Pentax lenses were first badged as Takumar. The Takumar branded lenses were well respected for their line of Super Takumar, which designated the high performance coating applied to the lens as well as the optical formulas used to make them. The majority of the industry at the time was still satisfied with the variations of the "plumb" coating process and later some of the two and three layer processes as well. Asahi Pentax soon introduced the Takumar Super-Multi-Coated line of lenses which was a 7 layer process as the industry had just caught up with similar forms of 5 layer multi-coated optics. Eventually Asahi Optical and Pentax slowly shifted much of their lens production under the Pentax name and transitioned some of the successful designs that were first introduced under the Takumar name to use Asahi/Pentax badging as well as beginning to use the "smc" abbreviation. Eventually the Asahi partnership disappeared and the Pentax name became solely used. Pentax lenses saw many feature changes to answer the market, such as: incorporating "Auto-Aperture" with the M42, the light weight and compactness with the 'M' series, Aperture Priority overrides with the 'A' series, and Auto-Focus with the 'F' series. Modern Pentax lenses for digital SLR cameras have seen the elimination of the aperture ring completely as found on Pentax DA and D-FA series lenses. They use the Pentax KAF mount. All of these lenses have an autofocus feature, either operated from the camera body or from an internal SDM motor. Pentax compatible lenses are also made by third-party companies.
The SMC Pentax-DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL lens is a standard zoom lens for the Pentax K-mount. It is often sold as a kit lens with Pentax digital SLR cameras and has a 35mm equivalent focal length of 27–82.5mm. Its optical formula is made of 12 elements in 9 groups. There are two variants of this lens:
The smc Pentax-DA* 55mm f/1.4 SDM lens is a professional prime lens for the Pentax K-mount. It is designed for portrait use with a 35mm equivalent focal length of 82.5mm. The lens features weather sealing, an SDM ultrasonic motor for quiet autofocus, and has 9 rounded diaphragm blades for smoother bokeh. Autofocus speed is similar to an equivalent screwdrive lens.
The Pentax 645 is a medium format single-lens reflex system camera manufactured by Pentax. It was introduced in 1984, along with a complementary line of lenses. It captures images nominally 6 cm × 4.5 cm on 120, 220, and 70 mm film, though the actual size of the images is 56 mm × 41.5 mm.
The smc Pentax-DA 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 ED (IF) Fish-Eye lens is a fisheye zoom lens for the Pentax K-mount. It offers an up to 180 degree view, and allows quick shift focus.
The SMC Pentax-DA 50mm f/1.8 lens is a normal prime lens for the Pentax K-mount. The 75mm equivalent focal length on APS-C cameras and fast f/1.8 aperture make it well suited for portrait photography. It uses a simple double-Gauss design of 6 elements in 5 groups.
The HD Pentax DA 55-300mm lens, is a telezoom lens line for the Pentax K-mount. There are 4 generations so far.
The SMC Pentax-FA 31mm f/1.8 AL Limited is a full-frame moderate wide-angle lens for Pentax K-mount. On an APS-C camera, it gives a normal field of view. It lacks Quick Shift Focus, which is now found on most other Pentax lenses, and therefore does not allow manual focusing while in autofocus mode.
The smc PENTAX-DA* 1:4 300mm ED [IF] SDM is a supertele prime lens for Pentax K-mount. It uses Pentax' silent SDM motor for autofocus on compatible cameras, and has Quick Shift Focus to allow manual adjustments in autofocus mode.
The Pentax K-S2 is a weather-sealed digital SLR camera announced by Ricoh on February 9, 2015. It is the first Pentax SLR to feature an articulated LCD, and it is the smallest DSLR to include this feature and also be weather-sealed. In 2015, the K-S2 won the TIPA Award in the category Best Digital SLR Advanced.
Mr. Jun Hirakawa(平川純) is a Japanese lens designer best known for creating the Pentax FA 43mm Limited and FA 77mm Limited lenses during his time at Pentax.
The smc Pentax-DA 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 ED AL [IF] DC WR is an APS-C standard zoom and high-end kit lens for Pentax DSLRs, introduced in September 2010. As a kit lens, it was the higher-end option for the Pentax K-5, as an alternative to the lower priced SMC Pentax-DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR, and has continued in that role with subsequent Pentax DSLR models. It is also compatible with the K-01 mirrorless camera.
The Pentax smc DA 15mm F4 ED AL Limited is a wide-angle prime lens for Pentax K-mount, announced by Pentax on March 2, 2009. Along with Pentax's other DA Limited primes, it was replaced in 2013 with an HD-coated version with rounded aperture blades.
The DA* 16–50mm lens is a family of professional wide-angle lenses made by Ricoh Imaging. The current version, the HD DA* 16-50mm f/2.8L ED PLM AW, replaced the older smc DA* 16-50mm f/2.8 ED IF SDM lens in 2021.
The smc Pentax-FA 77mm f/1.8 Limited is a prime lens for Pentax K-mount aimed at portrait photography. It was voted "Greatest Pentax Lens of All Time" at Pentaxforums.com.
The Pentax smc DA* 50-135mm F2.8 ED (IF) SDM is an interchangeable camera lens announced by Pentax on February 21, 2007.
The Pentax smc DA* 200mm F2.8 ED (IF) SDM is an interchangeable tele lens for Pentax K-mount, announced by Ricoh on January 23, 2008.
The smc Pentax-F 17–28mm Fish-eye f/3.5–4.5 is the first fisheye zoom lens, manufactured by Pentax for single-lens reflex cameras (SLRs) with a K lens mount. At its widest setting of 17mm, it affords a 180° diagonal angle of view images for all K-mount full-frame SLR cameras; at 28mm, the diagonal angle of view is reduced to 90° on the diagonal. Typical fisheye barrel distortion is evident at all focal lengths. A successor model, the Pentax DA 10-17mm lens, was introduced with the same view angles and closer focusing capability for APS-C cameras in 2006.
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