FA*85mm or 77mm ltd

kunik · 10-28-2009, 10:53 PM

I do weddings in Southern California which means 90% of my work is on the beach and I shoot F2.8 zooms - but recently I've been picking up more church weddings so I've been renting some fast Canon lenses to go on my Canon body. But I've been thinking about getting something fast for the Pentax body and I'm interested to see some examples of these two lenses shot wide open. I have the 43ltd and if the 77 is comparable to the 43 then I know I will be happy with it at F1.8 but I'm curious to see how the 85 looks at 1.4.

malakola · 10-29-2009, 01:39 AM

FA 77/1.8 @1.8

for original
Flickr Photo Download: _IMG0104

FA* 85/1.4 @ 1.4

for original
Flickr Photo Download: _IMG0090

mcjm78 · 10-29-2009, 01:52 AM

I don't have the pic to show, but I'll say get the 85. You will benefit from faster AF.

*Votesh* · 10-29-2009, 02:21 AM

Both from the FA* 85mm at f1.4. I love it and its great, even wide open.

kunik · 10-29-2009, 08:37 AM

Originally Posted by Votesh

Both from the FA* 85mm at f1.4. I love it and its great, even wide open.

beautiful photos. Any chance you can give me an original or show my a crop of the in-focus area. Its sometimes tough to judge a lens with photos at screen resolution.

kunik · 10-29-2009, 08:38 AM

Originally Posted by malakola

FA 77/1.8 @1.8

FA* 85/1.4 @ 1.4

Great stuff - so maybe I should just get both like you have eh

Urkeldaedalus · 10-29-2009, 08:43 AM

At a recent wedding, I used my 77 mm as my Mobile Candid Snapper(™) after the ceremony was completed. I had just gotten done using the DA*200 to take pictures during the ceremony, so the thing that struck me the most was how light, compact and responsive the 77mm really feels when you pair it with the K-7. Although, in fairness, I think most primes would feel light compared to the DA*200

I used the 77 mostly at 2.2-2.8 during the wedding, but here's an image I took wide open:

**roentarre** · 10-29-2009, 04:40 PM

Seriously, there is little difference between the two lenses.

Fa 85mm f1.4 suffers propensity to metallic paint loss and its hunting autofocus is quite a problem even in bright day light. It is heavy and it becomes an annoying lens to carry after the hype settles.

Fa 77mm f1.8 ltd is lighter, performs well even at f1.8 and it is a much cheaper alternative comparing to Fa 85mm.

Bokeh is often misinterpreted as brighter the better kind of thing.

Lowell Goudge · 10-29-2009, 04:48 PM

interesting discussion.

1 set head to head prints, but in web format I would say sharpness is a tie. Bokeh and background details are different, and that confuses thngs. Where did the bright out of focus circle of light come from in the shot with the FA85? Was there that much difference in field of view from 10% change in focal length?

2 perspectives on AF, 1 says the FA 85 has faster AF the other that it hunts

One point of real comon sence here, the 77 F1.8 is a lot cheaper than the FA85.

(i won't even mention my vivitar 85 F1.4)

kunik · 10-29-2009, 08:25 PM

Originally Posted by roentarre

Seriously, there is little difference between the two lenses.

Fa 85mm f1.4 suffers propensity to metallic paint loss and its hunting autofocus is quite a problem even in bright day light. It is heavy and it becomes an annoying lens to carry after the hype settles.

Fa 77mm f1.8 ltd is lighter, performs well even at f1.8 and it is a much cheaper alternative comparing to Fa 85mm.

Bokeh is often misinterpreted as brighter the better kind of thing.

I wonder if the AF continues to be a problem on K-7 for the 85mm?

Thanks for the input

I lean slightly towards slightly longer and slightly wider aperture for what I want but I realize the difference is small... and even for a business expense there is still a finite funding source so the 77 starts to look good there. Just a tough decision to make here.

malakola · 10-30-2009, 09:44 AM

FA 77/1.8 @ 1.8

FA* 85/1.4 @ 1.7

FA* 85/1.4 @ 1.4

get original size here

**roentarre** · 10-30-2009, 07:23 PM

Originally Posted by Lowell Goudge

interesting discussion.

1 set head to head prints, but in web format I would say sharpness is a tie. Bokeh and background details are different, and that confuses thngs. Where did the bright out of focus circle of light come from in the shot with the FA85? Was there that much difference in field of view from 10% change in focal length?

2 perspectives on AF, 1 says the FA 85 has faster AF the other that it hunts

One point of real comon sence here, the 77 F1.8 is a lot cheaper than the FA85.

(i won't even mention my vivitar 85 F1.4)

Fa* 85 is not fast in autofocus speed. Just brighter and so what. (I felt cheated when buying this so called gem to use and tried to love it for a few months).

The person that was a strong defender of this Fa* 85mm f1.4 is now using nikon FF D3 with 85mm f1.4. Yet, that nikon lens is a flat rendering lens but still more usable because it actually has accurate autofocus.

f1.4 is really designed for getting sharp images from compromised lighting in the old days. The background bokeh is never the strength of Pentax except foreground bokeh. So the comparison is going to demosntrate the common flaw: harsh specular highlights, crescent shaped highlight, contrasty shadow bokeh etc.

The beauty of Fa* 85 is its PF capability.

Now who said I was a fan boy?

MikePerham · 10-31-2009, 10:57 AM

I do not own the FA* 85/f1.4 but I do have the FA77 Limited. The 77 is a gem, IQ, bokeh and build are superb, and as to the debate on which has faster AF, I think the point is purly academic. My 77 snaps into focus quickly and I doubt one is better or worse than the other in real world usage, although I have heard the 85 tends to hunt on occasion and I have not experienced that with the 77.