Asahi Pentax 50mm f/1.2 · SMC

{"overview":"The Asahi Pentax 50mm f\/1.2 SMC is a fast standard prime for the K-mount system, sitting at the top of Pentax's manual-focus normal-lens range. With its f\/1.2 maximum aperture and Super-Multi-Coating, it was designed for available-light shooting and shallow depth-of-field work on 35mm SLR bodies. It remains one of the most sought-after fast fifties from the K-mount era, and continues to attract collector interest today.","market_narrative":"At recent UK auction, hammer prices for the 50mm f\/1.2 SMC have ranged from £130 to £288 across the two recorded sales, giving a midpoint around £209 in 2026. The wider spread reflects how much condition drives value at saleroom level — clean, haze-free copies sell for a clear premium, while examples with optical or mechanical faults tend to sit at the lower end. Buyers should remember these are wholesale auction results rather than retail dealer prices, so what a tidy example is worth on a shop shelf will typically be higher.","buying_guide":"Inspect the front and rear elements carefully for fungus, haze and cleaning marks, all of which are common in fast Pentax primes of this age and have an outsized effect on price. Check the aperture blades for oil and confirm they snap cleanly across the full range, and rotate the focus ring through its travel to feel for stiffness, dry grease or grittiness. Coating scratches and any sign of element separation around the cemented groups will significantly reduce value, so look obliquely under a strong light before committing.","specs":"Key specifications from the supplied data are limited to the 50mm focal length, f\/1.2 maximum aperture and Pentax SMC (Super-Multi-Coated) optical treatment in K-mount form.","faq":[{"q":"What is an Asahi Pentax 50mm f\/1.2 SMC worth in the UK?","a":"Recent UK auction hammer prices have ranged from £130 to £288, so most clean copies are worth somewhere in the £200 region depending on glass and mechanical condition."},{"q":"How much does a Pentax 50mm f\/1.2 SMC sell for at auction?","a":"The two recorded UK saleroom results sit at £130 and £288, with the higher price reflecting a cleaner example and the lower price typical of a copy with cosmetic or optical issues."},{"q":"Why is the price range so wide for this lens?","a":"Fast f\/1.2 primes are particularly sensitive to haze, fungus and oily aperture blades, so the gap between a faulty example and a clean one drives most of the variation in value."},{"q":"Are these auction prices what a dealer would charge?","a":"No — the figures above are UK auction hammer results, which exclude commission and sit below typical retail dealer asking prices for the same lens in comparable condition."}],"confidence":40,"reasoning":"Only two sales records are available and the SPECS and variants arrays are empty, so confidence is capped per rule 8."}