[jatrax]

All my lenses and bodies are black. Except my FA*85mm. I'm thinking of finally getting the FA Limited lenses and going for the HD version. But silver or black? What say you all? Silver looks special but I wonder what it looks like on a black body?

Thoughts, comments, suggestions...........

[Pentikonian]

Highly subjective IMHO.

For me, black or silver lenses look good on silver bodies. But silver lenses don't look right on black bodies.

Again, a big IMHO, YMMV, yada yada yada...

If you like the look of the 85 on your existing bodies and want to expand the selection, go for silver.

[BarryE]

Depends.

I had a moment of mad quirkiness when I ordered the DA 20-40 in silver for a black K3 and a green leather wrist strap. Dunno what came over me as I usually do boring. But, oddly I've rather grown to like it. The green strap broke, though, so I've calmed the combination a little. My wife thinks it looks stupid, so I guess it does ;-) The 77 & 31 will be much like my 20-40/k3 on your K-1, whereas the 43 will probably look like a lens cap from any distance.

[Kwong]

black for black bodies and silver for silver. My thoughts. Its really a personal choice.

[ramseybuckeye]

I will have to say my silver 15 looked great on the red K-50, but just OK on a black body, no better or worse in my opnion.

[EssJayEff]

I prefer black, but I have read that silver doesn't heat up from the sun as much as black. I suspect it's an old husband's tale, though, with a kernel of meaningless truth in there somewhere.

[officiousbystander]

Bought a silver 43mm for my K1 but only because it was a great price and there was no choice. Would have preferred black but you get used to it. I think if it's a smaller lens it's not such a glaring contrast.

[DWS1]

Odd, back in the day silver was standard and black was an upgrade. Then black became standard and now many want silver.

[carlb]

All of my previous lenses were black and I had black bodies until I bought a silver 35 Macro Limited for a very good price from a forum member, thinking it would look fine on the black body.

It didn't, so I bought a silver KP specifically for that lens. My other black lenses look fine on the silver body. A black lens on a silver body looks OK, a silver lens on a black body doesn't.

Just my opinion of course.

[jslifoaw]

If the FA Limiteds are any indication, the black finish is a bit more prone to flaking/brassing. I have the 43 and 77 in silver and the 31 in black, and while the silver definitely looks a bit out of place on a black body, I'm not convinced the black finish will age as well.

I also have most of the DA Limiteds (21 and 70 in SMC which is black only and the 15, 35 macro, and 20-40 in HD silver), and the same thing applies to them - I think the silver will age better.

[JPT]

I have the silver 77mm, but I only chose that because a good used copy was available, so it wasn't really a conscious choice.

As an object in itself, the silver looks nicer and it doesn't show scratches. I find it looks a bit unusual but not bad on my black K-5 IIs. I guess the black lenses look better. However, it looks great on my black K-01, because that body has aluminum body parts on the top that make the combination look more intentional.

One unexpected practical benefit of the silver version is that it is easy to find and distinguish from other lenses in my camera bag. Have you ever reached into the darkness of your bag looking for one lens, only pick out the wrong one? Silver lenses kind of illuminate themselves.

Now I've got it in my head that FA Limiteds are silver, so if I were to buy the the 21mm, 31mm or 43mm, I would continue to buy silver ones. I'll stick to black for other types of lens. If I find a Pentax body that I like in its silver version, I would probably get it, but so far they look a bit off to me.

[carlb]

A number of the replies here about how silver lenses on black bodies look have reassured me that I'm not the only one that has a bit of a thing about it

[mikesbike]

I originally got my DA 20-40mm Ltd new in silver because of a great price deal, and I had some kind of feeling a new silver body would eventually come. I got it primarily for high-quality use on my compact black K-S2. At first it looked a bit off, but that was due to my being used to just black lenses. Black and silver together are compatible, and I soon began to like it as a quite dressy look. The lens gave me some fine results, too. Then only a year or so later, along came the KP. After the prices of the KP came down significantly as some special sales came along, I acquired the KP in silver, and the lens on it looks absolutely great. So to me it still looks all right on my K-S2, but outstanding on my KP.

[pentaxus]

Are the FA limited silver lenses just metal or are they the funky painted on finish of the 85mm FA* lens?

[noelpolar]

Black lenses on modern silver pentax bodies look nice.....

Silver lenses on silver bodies look nice....

Silver lenses on black bodies DO NOT look nice....

Just my view... off course.


and.... black lens hoods on silver lenses on silver cameras...... ok ok.... I now sound like a cushions on lounge's kinda guy....