[Allison]

I am in love with both the 77 and the 43...I also love my zooms. Like the OP I was really reluctant to purchase a prime. I had the fa50 1.4, but it just wasn't what I shot with most. Then I decided that I needed a macro for detail shots at weddings and that led me to thinking that if I found the 77 at the right price I would try it for portraits. Once it arrived, I was done for. For my portraits, it is my go to lens. I will admit the for an everyday lens I turn more to the 43. I am just really in love with the focal length of the 43 because it is just slightly wider than the 50. I don't know about best lens ever from any manufacturer, but in pentaxland, the fa limiteds would rank very high. Which one is "best" depends on your shooting style.

[nmrecording]

I prefer primes because I really believe it pushes me as a photographer to discover new things. I think its all about just grabbing a lens and forcing yourself to work within its limitations. I will often bring a few primes with me just for those 'have to grab' shots, but for the most part, my lens is predetermined before I head out the door that day, not when I'm staring straight at the subject.

Try it sometimes, you will push the boundaries and learn a lot opposed to just adjusting the zoom and repeating the same old tactics.

[lesmore49]

I dunno...I chose a Pentax 70mm F 2.4 Limited. I'm very happy with this lens.

[John Poirier]

I read an article online today that compared a bunch of prime lenses, and to make a long story short, the end conclusion was him saying the 77 limited was the greatest prime lens EVER. Not just Pentax, but all manufacturers. (forgive me for not having the link readily available to share. It's extremely deep in my web history.) I wish I was more of a prime shooter, and could actually justify the $800 for this lens, just to try it out. I guess I'm just lazy, but I love my zooms. I tried liking prime lenses, but it was an inconvenience to have to swap lenses so much. I had the FA 50 f/1.4 , mitakon 85 f/2.0 , and Tamron 90 f/2.8 di sp macro. I've since sold every one of them. I know some people who swear by primes and that's all they prefer to shoot. I wish I had the discipline for a prime lens. The 77 limited is really tempting me to give primes another chance. Any body been in this situation before ? How did you handle it ? Any 77 owners out there that care to help me in either direction ? To buy or not to buy ? I'd hate to spend $800 on a lens and it merely collect dust in my bag. Thanks in advance for all your input & advice.

Buy one but don't use it. Just brag about it.

Say it's so good that you are too humble to sully it by taking pictures. Every chance you get, post about how you can see its superiority just by looking through the viewfinder. Tell everyone, time after time, that if you were to use it, you would never stop it down because the bokeh wide open is so cosmic. And cap it by saying that you will never use that puppy until Pentax produces a 40 megapixel full frame body that is worthy of the lens.

Come on, stop fooling around and be a real expert! Surely that's worth $800.

[Sandy Hancock]

I don't know about the best ever, but it's the lens in my line-up which most frequently makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
Some recent examples during a dress rehearsal for a local production of Les Misérables.

[selar]

All the FA limiteds have something magical about them. They all have their own flavour of magic. But having used all of them, I would say that the 77 is the chief wizard.

[miltona580]

I don't think its the best ever. It's probably not even the best Pentax portrait lens (that's the FA* 85). However, it is only slightly worse than the FA* 85 in my opinion, and is the best current production portrait lens. I'd call it extremely good - not the best, but very good.

[nulla]

I rate each of the 3 limiteds the best lenses in their range of any lenses I have used. The FA77 is the least used of the three but it never ceases to amaze. Its just that I shoot more with the FA43 and FA31 as wide is my preferred focal length.

[bossa]

I don't know about the best ever, but it's the lens in my line-up which most frequently makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
Some recent examples during a dress rehearsal for a local production of Les Misérables.

Great shots but the worst cases or Purple Fringing I've ever seen.

[Sandy Hancock]

Great shots but the worst cases of Purple Fringing I've ever seen.

Uhhh, I think that may be the lighting

[bossa]

Uhhh, I think that may be the lighting

Of course it was.. I was just taking the p*ss....

PS: BTW, I found that AV cable for the K-5 you bought from me if you want it?

[GSiGuy]

Not sure if it's the greatest but i fell in love with it when i saw these pics i took...

I've fallen in Love...

Sorry its not that i'm lazy replicating the pics from my local sub-forum but it seems pictures i upload from flickr to here all tend to lose sharpness... is this a problem or am i imagining it?

[Class A]

The notion of "the best" is flawed without specifying a usage context. As it has been pointed out before, there are better lenses for close up work or for birding, etc.

Regarding portraits, the FA 77/1.8 surely is a very nice lens with very nice OOF rendering but perhaps its inconspicuous size and the great build quality are its main advantages over competitor lenses. The FA 77/1.8 clearly has quite a PF problem and I don't find that it automagically turns every shot into a work of art. I find that other lenses I own more consistently create a WOW factor. Maybe I haven't used my FA 77/1.8 enough yet, but it hasn't quite lived up to my (very high) expectations yet.

Competitors I can think of are the Sony/Minolta STF 135/2.8 whose bokeh is out of this world. Also the Samyang 85/1.4's bokeh is at least as good as that of the FA 77/1.8 for a fraction of the price. Both of these are MF lenses, though.

[nulla]

The notion of "the best" is flawed without specifying a usage context. As it has been pointed out before, there are better lenses for close up work or for birding, etc.

Regarding portraits, the FA 77/1.8 surely is a very nice lens with very nice OOF rendering but perhaps its inconspicuous size and the great build quality are its main advantages over competitor lenses. The FA 77/1.8 clearly has quite a PF problem and I don't find that it automagically turns every shot into a work of art. I find that other lenses I own more consistently create a WOW factor. Maybe I haven't used my FA 77/1.8 enough yet, but it hasn't quite lived up to my (very high) expectations yet.

Competitors I can think of are the Sony/Minolta STF 135/2.8 whose bokeh is out of this world. Also the Samyang 85/1.4's bokeh is at least as good as that of the FA 77/1.8 for a fraction of the price. Both of these are MF lenses, though.

AF to me is a big factor when comparing lenses, as is build quality.

cheers

Neil

[bossa]

I have a silver FA 77 Limited MADE IN JAPAN listed in my marketplace sale and have not had one inquiry about it.. so much for the greatest blah blah...

cheers