Hi Bob,
Coming to K from screwmount, it, at first did not concern me which
Pentax lenses I bought. The lenses I first came up with were the "M" series
and they were not up to scratch (35, 28). Only then did I decide to obtain
those same lenses in the SMC Pentax series as they were Takumars in K mount.
Unfortunately, they had the 52mm filter size in a move to look more
professional.
The SMC Takumars were a peak in lens development for Pentax. The move to
the "M" series was made for compact size and profit as a great majority of
them are inferior to the SMC Pentax series (50mm f1.4 and 1.7 are very good
tho). Others may disagree, but I am very happy with my Takumars and SMC
Pentax lenses.
Bob Rapp
----- Original Message -----
From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Monday, January 27, 2003 7:27 AM
Subject: Pentax M, K, and screw mount lenses
> All the talk on this list of the quality of the old screwmount Takumars
has
> me out trying some. I got an old Spotmatic and picked up 50, 28, and
135mm
> lenses along the way.
>
> I was out taking some pictures with the kit in the cold (5 degree
Fahrenheit
> and windy) this AM when it hit me. The screwmount Takumars are really
> petite. They are about the same size as my ME kit, M50/1.7, M135/3.5, and
> M28/2.8. Now I wonder if the old Takumars didn't have some bearing on the
M
> series creation.
>
> When Pentax switched to the K mount, the first lenses were bigger and
bulkier
> than the final SMC Takumars they replaced. The old Takumars were really
> elegant as Mike J. and others have said. The new K's were big fat things
> with 52 or 58mm diameters and bulky. So what is a logical next step back
> then, especially when they were introducing the ME/MX cameras that were so
> tiny... Let's go back to the original size lenses we were using, the
> Takumars. We'll call the new lenses M series!
>
> When I photographed some cameras for Bill Robb's 50 year LX anniversary
> pages, I was surprised to find the LX was about the same size and shape as
> the original Spotmatic. I wonder if the lens designs didn't revert to the
> original sizes too.
>
> Regards, Bob S.
>
