Author: | | New Member Registered: June, 2018 Posts: 16 | Review Date: September 4, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $10.00
| Rating: N/A |
Pros: | Very compact, very smooth focus mechanics | Cons: | Soft at some points | Camera Used: Pentax K-5 ii
| | Mechanically, this lens is a pleasure to use. I find it's easier to focus than the Sigma zoom I have. In terms of focusing, it's actually fun to use. OTOH, it's less sharp than the other zoom once it is focused. It must be half the weight of the other lens, so is quite compact for a 75-150 zoom. It does marginally better in low light than the Sigma, maybe due to a lower element count.
I was surprised by this lens, since I purchased it mainly for the cap and case.
I have to recommend it based on price/performance ratio, simply because it has found a place in my bag next the the $400 zoom - and will surely get used where extreme sharpness is not needed, I don't want to lug around and counterbalance the extra half pound weight of the Sigma, or I don't want to expose the more expensive lens for some evironmental/situational reason.
| | | | | New Member Registered: November, 2013 Posts: 14 1 user found this helpful | Review Date: December 9, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $15.00
| Rating: 10 |
Pros: | very sharp | Cons: | some CA's wide open | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: k-x,,fuji x-e1,k200
| | this lens must be stopped down a few (2 steps) such as the most single lenses of 1,4/50,. Then most of them show their high qualities.
I'm not a friend of totally wide open apertures.
That's why the construction with 3 achromatic lenses reaches high sharpness in my opinion.
Pentax and other brands have so much cameras with 8oo to 1600 iso performances with to give us high quality shootings, so that we a capable to use such a lens in higher iso range,too
With macro ring very and flash - stopped down nearly fully (f11) - very sharp photos.
Perhaps there are two different models in the market and i've got an improved version?
I'm very content with it.Because of the low price and the very good results full points
| | | | Junior Member Registered: September, 2012 Location: Ulm Posts: 45 1 user found this helpful | Review Date: October 1, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $30.00
| Rating: 7 |
Pros: | lovely feel, decently sharp at both ends | Cons: | coatings and optical performance not up to modern standards | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 5
Handling: 9
Value: 6
| | This actually was the first manual lens I bought for my K-x. It was in good condition and not that expensive, and reviews (below) indicated that it should be decent at least.
In a nutshell: Lovely mechanics, optics a bit of a mixed bag.
Mechanics: Just about perfect, I'd say. No zoom creep at all, focus turns easily. The aperture ring clicks (whole stops, basic 6-blade aperture) sound like you're operating a safe lock. Uses a commonplace 52mm filter thread (rotating front element though), 428 grams. Unfortunately no lens hood is included, and this lens would definitely appreciate one (see below).
Optics:
You can already use this lens wide open at 75, while I wouldn't recommend doing the same at 150. Sharpness gets decent at f/8 to f/11 depending on focal length, apparently best at the ends. It still outruns a Sigma 70-300 DG OS at the short end, especially towards the edges. (At 150 it's no contest though, the Sigma is very good in the 150..200mm range and gets much sharper towards the center then.) Presumably as a result of a low zoom ratio, edges don't drop off too much, but things never really get pin sharp either. Sharpness can seem a little "patchy" at 150 and f/8 (gone at f/11), which I'd attribute to maybe a bit of lens tilt as a result of the close focus mechanism.
Seems like my sample could use a bit of an infinity focus adjustment. When infinity is included at the short end, it ends up a little short of the infinity position at the long end.
Ghosting is a real issue when shooting into a bright light source, so coatings of this late-'70s lens do not seem to be up to current standards. Unsurprisingly, contrast isn't particularly special either, and colors are a bit "retro", too.
There is some CA at the long end. Didn't notice much in terms of fringing, interestingly enough. I guess the relatively short zoom ratio pays off here, too.
Bokeh isn't anything too special, in particular it's noticeably colored at the long end (a phenomenon I'm more used to seeing on fast 50mm lenses wide open).
Overall, a lens that can still take decent pictures but which seems a little dated now. Lens hood highly recommended. Might be better suited for film.
| | | | Site Supporter Registered: March, 2010 Location: Frankfurt am Main Posts: 1,241 | Review Date: May 7, 2011 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 8 |
Pros: | built quality, handling, superb IQ from F5.6 up | Cons: | no PK/A, minor CA wide open in extreme situations | | I bought this lens (used) in 1982, 3 or 4 years later I passed it on to my sister. At that time I had added a Super A to my ME Super, and this lens does not support automatic aperture (it's PK, not PK-A). During the time I used it, I got the impression this lens is absolutely a gem! Stopped down to 5.6 or 8, I felt it was in resolution and contrast up to my SMC-M 2/50 and SMC-A 1.4/50 (I did not really "test" it to compare, but this was my impression). The Tokina SD 70-210 (with PK-A Bayonet), which I had bought to replace it, never came near to the performance of this lens (despite the fact the 70-210 was MC, whereas the 75-150 probably single coated, I am not sure).
When, some years later, I discussed lens subjects with my sister, she called the 75-150 a "wonder lens" - "the best lens she ever owned"; and she had the SMC-M 1.7/50 as standard!
If it was not for widest aperture = 4, missing PK-A Bayonet, and some minor CA at extreme contrasty situations and fully open aperture, I would give it a "9", but my copy was certainly a "8".
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: June, 2010 Location: Franeker Posts: 34 | Review Date: March 6, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 7 |
Pros: | good build quality; manual focus and zooming feels smooth without the zooming being to "lighthanded". IQ is decent | Cons: | ca wide open, but not too much. | | Decent lens for the money. Useable despite some ca wide open. Good build quality; also quite compact. Zooming and manual focus both have a smooth feeling to it. Able to focus to 1,6 meters without having to adjust anything. Really a much better performer than the Sigma 70-150mm I also own; much better coating, IQ and build. And easier to focus closeby; the Sigma requires an adjustment to the lens (some sort of lever you have to adjust) before being able to focus closeby.
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