aperture rings operate smoothly. | | Cons: | Minimum Focus Distance of 2.8m; 270 Degree Focus Throw makes it relatively slow to focus (but allows for accurate focussing) | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 8
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K-50
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My lens came with an M42 Unidapter, so is used with an original M42 to P/K adapter on my K-50.
First a little history. I bought this lens on auction in April 2016. It was in good cosmetic condition, but when testing it I was really disappointed with the excessive "softness" at F3.5 and F4. At F5.6 it was just reasonable and only at F8 acceptably sharp. This was contrary to the generally good reputation of Komura lenses found on the web. Closer inspection showed some "haze" on one of the middle elements and what looked like shiny patches on the inside of the barrel around this element.
Armed with advice from @yucatanpentax and @dcshooter on this forum, I disassembled it and found that the third lens element suffered quite badly from "schneideritis". Once the flaking paint was removed, the lens edges repainted and all the elements cleaned properly, this lens is functioning to its true potential.
It is quite a heavy lens compared to modern lenses of similar specifications, but I find that it helps me to keep it steady.
Images suffer slightly from low contrast, but the screw-on hood improves that as well as reducing flare somewhat.
The proof of the pudding lies in the eating. Follow link for test images: https://www.flickr.com/photos/149181182@N02/albums/72157682169835816
The only post-processing done was exposure adjustment and size reduction - no sharpening.
Overall I am very happy with the performance of this super 40+ year old lens. In my opinion the only factors limiting its performance, will be this operator not nailing focus with his 60+ year old eyes  | |
