Pentax SMCP 67 Macro 135mm f/4.0

Review Date
January 23, 2010

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Reviewed by
Marek z Warszawy , Casual

Price Paid
$250.00 at Allegro (in Poland)

Photography Experience
6-10 years , People

Summary
Very versatile lens. One of the best for Pentax 67II.

Strengths
The best for portraits - short depth of field. Very good for landscapes. With extension tubes 1:1 macro.

Weaknesses
None

Similar Products Used
Pentax 67 lenses: 45mm f/4, 75mm f/2.8 AL

Customer Service
Never used

Review Date
November 3, 2002

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1 votes

Reviewed by
craigclu , Expert , from Wisconsin

Price Paid
$350.00 at eBay

Photography Experience
21+ years , Fine Art

Summary
One of the best performing P67 optics and one of my most used lenses. Very versatile and though optimized for closer duty, it's not bad for general purpose use beyond f8. Sharp, contrasty and snaps in and out of focus nicely. A little sharp for 35/over female portraits but you can haze them a bit and get by.

Strengths
Quick, sharp, solid

Weaknesses
Only goes about 1:3 but that's been enough for everything I do anyway.

Similar Products Used
Hexanon 55 macro and Hexanon 100 macro, Omegaflex closeup attachments.

Customer Service
Never have needed to access it.

Review Date
December 8, 2000

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1 votes

Reviewed by
Dmitry Kuznetsov , Intermediate , from Lausanne, Switzerland

Price Paid
$600.00 at local dealer

Photography Experience
2-5 years , Outdoor

Summary
A "must" lens from Pentax 67 lineup if best possible quality of production is desired. In my set of lenses (45 mm, 55-100mm zoom, 135 mm macro) it nicely fits the long end. Good value.

Strengths
Exellent sharpness, fine manufacturing

Weaknesses
short depth of field (even @ f/32)

Similar Products Used
None

Customer Service
After purchase I found 2 small pieces of dust inside the lens (between elements) and asked to remove it. The lens was sent back to Pentax Switzerland and cleaned.

Review Date
July 2, 2000

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Reviewed by
Roy Borghouts , Intermediate , from Rotterdam, The Netherlands - Europe

Photography Experience
6-10 years , Other

Summary
Great and versatile allrounder that comes rather wellpriced for the quality it delivers.
As with all P67-telephotolenses, use a heavy tripod for maximum results in terms of sharpness and depth of field.

Strengths
Versatile lens because of use for portraits, landscapes and close-ups. Delivers fine sharpness and high contrast, especially at smaller f-stops. Light weight. Not too expensive, great deal when bought used.

Weaknesses
None. Perhaps the fact that you need extension tubes for 1:1 macro.

Similar Products Used
Nikon 105mm D AF and Sigma 60mm D AF. No comparable MF-macros.

Customer Service
Arrogant, not too helpful.

Review Date
March 8, 2000

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 1 votes

Reviewed by
Bob Emmott , Expert , from Aylesford, Kent UK

Photography Experience
21+ years , Landscapes

Summary
Quite versatile, quite cheap (by 6x7 standards), and produces very good results at the apertures I use (f8-f32).

Strengths
My version of this lens is the 'SMC Takumar for Pentax 6x7'. Mine is sharp and contrasty (I have never used it at apertures wider than f8) and has no visible distortion. I have used it for copying flat originals and can say it has a flat field. Useful minimum aperture of f32. My lens displays a small colour shift (warm rather than cold thankfully). Focuses to just under 2.5ft where repro scale is 1:3.2 Works well for landscape and portraits too.

Weaknesses
Needs tubes for 'real macro. Small colour shift (on mine anyway)

Similar Products Used
140mm Macro for RB67 Pro s

Customer Service
Not tried yet.