Pentax 67 75mm f2.8.............is it rewally that good???

[John Wiegerink]

I have a pretty good Pentax 6X7 outfit with two M/L bodies and eight lenses. I have no complaints about any of the lenses I have. I have the older version (scalloped focus ring) 75mm f4.5, and it's a very good lens in my opinion. I thought about upgrading to the latest 75mm f2.8 lens until I checked the prices on the big auction site. I just can't justify laying out close to $3,000.00 for a lens like that when I've been more than happy with my old clunker 75mm f4.5. It seems that almost all the more expensive lenses like the 75mm f2.8 are coming from Japan. Almost seems as if the Japanese are becoming much more satisfied with digital and are unloading much of their film equipment on the big auction site. Anyway, I'm just curious as to how much better the 75mm f2.8 is over the older 75mm f4.5 other than being faster at f2.8? Not that I will buy one at this point, but maybe further down the line. Maybe!
JohnW

 

[halfaman]

All lenses I have tried of this system, quite a few, are at least good. Then they could be splendid or spectacular, the 75mm AL is in the latest category. But it doesn't mean that you are going to do better pictures.

If you are happy with your 75mm, stay with it and save a fortune. It is a good lens.

 

[Grim Tuesday]

Not being made of money, I have not tried the 75mm 2.8 either but everyone says it's awesome. Might I suggest the 90mm 2.8 instead? It is fast and a bit wide for 6x7, and my copy is a superb lens. Every bit as good as Hasselblad 80mm Zeiss and f2.8 is really nice for composition on Pentax screen. And of course less than 25% of the cost of the 75mm.

 

[John Wiegerink]

Not being made of money, I have not tried the 75mm 2.8 either but everyone says it's awesome. Might I suggest the 90mm 2.8 instead? It is fast and a bit wide for 6x7, and my copy is a superb lens. Every bit as good as Hasselblad 80mm Zeiss and f2.8 is really nice for composition on Pentax screen. And of course less than 25% of the cost of the 75mm.

I have the 90mm f2.8 leaf shutter version, but have heard the straight 90mm f2.8 is supposed to be a little better.

 

[Grim Tuesday]

I should have specified. I have the non leaf shutter version. Optically it makes sense for this one to be better, as it requires one fewer constraint from its designers (space for the shutter) and they can invest more of their budget into the pure optics.

 

[Jos Segers]

Times have changed. I was lucky enough to be able to buy this lens 12 years ago in almost new condition for very little money.
The performance of this lens is indeed quite extraordinary. Contrast and sharpness of my own copy are already very good at f/4.
At f/5.6, the lens performs at almost maximum across the entire image. This has also always been hand held the working aperture for me. For normal practice, f/8 compared to f/5.6 provides little improvement. However, the lens does have slight barrel distortion, typical of a wide-angle lens.
It is a pity that only few copies of this lens were made by Pentax.

 

[Randy Stewart]

Some years ago, and having the 75mm 4.5, I considered the then newish 75mm 2.8. I could have acquired a mint version for around $1,300 at the time. I elected to not purchase the 2.8. It isn't significantly sharper, which is a comment on how good the 4.5 lens is. The test reviews of the 2.8 indicated that it has a bit more distortion than the older lens. Since almost all of my use would be on a tripod, the 2.8 offered no real advantage.

 

[Lachlan Young]

They're pretty rare & emerged very late in the P67's lifetime.

Mind you, I'm currently regretting selling my Olympus 21mm f2.0 a few years ago and not now...

 

[John Wiegerink]

Some years ago, and having the 75mm 4.5, I considered the then newish 75mm 2.8. I could have acquired a mint version for around $1,300 at the time. I elected to not purchase the 2.8. It isn't significantly sharper, which is a comment on how good the 4.5 lens is. The test reviews of the 2.8 indicated that it has a bit more distortion than the older lens. Since almost all of my use would be on a tripod, the 2.8 offered no real advantage.

Randy, those are my feelings also. My 75mm f4.5 serves its purpose just fine and I really don't need the faster lens. F2.8 would be nice, but not worth the extra money required to obtain it. I'm set fairly well on the wide end with the 45mm and 55mm. I'd rather save my money and get the 300mm f4 ED IF.

 

[flavio81]

I have a pretty good Pentax 6X7 outfit with two M/L bodies and eight lenses. I have no complaints about any of the lenses I have. I have the older version (scalloped focus ring) 75mm f4.5, and it's a very good lens in my opinion. I thought about upgrading to the latest 75mm f2.8 lens until I checked the prices on the big auction site. I just can't justify laying out close to $3,000.00 for a lens like that when I've been more than happy with my old clunker 75mm f4.5. It seems that almost all the more expensive lenses like the 75mm f2.8 are coming from Japan. Almost seems as if the Japanese are becoming much more satisfied with digital and are unloading much of their film equipment on the big auction site. Anyway, I'm just curious as to how much better the 75mm f2.8 is over the older 75mm f4.5 other than being faster at f2.8? Not that I will buy one at this point, but maybe further down the line. Maybe!
JohnW

The 75/2.8 is a faster lens. If you're looking for sharpness the 75/4.5 is one of the sharpest lenses of the P67 system.