Originally posted by UncleVanya They are different in size and max aperture but in a general way I see your point. The 77 has slightly shallower focus due to max aperture and extra focal length. The angle of view is slightly narrower on the da 70 also. Mine have a different character but both are excellent for many purposes. I like them both (my da 70 is the HD version, my 77 is the SMC version.
They are very slightly different, but one is no better than the other, just very slightly different. The 77mm was, for me, an F/2.8 lens as I found it needed to be stopped down a bit to get rally good, so other than a brighter focusing screen, the difference between the maximum apertures was pretty much a wash.
In the studio, which is where I did any comparisons, the only difference was the working distance from the model, where I had to take a step backwards with the 77. There simply was no visible difference otherwise. I would normally have been shooting at f/4 to f/5.6 in the studio, so both lenses would have been at or near their respective best apertures.