Photo: SMC Pentax-M 50mm f/1.7

Joy!!

My latest purchase from eBay. An old Pentax lens.

That’s the cool thing with a Pentax DSLR. It’s made so that all the old lenses are still compatible.

It’s good to have a fast lens, that you can use to take good indoor pictures without a flash. And the 50mm prime is often the most popular.

A new Pentax 50mm f/1.4 lens now is more than MYR900. Obviously more than I am willing to spend.

So instead, I went shopping on eBay for an old manual one. Giving up auto-focus and the fancy electronics that the camera can use to communicate with the lens. But saving a huge bundle. I’ll still be getting quality Pentax optics. These old classics are well regarded. And the lens also has a cool metal barrel.

Initially I tried to get an f/1.4 lens too, but I always lose the bidding war to eBay sniper-bots. Had to wait for the right item in the right condition, with the right shipping. Finally, I settled for this f/1.7 50mm.

I’ld call this near mint condition. No scratches. No fungus. No wear on the metal barrel. Just a few specks of dust on the glass inside. For MYR204, I call this a pretty sweet buy.

This will be a nice portrait lens, and a lot of general purpose photography I believe. The wide aperture will also be fun for creating blurred backgrounds. Looking forward to testing out this lens more.

For now, there’s this example of the depth of field and bokeh-ness of the lens.