Pentax K-m, SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 II

CCD Resurgence: The vintage legacy SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 prime, on a Pentax K-m, is equivalent to a fully compatible manual focus 75mm short tele lens.

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Testing the Pentax K-m with a manual focus prime lens here, with the SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2, a lightweight plastic-bodied lens manufactured by Pentax from 1985 to 1998. The series-A lenses by Pentax introduced the 'automatic' aperture settings capability of Pentax K-mount lenses.

The lenses still had the aperture ring, which could be set manually, and they also had an 'A' setting, which allowed the camera to control the aperture automatically.

On the APS-C sensor K-m, the SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 is the equivalent of a 75mm short telephoto lens. When mounted with the A-switch set, the K-m will trigger the inquest for a focal length input, which, once set, will permit you to use the camera in its various exposure modes, with the lens triggering the In-Focus button intermittently to indicate that the subject in the frame is in focus. Focusing is still manual, though.

Pentax K-m, SMC-Pentax-A 50mm f/2

Testing was done among the greens of my mini garden, and as you can see, even when the shots were taken wide open, the images were as sharp as you wanted them to be. The color rendition is great, and the contrast is excellent. Focusing is smooth, and with the aperture ring set to the 'A' mode, there is no more reason for you to make any adjustments to the plastic aperture ring itself. This lens has an overall rating of 8+ on PentaxForums, but personally, I'll give it a solid 10.

Pentax K-m, SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 I

CCD Resurgence: The vintage legacy SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 prime, on a Pentax K-m, is equivalent to a fully compatible manual focus 75mm short tele lens.

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My endeavour with the 'CCD Resurgence' series saw me going through a range of vintage digital cameras, cameras that were in production more than 10 years ago, fitted with CCD sensors, which were then the old standard for camera sensors from the early 80s till the late 2000s.

For a kit setup, the Pentax K-m (K2000 in the US) and the SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 manual focus prime is my penultimate selection.

CCD sensors are known to produce high-quality images with low noise, better color accuracy and uniformity, higher sensitivity, and a look and feel that is different from CMOS sensors, with some saying that the images are very much film-like. Though more expensive to manufacture, CCD sensors still have many uses, including machine vision, astronomy, food science, as well as life sciences, and medical applications.

Pentax K-m, SMC Pentax A 50mm f/2

The real advantage to photo enthusiasts is having the option to choose from a range of forms and functional capabilities, from ultra-compact travel zooms to superzoom digital bridge cameras, and to the ubiquitous digital SLR cameras. Prices vary, but you may find them costing less than comparative film cameras, where you will have the added saving on film, film development, time cost, or the cost of acquiring an advanced digital camera that may prove a bit too hard to handle as well.

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Jupiter-8 50mm f/2, An Astute Choice

Cameras and Lenses: Images with a legacy Jupiter-8 50mm f/2, a vintage Soviet rangefinder lens praised for its compact all-metal build and historical Zeiss Sonnar lineage, an excellent 100mm full-frame equivalent on the Olympus PEN E-P5.

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The year 2021 may see me in a new light, propelled by a burst of fresh energy and newfound enthusiasm, first by getting out of the doldrums of the Covid 19 confinement, which has affected almost the entire population of the world, and secondly by looking at expanding my interest into another genre of photography.

Not the least, though, are these five frames with the 50mm M39 Leica thread mount Jupiter-8 50mm f/2, a circa 1950s vintage lens produced by various manufacturers in the former Soviet Union. Derived from the Zeiss Sonnar design, the lens is a 5-element in 3-group construction with a maximum aperture of f/2.0 and a minimum focusing distance of 1.0 meters. The lens is also available with a Contax mount.

Olympus PEN E-P5, Jupiter-8 50mm f/2

One advantage I have with these L39/M39 rangefinder lenses (including the Jupiter-8) is the ability to get infinity focus when used on mirrorless cameras, a feature not possible on DSLRs due to the difference in flange distance design. That's my take on a great cost-saving opportunity for mirrorless camera users, as these lenses are still very low-priced and easily available, with a few coming across with well-established performance.

Minolta MD 50mm f/2, The Clouds Above

Cameras and Lenses: Images with an an exceptionally sharp, lightweight, and budget-friendly vintage manual focus lens, a Minolta MD 50mm f/2, at a 100mm full-frame equivalent on the Olympus PEN E-P5.

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The MD 50mm f/2, perfect as it is, is the slowest non-macro standard prime produced by Minolta. It is less common than the faster MD 50mm F1.7, which was the mainstay as a kit lens for Minolta SR system cameras.

For its compact and lightweight body form, the f/2 is actually a delight to use. It focuses smoothly and handles well, and the focus peaking on the E-P5 is almost perfect at any aperture in good lighting conditions.

Minolta MD 50mm f/2

The lens is one of the lowest-cost SR lenses on many auction sites, but as you might be able to discern from the images, you will probably get a lot more in image quality when compared to the cost of acquiring the lens itself.

Olympus PEN E-P5, Minolta MD 50mm f/2

It was a very nice, sunny, and bright day with plenty of cloud cover drifting across the otherwise very bright and blue sky when I took the MD 50mm f/2, mounted on the Olympus PEN E-P5, out for a quick take session. It was quite a sight, with blue skies and majestic clouds, and it did not take me long to decide what the test shots of the day were to be.

Images were post-processed on Olympus Viewer 3 (OV3), and the final print sharpening was on Google NIK Sharpener Pro 3.