In my opinion, this lens is better than it's F series version despite the increased size.  Unlike it's modern form, this one maintains a constant aperture, at a 3.5 maximum, through all focal lengths.  It also has a macro mode that can be used no matter how the zoom is positioned.  This proves to be very handy, and the lens is extremely sharp.  The focusing ring is large and easy to fine-tune; it could have only been a little better.  I use it all the time because it can act as both a tele and a wide-angle lens.

Lens: smc-Pentax M 50mm/1.4 Reviewer: Ole Oest Date: May 30,2005

This lens is one of the best sharpest from Pentax and is a joy to use. The focusing ring is really smooth and turns over a large angle making it easy to manually focus. It has a convenient close focusing distance of 45 cm. The auto-focus variants (F and FA designation) have the same optical construction, but as for build quality this “A” lens beats the F and FA with it's a metal lens barrel and smooth focusing.

Lens: smc-Pentax M 50mm/2 Reviewer: Adam Melis Oest Date: May 29,2005

This lens is about equally sharp as all the other 50mm lenses from Pentax, but it is much lighter than those with larger aperture sizes.  The M version is made of some plastic, but is still sturdy, as is the A version, which has a little more plastic.   I can't complain, but the A and FA 50mm/1.4 and F 50mm/1.7 are probably more practical.

Lens: smc-Pentax A 50mm/2.8 Macro Reviewer: Ole Oest Date: May 30,2005

This macro lens is small and compact and a pleasure to use with its smooth focusing and metal construction. It focuses down to 24 cm and provides 0.5 magnification on a film camera. It must be used with an extension tube to get to life size (1:1) magnification. It is very easy to fine tune focus. The lens can also be used as a normal lens, but focusing is more difficult on faraway objects than on a standard 50mm lens.

Lens: smc-Pentax A 70-210mm/4 Reviewer: Adam Melis Oest Date: May 30,2005

This lens is pretty heavy, yet it is very sharp and even has a macro function at the 70mm stop.  The aperture size is constant through all focal lenghts, and both zoom and focus are controlled with one large ring.  This lens doesn't fit as an "all around" lens very well because or its large focal lengths, but I use it often because it replaces the 135mm prime and the 77mm prime, and still offers a lot of zoom.

Lens: smc-Pentax A 400mm/5.6 Reviewer: Adam Melis Oest Date: May 30,2005

The 400mm lens offers a pretty large aperture despite its long focal length.  This lens weighs 1,240 grams, and it is hard to hold steady without a tripod.  Luckily, it has a tripod jack right after the aperture ring.  With a tripod, the lens is extremely sharp, and it even has a built in hood.  The smallest aperture is 45, and the filter thread has a diameter of 77mm.  I enjoy this lens, like almost all other Pentax lenses, and I am very happy for it, even though I use it only for special purposes.

Lens: smc-Pentax FA 24-90mm/3.5-4.5 Reviewer: Ole Oest Date: May 30,2005

This is my favorite all-round lens for the Pentax *ist D, where it corresponds to a 35-135mm zoom. It is quite compact for its reach and aperture. It should be stopped down to about 8 so as to yield very good sharpness also at the edges. It focuses down to a convenient 50 cm, and comes with a sturdy, detachable lens hood.

Lens: smc-Pentax FA 20-35mm f4.0 Reviewer: Tim Donnel Date: September 12,2006

An excellent all-around on the *ist D series, (tiny, light, but sharp as a tack, focal lengths 30-52.5mm) and really fun on a film body, where it also shines, turning in VG-excellent results at f5.6 -f16 and all focal lengths.