Overview

Well, since this came with my P30t kit it certainly qualifies as my very first SLR lens, and possibly still my best. Who knew. Lightweight and small (it's practically a pancake design), with Pentax' Super Multi Coating and a colorfully informative distance scale.

Here it is compared with the normal Konica Hexanon 1.7 50mm on the right for size comparison.

Pentax' Super Multi Coating was co-developed with Zeiss, who calls the coating T* on their lenses (now made by Kyocera, parent of Yashica & Contax).

Cool things about this lens - lightweight, small, and has a relatively short turning radius through its focal range, meaning you can focus rather quickly. Tack sharp and has fantastic color rendition. My all-around favorite normal lens for the last decade.

Special Notes

The A setting allows auto-exposure capable cameras (like the P30T) to set the aperture in full auto mode. Some will do aperture priority only in which case I don't know what the A setting will get you but it probably won't be right!

Normally with Pentax bayonet mount lenses you line up the red dots and twist; here you have an additional marker, a white bump that you would align with the lens release tab, and mount the lens without looking (or in low light)


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