[SaikouShadou]

i like reviews with images to back it up =)

[Lowell Goudge]

I've seriously got to wonder if some people just want to skew the averages on some lens reviews to make themselves feel more important or vent their anger at Pentax for other perceived slights:

SMC Pentax-FA 31mm F1.8 AL Limited Reviews - FA Prime Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database

Sure, not everyone is going to adore the 31mm Limited (I personally don't like the 77mm), but without any Pros or Cons listed - how does the math of averages on this work?

• Sharpness: 5
• Aberrations: 5
• Bokeh: 7
• Autofocus: 6
• Handling: 6
• Value: 1
• Overall Rating: 3

Seems like it's time for the lens reviews section to have a little "built in calculator" for the math-challenged.

I think the issue is what I have discussed many many times before.

You cannot consider the rating without considering the price you paid. If you paid $50 for the 31mm limited you would have a considerably different view of the overall rating.

What you really need to consider , I think in any rating system, is a technical merit, lens quality, IQ, color edge sharpness, etc... then a usefulness rating, perhaps one for film one for cropped sensors, because the usefulness of the lens could be a function of sensor, and then a value for money rating.

T technically excellent lens at a focal length that has little or no use, is a low rated lens regardless of price.

[eddie1960]

The reviewer actually made points that backed up his impression of the lens, the main issue i have is the overall rating is off compared to the other scores. The FA31 isn't the lens for everyone. I'd rather see a review like his than a wow this is the best lens blah blah and a rating or 9 or 10 from someone who say has only owned a kit lens before getting that 55 f2
I generally take the review section with a grain of salt particularly the numbers if a lens has had few reviews. for lenses with a lot of reviews the averages may be of value because the harsh reviews cancel out the non judgmental.

[luftfluss]

I think the larger point is that if you add up the various individual characteristic ratings, and then divide by the number of characteristics, you get an overall rating of "5" not 3. This reviewer goes on and on about Nikon primes and how expensive the 31mm limited is compared to the Sigma 30mm 1.4, but never says why, overall, the lens scores lower than the average of its other ratings...

So, with this obvious numeric disparity, I'm left to imagine the Overall Rating given is a "stomp my little feet" reaction to being disappointed in the price-performance ratio of the lens... which was apparently also "tried out" for a long time, and paid for over an equally long time (don't we all wish we could do that?). That's just confusing, so I can see where a calculator might help.

As I stated in my previous post, there's nothing that says each category needs to be weighted equally. I honestly don't see what the problem is.

[panoguy]

i like reviews with images to back it up =)

+1

You cannot consider the rating without considering the price you paid. If you paid $50 for the 31mm limited you would have a considerably different view of the overall rating.

Well, of course this is quite true, which is why I brought up the idea of dissatisfaction with a perceived price-performance ratio. So I guess that $690 AU is a very high price for this lens in Australia?
That explains it.

[Lowell Goudge]

Well, of course this is quite true, which is why I brought up the idea of dissatisfaction with a perceived price-performance ratio. So I guess that $690 AU is a very high price for this lens in Australia?
That explains it.

we have had this discussion before on the forums. Unless you get a real piece of $#|+ of a lens, just about any lens at a fair market value should get a 7. Only turkeys perform below this, or lenses where you over pay. To get above 7 needs to either be a really low price, or exceptional performance of the lens itself

[sinus007]

Hi,
With all due respect to Trysaeder (reviewer), I'd rather go with the opinion of photozone ( Pentax SMC FA 31mm f/1.8 AL Limited - Retest ). In vast majority of the cases their review go along with average opinion here.

[Sol Invictus]

Hi,
With all due respect to Trysaeder (reviewer), I'd rather go with the opinion of photozone ( Pentax SMC FA 31mm f/1.8 AL Limited - Retest ). In vast majority of the cases their review go along with average opinion here.

Holy cow, Photozone couldn't have timed that review better!