Author: | Sort Reviews by: Date | Author | Rating | Recommendation | Likes (Descending) Showing Reviews 1-15 of 76 | Pentaxian Registered:February,2013 Posts:313 | Review Date: August 11, 2024 | Recommended |Price:$94.10 |Rating:10 | Pros: | Best lens for the dollar, better image quality than more expensive lenses | Cons: | No water sealing, 52mm thread (should be 49mm) | Sharpness: 10 Aberrations: 10 Bokeh: 10 Autofocus: 10 Handling: 10 Value: 10 New or Used: New Camera Used: Pentax KP | | One of the best kept secrets of the photography world is that there really is only one lens that brings out the best a SLR or DSLR has to offer, and it's also the cheapest; and that lens is the nifty fifty. The nifty fifty is great on a full frame camera; it's all I shot with for years on my K1000. On my crop sensor APS-C camera, it's even better. The main reason why you want this lens is because it "Sees" the same way the human eye "Sees." This is very helpful with one of the most important aspects of photography, and that is composition. Once I got used to framing with the crop factor of APS-C, I came to realize that this lens on an APS-C camera better represented my own central field of view. Some have argued that a 35mm is better on an APS-C as it more closely approximates the field of view of a 50mm on full frame, but I would argue that this better represents compositions as I see them, one is sacrificing nearly a full stop along with the greater bokeh effect, and are introducing some slight wide angle distortions which doesn't help when training the eye to "See" compositions, and I get to pay more. This "Fantastic Plastic" "Nifty Fifty" is a great jack of all trades lens you can just leave on your Pentax all the time. Its plastic construction makes it very light, which will make your camera light. While it's no pancake lens, it doesn't protrude very far out from the camera, and in spite of being a short lens, the glass is recessed a good centimeter, which offers a degree of protection of the glass as well as provides a bit of a "Lens hood." I would recommend adding a proper lens hood, but since they changed the thread size from the long standing standard of 49mm to 52mm, you can't just use one from an older lens, and while it might be tempting to just go with an older used 50mm lens, many of the ones I've found have a lot of dust inside of them, which is why I wanted clean, new glass, and this was that. This lens is great for all types of photography, including travel, street, landscape, wildlife and portrait. While it's not a macro lens, it can get pretty close to my subjects and brings out a lot of detail. The kit zooms we get with our cameras typically make us think we need to "Fit it all in" from whatever perspective we are at. With this lens, your creativity grows. You learn that you don't always need to "Fit it all" in. Or if you do, you can change the angle of your perspective. Or you can stand further back from the subject. Or at times when your options are very limited, you can take multiple shots and stitch them together in post with Hugin to get as wide of an angle you could ever want with zero distortions. Suddenly your camera isn't just a tool to take snapshots; it's a tool that creates art. There might be other 50mm lenses that are a few fractions of a stop faster, but for the money, this lens on any APS-C Pentax is photographic perfection that will help you capture the compositions you see exactly as you envision them. These photos were taken from my 2024 Track and Tower trail hike collection which was shot exclusively with this lens. To see more, click here: https://www.paulquirk.ca/posts/algonquin5/ | | | | | Site Supporter Registered:January,2012 Posts:20 | Review Date: July 27, 2024 | Recommended |Price:$75.00 |Rating:9 | Pros: | Attractive, bokeh, cheap, lightweight, good colours | Cons: | | Sharpness: 9 Bokeh: 9 Autofocus: 9 Handling: 9 Value: 10 New or Used: New Camera Used: K5ii | | Only received it yesterday, I'm a Pentax enthusiast with more enthusiasm than skill. Bought this to try out since it was cheap . So far it's pretty good. In good light, focuses quickly, picture is good. I don't pixel peep as much these days, don't see any issues. I declined giving many 10s due to lack of experience and expertise. I don't know why people mention the screw drive. Most Pentax lenses have it still, so it should hardly be a surprise. I thought it was no louder than other lenses ( subjectively slight less noisy than the 77mm f1.8 screwdriver) I uploaded a photo to gallery as per instructions, a sombrero in good light, 50mm f1.8, k5ii, 1/2500 Link below: https://www.pentaxforums.com/gallery/images/46186/large/1_IMGP6291.JPG | | | | New Member Registered:July,2013 Posts:6 | Review Date: December 27, 2023 | Recommended |Price:$76.00 |Rating:10 | Pros: | Price, size, weight, optics | Cons: | Plastic mount, no hood | Sharpness: 10 Autofocus: 10 Handling: 10 Value: 10 New or Used: New Camera Used: K-70 | | This lens has been reviewed extensively, so this isn't so much an evaluation, rather encouragement to get one. I have two other 50mm primes, a SMC-A 1.7 manual focus and a Sigma DG EX 2.8 macro. I justified purchasing the DA 50mm on the basis that I didn't have a 'fast' 50 with autofocus. What I really wanted it for is astrophotography, for which it should outperform my older 50s. Amazon had it priced at $76 including delivery recently; what's to think about? Along with the 35mm f2.4, two Pentax must-haves. | | | | New Member Registered:December,2015 Location:Montreal Posts:18 1 user found this helpful | Review Date: November 23, 2023 | Recommended |Price:$120.00 |Rating:8 | Pros: | Affordable Nifty Fifty! Very sharp. Great color profile. | Cons: | Really noisy. Plastic. | Sharpness: 8 Aberrations: 9 Bokeh: 9 Autofocus: 7 Handling: 9 Value: 10 New or Used: New Camera Used: k-5 and k-50 | | I just wanted a lens with a short telephoto reach, that was light, had a wide aperture and could be used for street photography. This lens was inexpensive, so I took a chance. It checked all the boxes and I am pleased with the results. I encourage you to take advantage of the versatility and value that this lens brings to the table! | | | | | Senior Member Registered:July,2022 Location:Ocala, FL Posts:115 2 users found this helpful | Review Date: March 11, 2023 | Recommended |Rating:10 | Pros: | Sharpness, Color, Bokeh, Weight & Price! | Cons: | Plastic mount & Noise | Sharpness: 9 Aberrations: 8 Bokeh: 9 Autofocus: 7 Handling: 7 Value: 10 New or Used: New Camera Used: K5, K3, KS-2, K10D, K20D, K1 | | This is a lens that I initially did not think I liked it, it is noisy in an irritating way when hunting in AF and has a plastic mount and I have had many of these break through the years so pardon me if I dont trust it! - there, both negatives out of the way. This lens has grown on me as I've used it, its very small and compact and lightweight and it takes great photos. I love its colors, contrast, sharpness and bokeh. I have a FA 50mm 1.7 and an FA 50mm 1.4 as well as many - many - 50mm MF primes and this little lens holds up well to all of them and is better than most. Great all-around lens, not very good close focusing abilities but this comes down to preference and isn't a negative. | | | | New Member Registered:March,2023 Location:Toronto Posts:3 1 user found this helpful | Review Date: March 11, 2023 | Recommended |Price:$80.00 |Rating:9 | Pros: | that price!, sharp, fast, great colour! | Cons: | aberrations on older models | Sharpness: 8 Aberrations: 6 Bokeh: 7 Autofocus: 9 Handling: 8 Value: 10 New or Used: Used Camera Used: Pentax *ist | | This lens was included with a K-5 body so I "guesstimated" the dollar value. This lens has impressed me on the digital bodies, so much so I sought out a Pentax film body with autofocus just to see what it could do... and I'm pleased to report it works great. It's as fast as the *ist body can focus, and the vignetting is only noticeable under extreme conditions (but I often cultivate a slight vignette in my photos anyway.) All photos: Pentax *ist SMC Pentax-DA 50mm f1.8 Fujicolor 200 | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered:April,2012 Location:Dartmouth Nova Scotia Canada Posts:1,033 4 users found this helpful | Review Date: May 24, 2021 | Recommended |Price:$110.00 |Rating:9 | Pros: | Good price, Very Sharp, Works well on K1 | Cons: | Plastic Body and Mount | Sharpness: 9 Aberrations: 9 Bokeh: 7 Autofocus: 7 Handling: 9 Value: 10 New or Used: New Camera Used: K100D, K70, K1ii | | Had bought this lens primarily for use on my APS-C Bodies which worked extremely well but was pleasantly surprised with how well it worked on the K1 in Full Frame Mode. Vignette is very mild at F-1.8 to F-4 and blended very well with any bokeh to become almost invisible Vignette was almost non existent at F-5.6 to F-16 but became more pronounced above that point but still not terribly bad Conclusion: If you have this Nifty 50 in your bag alongside your K1. Try it in full frame you will be impressed | | | | Pentaxian Registered:April,2009 Location:Madrid, Spain Posts:11,300 3 users found this helpful | Review Date: February 9, 2021 | Recommended |Price:$65.00 |Rating:8 | Pros: | Lightweight, compact, very fast AF, nice image quality, pleasant to use | Cons: | Plastic, AF unreliable below f/2.8, bokeh could be smoother | | For a few years I had the other cheap plastic Pentax prime, the 35/2.4, and never took to it. Focus was totally unreliable and it wasn't sharp below f/2.8, negating it's advantages over the 35/2.8 Limited. The 50/1.8 though, is a different kettle of fish. The lens is light but build quality is decent enough and it feels good to use. Autofocus is very fast but, at least on the K-3, is not too reliable at apertures wider than f/2.8, leading to missed focus on a lot of shots. When focus is right, the lens is pretty sharp even wide open and improves progressively to f/2.8 where it's extremely sharp and good for portraits. Beyond that I really haven't tested critically but it's very sharp. Bokeh is good enough but not the smoothest available. Image quality overall is very nice. For portraits or other subject-isolation shots f/2.8 provides excellent sharpness and a decently de-focused background. If you have time to take several shots and ensure good focus then wider apertures will isolate more, though sharpness will decrease. Colours and rendering are nice and the lens is pretty good at giving a 3D rendering to images. Wide open, if you can get accurate focus, contrast is low but sharpness is sufficient though not great, but it's a good look for some types of image. Colours are vibrant without being cartoonish and contrast is very good. The lens looks good on the camera and feels good to use, despite it's low weight. The front element is significantly well recessed for a hood to be unnecessary. This is a fun little lens to use and I would recommend it as it can do a lot for the money. If you're considering adding this as a first prime in addition to the 18-55mm kit lens then this 50mm will give results that are far-and-away better at the focal length while letting in a lot more light. I also have the FA 43mm Limited and the big differences are build quality, the 43mm is a bit sharper at apertures below f/2.8, and the 50/1.8 has better 3D and overall rendering. Yes, the little plastic 50/1.8 is better than the FA Limited. I've used this on film but haven't scanned anything yet so can't comment on it's performance, but it is nice to use on a Z1 or SFXn. Some sample images: On the roof by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr Fujifilm 'industrial' colour negative 400 by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr Moo by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr Colours of solidarity by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr Wall boot by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr Lashes by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr | | | | Forum Member Registered:October,2018 Posts:60 2 users found this helpful | Review Date: January 23, 2021 | Recommended |Price:$100.00 |Rating:9 | Pros: | Lightweight, very sharp | Cons: | Noisy autofocus | Sharpness: 9 Aberrations: 9 Bokeh: 9 Autofocus: 9 Handling: 10 Value: 10 New or Used: New Camera Used: K70 KP | | Can't fault this lens. The image quality for the price is hard to beat. One thing I like is that the front element is quite deeply recessed into the body of the lens so there is little need for a hood, which adds to the compact nature of this little prime. It's also very light, and the manual focus ring is actually very well dampened and pleasant to use. One downside is the rather noisy screwdrive autofocus, but it's a necessary compromise for the small size. | | | | Site Supporter Registered:May,2014 Location:Minnesota Posts:2,126 1 user found this helpful | Review Date: May 22, 2020 | Recommended |Price:$100.00 |Rating:8 | Pros: | Cheap, fairly sharp | Cons: | Lacks character, plastic | Sharpness: 8 Aberrations: 8 Bokeh: 7 Autofocus: 8 Handling: 7 Value: 9 New or Used: New Camera Used: Pentax K5 IIs | | I retired this lens a few years ago and never looked back. Actually I'm not sure where I placed it but the funny thing is I don't miss it at all ? The reason why I say that is that to me, the lens lacked character. I know a lot of people rated this lens very high and maybe I just had a bad copy. However, I tested this lens against the 50 mm f1.7 and the Takumar 50 mm f1.4 (8 element) and this lens didn't stand a chance. It couldn't even beat out my Takumar 55 mm f3.5. It's a good lens if you are on a budget and are just starting out it's just that there are better options out there like I just mentioned. The lens is sharp enough, it's just that the Pentax colors and rendition are not really there like in my other lenses. The Bokeh is "Meh", nothing to write home about. I took this lens out and tested in all sorts of lighting because I really wanted to like it. Once in a while I would get a keeper, but at other times the images just looked dull and lifeless. It was that inconsistency that made me move up to something better. | | | | New Member Registered:October,2016 Posts:4 2 users found this helpful | Review Date: April 19, 2020 | Recommended |Rating:N/A | Pros: | Small, Light, Cheap, Good All Rounder, Bang For Buck | Cons: | Noisey AF | Sharpness: 9 Aberrations: 9 Bokeh: 7 Autofocus: 8 Handling: 9 Value: 10 New or Used: New Camera Used: K-S2, K-3, K-1 | | Awesome little lens that even performs well on the K-1 - Some are put off by the plastic mount but I think that the weight saving in this lens that you can genuinely put in a coat pocket makes it worth the trade off. My full review including Sample images on YourTube https://youtu.be/t5CfB1UUE0E | | | | Pentaxian Registered:July,2017 Location:Cinco de Mayo Posts:830 5 users found this helpful | Review Date: March 23, 2020 | Recommended |Price:$75.00 |Rating:10 | Pros: | Bokeh, Sharp, Cheap | Cons: | No WR, No Metal Mount. | | I have been experiencing many manual lenses: Takumar 1.4, A 1.4, A 1.7 and A 2.0; Carl Zeiss 50mm f2.8 and 3.5 This lens has fulfilled all my expectations for a very low price. I think I could replace all vintage lenses with this gem... if you don't care about UNIKE bokeh in vintage lens. For sure, the bokeh is a bit distracting, but by closing a click or two of the diaphragm the distracting disappears and really begins to shine. Whoever decides to try it will not be mistaken: Modernity reflected in something as simple and cheap as this lens. All samples at f1.8 | | | | New Member Registered:August,2018 Posts:2 2 users found this helpful | Review Date: March 13, 2020 | Recommended |Price:$100.00 |Rating:10 | Pros: | Inexpensive, Great rendition of colour, Sharp | Cons: | Plastic build but expected for the price | Sharpness: 10 Aberrations: 9 Bokeh: 10 Autofocus: 9 Handling: 9 Value: 10 New or Used: New Camera Used: Km, K-01, K-50 | | I use this lens on the APS-c crop sensor bodies Km, K-01 and K-50. It works great as a portrait lens and short telephoto. 50mm on crop sensor is approximately 76 mm on full frame. Its aperture of f1.8 is great for low light situations. The compact size and light weight are a bonus. The pictures from this lens are sharp and the colour contrast is very pleasant. | | | | Veteran Member Registered:February,2019 Posts:2,007 | Review Date: December 30, 2019 | Recommended |Price:$130.00 |Rating:8 | Pros: | Light, Maximum Aperture, Bokeh | Cons: | No distance scale, Classic autofocus, No hood | Sharpness: 8 Aberrations: 8 Bokeh: 10 Autofocus: 7 Handling: 8 Value: 9 New or Used: New Camera Used: Pentax K-S2 | | This lens is the second Plastic Fantastic (the first one being the DA 35 F2.4). This lens is very similar on the outside compared to the first Plastic Fantastic, but it is "improved" with its greater maximum aperture, front element being recessed when focused to infinity (lack of hood is less problematic), 7 rounded blades diaphragm, and center-pinch front cap. Indeed, the F1.8 maximum aperture is the strongest point of this lens (which is also the cheapest Pentax lens available!). Pentax do not offer many lenses that can do F1.8. Add this with the 7 rounded blades aperture and you get really creamy bokeh ; it's the most interesting aspect of this lens, ideal for portraits, and this is a good thing since this lens is made for that usage. Like the first Plastic Fantastic though, you have no distance scale, no quick-shift and no hood. That said, as much as I love my DA 35 F2.4, this one is so-so for me. Image quality is good, but, to my eyes, subpar to both DA 35 F2.4 and DFA 50 Macro. The DA 50 closed down to F2.8 (more than 1 stop) has a lesser image quality than the DFA 50 Macro at F2.8 (wide open). Still, I recommend this lens, since it is cheap and the DFA 50 Macro does not have such a beautiful bokeh nor such a high maximum aperture. | | | | Veteran Member Registered:January,2019 Location:Geelong, Australia Posts:341 2 users found this helpful | Review Date: December 19, 2019 | Recommended |Price:$68.00 |Rating:9 | Pros: | Lightweight, auto focus | Cons: | doesn't seem solid enough | | I decided to buy this lens because it was cheap on eBay and brand new in the box. I didn't expect it to be as good a value for money. Being lightweight is for me a big bonus. I am used to using "M" & "A" 50mm lenses and this performs slightly better in my opinion. | | |