Pentax SMCP-FA 50mm f/1.4 Lens by Pentax
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Digital camera reviews of Pentax SMCP-FA 50mm f/1.4 Lens
Digital camera Review: Good, but has limitations opened beyond f2.8
Summary: 4 Stars
I don't to duplicate everything that dpreview did for this lens. They have an excellent review with detailed analysis of this lens.
http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/pentax_50_1p4_p15/
Some quoted highlights:
Pros:
* Excellent image quality when stopped down to F2 and smaller
* Very low lateral chromatic aberration
* Almost no rectilinear distortion
Cons:
* Very soft wide open
* Extremely 'busy' rendition of out-of-focus backgrounds at wider apertures (larger than F2.8)
* Bokeh chromatic aberration, most visible at wide apertures (F1.4-F2.8)
Short is that this is a very good lens, but if you want the best pictures you will want to not use it higher then f2.8. The sigma 50mm F1.4 HSM for pentax would give you better wide aperature performance, but you will pay for that as well.
Digital camera Review: Great Lens
Summary: 4 Stars
For a very inexperienced photographer, this lens was a good purchase. I recommend getting a prime lens to force you to move when composing your shots. And this lens has such a great depth of field when wide open, you can get really creamy shots. I'm really happy with the performance as well. When shooting faces, everything was very sharp and looked really great. The construction knocks off 1 star. The aperture ring can shift a tiny bit so that the camera thinks it isn't on automatic. You have to twist the ring back over to get it to register. I only have to do this a couple of times, but it's worth noting. The autofocus can be finicky if you're trying to shoot in really low light.Digital camera Review: Great Lens!!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great lens. I was hesitant about getting an older lens that was under $200 (iffy quality?!) but was pleasantly surprised when I got the lens and it really was worth every penny. As some others have mentioned, the lens may be a bit soft, but overall the lens does just what you'd think it should. Great low light shots can be achieved with this lens while still hand holding the camera, a feature I really like. Also, it really is amazing how small of a depth of field you can get with this lens if you want. Overall I recommend this to anyone with a Pentax DSLR as a great lens to add to your set.Digital camera Review: Great Lens--if the price is right
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this lens a little under 2 months ago for 2-fifty slightly less than 2 months ago. At that price it is one of the great camera deals period.
It seems someone has bought up the remaining supply of FA 50's and is playing the extortion game. For 3-fifty I would still get it but I am partial to FA's because they work perfectly with my PZ-70 film body.
If I was digital only I would look at the DA* 55, which in comparisons I've seen is a cut above the FA 50--and that is saying a lot. Plus the DA* is weather sealed.
The current price of being greater than a 77mm Limited is just nuts.
Digital camera Review: Great Portrait Lens!
Summary: 5 Stars
Becomes a 75mm lens when used with an APS-C sensor camera. It's not bad wide open, but use this lens stopped down to f/2 or greater for the best quality! This is the best value 50mm lens made and possibly the best 50mm currently made today.