[zapp]

You are comparing Apple and Orange.

The FA77mm Ltd is the best AF prime lens that one can buy: sm-02-05-02 - Luminous Landscape, across all brands. It is also the best PF lens according to Pentax Forum users. This says a lot IMHO.

The FA24-70mm will give you conveniency. Fully agreed.

I have the FA77mm and its portrait colour rendering is outstanding. The best lens for portrait among all my prime lenses, including my Zeiss, Voigtlander and Pentax lenses. Full stop.

Hope that the comment may help.

That "review" is 15 years old and was re-covered by luminous landscape 6 years ago.
Nothing happened in 15 years?

[Hattifnatt]

How good is the bokeh with the 24-70 when doing single person portraits or families compared to the 77mm? Is the bokeh decent enough at f2.8 with the 24-70mm?

I have both lenses and if I go out looking for portraits I will choose the FA 77 in a heartbeat. The bokeh of the 24-70 is decent, but to me it seems a bit busy. I guess this is all subjective and also depends of the quality of your background. Somehow the FA 77 manages to produce nice looking photos in almost every situation. I have a few examples of 24-70 bokeh but I didn't specifically test it against FA 77, it's hard to compare bokeh in different pictures with different light and background.

Few pictures with 24-70 bokeh:









As I said, I don't have a comparison in the same conditions and random shots could be biased towards FA 77. This is because the 24-70 is my walk-around lens, while the FA 77 gets taken out when I suspect I will have good light and some nice opportunities for portraits. So in a way it's not so fair for my 24-70.

[normhead]

It depends on the type of photography you are planning to do.

That said, if you are looking at full frame, you need a standard lens. The only two that Pentax offers are the DFA 24-70 and DFA 28-105. I got the 24-70 because it goes to f2.8. I like it a lot. It would be my standard walk around lens and works well on APS-C too.

The FA 77 is really nice too -- faster and sharper wide open, but it is more of a specialty lens, something I would add to whatever you choose as your walk around lens. Basically, if it was me, I would start with the 24-70 and add other lenses to it down the road if/when I had the funds.

Cover as much as you can with zooms, fill in with primes where needed. That's the way I do it.

[bdery]

How good is the bokeh with the 24-70 when doing single person portraits or families compared to the 77mm?

Is the bokeh decent enough at f2.8 with the 24-70mm?

Bokeh on the 24-70 is more than decent. See here:

HD Pentax-D FA 24-70mm F2.8 ED SDM WR Review - Bokeh | PentaxForums.com Reviews

However, it doesn't hold a candle to the 77, which is near the best I've ever seen.

I currently have a K3 with a 50mm f1.8 and 15 -85 mm but seriously thinking about upgrading to full frame very soon.

I still have both the K-3 and K-1, but apart from testing lenses for reviews, I haven't used the K-3 once since I got the K-1. That's saying something.

I still use the 16-85 frequently on the K-1, I like its wider angle better than the FF equivalent (the 24-105). Since getting the 43 however, the zoom sees less action.

[giselag]

Both lenses will work very well. It depends.

If you ONLY want to do single-person portraits, then the 77 is smallerm, has a faster aperture and is less expensive.

If you want a versatile lens that can perform quite well for portraits, don't mind the cost and the size, then go with the 24-70. It also focuses a bit faster and is silent.

I've tested the latter for Pentaxforums and was impressed. Strongly. But the one I own is the 77. I use the 16-85 as a walkaround, versatile lens (yes, even on the K-1) and pop on the 77 when I want that special rendering.

I 've heard from many that the 77mm limited is great for single person portraits. What about for family portraits? Can you get great shots for family portraits with a crop sensor camera and a 77mm? .

[leekil]

Depends on how far back you can stand...

[Rondec]

I 've heard from many that the 77mm limited is great for single person portraits. What about for family portraits? Can you get great shots for family portraits with a crop sensor camera and a 77mm? .

You'd have to stand pretty far back. Typically I would shoot something 50mm equivalent for family portraits or just a hair wider. DA 35/FA 31/Sigma 35 would all probably work better if you want a prime -- the 24-70 would work well too.

[bdery]

I 've heard from many that the 77mm limited is great for single person portraits. What about for family portraits? Can you get great shots for family portraits with a crop sensor camera and a 77mm? .

It's going to be a bit tight in most situations, except if you have access to a very large room.

For groups, I'd tend to go with a 40/43mm (maybe the 40 as it's more even corner-to-corner) or maybe a standard zoom for flexibility.

[redcat]

Fully compatible. Crop sensors only crop, after all



It does not. The field of view changes and looks like that of a 115 on FF.



None.



the sensor size does not influence sharpness. The K-3's pixels are smaller than that of the K-1, so sharpness limitations would be more visible, but in this case, the lens is sharp, period.



I'm currently working on the review of the 77 (and other FA limiteds) for pentaxforums. As such I've shot many comparative images on the K-3 and K-1. I can offer a test chart comparison, cropped in the center, at F2 for the moment (for the rest you'll have to be patient . The textures you see weer caused by the printer.

K-3


K-1

Your review on FA 31 is excellent !!! waiting impatiently for the FA 77 review !!!

[Billk]

I 've heard from many that the 77mm limited is great for single person portraits. What about for family portraits? Can you get great shots for family portraits with a crop sensor camera and a 77mm? .

FA43mm or the Sigma 35mm for those!


I like the 77mm more on the K1 than the K3ii for single person portraits and sometimes I find it a bit tight on the K3ii.


That said, the 77 seems to give me more shots I love than any of my other lenses, except the 300mm. Here's a portrait with the 77 on the K3ii, where I found it a little tight for the set up for the series of shots (which involved a 3 meter high umbrella). Not in colour but still some of the magic of the 77 I reckon.

[bdery]

Your review on FA 31 is excellent !!! waiting impatiently for the FA 77 review !!!

Thank you very much! The 43 and 77 will be along in the near future I hope.

That said, the 77 seems to give me more shots I love than any of my other lenses,

I'd say my experience matches yours. although I love most of my lenses, and most are near the top of their categories (apart from the 16-85, I only have Limited and STAR lenses) but the 77 is probably the nicest of the lot.

[leekil]

Thank you very much! The 43 and 77 will be along in the near future I hope.

Thanks for doing a new review of the FA31 -- I had just read the old review recently and was wondering if there would be an update.

Would it be possible to include photos of people in the reviews of the other two lenses? I feel like this is an important area that was overlooked in the FA 31 review.

[bdery]

Would it be possible to include photos of people in the reviews of the other two lenses? I feel like this is an important area that was overlooked in the FA 31 review.

Yes, there are portraits in the other lenses' galleries- lots of them.

There's a limited number of pictures that can be taken in a short time with a lens. Luckily I own the 43 and 77 so I have more pictures to choose from. I also include willing users' pictures to flesh out the galleries.

You can always use the site's search engine to find more samples of any lens you want.

[builttospill]

Which would you recommend and why?

Have you decided on a lens yet? Both are fantastic lenses; I don't think either would be a mistake.

I use the FA 43 more often than the FA 77 on a crop sensor, but the FA 77 is magic on the K-1. It's certainly magic on a crop sensor too, but when you have the 43... (the 43 is a magic lens too). The only downside I see with you choosing the FA 77 is the fact you can't have just one Limited lens. You'll be tempted continuously to add the 43 and 31.

K-1 and FA 77


K-1 and FA 77


It's difficult to recommend lenses without knowing what you take photos of and which other lenses you have. You mentioned the 50/1.4 and 16-85 so the 77 seems to add more to what you have currently than the 24-70. If you had the K-1, my answer might vary slightly, but I prefer primes to zooms so my recommendation would remain with the FA 77.

That "review" is 15 years old and was re-covered by luminous landscape 6 years ago.
Nothing happened in 15 years?

Lots has happened in 15 years. What hasn't happened during that time is better lenses than the three FA Limiteds.