The FA 77mm Limited is the Greatest Pentax Lens

PF Lens Tournament Winner

By cjfeola in Pentax Lens Tournament on Nov 5, 2014

In the end, it wasn't even close: The FA 31mm Limited fell in the final match, just like every other challenger before it, leaving the SMC Pentax-FA 77mm F1.8 the undisputed Greatest Pentax Lens of All Time.

While the final vote was a comfortable 144-121 victory for the 77mm Limited, the voters were anything but comfortable. In fact, many found the choice anguishing...

"Can there be a "both" button? Please?" asked pentaxian Outis.

Of course, pentaxians are always ready to help a fellow in distress. "Owners of the losing lens, please toss them in my direction, whereupon they will be condemned to the flames of Hell an eternity mounted on my cameras," suggested luftfluss.

There were suggestions that violated the rules... "Get both," said pentaxian hoanpham. "But if I have to pick one.. oh my head hurts.."

Four Champions are Crowned

Category winners announced

By cjfeola in Pentax Lens Tournament on Oct 30, 2014

After 21 days and thousands of Pentaxian votes, four champions have emerged:

• The DA 15mm F4 Limited is the Greatest Wide Angle
• The FA 31mm F1.8 Limited is the Greatest Normal
• The FA 77mm F1.8 Limited is the Greatest Short Tele
• The DA* 300mm F4 is the Greatest Telephoto

And yet…there can only be one… the semifinals have just ended, where the two FA Limiteds prevailed. The winners will meet in a final showdown to be name The Greatest Pentax Lens of All Time.

Each champion has proven its merit by vanquishing a string of contenders. The DA 15mm F4 Limited defeated the DA 14/2.8 and the DA 21 3.2 Limited before crushing the FA*24/2 104-31 for the Wide Angle crown.

Despite the margin – or maybe because of it – feelings ran deep for both lenses.

"DA15 is probably the best lens that Pentax have delivered in the last 10 years. For the flare handling alone it slaps the 24 back to obsolete land where it should stay," said pentaxian robbiec, while pentaxian Rondec let a pair of beautiful waterscapes do his talking for him.

Pentaxian Dartmoor Dave was…less impressed. "To really get the DA15 look you have to crank the saturation up to 'ultra-neon' and apply HDR twice, just to make sure you've got it HDR enough. If you can get results that look like no version of reality that anyone has ever experienced without the aid of hallucinogenic drugs, you've nailed it."

Knockout Round 1 Results

Boom goes the dynamite

By cjfeola in Pentax Lens Tournament on Oct 26, 2014

We wanted to take a moment to look back on the results now that the first round of the knockout matches is over in our Pentax Lens Tournament.  As a reminder, the current standings are available here.

DOWN goes the M85 F2, knocked out 139-8 by the FA 77 F1.8 Limited.  The 67 165 F4 LS will be seeing stars for a while after a 78-7 thrashing courtesy of the D FA 100mm Macro WR.

And the first knockout round of the Greatest Pentax Lens Tournament of All Time also saw one big upset: Telephoto seventh seed FA* 200mm F4 Macro comfortably overturned second seed DA* 60-250 F4, 62-43.

The higher seeds prevailed elsewhere, though some of the contests were squeakers. The FA 43mm F1.9 Limited and A 50 F1.2 contest attracted almost 150 votes from Pentaxians, with the Limited winning 78-68. Only one manual focus lens made it to Round Two: the Super Takumar 50mm F1.4. 

Ironically, the M 85 F2 beat three contenders in the play-in tie breaker for the eighth and final see in Short Teles – the M 100 F2.8, FA 645 120 F4 Macro, and FA* 28-70 F2.8 – only to have that fleeting victory run over by a train named the FA 77 F1.8 Limited.

Lens Tournament Knockout Stage

Knockout Round One-Greatest Pentax Lens of All Time Tournament

By cjfeola in Pentax Lens Tournament on Oct 18, 2014

It's time for the knockout stage of our Pentax Lens Tournament!

As a refresher, here's the drill. In each category, as per the nomination stage, the first seed faces the eighth, two goes up against seven, and so forth. The bracket at the bottom of this post will be updated after each match. Voting for each match will be open for 24 hours and announced in advance. The winning lens in each match goes to the next round; the loser goes home. The champions of each bracket will face off in the Final Four: Best Wide-Angle vs. best Telephoto, and best Normal vs. best Short Telephoto. The winners of those two contests will then face off to be named the Greatest Of All Time.

Once our champion lens has been crowned by the residents of PF, we'll move to the giveaway, which will start in November.  More details on that will be posted once our lens tournament wraps up.

Check this post often, as the list of matchups will be updated daily from now until the end of the tournament!  The actual matchups will be held on the forum.

Current Matchups

The tournament has ended, and the FA 77mm Limited is our winner!

Past Matchups

The results for each lens pair can be viewed below:

• Tie-breaker: M 85/2 vs M 100/2.8 vs FA 645 120/4 Macro vs FA* 28-70/2.8
• FA 31/1.8 Limited vs DA* 55/1.4
• DA 15/4 Limited vs DA 14/2.8
• DA* 300/4 vs A* 200/4 Macro
• FA 77/1.8 Limited vs M 85/2
• DA* 60-250/4 vs FA* 200/4 Macro
• DA 21/3.2 Limited vs K 28/3.5
• FA 43/1.9 Limited vs A 50/1.2
• D FA 100/2.8 Macro vs 67 165/4 LS
• DA 12-24/4 vs 10-17 Fisheye
• FA* 24/2 vs FA 20/2.8
• DA 35/2.8 Limited Macro vs M 50/1.7
• Super Takumar 50/1.4 vs A 50/1.7
• FA* 85/1.4 vs A* 85/1.4
• DA 70/2.4 Limited vs K 85/1.8
• DA* 50-135/2.8 Limited vs K 135/2.5
• FA* 300/4.5 vs DA 18-135/3.5-5.6
• DA 15/4 Limited vs DA 21/3.2 Limited
• FA 31/1.8 Limited vs FA 43/1.9 Limited
• FA 77/1.8 Limited vs D FA 100/2.8 Macro WR
• DA* 300/4 vs FA* 200/4 Macro
• FA* 24/2 vs DA 12-24/4
• DA 35/2.8 Macro vs Super Takumar 50/1.4
• DA 70/2.4 vs FA* 85/1.4
• DA* 50-135/2.8 vs FA* 300/4.5
• DA 15/4 vs FA* 24/2
• FA 31/1.8 Limited vs DA 35/2.8 Limited Macro
• FA 77/1.8 Limited vs FA* 85/1.4
• DA* 300/4 vs DA* 50-135/2.8
• DA 15/4 vs FA 31/1.8
• FA 77/1.8 vs DA* 300/4

There can only be one, so good luck! May the best lens win.

Round One Finalists

There can only be one! On to the knockout rounds!

By cjfeola in Pentax Lens Tournament on Oct 17, 2014

Voting is complete in the nomination round of our Greatest Pentax Lens Tournament. With 661 votes placed for 95 different lenses, the FA 31 Limited finished first overall with 69 votes, almost tripling the second place in the Normal category held down by the FA 43 Limited.

Second overall was the FA 77 Limited with 59 votes to lead the Short Telephotos, followed closely by the DA 15 Limited with 52 votes, which did more than triple the 15 votes of the DA 21 Limited in the wides. The DA 300 ruled the telephotos with 40 votes.

With the nominations over, we move to the knockout rounds. First up: The top seeds each face off against the eighth seed in their category. So the DA 15 faces the DA 14/2.8 in the first Wide battle; the FA 31 is challenged by the DA 55/1.4 in the Normal category; and the DA 300 and A* 200/4 Macro throw down to see who advances to the next round. In the Short Teles, meanwhile, top seed FA 77 awaits the results of a play-in round among four tied for eighth: M 85/2, M 100/2.8, FA 28-70 and the 645 FA 120/4 Macro. 

Several Pentaxians asked if zooms weren't at a disadvantage in the nomination round. Probably, but that may well be reversed in the knockout rounds. Sure, you might think the DA 300 is the epitome of telephotos. But if you could only have one, would you go for the performance of the DA 300 or the versatility of the DA 60-250?

Some of the most interesting battles will be in the middle of the field, where fourth and fifth seeds face off. The DA 12-24 goes against the DA 10-17 among the wides, and the Super Takumar 50/1.4 and A 50/1.7 split 31 votes 16/15 among the normals. Perhaps the most interesting contest will be in the Short Teles: fourth seed FA 85/1.4 pulled in 13 nominations to 11 for the A* 85/1.4.

What makes for the greatest lens of all time? For some, it's not the rare glass. Listen to Pentaxian bradshea on the M 50mm F2.

"The lens that launched a thousand photographers. Cheap yet sharp and well built, this entry level optic made every K1000 sold capable of killer shots. Without lenses like these there would be no photographic hobby."