Originally posted by cpoteet What is the difference between the * series and Limited series lenses?
Thank you.
Money.
My experience is the * lenses are sharper at wider apertures but have a more neutral rendering. Some say it is a clinical look. It's as good a descriptive as anything, but it should not be used in a derogatory manner. It just is what it is.
The * lenses tend to be on the large size and are somewhat faster.
The Limited lenses certainly give a less clinical look. They are not optimized for ultimate sharpness, though they are plenty sharp for the most part. They are significantly smaller in size, and do it without compromising a lot of speed.
The 77 has lovely rendering especially on film. If you ever get a chance to shoot film with a 77, shoot slides and look at them through a good quality loupe. It's worth the effort if you are a lens junkie.
The 77mm LTD is only 1/2 stop slower than the much larger, heavier and optically perfect DFA*84.1.4 as an example.
The DFA* Lens is quite happy wide open, the 77 not so mutch.
I found the DA Ltd lenses to be a mixed bag, but I really liked the 35mm and 70mm Ltds.
The DA*55/1.4 is quite excellent. I didn't like it so much for portraits, I found it short and harsh. In rendering, it reminded me if the K50/1.4. Stupidly sharp and extremely neutral but the bokeh bothered me. It seemed rough.
I like the 31 more on APS-C than 35mm. It's the best standard lens one can get in Pentax land if that's your thing. It can be made to fringe in surprisingly mundane circumstances.
The 70 and 77 give pretty similar rendering. The 70 fringes less IIRC. Both are superb. The 70 is one of my favourite fields of view. I would love a 105 Ltd in whatever wonky maximum aperture they decided on.
I'd be willing to pay real money for a DFA*105/1.4. It's a dream I have.
The 43/1.9 is a lens I have tried hard to like, but haven't succeeded. Others like it, so don't take my word for it. On the occasions when it is the right focal length I've been happy enough with the results, but it's not a preferred optic.
For me it's not long enough on the cropped format and not wide enough on 35mm.