> SMC 135/2.5 (the SMC lens with 58 mm filter thread, not the Takumar)
> What is your opinion of this lens? Is it any good?
Mechanically superb and a pure joy, optically very good but not superb
> What do you use it for?
Portraits, snapshots, details, low light
> What do you like about it? How well built is it? How is the handling
> (weight, size, etc.)?
As I said: The mechanical quality is superb and pure joy. The focal length
is one of my favourite ones, and the lens is fast enough for easy focusing
and low light shooting. It is much heavier than the M135/f3.5 but makes a
better combination with the LX. On an M camera, however, the M lens feels
better...
> How about optical qualities: resolution,
Resolution is good but not better than that of the M135/f3.5, and the
FA135/f2.8 seems to be slightly ahead of them both.
> contrast, color, distortion,
No complaints here at all
> bokeh,
Here the lens is at the (high) Pentax standard, neither below, nor above.
As one would expect from a 135mm lens, the background is very nicely
blurred if it is far away, however, sometimes narrow lines like thin
branches double noticeably, especially if they are closer than the main
object... The FA77 is better for sure...
However, lenses can be much worse. I just tried a MF Tokina 400/f5.6 at a
local camera store. Absolutely shocking bokeh. Not just double images but
triple, quadruple... as if the lens had a special effect filter attached...
> light fall-off,
A little bit, as one would expect
> Can you make a better picture of it than the one that I already have on
> the KMP?
No.
> Is there any piece of information about this lens that I am missing that
> you can provide?
This is a keeper...
Arnold
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