Marco Aries

Long time viewers will know that I’ve been slowly putting together a set of Asahi Pentax-m lenses, but I was still lacking something on the wide end, until I managed to get my hands on this 28mm. The lens is made out of metal, it weights 170g, it is 36 to 40mm long and it has an external diameter of 63mm, with a 49mm front thread. The iris had 5 blades, the aperture is clicked and it goes from f3.5 to f22 with half steps. The focusing ring is rubberized, it turns 110 degrees and minimum focusing distance is 30cm. Flange distance for the Pentax K mount is 45,46mm.   The focusing ring is smooth but still has enough resistance to not be knocked around, while the aperture needs just a bit more force. The lens feels solid, it is short and lightweight and it doesn’t really throw off the balance of your camera. Sharpness wide open is great in the center, but it gets softer towards the edges.  By f8 there is just a bit of fuzziness in the corners.  Chromatic aberratio...

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 fr...

  When I found this lens at the usual flea market, where I’ve found a number of my vintage lenses, I bought it immediately, partially because of Mark Holtze’s amazing videos about the Super Takumars, but also because I’ve been actually looking for some Pentax lenses for a couple years, after I missed a good deal at the same flea market.   This lens is very compact, almost pancake size, being only 32mm long when collapsed and 41mm when extended it is quite smaller than similar lenses from other brands, like the Konica Hexanon 50mm 1.7, the Canon FD 50mm 1.8 and the Yashica ML 50mm f1.7; only the well known Konica Hexanon 40mm 1.8 is a bit shorter.  The body is made of both metal and plastic, keeping down the weight to around 190 grams. Even the front thread is smaller, with a 49mm diameter, surrounding the beautiful Super Multi Coated front element.  The iris has six blades, the aperture is clicked and goes from f1.7 to f22. The focusing ring has a rubbe...