Pentax 6x7 35mm f/4.5 Fisheye
Something is smelling a little fishy…
A fisheye for medium format with built in filters, 8 diaphragm blades and one of the lightest weights among medium format fisheyes!
11 elements in 7 groups of Pentax goodness
Pentax 35mm 4.5 optical layout, from lens-db.com
I have 2 copies of this lens, an earlier one with some pretty bad seperation and its also missing the black cover for the internal filters, and one later copy in great condition. Images are from both lenses. The lens with seperation will be the the images with fairly heavy flare, you will not see this on a good copy as this copy flares heavily due to the internal reflections caused by the seperation.
This lens features colored filters which are mounted on a turret inside the lens. These help immensely for black and white as because of the curved nature of the front element there is no filter threads on this lens. It comes with 3 color filters and one Nuetral/Clear/UV Filter, the colors are: Yellow, Orange, Red. These are selectable from the metal collar near the front of the lens and the selection of the filter clicks into place nicely.
On the Left: Zodiac 30mm f/3.5, on the Right: SMC Pentax 67 35mm f/4.5
Both copies of the lens feel very well built and also feel like they have tighter tolerances compared to most of the lenses in the lineup. The focus ring is really precise on both copies, and the filter mechanism works beautifully. The front cap just stays on with friction, so as these lenses are getting older and the internal felt is compacting over time, it can cause the front caps to come off easily.
The lens claims to have a 180 degree diagonal FOV but in reality and especially when not focused at infinity it does not feel anywhere near as wide. I am not sure if this is due to focus breathing or whether the lens really only covers more close to a 170 or 160 degree FOV. This still puts it as the widest lens Pentax offered for the Pentax 6x7. The only wider lens that I have been able to find in Pentax 6x7 is a Zodiak 30mm fisheye that has been custom converted to Pentax 6x7 from its original (Either Kiev or Pentacon) mount. (I own one of the converted 30mm lenses, I may do a review of it at some point)
The lens can sort of be used as a standard wide angle lens in a pinch under certain circumstances, the bend from the fisheye is not so extreme with this lens. In some cases it can look extreme and in others much more tame.
This is one of my favorite lenses to have in my bag with me when I take my 6x7. The pure fun factor combined with useability as a wide angle in a pinch and built in filters makes it a great buy for the system if you like wide angles/fisheyes and shooting B+W. It is quite light compared to other fisheyes for medium format and has quite nice handling. Considering all of this, it still is more of a specialty lens and its definitely not needed for a good Pentax 6x7 kit especially considering its price compared to other lenses in the system. This lens proposes a really good value for the money when it comes the medium format fisheye lenses, the only cheaper options are the Zodiak or Arsat 30mm Fisheye lenses. These Pentax Fisheye lenses can be found anywhere from 350-600$ (late 2024) depending on the version and condition.
There are some negatives to this lens. There is some desire for just the tiniest bit of sharpness overall but I find the lens more than satisfactory for most shots. The large front element makes it easy to touch or scratch it if you are not careful, and the fact that there is no lens hood on it makes it much easier to bump the front element into things when you are walking. Because there is no hood, it makes it easier to get flaring from the sun in the sides of the frame even if its not in the image. I try and keep the lens cap on as much as I can with this lens, but it slides off easily from the felts age and is quite large. Because of its design, you cannot mount standard filters, it might be possible to do a gel in the rear, but other than the built in filters (which really should be enough) you are sort of limited.
The lens is really fun even with some of its shortcomings, and to be honest the results from this lens are more than satisfactory and gives you a look on 6x7 that is pretty hard to replicate in any other way. In my opinion, it is worth every penny and a great addition to a 6x7 kit!
