Testing out the new old Pentax-F SMC 50mm 1.4

dubai karama metro station taken with a pentax sfx pentax-f smc 50mm F1.4 autofocus lens with cokinlight 49mm uv filter on a pentax k200d digital slr camera
I recently acquired a new old lens, a Pentax SFX-era F1.4 50mm autofocus from the 1980s. While it is a lens ideally suited for night photography, I recently had the chance to give it a whirl while out and about. Here are a few of the good photos I got.

index tower and burj khalifa shot with a pentax sfx pentax-f smc 50mm F1.4 autofocus lens with cokinlight 49mm uv filter on a pentax k200d digital slr camera
The Index is one of my favourite buildings to look at in Dubai, and not only because a friend of mine lives there. This Foster & Partners building is perfect for the Dubai landscape, with its pleasingly retro angles and box grater shape, its use of textured materials. And yet it’s completely different to the chrome and glass towers that make up most of the city’s skyscrapers. Chief among them is the Burj Khalifa, tallest building in the world, of-late Tom Cruise’s personal dangling venue of choice. I’m fairly indifferent to its design, though I guess it could have been a lot worse.

ras al khaimah emirates road shot with a pentax sfx pentax-f smc 50mm F1.4 autofocus lens with cokinlight 49mm uv filter on a pentax k200d digital slr camera
Despite the modern image of the Emirates being a glass & chrome metropolis, drive a little out of the city and you’ll end up on a road that looks very much like this, no matter where you go…

national paints roundabout traffic jam shot with a pentax sfx pentax-f smc 50mm F1.4 autofocus lens with cokinlight 49mm uv filter on a pentax k200d digital slr camera
…and once you get bored and decide to return to the cities, chances are you’ll end up in a traffic jam that looks very much like this, no matter where you go!

acrobatic jets with smoke trail shot with a pentax sfx pentax-f smc 50mm F1.4 autofocus lens with cokinlight 49mm uv filter on a pentax k200d digital slr camera
It’s a small concession that once every couple of years, when you do get stuck in a traffic jam you at least get to see some aerobatics. (Also, I really, really need to clean all the dust spots from my camera sensor.)

business bay bridge, culture village tower and burj khalifa shot with a pentax sfx pentax-f smc 50mm F1.4 autofocus lens with cokinlight 49mm uv filter on a pentax k200d digital slr camera
The lens, by the way, performs admirably, even shooting straight into the setting sun. You can’t see it at this size and treatment, but I can read the number plates on most of the traffic in this shot.

pentax sfx pentax-f smc 50mm F1.4 autofocus lens with cokinlight 49mm uv filter on a pentax k200d digital slr camera
These last two shots further demonstrate how marvelous this lens has turned out to be. Both of them are shot through a very dirty window, with harsh corridor lights behind and above me casting all manner of reflections on the glass. The second one, in fact, was taken at a sharp glancing angle to the glass. It’s a wonder I managed to get anything at all!