Filter Size: Pentax-M SMC 50mm f2 Lens - Asahi Optical Co.

Thanks. That is what the new auto-focus one from Pentax (50mm f1.4) uses.

The Grape Smasher Ltd.

"Paul Rubin" <http://phr.cx@NOSPAM.invalid> wrote in message
news:7xodnjtjr3.fsf@ruckus.brouhaha.com...
> "The Grape Smasher Ltd." <nospam.DeleteThis@nospam.com> writes:
>> Does anyone know the filter size for the lens in the subject line? I
>> can't
>> find anything on the lens that tells me this?
>
> Very likely to be 49mm, Pentax tried to stick with that size.
 >> Stay informed about: Filter Size: Pentax-M SMC 50mm f2 Lens - Asahi Optical Co. 

"The Grape Smasher Ltd." <nospam.TakeThisOut@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:45e09dd3$0$14114$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net...
> Thanks. That is what the new auto-focus one from Pentax (50mm f1.4) uses.
>
> The Grape Smasher Ltd.
>
> "Paul Rubin" <http://phr.cx@NOSPAM.invalid> wrote in message
> news:7xodnjtjr3.fsf@ruckus.brouhaha.com...
>> "The Grape Smasher Ltd." <nospam.TakeThisOut@nospam.com> writes:
>>> Does anyone know the filter size for the lens in the subject line? I
>>> can't
>>> find anything on the lens that tells me this?
>>
>> Very likely to be 49mm, Pentax tried to stick with that size.
>
>

Pentax used 49mm as their standard size for the Takumar (screw mount), the M
("Miniature") series, and the A ("Automatic") manual focus series.

They briefly flirted with the 52mm size when they abandoned the screwmount
and came out with the "K" series, which were mostly all the screwmount
lenses, but with K-mount. This was in 1975, when Pentax released the KM, K2
and K-1000 cameras to replace their just-retired Spotmatic F, ES-II and
SP-1000 screwmount models.

I do not recall whether there was a lot of outcry over the filter size
change, but there must have been. One of Pentax's strong points over the
years was that they tried to use only a couple of filter sizes, with the
49mm being the most often used. That was a great advantage for those of us
that used filters, polarizers, etc. No need to buy multiple sizes of the
same filters. No need to carry multiple sizes of the same filters.

Did Pentax want to be more like Nikon with the introduction of 52mm filters
for their K line? That is what a lot of us thought. But by the time Pentax
introduced the second generation of "miniature" 35mm cameras, with the ME
body and the smaller "M" lenses, they had gotten back to their traditional
49mm filter size for as many of their lenses as they could. The next
often-used size was 58mm, and they were used only when the design of the
lens required a fast aperture that could not be made in the smaller element
size.
 >> Stay informed about: Filter Size: Pentax-M SMC 50mm f2 Lens - Asahi Optical Co.