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08-17-2018, 02:32 PM - 4 Likes   #1
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DFA 50* 1.4 on the mountains

So, I had to go to Austria for business and decided to make the most of the opportunity and combine a 2-day trek in the mountains on the weekend. The company was so nice to pay a car for me on the weekend too, so I decided to divert the planned budget for the car rental to the rental of the DFA 50*

An almost mystical atmosphere welcomed me early in the morning, followed by a rain shower of tropical proportions (ode to WR!) and then a nice sun in the afternoon. I had only the 50* on the K1 with me as I wanted to use it as much as possible. You can find the photos here: Sonnschienalm | Flickr

All OOC jpgs, downsized to 2000px. I only used a gradual (digital) filter on the alp at sunset to bump up the grass a bit.
Since the monitor of the camera decided to stop working the day before, I coud not check the results live. A "back to the film-era" experience!

My thoughts on the lens. I am no pixel-peeper, so resolution on the far corners at f1.4 doesn't really interest me. I look at the overall rendition of the image, whatever characteristic of the lens it comes from
The image quality is STUNNING. The pictures at early morning with mist and water reflection just breathe, I have the feeling of being just there when I look at them. I find he clarity of the water and the trees amazing. This kind of rendition is what makes me love my 43 and 77 but this is on another level. I don't think the 43 would have given the same results.

I found no weak points. I could shoot f1.4 or f11, backlight, side light, front light, close, far. It's the same. Quality, quality, quality. No weak points.

f1.4 is practically unusable hand-held. *edit: I mean at close distance here, due to shallow DOF.

The minimum focusing distance is quite close, surely closer than all other non-macros I have had. It gives some more freedom for close-ups.

The transition to out-of-focus area is always very very smooth. I find it pleasant. I found some family feeling with my other star lens, the 50-135. The 77 has a more unique and 3D rendering which the 50 does not have. But the words of the developers come to my mind, more or less: "particular renditions are pleasing to some people, but here we wanted to develop a lens that could deliver on every circumstance". So again, I found no weak points. If the 77 ranges from 10+ (3D pop on portraits for example) to 5/6 (fringing, huge loss of contrast with lateral light at times), the 50 ranged from 9.5 to 10 all the two days.

It is heavy but surprisingly well balanced. I had no problems carrying it all day, although I had to shift shoulder now and then. Construction is army-weapon-level. Manual focusing has the best feeling of any lens I tried.

What prevents me from buying it is the combination of weight, cost and focal length. If I have to spend this amount of money, I want a lens that I can basically glue on the camera, also considering that its weight alone is still ok, but if I would have to carry also other lenses it would become too much. And actually the 50mm have never been a focal length I "click" with. The 43 is just a litte wider but somehow it makes a big difference for me. These of course are just considerations based on personal taste.
With the K20 I loved the field of view of the 21mm, so if they come up with a 30-ish mm with this quality...



Last edited by kyukyu; 08-17-2018 at 11:06 PM.
08-17-2018, 02:40 PM - 1 Like   #2
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Very insightful, thanks
Also, very wise trade off of a lens rental vs. car rental. No point getting somewhere quickly, better to slow down for the shot hah!
08-17-2018, 03:31 PM   #3
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Thanks for your impressions.

QuoteOriginally posted by kyukyu Quote
f1.4 is practically unusable hand-held.
Please explain ^ ^ ^


Steve
08-17-2018, 04:01 PM - 3 Likes   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by kyukyu Quote
f1.4 is practically unusable hand-held.
Huh? I have been using this lens every day in the Single In August challenge, more often than not wide open and hand held....



This is a nearly 100% crop.



I love your album by the way

08-17-2018, 05:45 PM   #5
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Nice shots and insights. Thanks.

You have also inadvertently gone some way to answering a question I posed in a recent thread Does the DFA* 50 f/1.4 stabilise K1 shutter shake? - PentaxForums.com that nobody could answer. I see no sign of shutter shake in your shots between 1/100 and 1/200 sec. And since you had no rear screen, you were obviously not using electronic shutter. So I think the answer is a tentative Yes.
08-17-2018, 06:04 PM   #6
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Great shots - thanks for sharing!
08-17-2018, 06:17 PM   #7
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What a posative review from actual use and the photo's just wonderful

Dave

08-17-2018, 11:22 PM   #8
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Thanks for the kind replies. My Flickr activity has taken a step up .

@sandy Hankock and Steve Brot: you are absolutely right, I should have explained better. I edited my message now. I attempted to use f1.4 on close subjects, but the DOF is so shallow that every minimal movement on my side would put the subject completely out of focus. Your photos show how great the quality already is at f 1.4. Strangely enough, I just did not attempt any picture af f1.4 at that distance range...

@Paul the Sunman: I did not do any specific test here.. I can PM you some full-res pictures if you want. What I can say is that the lens felt heavier than the camera (although it is only slightly lighter actually), which made it very well-balanced and stable to use with the left hand holding it. If this shift of center of gravity helps reduce the vibrations, or moves them to a different frequency, I cannot say. I lack experience with heavier lenses such as the DFA zooms.
08-17-2018, 11:32 PM   #9
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Nice set. Thanks for sharing.

08-18-2018, 12:38 AM   #10
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Indeed, very nice photographs and a good and honest review. Thanks for both. Does your monitor work again?
08-18-2018, 01:03 AM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by kyukyu Quote
But the words of the developers come to my mind, more or less: "particular renditions are pleasing to some people, but here we wanted to develop a lens that could deliver on every circumstance".
I think they got this right on. It looks very natural to me. really nice.
thnks for sharing this!
08-18-2018, 03:32 AM   #12
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Beautiful shots of a very beautiful place. The lens looks like it performed well, but you have good eye as well to capture the scenes around you.
08-18-2018, 03:44 AM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by kyukyu Quote
You can find the photos here: Sonnschienalm | Flickr
You might consider bringing your nice images into this group as well: The Amazing HD Pentax-D FA* 1.4 50mm SDM AW Club! | Flickr
08-18-2018, 07:03 AM   #14
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This is the sort of review I really like to see: a real user's experience, hands-on stuff !
Bravo ... for the images and the excellent report!
08-18-2018, 08:37 AM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by kyukyu Quote
So, I had to go to Austria for business and decided to make the most of the opportunity and combine a 2-day trek in the mountains on the weekend. The company was so nice to pay a car for me on the weekend too, so I decided to divert the planned budget for the car rental to the rental of the DFA 50*

An almost mystical atmosphere welcomed me early in the morning, followed by a rain shower of tropical proportions (ode to WR!) and then a nice sun in the afternoon. I had only the 50* on the K1 with me as I wanted to use it as much as possible. You can find the photos here: Sonnschienalm | Flickr

All OOC jpgs, downsized to 2000px. I only used a gradual (digital) filter on the alp at sunset to bump up the grass a bit.
Since the monitor of the camera decided to stop working the day before, I coud not check the results live. A "back to the film-era" experience!

My thoughts on the lens. I am no pixel-peeper, so resolution on the far corners at f1.4 doesn't really interest me. I look at the overall rendition of the image, whatever characteristic of the lens it comes from
The image quality is STUNNING. The pictures at early morning with mist and water reflection just breathe, I have the feeling of being just there when I look at them. I find he clarity of the water and the trees amazing. This kind of rendition is what makes me love my 43 and 77 but this is on another level. I don't think the 43 would have given the same results.

I found no weak points. I could shoot f1.4 or f11, backlight, side light, front light, close, far. It's the same. Quality, quality, quality. No weak points.

f1.4 is practically unusable hand-held. *edit: I mean at close distance here, due to shallow DOF.

The minimum focusing distance is quite close, surely closer than all other non-macros I have had. It gives some more freedom for close-ups.

The transition to out-of-focus area is always very very smooth. I find it pleasant. I found some family feeling with my other star lens, the 50-135. The 77 has a more unique and 3D rendering which the 50 does not have. But the words of the developers come to my mind, more or less: "particular renditions are pleasing to some people, but here we wanted to develop a lens that could deliver on every circumstance". So again, I found no weak points. If the 77 ranges from 10+ (3D pop on portraits for example) to 5/6 (fringing, huge loss of contrast with lateral light at times), the 50 ranged from 9.5 to 10 all the two days.

It is heavy but surprisingly well balanced. I had no problems carrying it all day, although I had to shift shoulder now and then. Construction is army-weapon-level. Manual focusing has the best feeling of any lens I tried.

What prevents me from buying it is the combination of weight, cost and focal length. If I have to spend this amount of money, I want a lens that I can basically glue on the camera, also considering that its weight alone is still ok, but if I would have to carry also other lenses it would become too much. And actually the 50mm have never been a focal length I "click" with. The 43 is just a litte wider but somehow it makes a big difference for me. These of course are just considerations based on personal taste.
With the K20 I loved the field of view of the 21mm, so if they come up with a 30-ish mm with this quality...
Beautiful, natural looking photographs. For me too, it leaves me really wanting a wider version, like a 35, of the same quality. Probably be as big, but oh well. I'd take a slower 35, like f2, if that made it a little smaller and the quality was still there.
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