[Fat Albert]

The more I read about these two, the more torn I am.

I have very limited PP ability / means at the moment, and I don't see that changing within the next 8 months. Ergo, I'm more inclined to take the DA 70, simply because the lens will produce what I want from it, without having to drag my pics through PP. I am currently a jpeg shooter with extremely little free time on my hands. The superior CA and quick/accurate AF draw me to the 70. The 77's allure is a bit more difficult to quantify but I think we all know what it is. Now given my situation, is "it" worth $400 more, along with the 77 often being described as a more "temperamental" performer? FWIW, I love my DA 21/35 but am still warming up to my FA 43--in terms of saturation, colors, etc.

[Sandy Hancock]

For your needs and budget, go for the DA70. It is a marvellous little lens.
I had both for a while and decided to keep the FA77, but that's a different set of circumstances.

[wed7]

Get the 70, it is an amazing lens.

[todd]

with extremely little free time on my hands.

Just playing a little devils advocate for you, but why not just hold off until you have more time to be able to use whatever you purchase? Things can change a lot in 6 to 8 months.. Things like warming up to the FA43 so much that you just have to get its big brother.

[luftfluss]

I really like my DA70, too.

[JJJPhoto]

I had the DA70 and LOVED the DA70. Then I got the FA77 and I couldn't sell the DA70 fast enough.

The DA 70mm delivers better edge-to-edge sharpness in terms of having the same sharpness across the entire frame, but the FA 77mm is "noticeably sharper" than the 70mm in the center and "just a little softer" than the 70mm at the extreme edges.

Since I consider the 70mm and 77mm to be portrait lenses I don't really care that much about the extreme edges of the frame (I don't put my subjects there). The 77mm was originally designed for film so it has a little worse CA but that is easy to fix in Photoshop. I can get rid of CA but I can't create detail that wasn't recorded.

The DA70 has slightly faster AF because of a shorter focus throw but the 77mm is still reasonably fast on my K-5 IIs and K-7 bodies.

Taken with the DA70:


Taken with the FA77:

[stevebrot]

Now given my situation, is "it" worth $400 more, along with the 77 often being described as a more "temperamental" performer?

I am not sure about the temperamental claim. I own the FA 77/1.8 and there is nothing complicated about it. It simply delivers. Regarding AF, the DA 70 has quick-shift. It may be marginally quicker to focus, but focus speed has never been an issue for me with the FA 77. In regards to CA, I would refer you to the photozone.de reviews for both lenses*. At this point you are supposed to interject, "But the FA 77 has terrible PF!" I have owned mine for several years and can honestly say that PF is not a presenting and consistent feature of this lens.

I know you have your doubts, but I have actually tried to get a series of photos showing the kind of terrible PF that this lens is supposedly capable of. My intent was to see, once in for all, whether I can capture that PF on film. Sorry to say, I have had only mixed success. After trying the usual subjects (white fabric in full sun, back-lit branches, sunlit chrome, rippled water) I was finally able to reliably get PF with flash on crumpled aluminum foil, 2 stops over-exposed. I will find out if it shows on film when I get the film back.

Now the big question remains? Is the extra 1.5 stops worth $400? I wish I could tell you. I got my FA 77 in a once-in-a-lifetime deal, brand new with full warranty (+ additional 3 years) for $500.


Steve

* The DA 70 has significant LaCA (about twice that of the FA 77) and PF on the sample photos.

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Last edited by stevebrot; 09-18-2014 at 08:58 PM.

[hcc]

Both the DA70mm Ltd and FA77mm Ltd are great lenses.

While some Pentax users might like to compare them and fault one or the other, the plain fact is that both lenses are great and the envvy of others. The FA77mm was once terms the Best (Autofocus) Lenses Money Can Buy, across all brands: sm-02-05-02. The DA70mm is a great pancake lens with character.

Let us conclude here this thread and acknowledge our luck, we Pentax users, to have such a great choice....

My 5 cents.

[calsan]

I prefer good performance in bright sunlight, so I would always pick a pancake, when available.

[Fat Albert]

Just playing a little devils advocate for you, but why not just hold off until you have more time to be able to use whatever you purchase? Things can change a lot in 6 to 8 months.. Things like warming up to the FA43 so much that you just have to get its big brother.

I'm not sure if I have the patience to wait. This thread is making it even more difficult for me to decide!

[TER-OR]

If it were my choice, I'd go pancake. Portability and quick focus are something to consider, as are the novel and less intimidating nature of the pancake lenses. People are curious about them. For portraiture, both are probably good. For me I'd probably go with a DA40 over the 70 or 77 - but I don't take portraits except in very casual environments.

Are either of these going to give you much more than your FA43 in real world applications? Or your 55mm manual focus, which for controlled portraits should be very nice. I'm just curious what drives the push for a 70mm range lens.

[kh1234567890]

The only CA problem I could ever see with the DA70 is 'bokeh fringing' when wide open :




Otherwise it is a great little lens although the focal length takes a bit of getting used to.

[todd]

without having to drag my pics through PP

I'm not sure if I have the patience to wait. This thread is making it even more difficult for me to decide!

Well I tried the only way I could to make it easier, so now I will add to the making it more difficult crew... Maybe making it more difficult will help you to hold off! hahaha...

Why did you get the FA43? To me, the special rendering it has is very similar to the 77. The more time I spent browsing 31/43/77 images online, the less the higher cost of these lenses mattered to me and the more I had to have them. They are simply worth it imho (although I bought them used lol)...

I don't think one has to post process more with these lenses. If anything it's less pp for me, at least as far as fixing things go with the 77. I process everything a lot though so I am not really one to talk. Steve made a good argument but even if there is some PF/CA, you're probably just one shortcut method away of quickly fixing it, depending on the tool.

And to leave off I went and found an FA77@f1.8 image to share.. Nothing special but essentially SOOC jpeg... Just resized and a touch of wavelet sharpen in gimp.

[bpv_UW]

I am not sure about the temperamental claim. I own the FA 77/1.8 and there is nothing complicated about it. It simply delivers.

Fully agree with this. It focuses accurately on my k5 and delivers stunning results with not much need for PP (especially portraits). I have seen PF from time to time, but rarely has it affected the image in meaningful way.

Only you can decide if the 77 is worth the $400 premium. But I'll say this: whenever I find myself thinking about other systems, it's the images I get with the 77 that really give me pause (and I own the 31 and 43 as well).

Brandon

[Outis]

I ended up getting the 77 over the 70 because of the smoother bokeh. I haven't had a chance to try out the lens much at this point, though.