When the going gets weird, weird photographers turn to Pentax
Best of Pentax Forums Newsletter August 13, 2026
What’s your fav oddball Pentax?
The Pentax Auto 110 is my favorite camera system in any format from any manufacturer. The tiny, jewel-like lenses — especially the Pentax-110 70mm F2.8! — produced staggeringly good images when the smallest interchangeable lens SLR system ever made was loaded with Kodak Kodachrome.
Only Pentax does things like offering the 6x7, LX and Auto 110 Super at the same time. Or the K-3 III Monochrome and the 17 half-frame film camera at the same time. In the Roaring 2020s…What’s your fav oddball Pentax of all time? Vote in this week’s poll, and let us know how you do that voodoo you do so well in the comments!
Elsewhere in this week’s newsletter, amateur dirt farmer pepperberry farm reviews the SMC Pentax-A 20mm F2.8, the lens that will be the prize for Pentax Forum’s September Photo Contest! And Senior Member Angus M89 raves about the SMC Pentax-FA* 200mm F2.8 ED [IF].
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:
Film camera for upcoming solar eclipse
August 6, 2026 • Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras • 18 replies • 340 views
Jonathan Mac said — Next Wednesday is the solar eclipse (here in Spain) and I have things worked out to photograph it using a telephoto lens and digital camera. Apart from that, I would like to have a Yashica Mat 124G loaded with Kodak Gold 200 sitting ready on a tripod ...Read more »
The pro-Pentax pieces are ramping up...
August 12, 2026 • Pentax News and Rumors • 15 replies • 624 views
HarisF1 said — Christopher Nolan uses a hollowed-out Pentax SLR to check framing on set | Digital Camera World I’ve seen so much more of Pentax in the last month than I have in the previous two years combined. This looks like smart marketing for once from them. Read more »
Pentaxian User Reviews
Pentax Lenses
SMC Pentax-A 20mm F2.8
Reviewed by amateur dirt farmer pepperberry farm
Review Date: July 1, 2020 Recommended | Price: $350.00 | Rating: 9
Pros: color, clarity, sharpness, rendering, quality-feel
Cons: occasional CA
Sharpness: 9 Aberrations: 8 Bokeh: 8 Handling: 10 Value: 9 Camera Used: K-3
what a phenomenal lens this little package is...
I remember thinking it was either this or a Voigtlander Color-Skopar 20mm f3.5 at the time that the Pentax lens popped up on eBay.... and I cannot imagine that I am missing a single thing with this lens...
there aren’t any negatives to this lens, so let’s hit the highlights: beautiful colors, amazing clarity, and sharp as razor - I was consistently surprised at how sharp landscapes, street scenes, etc were with the A20/2.8....even decent bokeh wide open; stop this lens down and you’ll get funky penta-bokeh chunks that can be distracting occasionally...
superior build and handling - the lens feels good in your hand as you focus; it’s not a bulky lens by any means, but it is of solid heft....
in short - if you are in the market for a wide MF lens - put this one on your list to seek out....
SMC Pentax-FA* 200mm F2.8 ED [IF]
Reviewed by Senior Member Angus M89
Review Date: August 7, 2026 Recommended | Price: $100.00 | Rating: 9
Pros: IQ Cons:
Sharpness: 8 Bokeh: 9 Autofocus: 9 Handling: 9 Value: 9 New or Used: Used Camera Used: K-1
I got mine only very recently. It was $180AUD and is fairly banged around in condition. Scuffs, scratches on the body and two small scratches on the front element off to the side. For the price I couldn’t pass it up to try and maybe on-sell with if I liked it enough, to then pursue a better copy. I am in an FA* collecting phase so wanted to see how it compares to the 80-200mm.
Taking photos of my kids, family and around the area, I thought I must have left a very strong contrast and saturation setting on with my K-1. I checked and it was in ‘Natural’ so that was my first impression of image quality. I really liked the colours.
For portraits, fantastic. The compression and out of focus background is really excellent. I haven’t had any 3D pop yet on some but it is early days. I really like the 100-200 lengths for portrait so a fast 200 ticks a box.
Wide open, a little soft but f/4 and everything is peachy. At f/8 you’re laughing.
Handling is good. Versus the 80-200, this is obviously lighter and more portable. I did some comparison shots at 200mm f/2.8, 5.6, 8 and 11. The 200 prime appeared to have better sharpness / detail with a little more general colour presence. Ergonomics are typical FA* with a push/pull focus ring. It is not big and sits comfortably in hand when using. Does the FA* exterior scratch, yep but I didn’t buy it for it to be pretty. I bought it to produce good photographs which it seems to do in abundance.
I really liked the M series 200mm so this was an excellent upgrade. I haven’t used it for astro, yet, but I imagine it performs admirably.
I did end up selling it as there was no hood, so I will track down another good buy with a hood and hold onto it. I gave it mostly 9’s as it really does do everything well.
Comment of the Week:
Site Supporter Kiwizinho on 20 years of Pentax Forums-What’s the best thing you’ve gained? Best of PF Aug 6 Poll: I think one of the most unexpected things was discovering a distant cousin. Apparently Pentax runs in the blood.
When the going gets weird, weird photographers turn to Pentax
The Best of Pentax Forums August 13 Poll
The Pentax Auto 110 is my favorite camera system in any format from any manufacturer. The tiny, jewel-like lenses — especially the Pentax-110 70mm F2.8! — produced staggeringly good images when the smallest interchangeable lens SLR system ever made was loaded with Kodak Kodachrome.
Kodachrome is no more, alas, and we are now well into the digital age. So a half-century after the Auto 110 Super I daily drive a Pentax K-3 III Monochrome and a Pentax 17 loaded with Kodak Ekachrome for colour work.
Pentax and I are a good fit because…well, I’m me, and only Pentax does things like offering the 6x7, LX and Auto 110 Super at the same time. Or the K-3 III Monochrome and the 17 half-frame film camera at the same time. In the Roaring 2020s…
What’s your fav oddball Pentax of all time? There are so many choices. The Q series with the fantastic SMC Pentax-Q 08 Wide Zoom 3.8-5.9mm F3.7-4 lens? The Q series with toy lenses? The K-01 with SMC Pentax-DA 40mm F2.8 XS? Vote in this week’s poll, and let us know how you do that voodoo you do so well in the comments!
This poll closes August 19
And here are the results of last week’s poll:
Weekly Photo Challenges
Posted By: ramseybuckeye: Thanks to Noel for unexpectedly choosing my photo as the “Young” winner. I decided to make the theme the opposite of young. A totally interpreted theme as old does not have an age range. Old buildings in one part of the world would not be considered old in another. Old can be corroded or have a patina. So it is your choice. The challenge will close next week Thursday 20 August 2026 at Midnight in your time zone.
And here’s the entry from Site Supporter gump: Quarai (1600s). Part of Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, New Mexico
A Walk Down Memory Lane
BertieK: Master of Monochrome
Cooking up Trichrome recipes with the Pentax K-3 III and GR IV Monochromes
By cjfeola in Pentaxian Profiles on Apr 15, 2026
The stereotypical Pentaxian is an extremely grumpy oldster who has been shooting Pentax since the early Paleozoic and now spends days shouting at clouds.
BertieK blows that stereotype into little bits.
Monochrome bits. In her two years as a Pentaxian she has acquired a pair of K-3 III Monochromes and a GR IV Monochrome. Not that she’s given up colour entirely-her Trichrome recipes produce painterly colour images from black & white.
PentaxForum Front page stories Aug 6-12:
Pentax K-3 III Ultimate Guide (Book & eBook) Version 1.15 Released
Free PDF/Kindle eBook updates, new printed version available
By PF Staff in Site News on Aug 8, 2026
Version 1.15 of Pentax K-3 Mark III: The Ultimate Guide is now available, and as always, it is a completely free update for existing eBook owners.
Win a 20mm lens in our 20th Anniversary Monthly Photo Contest!
A special edition of our usual monthly contest
By PF Staff in Giveaways and Events on Aug 12, 2026
In September, we will be hosting our 241st monthly photo contest, because we’ve held one every single month since September 2006. This time, the entry and voting mechanisms will be the same as usual, with some important tweaks:
The theme: a special theme related to “20 years”
New requirement: the photo must be taken in September 2026
Special 1st prize: a pristine SMC Pentax-A 20mm F2.8 lens will be the grand prize.
What better way to celebrate a 20th anniversary than with 20mm’s? We look forward to seeing you at the event. If you are reading this in September, proceed to submit your entry here!
