[pingflood]

I love the DA40...

But you have to like the field of view (to me, 50mm on a 35mm camera was a little wider than what I would 'focus' my vision on, while this lens is almost perfect), and you have to deal with the f/2.8 max speed.

Other than that, I think it does wonderfully well. For the price, it's a crime not to own one.

[Mechan1k]

After seeing some astonishing images from the FA43LTD .. I'd be chosing that over the rest.

Not that the FA31LTD is a great lens ... and classed as more "normal" on APS-C ... but I'd prefer the 43mm FOV better.

[mi2nc]

Regarding the comments about the 50/1.4 being a "portrait" lens. I was looking to purchase one of these lenses as one of my walk-around lenses. Immedistely I will be renting one for use on my K10 to take pictures of the kids at Christmas. Am I going to regret having such a "long"/portrait lens?

[benjikan]

I have the 40mm Ltd, 43mm Ltd and the DA 50 f1.4. In terms of across the board edge to edge sharpness at all apertures the 40mm Ltd. is the one. The 43mm Ltd is a wonderful portrait lens as the center sharpness has about the highest resolution in the Pentax arsenal. Edge sharpness becomes excellent at f 4.0. I also love the DA 50mm f1.4 for the bokeh.

Ben

---

Last edited by benjikan; 11-16-2008 at 05:00 AM.

[Syb]

Hey Ben, did you mean the DA55/1.4 or the FA50/1.4? Or is there a new lens coming up that you are testing already?

[Marc Sabatella]

Regarding the comments about the 50/1.4 being a "portrait" lens. I was looking to purchase one of these lenses as one of my walk-around lenses. Immedistely I will be renting one for use on my K10 to take pictures of the kids at Christmas. Am I going to regret having such a "long"/portrait lens?

You'll get great pictures with it and be happy to have it, no doubt. But I'm also sure there will be times when you wish it were shorter, for more candid shots, especially when you want to include more of the surroundings.

[benjikan]

Hey Ben, did you mean the DA55/1.4 or the FA50/1.4? Or is there a new lens coming up that you are testing already?

FA 50 f1.4

[Sailor]

Have to agree with frank on this one (which isn't a bad idea generally) I own the FA 50 F1.4, the K 50 F1.2 and the FA 43 ltd. I would rate them 43 ltd, K 50 and FA 50. Tho you would probabaly starve on the difference between the K 50 and the FA 50. The 43 ltd is a significantly better lens than the other two IMO.

NaCl(and I have a good friend who swears by his A 50 1.7)H2O

Hey Buddy - haven't heard from you in a while. Ironically, I've been thinking about "allowing" my wife to give me an FA 43 Limited for Christmas and just searched the forum for infor and this thread popped up. I've got an FA 50/1.4 and a DA 40 Limited, but I've still got a hankering for a 43. Sounds like you think it's a winner.

Jer

[farfisa]

I knew I'd find a thread that could convince me that I could get both a DA 40 and a FA 43! Thanks everyone!

[augustmoon]

I've owned all those listed, my pick for every circumstance (except 2) is the FA43.

the two exceptions are:

1) quick shooting in the street, as the da40 focuses a bit faster than the fa43 and has quick-shift focus feature, and the exposure is a bit more consistent from f-stop to f-stop (the same +/- exposure compensation yields the same results at different f-stops, whereas the fa43 can be a bit more fussy, worth it, though, except in quick street type stuff)

2) if you need more even sharpness between center and edges (as others have stated) I usually don't, so works out nicely for me, and when I do need it, like landscape sceneries, etc.. I am stopped down enough, that it is no longer an issue.



this is at f1.9 wide open, I messed up the focus, and at 1.9 not much room for error.... or maybe its wings were moving too fast for the shutter speed.

[benjikan]

I've owned all those listed, my pick for every circumstance (except 2) is the FA43.

the two exceptions are:

1) quick shooting in the street, as the da40 focuses a bit faster than the fa43 and has quick-shift focus feature, and the exposure is a bit more consistent from f-stop to f-stop (the same +/- exposure compensation yields the same results at different f-stops, whereas the fa43 can be a bit more fussy, worth it, though, except in quick street type stuff)

2) if you need more even sharpness between center and edges (as others have stated) I usually don't, so works out nicely for me, and when I do need it, like landscape sceneries, etc.. I am stopped down enough, that it is no longer an issue.



this is at f1.9 wide open, I messed up the focus, and at 1.9 not much room for error.... or maybe its wings were moving too fast for the shutter speed.

I love this image. Real "Candy" colors...Beautiful.

Ben

[Kerrowdown]

They are all stunningly good hunks of glass, the 40mm is a tad slow at F2.8, any of them I'm sure you will be delighted with.

[messthetics]

I'm surprised how little the size advantage of the 40mm f2.8 is taken into consideration here. Believe me, it is extremely useful to have a lens that adds almost no length/width to your camera. For myself at least, it would really motivate me to throw my camera in my daypack a few times when it might be too heavy.

As the saying goes, cameras at home don't take pictures. If a small lens helps you take out your camera more it is certainly useful.

[Marc Sabatella]

I'm surprised how little the size advantage of the 40mm f2.8 is taken into consideration here. Believe me, it is extremely useful to have a lens that adds almost no length/width to your camera. For myself at least, it would really motivate me to throw my camera in my daypack a few times when it might be too heavy.

Well, it's not like the others are especially big or heavy. But I agree - the DA40 is just *so* small, and the screw-on hood so marvelous in terms of adding basically nothing to the size/weight and yet making me feel comfortable about carry the camera around with no lens cap on, that I really happy to have my camera with me in situations where I otherwise might not bother.

[axl]

I have to agree on last two comments before me...