Author: | | New Member Registered: November, 2019 Posts: 1 | Review Date: March 15, 2023 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | Sharp. Surprisingly good build quality. | Cons: | Doesn't communicate with Pentax DSLRs | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Ricoh XR-1/ Ricoh XR-1S
| | Excellent lens that came fitted to a defunct Topcon RM300 bought from E-Bay, described as 'Spares or Repair' for approx. $25.00.
Nicely made, focuses smoothly; always good to have a lens with aperture half stops. Very sharp, pleasant bokeh.
Doesn't communicate with DSLRs but performs at least as well on film cameras as my example of the Pentax SMC-A 50mm f1.7, which I have always highly rated.
Update: just bought another of these lenses via E-Bay. Ran a film through it( Rollei Superpan 200) using my Ricoh RX-1S and I'm very pleased with the results; equally sharp results as with my first example. These may have been cheap lenses, produced for Topcon by Cima Kogaksu, but someone insisted on pretty rigorous quality control standards. A real sleeper of a 55mm lens for Pentax K-mount film cameras.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: November, 2012 Location: North Wales Posts: 2,868 | Review Date: April 20, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $10.00
| Rating: 8 |
Pros: | very cheap, v. sharp stopped down, some may prefer PK mount over M42 takumar. | Cons: | poor wide open, non-conducting plastic mount, smc and tak 50/55mm's better. | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K5, NX20
| | Picked one of these up for almost nowt. First impressions: cheap! Plastic mount and aperture ring! Body is metal however and mechanics are actually good. Took it into the garden and snapped the tulips with my NX20 - this at f2.8 if I remember right.
Nothing wrong with that! And that good impression continued with further use, this lens makes the "sharp nifty fifty(five)" category no problem.
I took these landscape test pics. This lens seems better at closer focus, these shots only got good f4 and up, the wider open shots show, as you can see, lower contrast, anaemic colours, coma/glow and general softness. F1.7; f2; f2.8; f4; f5.6; f8; f11; f16. Click on image to open full sized.
Finally these test pics are a comparison, wide open, with my tak 55mm f2 (left pic) on my K5. Tak is a bit sharper, more vignetting on the topcor and notice the glow on the rhs of the lampost with the topcor. Should have been f2 vs f2 but I had forgotten that a non-conducting mount won't stop down on my K5.
Click on image to open full sized.
I may pass this on to my nieces to use on a canon eos. I have my smc-a 50mm f1.7 which is better, especially at the smallest f's . Recommended but marked down a point for that nuisance plastic mount 8/10
| | | | Senior Member Registered: April, 2009 Location: Arlington, MA Posts: 160 | Review Date: March 25, 2015 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: N/A |
| While I have the RE Topcor version of this, I've never really tried it in earnest.
But it is not really a Tokyo Kogaku (Topcon) lens. It was designed and made by Cima Kogaku for them, the same as all the late "RE Topcor" and "AM Topcor" lenses. They were cheap lenses for Topcon to sell with the cheap RE 200, RE 300, and RM 300 cameras. Cima Kogaku also sold these lenses under their own brand as "Cimko MT", as well as OEM-ing them for other distributors.
Cima Kogaku had a system where they could screw on many different mounts onto the same lenses. US Patent 4,174,167.
| | | | New Member Registered: February, 2015 Posts: 1 1 user found this helpful | Review Date: February 26, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $45.00
| Rating: 10 |
Pros: | Incredibly nice lens,very good colors. | Cons: | plastic | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: k-7
| | should try mandatory
| | | | | New Member Registered: January, 2014 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 5 | Review Date: February 6, 2014 | Not Recommended | Price: $2.00
| Rating: 6 |
Pros: | Came with a Film Camera that work well | Cons: | Don't work on a K5IIs total wash out | Sharpness: 1
Aberrations: 1
Bokeh: 1
Handling: 10
Value: 10
| | This Lens was a total wash out no matter what settings i use .........i even change lens thought it was me Pentax Manual lens work well i went over and over with this lens .... for Film it work well.... Digital for get about it | | | | Forum Member Registered: October, 2013 Posts: 94 1 user found this helpful | Review Date: November 9, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $8.00
| Rating: 10 |
Pros: | Sharpness, colour, Bokeh | Cons: | None | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
| | Can't believe I am the first to review this. A stunning little lens with no negatives, cost me next to nothing. Sharp at all apertures especially middle, great colour and contrast, nice Bokeh, good build quality and nice to use. I want more Topcor lenses!
Only one test shot for now, more interesting ones to follow. SOOC with full res crop. | | |