[wa5am]

WOW!! What beautiful photos from all. Thanks very much for posting/linking them. I am now convinced that I will love this lens. Can't wait to get it ...next week!!

Thanks everyone!

Morg

[Syb]

Will you show us your work with the lens, too?

[NaClH2O]

I just ordered the Pentax SMCP-FA 77mm f/1.8 Limited and sure hope I didn't make a mistake. I've looked and looked at reviews, comments, about various primes in this focal length for about a week and a half, and decided this one might be the best bang for the buck. I'd really like to hear from those who have this lens with comments good or bad. I could always send it back and exchange it from another...

Thanks,

Brian "Morg"

Well if this link won't convince you that you made a good purchase, nothing will
sm-02-05-02

To quote Ari, one of the sales people at Adorama (brick and mortar) "What's with this lens? We can never keep it in stock for more than three days!" (he's a Nikon shooter)

NaCl(If I had a "favorite lens" this one would definitely be in the running)H2O

[Pål Jensen]

To cite Monty Python: This lens is good enough for Jehovah.....

[roentarre]

Well if this link won't convince you that you made a good purchase, nothing will
sm-02-05-02

To quote Ari, one of the sales people at Adorama (brick and mortar) "What's with this lens? We can never keep it in stock for more than three days!" (he's a Nikon shooter)

NaCl(If I had a "favorite lens" this one would definitely be in the running)H2O

Wow, really. That popular! I never knew pentax lens could be that popular.

[zoltan1983snapper]

I'm curious about owners' reactions to the photozone review, which found chromatic aberrations and (surprisingly, to me) purple fringing. Is this your experience, too? They think the DA70 pancake is a better lens.

[roentarre]

Fa 77mm ltd does not fringe that bad and often. Much less than other pentax limited. However, Da 70mm is not any better.

The problem with Da 70mm is the overall IQ just lacking the Fa 77ltd wow factor at times.

Good for these people in love with Da 70mm. But their opinions do not dismiss the beauty of Fa 77 ltd.

[rparmar]

The Pentax lens designs in general have that one weakness: chromatic aberration. The FA77 is no different. Thankfully it only shows under certain conditions and is easily corrected in PP.

The main advantages of the FA77 over the DA70 are the faster speed and full frame coverage. The DA70 has quick focus and is cheaper, though not by much in the real world.

[augustmoon]

I'm curious about owners' reactions to the photozone review, which found chromatic aberrations and (surprisingly, to me) purple fringing. Is this your experience, too? They think the DA70 pancake is a better lens.

I don't believe that he (photozone) thought the DA70 was a better lens, I believe he said that the data showed the DA70 is a bit better technically. He also said that he was fortunate that the choice was yours, not his. It seems like his biggest gripes with the FA77 was (1) the price compared to other lenses and the DA70 specifically, (2) purple fringing. Not sure how long ago this was written, but the price now really isn't that big of difference, and the DA70, while a bit better with the PF, isn't free from it at all.

So if you factor in price, and data from charts, and all around use for everything, perhaps the DA70 is technically the better of the two.

Unfortunately, our real world usage might conflict with data and measurements, and it is probably unlikely that our need for a specific focal length prime would be used for "everything"

I bought both and tried them out. I thought the DA70 handled a bit better outdoors in harsher lighting conditions than the FA77 did. I thought the DA70 had a bit better saturation in those same conditions as well, in one harsh situation at the beach with harsh reflections in the water and the masts of the sailboards purple fringed on the FA77, more so than the DA70, but the DA70 did PF a bit itself. So the PF issue is one of slightly better, not one of heavy versus none..

BUT, I didn't want or need this focal length for that purpose. I really wanted this focal length prime for people and portraits, in studio, outdoor (controlled) and available light indoors, and so it is in this regard that I paid attention to my own tests and results. So in using the two lenses for this purpose and this purpose alone, I thought that the FA77 imaged more pleasing skin-tones under all above lighting conditions, and was faster than the DA70 for indoors available light portraits, (actually the DA70 was more like 2.8 wide, not 2.4, according to my light meter), I liked the OOF area of the FA77 better, except in harsh OOF, but I don't shoot in those, and printed on my inkjet printer, I got consistently better results printing the FA77 images than the DA70, the FA77 had more detail in the center wide open, and after f4 or so, really had better detail all over. And finally, the focal length of the FA77 was more in my liking for the use I wanted it for.

But I'm nit-picking here, but really wanted to have no regrets and all confidence in the lenses I'm going to be using, so it was important for me to know both and use both and select the one I liked. Had I not perhaps tried both or have been compulsive about trying both and only used the DA70, I'd been happy with it.

And if it was to be used for covering some outdoor events, I'd kept the DA70 as well.

So please test the lenses with your usage in mind, then regardless of what anyone tells you, you will know you have the right lens for you.

Camerarentals has both these lenses for rent, perhaps a friendly local dealer will let you play around with both. Currently I have the 2 DA*zooms, all 3 FA ltds, 2 DA ltds, (used to have all 4) and my favorite lens and best performer is still an M-series lens I bought 26 years ago. And I'm sure some people would argue with me on that, but that's my point.

[zoltan1983snapper]

I don't believe that he (photozone) thought the DA70 was a better lens, I believe he said that the data showed the DA70 is a bit better technically. He also said that he was fortunate that the choice was yours, not his. It seems like his biggest gripes with the FA77 was (1) the price compared to other lenses and the DA70 specifically, (2) purple fringing. Not sure how long ago this was written, but the price now really isn't that big of difference, and the DA70, while a bit better with the PF, isn't free from it at all.

So if you factor in price, and data from charts, and all around use for everything, perhaps the DA70 is technically the better of the two.

Unfortunately, our real world usage might conflict with data and measurements, and it is probably unlikely that our need for a specific focal length prime would be used for "everything"

I bought both and tried them out. I thought the DA70 handled a bit better outdoors in harsher lighting conditions than the FA77 did. I thought the DA70 had a bit better saturation in those same conditions as well, in one harsh situation at the beach with harsh reflections in the water and the masts of the sailboards purple fringed on the FA77, more so than the DA70, but the DA70 did PF a bit itself. So the PF issue is one of slightly better, not one of heavy versus none..

BUT, I didn't want or need this focal length for that purpose. I really wanted this focal length prime for people and portraits, in studio, outdoor (controlled) and available light indoors, and so it is in this regard that I paid attention to my own tests and results. So in using the two lenses for this purpose and this purpose alone, I thought that the FA77 imaged more pleasing skin-tones under all above lighting conditions, and was faster than the DA70 for indoors available light portraits, (actually the DA70 was more like 2.8 wide, not 2.4, according to my light meter), I liked the OOF area of the FA77 better, except in harsh OOF, but I don't shoot in those, and printed on my inkjet printer, I got consistently better results printing the FA77 images than the DA70, the FA77 had more detail in the center wide open, and after f4 or so, really had better detail all over. And finally, the focal length of the FA77 was more in my liking for the use I wanted it for.

But I'm nit-picking here, but really wanted to have no regrets and all confidence in the lenses I'm going to be using, so it was important for me to know both and use both and select the one I liked. Had I not perhaps tried both or have been compulsive about trying both and only used the DA70, I'd been happy with it.

And if it was to be used for covering some outdoor events, I'd kept the DA70 as well.

So please test the lenses with your usage in mind, then regardless of what anyone tells you, you will know you have the right lens for you.

Camerarentals has both these lenses for rent, perhaps a friendly local dealer will let you play around with both. Currently I have the 2 DA*zooms, all 3 FA ltds, 2 DA ltds, (used to have all 4) and my favorite lens and best performer is still an M-series lens I bought 26 years ago. And I'm sure some people would argue with me on that, but that's my point.

Thank you! That's really helpful. Unfortunately I don't live remotely near anyplace where I can test lenses, so I usually just read up and look at samples online before buying, and usually I'm satisfied.

If I buy either of these it will be the FA77. I'd like to use it on my ME Super as well. I'm just deciding whether I really "need" a $600 lens right now, or not...

[suro]

Pentax 70mm /2.4:

[Unphoto]

Photos shot with the DA 70mm remind me how inferior its images are. An essential tone and color are missing.

Purple fringing definitely happens with the 77 in those high contrast situations. But it's really well controlled; at most a +3 aperture stop removes it. The lens masterfully controls this and CAs. Such "flaws" are so well controled they become like guidelines to one's shooting.

[zoltan1983snapper]

It would be interesting to see two similar images side-by-side, if anyone should have both lenses.

Suro, those portraits are amazingly crisp, thank you!

[vizjerei]

I don't think CA is really a problem with this lens tho...

[suro]

DA70 and DA77 at the f2.4 have similar picture