SMC Pentax DA 16-45mm f4

Bought this second hand lens since I didn't have wide prime lens and hoped that this would produce better and sharper images than my 18-55mm kit lens. The lens itself is quite big and heavy, it's little bit difficult to use and sometimes the images became blur. It's an upgrade for my kit lens. The IQ produced is good and sharp. Tested this lens during a night shoot at Marina Bay.

MC Helios 44-4K 58mm f2

Bought this Russian lens from ebay, it's brand new old stock. Helios 44 is a copy of Biotar lens, and it's famous for its swirly bokeh. Most of Helios 44 variants come in M42 mount, but this 44-4K comes in K mount which is rare. It has aperture lever, so it behaves exactly like SMC K or M lenses. Notice the oval shaped bokeh at the corner of the image.

Macro extension tube

Bought the tube from ebay for S$ 10, it came in set of 3 rings : ring 1, ring 2 and ring 3. It has no aperture coupling so the viewfinder becomes very dark when  you stop down the lens. Built in flash with diffuser was used.

SMC M 50mm f1.7 with ring 1 and 2 :

SMC M 50mm f1.7 with ring 1, 2, and 3 : 

Vivitar 28mm f2.8 Close Focus

Bought this second hand lens, it's in PKA mount which means I can set the aperture from the camera body. Tested the lens during a farewell party of my friend. I brought FA 50mm f1.4, this lens, and newly bought Yongnuo YN560 (bought it for S$ 140). The place for barbecue was very dark and since I want to use YN560 on the hotshoe, I could not get the AF assist light since it uses builtin flash in order to work. Without AF assist light, my FA 50mm f1.4 couldn't lock the focus at all, so I changed the lens to Vivitar. It was easier since 28mm is wide enough, so I just need to set the focus to 1.5 to 3 meters and  take picture from that distance, most of the pictures were sharp enough. Most of the photos were taken at ISO 800 and cropped using Adobe Photoshop CS.

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Clarke Quay shots using kit lens

Went to Clarke Quay several times to take landscape photos using 18-55mm kit lens.

Handheld

 Using tripod

SMC Pentax 55mm f1.8

Bought this lens from ebay. It's K version. As per review this lens is sharp and has nice smooth bokeh. Tested this lens during clubsnap live at Singapore Art Museum. Some pictures were cropped.

 

SMC Pentax M 135mm f3.5

Bought this second hand lens. It's in very mint condition but without front cap, so I bought snap-on front cap from ebay. The lens has built in hood, which is good to minimize flare. It's a long lens and a little bit heavy, so it's quite difficult for me to take picture with it. It is pretty sharp lens with nice color.

Here are some shots taken using this lens.

SMC Pentax FA 50mm f1.4

Bought this almost mint lens, it came with box, and genuine square hood. After trying this lens during the cosplay, I felt a necessity to get a fast auto focus prime lens so I decided to buy one.

Here are some shots taken using this lens

SMC Pentax 50mm f1.2

Bought this lens from ebay, the cosmetic was almost mint, but it had small amount of fungus. Brought it to a repair shop at Adelphi and had it cleaned for S$120. This lens's very heavy and I was very happy to see the large aperture and the clean glass. At first I took some shots and the pictures were not as sharp as the ones taken using M 50mm f1.7, but after practicing few times, actually it can produce sharp images even when it's used wide open.

Cosfest VIII

Early July, I went to this cosplay at Downtown East and brought 18-55mm kit lens and M 50mm f1.7. It was indoor with tungsten light. I shot in JPEG so I need to adjust the whitebalance according to the lighting there using custom white balance setting. It was a difficult situation to use manual focus lens there, since so many people were taking picture and the model can't smile at certain direction for more than few seconds. One of my friends lent me FA 50mm 1.4, it did make my life easier, a fast lens with good auto focus mechanism. Here are some shots taken using the FA 50mm 1.4, with ISO 800.

Lucy Heartfilia (Fairy Tail)

And here the ones taken with kit lens, still at ISO 800 but slower shutter speed.

Natsu Dragneel (Fairy Tail)

Captain Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean)

Lavi (D.Gray-man)

L (Death Note)