Every Month I will highlight a lens from my collection of legacy lenses, discuss its history, characteristics, pros and cons, and where I found it, if I can remember.. I will include some pictures that are hopefully telling of its specific qualities.
You can click on the images for more detail, and move it around using two fingers, when using a laptop, like my Macbook pro, or double-click when on a smartphone.
Lens of the month January 2026: SMC Pentax-M 85mm 1:2
One of my most used lenses is this compact but relatively fast manual focus portrait lens Asahi Pentax manufactured between 1977 and 1984 as part of the M-series. This series was the successor of the legendary K-line of lenses, which in itself was the successor of the at least as legendary Takumar M42 lens line up, all of which were designed for full frame film cameras. When I bought it I was using a Pentax Super-A film camera, then I changed to digital and it became more like a 135mm because of the 1.6 crop factor of the smaller APS-c sensor, then when I got the K-1 MKii it worked again as intended since the sensor has the same size as the original negative. Where the Takumar screw mount lenses were compact and built to last, the K-line was designed with a bayonet for ease of use and speedy lens change and all lenses sported Super Multi Coating (hence SMC), to minimise flare from incoming light. The build quality being very high resulted in some gear being very heavy, so Asahi Pentax, always on the look out for user friendly solutions, designed this M-series with as its defining feature a compactness comparable to the older M42 series that would make it easy to take a selection of lenses along, without making the camera bag excessively heavy.
The 85 mm focal length is very well suited for taking portraits, so it was a logical choice for me to acquire it and feature it here. The distance it needs (MFD:85 cm) results in a flattering rendering of faces, without the distortion that comes with shorter focal lengths. A side effect of this minimal focal distance is that you can give the model in question some space and freedom, which can result in better portraits. Also, the separation from the out of focus areas is very visible yet gentle. I bought it from a private seller in Utrecht, The Netherlands, at a reasonable price, a long time ago, and I have stuck in it my bag many times when I had to make a selection of lenses for a project. I also have the Samyang 85/1.4, which I also love, but in comparison this lens is so much more unobtrusive and light! It can be dreamy but still centre sharp with open aperture and wonderfully sharp when stopped down to F/2.8. and onward.
I have yet to discover its possibilities for landscape and street photography, but I have read up on the use of this focal length to these purposes and it can give interesting results. It is always interesting to push a lens to the limits of its possibilities, but so far, the call of portrait photography has been irresistible to me. I include a link to the Pentax Forums Lens Review page with more technical details of this lens and some examples of portraits not yet featured on the portrait page of my website.
Pros:
compact, mostly metal build
Dreamy softness at F/2 (can also be considered as a con).
sharpness from F/2.8 onward
Gentle tone, great skin tones, also in B/W
lovely bokeh
Cons:
purple fringing and lower contrast at F/2
Not cheap.
https://www.pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/SMC-Pentax-M-85mm-F2-Lens.html
Lens of the month December 2025: Super Takumar 1:1.4 50mm.
The first lens a Pentax photographer should highlight is of course the Super-Takumar 1:1.4/50. So, 50 mm is the standard focal length for a full frame (D)SLR lens of any brand, and rightly so since it covers more or less what the human eye naturally sees. In the sixties of the last century, to be exact, in the year of my birth, 1964, Asahi optical company, Japan, wanted to build a lens that could compete with the Carl Zeiss Planar 1:1.4/50, but for a fraction of the price. All possible means were assembled to build it and the first version was an eight element lens that turned out to be so expensive to build it almost ruined Asahi Pentax. They soon reverted to building a cheaper, 7 element version, that was sold until 1975. I was happy to acquire a 7 element version and kept searching for years to find the 8 element for a reasonable price. Finally I was lucky to find one when I was on tour in the US with Cappella Pratensis, in an antique shop in North Adams, MA. I immediately took some pictures (see below) of the rehearsal and the garden of the hotel and use it regularly to my great satisfaction. I also added a few images from rehearsals of a programme with Nederlandse Bachvereniging. The Bokeh of this lens is extremely creamy and the separation with the subject in focus very strong. Colours are warm, due to the thorium element, which is lightly radioactive. No danger, unless you shatter the rear glass element and ingest the glass parts. I did some de-yellowing of the glass with a UV light lamp.
Pros: Incredible detail
Warm colours
Smooth focusing ring
Sturdy metal build
Amazing OOF areas
Expressive flare
Cons: flare if you do not like it
loss of contrast when backlit
Expensive, rare
You can click on the image for more detail, and move it around using two fingers, when using a laptop, like my Macbook pro, or double-clicking on iPhone.
Update January 30 2025:
the front element of this lens had come unfastened and stared to show quite a bit of mechanical clearance. I had not serviced the lens after I bought it in April 2023, so it was time to have a look. The bezel, the front ring which contains the information about the lens specifications, came off easily by pressing and turning the tailored rubber ring, and it was an easy one because I only needed to tighten three tiny screws that keep the front element in place and it was good to go. I removed some dust and the 60 or so year old beauty of a lens was as new again. I add an iPhone picture of the lens during service and a portrait of Lou, our cat, taken with the Tak, right after finishing the job.
