Non-SMC Pentax Lenses

Virtually all Pentax K-mount lenses have glass elements that been super multi-coated, and therefore carry the designation “SMC.” The few lenses that are not labeled SMC have coated elements, some even with multiple layers, but not with the special seven-layer SMC process.

Pentax sold all of the following lenses, although some may have been manufactured in Taiwan and some by third parties. This was probably a marketing strategy, trying to compete with independent makers in the low-end market.

For example, according to Modern Photography from August 1984, Cosmicar (a Pentax subsidiary in Taiwan and Japan) has manufactured a number of “CPC Phase 2” lenses where CPC stands for Combined Products Corporation.

The following is an abstract from an article by Derek White in Spotmatic magazine, No. 7 (01/96).

Pentax Lens Variants: Non-SMC K-Bayonet Lenses
by Derek White

For many years Asahi Optical have been making closed circuit television (CCT) lenses in many forms, under the trade name Cosmicar. This name was reserved for all such lenses produced. However, in 1984 a budget zoom lens for 35mm SLR’s was introduced. Initially the 35mm-70mm f3.5-f4.8, polycarbonate bodied lens was supplied as part of a kit for the A3, the first integral motor wind body from Pentax. The lens was also available with the Program A and ME Super bodies, but it was not sold on its own. In the UK this lens was called Profile. It was not popular with photographers and was dropped from the Pentax list within a year. However, in Germany and the Netherlands, this lens was available as a separate item for several years where it was marketed under the name MC Cosmicar-A. The lens can also be found secondhand in the UK bearing the name MC Finex, but it has not been possible to ascertain in what countries it was sold under this name when new. The Finex name has also turned up on another popular lens produced by Asahi Optical Co. The 70mm-200mm f4 Takumar-A, which was later changed to Pentax-A, can also be found as an MC Finex. All of these lenses fall within the same serial number range and are not SMC coated. The 70mm-200mm lenses the same serial number range and are not SMC coated. The 70mm-200mm lenses are metal bodied and seem to be of better construction than the 35mm-70mm versions. All were produced with the K_A bayonet mount.