Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
09-03-2010, 10:03 AM   #1
Pentaxian




Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Palo Alto, CA
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 2,497
FA77mm for M85mm owner?

I just purchased M85/2 (though it yet to reach me). Now I might get an opportunity to purchase FA77mm which is I always wanted. Since I recently purchase M85/2, what would you guys recommend, should I still go ahead and buy FA77mm?

I did search and found someone commenting that both are pretty close in IQ while in some other post, someone was favoring FA77mm. So I really love opinion from someone who have used both.

Thanks

09-03-2010, 10:20 AM - 1 Like   #2
Pentaxian
Asahiflex's Avatar

Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Netherlands
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 2,795
I have both (why not??? ) and for IQ I would rate the FA77 higher, but not by a considerable margin. The M85/2 is very underrated and a joy to use. It has one drawback however: it shows CA easily in difficult lighting conditions (large blobs of blue CA around brighter objects). In normal conditions however, the output is definitely magical.

The first one was definitely shot wide open; the last one I do not remember. Click on the photo to enlarge.





Having said that: the FA77 is definitely better (sharper; less CA). But remember: it's still the photographer who makes the picture
09-03-2010, 10:21 AM   #3
PEG Moderator
Loyal Site Supporter
Kerrowdown's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Highlands of Scotland... "Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand" - William Blake
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 57,760
Buy 'em all, feed your LBA.
09-03-2010, 10:29 AM   #4
Senior Member
foto guy's Avatar

Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Vernon, Connecticut
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 292
I suppose another thing to consider is if you prefer manual focusing or autofocus. My inclination is to advise you to get both and try them out for awhile. If you find you don't use one very much after two months, sell it.

09-03-2010, 10:54 AM   #5
Veteran Member
dgaies's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Maryland / Washington DC
Posts: 3,917
QuoteOriginally posted by foto guy Quote
I suppose another thing to consider is if you prefer manual focusing or autofocus. My inclination is to advise you to get both and try them out for awhile. If you find you don't use one very much after two months, sell it.
If have a chance to get a good deal on the 77, and you can afford to own both (even if it's just while you are deciding which you prefer long-term), then I say go for it. And as foto guy said, you can always sell one later when you figure out which one you prefer.
09-03-2010, 11:20 AM   #6
Pentaxian




Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Palo Alto, CA
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 2,497
Original Poster
Yeah, I agree, that's certainly doable. However, apart from that what makes you get 77mm if one already have m85/2.
09-03-2010, 11:23 AM   #7
Veteran Member
dgaies's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Maryland / Washington DC
Posts: 3,917
QuoteOriginally posted by yusuf Quote
Yeah, I agree, that's certainly doable. However, apart from that what makes you get 77mm if one already have m85/2.
I've never owned the M85/2, but I would assume the most compelling reason to get the 77 over the 85 is if you wanted AF.

09-03-2010, 11:30 AM   #8
Senior Member
sajah's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: South Korea
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 275
Another little advantage of FA 77mm over 85mm F2: you can use internal flash for occassional social snaps. With 85mm F2 the internal flash will always go full power because it can't determine the current aperture setting.
09-03-2010, 11:37 AM   #9
Pentaxian
Asahiflex's Avatar

Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Netherlands
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 2,795
QuoteOriginally posted by sajah Quote
Another little advantage of FA 77mm over 85mm F2: you can use internal flash for occassional social snaps. With 85mm F2 the internal flash will always go full power because it can't determine the current aperture setting.
And of course with the M it isn't possible to use the fancy program modes of our cameras. But Av (provided that you shoot wide open the whole time) or M is your friend.
09-03-2010, 11:45 AM   #10
Veteran Member
Pentaxor's Avatar

Join Date: May 2009
Location: Vancouver, B.C.
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 6,513
I'm in agreement with the idea that the OP should try the 77 first and try to see if he likes it or it meets his demands.

although the easily obvious difference would be in the AF functionality, I dunno if it is particularly important for the OP to which focal length rendering he wants. the M85 has a different rendering than the 77 due to it's focal length implementation.

I tried the FA77 and liked it. I would had gotten myself one at it's existing pricepoint but my focal length preference and use pretty much leaning towards a bit of extra mm perfect and suitable for my portraiture needs and a balance between shallow DOF or bokeh and sharpness.
I own 4 lenses that run across that focal length namely J9, Rok85, M85 and S1-90 which have done some marvelous output. and I'm considering a Sigma 85 as well for that matter. if it doesn't work with the Sigma,I might push for the FA* 85. I'm not saying that the FA77 can't do portraiture, but there is something about the 85mm images that makes it more appealing for my taste.
09-03-2010, 11:54 AM   #11
Ira
Inactive Account




Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Coral Springs, FL
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 5,216
QuoteOriginally posted by sajah Quote
Another little advantage of FA 77mm over 85mm F2: you can use internal flash for occassional social snaps. With 85mm F2 the internal flash will always go full power because it can't determine the current aperture setting.
With the limited range of the onboard flash, this is kind of a non-issue:

If you play around with apertures and shutter speeds for 20 minutes at the ISOs you want to use, it's real easy to come up with the correct combinations to give you good shots in manual mode.

For example:

I'm using an old manual Tak in M mode. I'm at 180 shutter speed, 400 ISO, and 5.6. Flash is up. I shoot. It's perfect, or I'm overexposed, in which case I shift to F8.

This combination will work for me in 90% of indoor shooting situations, give or take a hair or two and bracketing, between a few feet and the maximum footage the flash can handle.

In other words, there are pretty much some standard settings to be used indoors like this, especially when you're metering for skin color and it's percentage of grey. Regardless of the darkness of the room, you're still metering for that skin tone.
09-03-2010, 01:19 PM   #12
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
germar's Avatar

Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: North Palm Beach, Florida
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 728
The FA77 wins.

I sold both my M85/2 AND a Super Tak 85/1.9 to help finance my 77 Lmtd.

I have never looked back.

The 77 felt lighter, more correct on my K20D than the others. And while I would never say anything against the M and the Tak, the boket on the 77 is just plain perfect, critical focus is beyond tack sharp, and the added advantage of autofocus and auto aperture made the expense well worth it.

Some folks feel empowered and really smart taking killer portraits with a relatively inexpensive old lens. I did for a while.... but the ease of taking great images with a fully automatic lens just makes it a no-brainer for me....

Get the FA 77 and don't look back!
09-03-2010, 02:11 PM   #13
Inactive Account




Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 1,972
QuoteOriginally posted by germar Quote
I sold both my M85/2 AND a Super Tak 85/1.9 to help finance my 77 Lmtd.

I have never looked back.

The 77 felt lighter, more correct on my K20D than the others. And while I would never say anything against the M and the Tak, the boket on the 77 is just plain perfect, critical focus is beyond tack sharp, and the added advantage of autofocus and auto aperture made the expense well worth it.

Some folks feel empowered and really smart taking killer portraits with a relatively inexpensive old lens. I did for a while.... but the ease of taking great images with a fully automatic lens just makes it a no-brainer for me....

Get the FA 77 and don't look back!
I couldn't agree with you more. Alternatively, I choose lenses for how they render an image - so that I don't have to do too much in post either and the 77 delivers with ease in this department.

c[_]
09-03-2010, 08:38 PM   #14
Senior Member
sajah's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: South Korea
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 275
QuoteOriginally posted by Ira Quote
With the limited range of the onboard flash, this is kind of a non-issue:

If you play around with apertures and shutter speeds for 20 minutes at the ISOs you want to use, it's real easy to come up with the correct combinations to give you good shots in manual mode.

For example:

I'm using an old manual Tak in M mode. I'm at 180 shutter speed, 400 ISO, and 5.6. Flash is up. I shoot. It's perfect, or I'm overexposed, in which case I shift to F8.

This combination will work for me in 90% of indoor shooting situations, give or take a hair or two and bracketing, between a few feet and the maximum footage the flash can handle.

In other words, there are pretty much some standard settings to be used indoors like this, especially when you're metering for skin color and it's percentage of grey. Regardless of the darkness of the room, you're still metering for that skin tone.
Very nice, thanks! Never really thought to do that. Once, I needed to use flash and I was using a manual M lens. The first thing I tried was dialing down in-camera flash compensation, but it didn't help so I gave up. Shows that I need to experiment more and not giving up too soon

Last edited by sajah; 09-03-2010 at 09:04 PM.
09-04-2010, 07:27 AM   #15
Veteran Member
GeneV's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Albuquerque NM
Photos: Albums
Posts: 9,830
QuoteOriginally posted by sajah Quote
Very nice, thanks! Never really thought to do that. Once, I needed to use flash and I was using a manual M lens. The first thing I tried was dialing down in-camera flash compensation, but it didn't help so I gave up. Shows that I need to experiment more and not giving up too soon
Well, its not just the built-in flash, though. With the M lens, you lose wireless P-TTL with off-camera flash, which is a bigger deal to me. I also find the built-in hood of the FA77 to be a big plus since I change primes frequently and hate keeping up with separate hoods. The convenience of hood use effectively raises lens IQ significantly. If I'm outdoors, I will probably take the M75-150 over the K135 2.5 just because I know that the screw-on hood for the K135 is a PITA and I may not use it where I need it.

I'd still like to have both, but if I passed on one, it would be the M85.

Last edited by GeneV; 09-04-2010 at 07:34 AM.
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
fa77mm, k-mount, m85/2, pentax lens, purchase, slr lens
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Now the FA77mm is assembled in Vietnam henryjing Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 23 04-26-2010 08:36 AM
FA77mm or DA70mm and DA35mm TheTenaciousOne Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 36 09-03-2009 07:18 AM
FA77mm?,Should I keep it? Electric Eye Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 28 06-23-2009 09:35 AM
Dog in Motion or AF with FA77mm lbenac Post Your Photos! 0 04-15-2009 07:17 AM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 01:10 AM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top