Asahi Pentax-M 50mm f1.4 - vintage lens review

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As you all know, Asahi Pentax-m lenses are some of my favorite, so, when I stumbled upon this 50mm 1.4 at a flea market, I had to buy it. Unfortunately, it was starting to develop some fungus, so I had it cleaned by a professional and it was ready to shoot.

The lens is made out of metal, it weights 220g, it is 37 to 45mm long and it has an external diameter of 63mm, with a 49mm front thread.

The iris had 8 blades, the aperture is clicked and it goes from f1.4 to f22 with half steps.

The focusing ring is rubberized, it turns 210 degrees and minimum focusing distance is 45cm.

Flange distance for the Pentax K mount is 45,46mm.

The focusing ring is smooth and precise, while the aperture needs just a bit more force. The lens is surprisingly small and lightweight and it doesn’t compromise the balance of your camera.

Sharpness wide open is good but not exceptional in the center; it gets softer in the corners but without losing much detail. By f8 it is very sharp all over the frame. There is some chromatic aberration at wider apertures, but it is only occasionaly noticeable. As the other lenses in the series, colors are pleasant and a bit warm. Specular highlights have harder edges but no artifacts. Flares and ghosting are very well controlled.

I cannot say that I love this lens, but I am quite satisfied with it. It checks basically all the boxes for me: it is small, lightweight and reliable and image quality overall is really good, I only wish it was just a smidge sharper at f1.4.

Also, when shooting wide open, backgrounds can be somewhat… painterly, yet a bit odd. I mean, I’m fine with it, it’s just not really in line with the rest of the series.

Now, there is still one question to be answered: is it worth getting this instead of the more common and affordable 50mm f1.7?

Well, I will make a dedicated video comparing them… for now, don't forget to check the video for all the samples.



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