Sears 80-200mm f4 macro lens...

I came across on this (see below) for sale here in raleigh going for $40 and I've looked through here/google and

noted that if these have the little pin on the mounting ring then its best to remove it so that it wont jam on

the camera... so that is good to know! But I'm trying to find out if its actually a good lens in terms of

quality and if anyone else has used this. It says its a macro but then says min focusing distance of 18"? I

always thought macros focus much closer...

Any input/advice would be appreciated...

 

Thanks!

 

For sale here is a Sears 80mm-200mm f:4.0, macro/one-touch zoom lens, in original

box.

Serial Number is 850815655

 

It has multi-coated surface to reduce flare, a macro ring for close-ups as

near as 18", and constant f:4.0 throughout the zoom.

It is for the Pentax KR mount, has the A-position, ideal for Pentax DSLRs, like

the K10D.

While I really can't comment on that particular lens, I do have 2 sears lenses.

a 50 F/2.0 and a 28 F/2.8 i use with my film cameras. The quality of the lenses I find to be

very good. The images are very sharp and I could not be happier. Before buying my sears

lenses, I heard from many folks of how great they are and they are...

I have also had a couple of Sears lenses. All are made by some good quality manufacturers like Kiron, Ricoh and

so on. The 3 I had were all very good, not as great as a true SMC Pentax but still very good.

 

As for the "macro" It's not. It is most likely 1:4 or 1:5. Meaning the subject is 25-20% of the original size.

True macro is 1:2 or greater. Many will not even consider a macro anything less than 1:1 life sized. What you

have is a close focus lens. With the A setting and if the mechanics are good with clean glass, then buy the lens.

it's cheap and well worth it.

I had this lens way back in the film days. It is a good performer lens. I guess its biggest asset is the constant aperture which is not bad at f/4 for 80-200mm lens. I did take some quite nice photos with this lens coupled to the Olympus body.

 

If it has A setting, than it might be for Pentax not Ricoh. As far as I know Ricoh's auto setting was called P (but I can be mistaken). Removing pin is relatively easy. I have done that to my Sigma 50mm PK-R macro lens.

I have a Sears 70-210/4.<p.>

 

<a href="http://orlygoingthirty.blogspot.com/2008/05/crappy-lens-hacking.html">Here's how to remove the Ricoh pin (and a comparison to the SMC-M 135/3.5)</a>.<p/>

 

Not all Sears lenses are made by Ricoh. This one is made by Samyang in Korea. It is abominably soft at 135mm and 200mm. All my other 200mm class lenses (two 200mm generic Hanimex/Focal primes in M42, a Takumar-A 70-200/4 non-multicoated, even a Sigma 70-210/4-5.6) are sharper wide-open than the Sears at 200mm.

Thanks for the info everyone!

@orlando; did you mean that the lens i am looking at is made by Samyang and should be avoided or that you have one from Samyang...? I will keep it in mind...

Somanna - if it is a "KR" mount, the A position will probably NOT work with a Pentax DSLR. Ricoh used a different coupling, I believe. I bought one of the 70-210 F4 Sears lenses, and was disappointed. Of course mine appears to have had the whole aperture ring removed, an odd choice. But even still I would say $40 is too much. I paid $25 and would love to have the money back. :-) I would say you should try it to see if the A function would work, but then there is the pin issue. There are lots of cheap 3rd party zoos out there, I would say stay away from this one.

ZOOMs, obviously. Orlando, I looked at your blog, did you get the A function to work on a Pentax DSLR?

Hi all, "A" mode WILL work, it works fine on my K10D. This is because my Sears is a "KR" mount - it has the contacts for BOTH Ricoh and Pentax cameras. I highly doubt there are purely "R" mount Ricoh's out there... after all Ricoh just copied the K mount so they are second-source supplier.

 

@somanna, if your lens says "Made in Korea" it's almost certainly a Samyang. But like the others say, $40 is too much. I got mine for $13. In my experience the Takumar-A 70-200/4 (or the CPC Phase 2 70-200/4) is a far better lens and goes for $40 as well (often less). The best one-touch MF zoom in this range is the SMC-Pentax 70-200/4 but that goes for more $$$ (still under $150). I have no problems with my Takumar-A, as far as I can tell it can stand up to the SMC-Pentax 135/3.5 wide-open. Subject to focusing accuracy of course.

Thanks for setting me straight Orlando. I remember reading an add for a Ricoh zoom where they said the A setting would not work with Pentax; of course mine doesn't, as it has no aperture to adjust.

 

the M 80-200 f4.5 is a good lens, too. Its very long, but sharp even opened up.