SMC 50mm A - 1.7 WOW !!

Just received a used 50mm 1.7 lens I bought on ebay for very little and I'm extremely impressed, sharpness is something else.

One minor problem, probably just me, but occasionally it won't take the shot when the shutter release is pressed ?

thanks

simon

Check that the focus mode switch on the camera is set to manual - otherwise it will only take a photo when the subject at the focus point is exactly in focus (useful under some circumstances but generally a pain).

Thats the answer I was looking for Tony, silly me !!

I really am impressed by the sharpness and IQ of this lens

simon

All the K-mount Pentax 50mm lenses are at least very good (I've no experience with M42 ones but it probably applies to them as well) however IMHO the SMC-A 50mm F1.7 is perhaps the best cost/quality/functionality compromise of the lot if you're a K10D user.

I'm pretty sure that the earliest K mount standard lenses were optically the same as the SMC Takumars that preceded them. A glance at Bojidar's site seems to suggest that, on the face of it, many of the later ones are pretty similar too. Although my Pentax F 50 1.7 has a different colour of coating to most of my other lenses.

I think there are very slight tweeks to the optical formula for the later lenses. Stan's site suggests there is a jump in optical performance from M series to A series, with the F1.4 lenses getting a real improvement and F1.7s a slight one.

I love my 50mm F1.7, small, light, fast and sharp, yet also cheap. It's a dream come true.

In my very short time with the 50mm 1.7 I'm inclined to agree - I paid £32 for the lens on Ebay, bargain considering it's capabilities

simon

Correct! At least I have always thought so and having used both it appears to be true. Nearly all the SMC Pentax lenses were K mount versions of the SMC Takumars. With the advent of the M cameras (I suspect also something to do with the OM1. ) Pentax redesigned much of the range to make them more compact. With big enlargements, many of the "K" lenses may be slightly better quality but the difference is small. What is perhaps more noticeable is that the older lenses do seem to have a slightly different "character".

Kim