Pentax M SMC 50mm f1.4 – Legacy 50mm. Which one is the best? Part 9

Pentax SMC M 50mm f1.4 is one of the lenses that I was really interested in. It is supposed to have the same optical formula as a more expensive A-50 F1.4, with some differences in the coating.
Lens has 7 elements in 6 groups all multi-coated and what is intriguing it has 8 aperture blades that opens from f22 to f1.4 at half click stops.
With 37mm length and 235gr it is one of the smallest lenses tested so far. Unfortunately adapter ads significant length to the combo.
Filter thread is 49mm.
Lens is all metal build with rubberized focus ring that takes slightly above 180° for the full turn.
My sample is cosmetically not in the greatest condition but optically and mechanically it is very good. There is slight stiffness on the focus ring, but nothing to worry about. Lens comes with a nice metal cap.Lens and Camera:

Following test shows lens character, color, contrast and out of focus rendition at most apertures. Focusing was at the focus target next to the doll in front. That should be aligned with the dolls right eye in terms of focus plane. Shot from tripod with remote, ISO 100, NEX 7, RAW developed in LR 3.6 with standard settings, exported for downsizing in Photoshop. No other corrections applied.

Sony NEX 7 + Pentax M SMC 50 f1.4 at f1.4

Sony NEX 7 + Pentax M SMC 50 f1.4 at f2

Sony NEX 7 + Pentax M SMC 50 f1.4 at f2.8

Sony NEX 7 + Pentax M SMC 50 f1.4 at f5.6

Sony NEX 7 + Pentax M SMC 50 f1.4 at f8

Sony NEX 7 + Pentax M SMC 50 f1.4 at f11

Sony NEX 7 + Pentax M SMC 50 f1.4 at f16

Sony NEX 7 + Pentax M SMC 50 f1.4 at f22

Here are 100% crops of the focus plane area.

Pentax M 50 f1.4 really shows great center sharpness even wide open at it handles diffraction very well up to f16. At f22 diffraction becomes noticeable but still better than Chinon f1.4 or Minolta f1.4. Colors are rich and nice and contrast very good. There are some signs of a CA wide open, but quite small.

Resolution chart is shown bellow with respectful 100 crops. Please note, that the first column was shot at f/1.4. By mistake, I left description from the previous tested lens. Thank you Jokica, for pointing me to this mistake.

Corner sharpness is also very good wide open and vignetting is minimal and almost disappears at f2.8 and above. This is very good result.

Larger corner softness is visible at the longer distances wide open, but that might be my focus mistake, as the center sharpness is also lower, so take this wide open result with a grain of salt.

There is slight barrel distortion -field irrelevant.

Here are couple of portraits in a natural light without flash.

Sony NEX 7 + Pentax M SMC 50 f1.4 at f1.4

Sony NEX 7 + Pentax M SMC 50 f1.4 at f2.8

Wide open it comes close if not better than Konica Hexanon AR 50mm f1.4 and from f2.8 in terms of sharpness and from f2 it is simply very sharp.

Bokeh:
8 aperture blades makes the highlights looking round wide open and uniform background very smooth and creamy.

Sony NEX 7 + Pentax M SMC 50 f1.4 at f1.4

At f4 bokeh is still very pleasant, but already mentioned Konica Hexanon AR f1.4 does i little better job here.

Sony NEX 7 + Pentax M SMC 50 f1.4 at f4

Being sharp across the frame up to small apertures it is a perfect lens for the landscape if this FL is something you need.

Sony NEX 7 + Pentax M SMC 50mm f1.4 at f5.6

Sony NEX 7 + Pentax M SMC 50mm f1.4 at f8

Conclusion:
Pentax SMC M 50 f1.4  is fantastic 50mm legacy prime. It is small, well built with 8 aperture blades lens that produce great contrast and smooth bokeh. This is certainly the lens to go for, but it has somewhat higher price than Konica Hexanon AR 50 f1.4 which I tend to like just a very tiny bit more.