Originally posted by GlennG I have read these types of posts for years and have struggled a bit with the differences between the DA Limiteds and FA Limiteds... In general (very general) the "trends" that I think I can see people saying is that the FA's are sharper at peak, have more unique character, and may have more optical "flaws", along with being a little faster. The DA's have been described as more even, well balanced, controlled, digital, but also slightly less unique in the artistic department, along with being a little slower - just really good without being special.
Pretty much agree, with a couple of remarks:
1. Without making technical measurements, ie. deriving from subjective comparisons of many real-life photos taken, I've found the sharpness of DA35 LTD to be in the same league as FA43 - that is to say, unbelievable.
2. "... really good without being special"... Well, as mentioned, I have not seen anything, whether outside Pentax or inside, that gives the DA LTD "look" - its amazing colours, tremendous clarity, superb micro-contrast, overall picture contrastiness (see how it handles shadows, as just one example), and the way it renders fine detail. I find this "look" very beautiful indeed, and unique - don't see it elsewhere. In my book, that's special!
---------- Post added 11-17-14 at 06:34 PM ----------
Originally posted by GeneV I have both the DA70 and the FA77, and use them both. I could go into the details of why, but basically I like the DA better for places and things, and the FA for people.
In using both the FA and DA Limiteds, I've frequently found one or the other best suited to a given scene. I've trained my eye to discern, and choose accordingly. To me, it's often a case of different work for different lens-family.
---------- Post added 11-17-14 at 06:41 PM ----------
Originally posted by Mikesul ...Especially at this level of quality each lens has characteristics which make it special. So it is not possible to say that one is better or that one can be dispensed with.
Agree fully.
As I mentioned immediately above, I've found that there's enough work for everyone - it's not a case of choosing the FA LTD lens-family over the DA LTDs, or vice versa - there's different work best suited for the strengths of each lens family. I personally would not, and indeed cannot, discard either lens family - they're both special and needful. (In so saying, I acknowledge that cost is always a real concern for most of us, and these lenses aren't cheap - no offence intended).
On a related note, this is why I've also posted, elsewhere in this forum, that it's really quite meaningless to say which of the three FA Limiteds is supreme.