What's the oldest lens you shoot regularly?
Best of Pentax Forums Newsletter May 7, 2025
What’s the oldest glass in your regular rotation?
One of the joys of being a Pentaxian is that millions of excellent lenses produced over three-quarters of a century fit on your camera. Do you shoot any of that old glass? Or do you only snap the latest and greatest autofocus lenses on your Pentax camera? Vote in this week’s poll, and let us know why you do what you do in the comments!
Elsewhere in this week’s newsletter, Forum Member Ned Bunnel gets his Pentax up close and personal with a gator; Forum Member Angus_M89 reviews my all-time fav lens, the SMC Pentax-M 20mm F4; and Forum Member redbirdpete sheds some light on the Sangamo Weston Light Meter Weston Master V.
If you’ve been forwarded this newsletter, please take a moment to join the more than 1,500 Pentaxians who have subscribed to our free currated 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 1, 2025 • Photographic Industry and Professionals • 12 replies • 1105 views
StiffLegged said — I don't often look at Instagram, but it's still an occasional vice, so imagine my amusement at the following post on Pentax Europe's feed. I'm quite sure it's Mr Bunnell's mistake ... Read more »
K3DE (Kentucky 3 Day Event) - got lucky with bad choice of lens
May 2, 2025 • Travel, Events, and Groups • 6 replies • 437 views
madison_wi_gal said — Was invited to Lexington to visit friends and go to the K3DE.. Although I planned to leave the cameras at home, and just enjoy the show, I decided last minute to bring THE VIRIDIAN. Since my tiring experience lugging the 15-30 and the 85 around, I decided to take the lightest FF lens possible - the 43. Read more »
The Unsung Hero of the K mount’s 50th Anniversary
May 3, 2025 • Vintage Cameras and Equipment • 21 replies • 1330 views
kindakaa said — When I had the idea to write a short text for the 50th anniversary of the K-mount, I thought. Who is the real hero of this era? Maybe the Pentax K2 as the very first, the LX as the most legendary, or the K-1 as the most anticipated? But it seems to me that the main and unsung hero of Pentax is...The Pentax M42→K Adapter (1975–Present) is the only bridge connecting early ’50s lenses and modern 2020s cameras. Read more »
Pentaxian User Reviews
Pentax Lenses
SMC Pentax-M 20mm F4
Reviewed by Forum Member Angus_M89
Review Date: May 5, 2025 Recommended | Rating: 9
Pros: Short, wide angled Cons: Slow but has its place
Sharpness: 8 Bokeh: 8 Handling: 10 Value: 10 Camera Used: LX, ME Super, K1000, K3II
I enjoy this lens for its compact design and wide angle. I took it to Japan recently and loved getting a whole lot of the scene in. Yes it is slow but used on a bright sunny day, you're not going to notice it. I usually shoot around f/5.6 and 8 which mitigates slowest speed concerns anyway. I can't comment on price as I got this and a lot of other gear for ridiculously cheap price.
SMC Pentax-M 100mm F4 Macro
Reviewed by amateur dirt farmer pepperberry farm
Review Date: May 3, 2025 Recommended | Rating: 9
Pros: solid build quality, sharpness, clarity, color rendition
Cons: f4 could be considered slow?
Sharpness: 10 Aberrations: 9 Bokeh: 9 Handling: 9 Value: 9 Camera Used: K-3, Fuji X-T4, GFX 50S II
I used this lens for the April '25 Single In Challenge:
typical Pentax build from this timeframe (1977 - 1984): solid, with mostly metal and glass and a minimum of plastics; lovely damped-feel to the focus ring and an aperture ring with distinct clicks for each stop....
for a 100mm macro lens, it isn't overly-large or undersized in comparison with other macro lenses of the day....
typically-warm Pentax color rendering, with hexabokeh's at all apertures aside from f4.... superior clarity and sharpness from this lens, as expected....
I tried using this lens on both the K-3 and my Fuji X-T4 with reasonable results, but when mounted on the GFX 50S II, a pleasant surprise: it came alive in front of that larger sensor - minimal vignetting, so I shot almost all month with the full MF sensor....
this is a solid-performing lens with no surprises, especially as a macro lens... the only negative I could find all month is the relatively-slow maximum aperture of f4, but that honestly did not slow me down at all..
Accessories
Sangamo Weston Light Meter Weston Master V
Reviewed by Forum Member redbirdpete
Review Date: May 1, 2025 Recommended | Price: $30.00 | Rating: 10
Pros: No batteries, simple and reliable.
Cons: Seleiniem cell amy need replacing after 40 years or so, less reliable in low light
I have a Master 3, a Master 5 and a Euromaster. These are brilliant pieces of technology, no batteries required, and the only drawbacks are that they are better in good light than poor - though still better than a dodgy camera meter - and that the selenium cell will eventually die, but there are people out there who can replace them. And for goodness sake, a bit of a service after 40 years or so is reasonable?
Repairs: https://ian-partridge.com/westonrepair.html
I have no personal interest other than I have had satisfactory service of my meters from him. I use the meters in good light to verify my camera readings on my pre-digital cameras, mostly M42 and K-mount manual focus. I'm glad to say it is rare for the two not to be in sync - can't say the same for some other make film camera that have passed through my hands. And of course sometimes I go out with just my SV, a 55mm lens, and the meter.
Comment of the Week:
Senior Member Maxwell1008 on Pentax 17 wins Germany’s Red Dot Design Award 2025: Well deserved award! I have a Pentax 17 and have used it almost daily since I got it. It's a lot of fun to use and the half-frame format makes the film more affordable. Bravo Ricoh Imaging on this great camera!
The Best of Pentax Forums May 7 Poll
What’s the oldest lens in your daily bag? My oldest lens is older than me. I bought my 1952 Nikkor-Q.C 13.5cm f/3.5 at the wonderful Dallas Photography Center flea market because…well, it’s beautiful, isn’t it?
It’s also huge and apparently hewn out of a solid block of iron; it’s ridiculously heavy. So it sits in a display case with ancient Argus and Kodak Hawkeye gear. The oldest lens I regularly use is the half-century-old SMC Pentax 50mm F1.2, which gets regular use as a fabulous short tele on my Pentax K-3 III Monochrome.
So what’s yours? Do you have ancient glass in your bag, or only the latest and greatest? Vote in this week’s poll, and let us know why you do what you do in the comments!
And here are the results of last week’s poll:
Weekly Photo Challenges
Point and Shoot Competition #206: Light and shadow
I think this is a broad theme and open to many interpretations. Landscapes, objects of all sorts, abstracts, ... I'm looking forward to your interpretations!
Cameras permitted: Mobile phones, tablets, any camera with a sensor smaller than or equal to 1". Pentax Q, Nikon 1, Ricoh GR.
Any 110 film cameras (e.g. Pentax Auto 110) or point and shoot cameras that use 35mm film (e.g. Pentax PC35AF and Pentax 17). Cameras you can take with you in a coat pocket. ANY CAMERA BRAND ALLOWED.
Entries will close at the end of May 31 2025 at Midnight.
And here is Site Supporter jumbleview’s entry: Hope these images satisfy contest subject. All shot with Google Pixel 6 Pro on the same day March 14, 2024 (Pi day).
A Walk Down Memory Lane
The most-commented Pentax Forums front page story of 2016 with 89 comments and 95,284 Views is Pentax K-01 Officially Announced