What Legendary Pentax lenses should get the TTArtisan Treatment?
Best of Pentax Forums Newsletter May 14, 2026
What Legendary Pentax lenses should get the TTArtisan Treatment?
I have a 7artisans 50mm F0.95. It’s a Leica Noctilux knockoff that marries modern CAD/CAM manufacturing techniques with half-century old classic designs like the Noctilux that were prohibitively expensive back in the day. For example aspherical elements that used to require painstaking hand grinding and polishing to produce a single copy can now be loaded into CAD and mass produced.
There are a spate of these lenses now, from the confusingly named 7artisans and TTArtisans and a host of others. And that got me thinking: Pentax has a lens library filled with legends and mythical beasts: The “Hollywood” SMC Pentax 28mm F2. The star A* SMC Pentax A* 85mm F1.4 and SMC Pentax-A* 135mm F1.8. The almost mythical SMC Pentax 20mm F1.4, of which only seven prototypes were ever made.
What Pentax legend would you like to see resurrected by the TTArtisan treatment like the Noctilux? Let’s do a two-part tournament. This week we’ll do nominations: I’ll suggest a few obvious candidates, plus everyone can add more in the comments. Next week we’ll have a runoff between the most popular from this week’s Round 1! So vote in this week’s poll, and make the case for your lens in the comments!
Elsewhere in this week’s newsletter, New Member LE MANDAT takes a look at the SMC Pentax 200mm F4; New Member Gassy reviews the Vivitar Series 1 VMC 28mm F1.9; and Site Supporter brewmaster15 visits historic Savannah, Georgia, with a Pentax K-3 III Monochrome.
If you’ve been forwarded this newsletter, please take a moment to join the almost 1,600 Pentaxians who have subscribed to our free curated compendium of the hundreds of great images and post shared each week in our Pentax community. Please let us know your thoughts here in the comments and on our Pentax Forums, and have a perfect Pentaxian week!
Threads of the Week:
May 10, 2026 • Pentax K-1 & K-1 II • 6 replies • 342 views
Topsy said — With great shock I just realised that my K-1 “turned 10” today (as in I received it 10 years ago). And I can’t quite believe that it’s been so long already. It has been a trusty friend all these years…Read more »
May 10, 2026 • Vintage Cameras and Equipment • 9 replies • 328 views
TwoUptons said — Most of my interchangeable lens cameras are SLRs Even for the ones that aren’t, most of the lens solutions are half-baked front element conversions (like the Rolleiflex TLR or the Retinas). This, however, is a real interchangeable lens mirrorless ...
Savannah Georgia with the K3 Monochrome
May 7, 2026 • Pentax K-3 III Monochrome • 11 replies • 435 views
brewmaster15 said — As Part of a recent Photo road trip/ Vacation we did several days exploring Savannah, Georgia. I spent alot of time in the historic city doing photography. I have to say that Savannah was an incredible experience. I could have spent weeks there. The place is steeped in history and though it has a vibrant tourist area, It did not have that tourist trap feel like some areas can. For me, it was exactly what I wanted for subject material and more specifically Black and White images with K3 Monochrome. Read more »
Pentaxian User Reviews
Pentax Lenses
SMC Pentax 200mm F4
Reviewed by New Member LE MANDAT
Review Date: May 12, 2026 Recommended | Price: $100.00 | Rating: 10
Pros: sharpness, build quality Cons: nothing
Sharpness: 10 Aberrations: 9 Bokeh: 9 Handling: 8 Value: 10 Camera Used: Pentax K5
For the needs of a photographic circuit I needed a focal length around 200mm for my Pentax K5. I already had a number of lenses covering this focal length: a Pentax M f4, a Pentax 55-300, a Pentax F 70-210 and an old Ricoh M42 200 f3.5. I was looking for something more qualitative without adopting a 3.5, 2.8 or 2.5 lens. After thinking about it, there wasn’t much except the Pentax K F4 200 mm which was strongly suggested to me by various enthusiasts. It’s a great lens that gives sharp images what I need, much more than the equivalent M version which seems to be poor. The two aforementioned zooms give decent images without more. This lens is at the top of the basket despite a manual ergonomics that we are no longer used to. Compared to the Nikon AF 180 and AIS 200, the differences are imperceptible. The best range of use is between 5.6/8 and 11/16. The exposure correction is set to -0.7.
I highly recommend this lens.
Third-Party Pentax Lenses
Vivitar Series 1 (Tokina 37xxxxx) VMC 28mm F1.9
Reviewed by New Member Gassy
Review Date: May 12, 2026 Recommended | Price: $400.00 | Rating: 10
Pros: bokeh, cinelook Cons: Too expensive
Sharpness: 8 Aberrations: 8 Bokeh: 10 Handling: 10 Value: 10 Camera Used: sony A7V
A short review and repair note for my Vivitar Series 1 28mm f/1.9. I recently picked up a Vivitar Series 1 28mm f/1.9 for about $400. This is a very interesting vintage wide-angle lens. It is definitely not a “perfect” modern-style lens, but that is exactly what makes it attractive to me.
Wide open at f/1.9, the image is a little soft and dreamy, with lower contrast and some obvious vintage character. It is not clinically sharp, especially toward the edges, but the rendering has a lot of mood. The background blur can look very unusual for a 28mm lens, with a stretched, dynamic, almost explosive look toward the edges of the frame. For video and environmental portraits, this gives the lens a very distinctive feeling.
Stopped down, the image becomes much more controlled. Sharpness improves, contrast gets better, and it becomes more practical as a general-purpose wide-angle lens. But personally, I think the real charm of this lens is at or near wide open, where the image feels less corrected and more expressive.
The build quality is also quite impressive. It feels heavy, solid, and very much like a serious high-end third-party lens from its time. The close-focus capability and internal focusing / floating mechanism also make it more special than many ordinary vintage 28mm lenses.
However, my copy had one problem when I received it: the focusing barrel had noticeable wobble, especially around the close-focus range. At first, I couldn’t find a clear solution online, so I decided to disassemble the lens and investigate it myself. So if anyone has a Vivitar Series 1 28mm f/1.9 with a loose or wobbly focusing barrel, I would suggest checking the screws that secure the inner focusing tube to the support bracket. In my case, that was the exact problem.
Overall, I think this is a very characterful lens. It is not for people who want a clean, modern, technically perfect image. But if you like vintage rendering, wide-angle shallow depth of field, dramatic bokeh, and lenses with a bit of personality, the Vivitar Series 1 28mm f/1.9 is a fascinating piece of glass.
Comment of the Week:
Loyal Site Supporter yucatanPentax on Ricoh Imaging winning streak continues with strong sales growth: So, the data now confirms what Ricoh executives stated at the end of last year. They've established good revenues from the GR line and are turning their attention to Pentax to see what they can do there. In fact, due to the fact that GR development was completed some time ago (the rest of the time was manufacturing lead time), they've likely had attention on Pentax for some months now.
What Legendary Pentax lenses should get the TTArtisan Treatment?
The Best of Pentax Forums May 14 Poll
In my camera cabinet, nestled among the Qs and older dSLRs and M series lenses that aren’t currently in the rotation sits a 50mm F0.95.
No, I didn’t rob a bank and buy a Leica Noctilux. It was sort of an impulse buy. And why not for $199? The 7artisans 50mm F0.95 is the marriage of modern CAD/CAM manufacturing techniques with half-century old classic designs like the Noctilux that were prohibitively expensive back in the day. For example aspherical elements that used to require painstaking hand grinding and polishing to produce a single copy can now be loaded into CAD and mass produced.
There are a spate of these lenses now, from the confusingly named 7artisans and TTArtisans and a host of others. And that got me thinking:
Pentax has a lens library filled with legends and mythical beasts: The “Hollywood” SMC Pentax 28mm F2. The star A* SMC Pentax A* 85mm F1.4 and SMC Pentax-A* 135mm F1.8.
The almost mythical SMC Pentax 20mm F1.4, of which only seven prototypes were ever made.
What Pentax legend would you like to see resurrected by the TTArtisan treatment like the Noctilux? For me it’s obvious: I’ve always wanted a copy of the original aspherical SMC Pentax 15mm F3.5 that didn’t cost as much as a used car. So let’s do a two-part tournament. This week we’ll do nominations: I’ll suggest a few obvious candidates, plus everyone can add more in the comments. Next week we’ll have a runoff between the most popular from this week’s Round 1! So vote in this week’s poll, and make the case for your lens in the comments!
This poll closes May 20
And here's this week's PentaxForums YouTube video:
And here are the results of last week’s poll:
Weekly Photo Challenges
Project 52-14-19: Telephoto lens, until 5-17 (Sunday)
This week we continue our different lens options.
A photo challenge with a telephoto lens is an excellent way to sharpen your eye for detail and utilize the special optical properties of long focal lengths (usually 70mm and above). The telephoto lens helps to isolate subjects and compress perspective.
Whether you use a tele prime lens or a zoom lens in the telephoto range is entirely up to you. Take your best shot, but most of all, have fun!
I'm looking forward to seeing many old and new participants in Project 52 and to see your telephotos from around the world.
And here is Site Supporter MiguelATF’s entry: My entry is a lucky accident - I was driving through traffic in the neighboring city of Medford, Oregon, when traffic slowed to a stop - and I realized that I had come upon a ready-made telephoto subject: someone was sticking their head out of the window of the pickup truck in front of me. Fortunately my camera was sitting on the seat next to me, and it only took a second or two to lift it up and get a shot of this extremely photogenic individual! Pentax K10d+DA L 50-200mm (at 95mm)
A Walk Down Memory Lane
Pentaxian Profile: Mike Oria
Landscape Photographer and 645 System User
By EarlVonTapia in Pentaxian Profiles on Jul 7, 2014
Mike Oria is a long-time member of PentaxForums (posting as mikeSF) based in the San Francisco bay area. During the day he works as a sales director for a medical lab. On weekends and his spare time, he is an avid photographer. His first digital SLR, a Pentax *ist DL, came from a garage sale. Now he shoots with a K5 and a 645D. Mike specializes in landscapes and seascapes.
In this interview we asked Mike about how he got into photography, what made him get into the Pentax 645 system, as well as some tips and tricks for how a budding photographer can take their skills to the next level.
PentaxForum Front page stories May 7-13:
Ricoh Imaging winning streak continues with strong sales growth
Cameras singled out for revenues, profits for Ricoh FY 2025
By cjfeola in Pentax Announcements on May 12, 2026
“The camera business showed strong performance, with sustained high demand centered on the RICOH GR series, resulting in higher sales and profit,” Ricoh announced in its Fiscal Year 2025 report, released May 12.
And Ricoh told investors it expects that growth to continue. Segment sales are projected to increase 2.1 percent for Fiscal Year 2026 from 61.7 to 63.8 billion yen, with profits projected to increase 5.2 percent.
Parent corporation Ricoh’s fiscal year 2025 ended March 31st, 2026. Ricoh Imaging is part of the conglomerate’s Other division, which includes Pentax cameras and lenses, the Ricoh GR III series, Ricoh 360° Theta cameras, environment and healthcare. Fiscal 2026 began April 1, 2026.