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First of all, I must establish that I am a beginner, not a professional or even a dedicated photographer. However, I am a very enthusiastic and meticulous aficionado. I am also a collector, a characteristic that spills over into my photography hobby --I realize now that I am slowly drifting into lens collection. As a collector (mostly of knives, watches, and fountain pens) I have discovered that even good quality production collectibles exhibit variations (each instance is unique), and rarely if ever is a particular kind always reproduced in exactly the same way. I have found out that this is as true of camera lenses as it is of fountain pens, knives or watches. For example, I have three copies of the SMC Takumar 55 mm f/1.8 lens, and each one is slightly or even not so slightly different. Therefore, I am wary of categorically saying anything definitive about any particular production lens, even if general characteristics can indeed be established. Also, as is the case with the performance of other collectibles, one’s appreciation relies more often than not on preferences of a subjective nature: in my case I judge a lens on qualities such as richness of color, depth (3d effects) and bokeh, even though of course I pay attention to rather more “objective” characteristics such as sharpness. To the previous caveats I must add that when judging a lens I find it very hard (perhaps impossible) to judge it in the abstract, without resorting to comparisons with other similar or not so similar lenses. So as a (very personal) benchmark I use my copy of the Pentax SMC-A 50mm f/1.7 lens when judging primes, and my copy of the Sigma 18-250 mm f/3.5-6.3 DC Macro HSM when judging zooms, both of which have yielded superb results for me. Finally, I use exclusively Pentax digital bodies, namely a k-x, a k-30 and a K3. Keep all of the above in mind when I say that I find the Pentax SMCP-FA 50mm f/1.4 to be an almost memorable lens. The build is good, and so are the materials, even if they are mostly plastic. It is small and fairly lightweight, very easy to carry around and unobtrusive. The lens truly shines, however, performance-wise. I find very little to complain about –maybe the autofocus, which sometimes isn’t quite up to par. The colors are deep and rich (true Pentax colors), the contrast wonderful, the bokeh creamy and beautiful. Considering its inherently shallow DOF, it has surprising depth; it is also fast and very, very sharp. Finally, if you take into account that a good copy can be acquired for $ 250 or thereabouts, this lens represents an excellent value.Read full review
I recently bought this lens and used it extensively on my holiday. Before that I used only 18-55 kit lens so it took me a little time to get used to a prime. It's beautifully built. I just love it's small size and compactness. I use Pentax k-x which is small camera so the whole setup is pretty small which makes it perfect for it's main role, portraiture, because you can get close to people without having the effect of a tank barrel in their face. In some reviews I've read that it doesn't have quick shift focus, but it does, so you can adjust focus manually without switching the lens to manual mode. Picture quality is excellent! Not just sharpness, it also renders colors amazingly! And it doesn't need a lot of light to make beautiful photos. It opens really wide so you can go berserk in low light. For me it was great for night street photography. On the down side it is a bit soft wide open but it's not so bad and with a little post processing you can turn this into artsy dreamy stuff. It also has a very shallow depth of field which can work wonders with your artistic ability but you have to be extremely precise and steady with focusing. Another thing i don't like is that in low light conditions sometimes it hunts for focus like a hungry puma and sometimes it even doesn't catch anything. But maybe i was pushing it into conditions where only owls and spiders see anything. Focus is run by a screw from camera body so it makes the usual buzzing sound which some people might find annoying but I almost never notice it. It's a factor only if you like taking some serious up-close photos of people taking naps. I also don't like that it doesn't come with lens hood. Why do manufacturers get cheap on little piece of plastic that makes real difference is beyond me. Compared to my kit 18-55 lens it's much sharper, a lot more versatile (light and depth of field) since it can stop down all the way to 1.4 and I like the fact that it is a prime so you have to engage yourself more for getting that perfect angle. All in all i think it is an amazing lens, especially for it's price tag and I would definitely recommend it! If you think 50mm is for you, don't think any more, go out and get it.Read full review
The FA-50mm f/1.4 is a good fast lens, similar to the M-50mmm f/1.4, which is manual. The only advantage I see over the M lens is that it can focus automatically on a digital camera. Optics are about the same. In fact, I would say that the M lens has a probably better IQ than the FA. However, since I always shoot manual, I see no much difference. The difference in price between the M- and the FA- series lenses is to exaggerated. Overall, I am happy with the purchase. It was delivered quickly.
The FA 50 f/1.4 is a great little lens. The AF is very fast and accurate. Having owned both the Pentax-M 50 f/1.4 and Penatx-A 50 f/1.4, I really wanted an autofocus version of this excellent lens. One of the complaints I had heard about the FA 50 f/1.4 was that it is soft wide open. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it is actually sharp wide open - sharper than either my copies of the M or A versions. It can even rival my F 50 f/1.7. You will, however, notice a reduction in contrast at f/1.4, including what looks like a glow around high-contrast areas. This doesn't ruin the photos, and the effect can actually be pleasant. The bokeh (out of focus rendering) is very pretty, particularly at large apertures. It reminds me of my FA 77 f/1.8 Limited sometimes. The one complaint I have is that my copy won't focus to infinity. It gets to about 30 feet away and stops. I know this can be adjusted by an experienced technician, and I didn't buy this as a landscape lens, so it's not a huge deal for me. But it is annoying. When you consider that the cost of a DA* 55 f/1.4 or Sigma 50 f/1.4 is $200+ more, the price of the FA 50 f/1.4 is also very nice. Highly recommended.Read full review
I own a sports photography company and wanted a good Wide Angle+Fast Prime Lens. This purchase was more of an experiment than necessity. At 2.0 and Smaller the lens is by far the sharpest glass to date. Not too saturated just perfect for group shots at 6.7 - 11. Indoors...dropping from an f2.8 70-200 down to f2.0 50mm is the difference of a door mat to a football field! Sure you don't get as close to the action (get up and move...lazy :P) the only technique that is required is accurately focusing fast action at a razor thin aperture. The auto focus is nowhere near as sharp as old fashion manual focusing, but once you get the hang of focusing you'll love the results. The only draw back I found is the pics are not sharp at sub f2.0 for professional sales. if it was for my kids playing Basketball or wrestling or any indoor sport I'd shoot at f1.4 all day but for resale to the public f2.0 is the fastest with tack sharpness you can go...still f2.0 is fast as heck. check us out a rancierphotography.com.Read full review
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