It may be a valid conclusion as to a specific pair of particular lenses - I've noticed that they can vary a lot in image quality from one to another within a single model. I bought a DA *55 some years ago, and it was the sharpest lens I'd ever seen. The SDM crapped out so it went back for fixing, it was still pretty good, but then the "new" SDM failed as well. Back it went (to Japan, by the way). When it came back, it was the softest lens I had, and the autofocus was slow as black molasses going uphill in January. Same lens, sharp, then dull. So you can be sure that given automated assembly lines, there will be variations within tolerances. Some are really good, some are really bad, and most are average. Comparing a good 35 to a bad 40, even within tolerances may result in a legitimate perception that the 35 is better than the 40, though it's not a valid generalization - not a basis for the inference that all 35's are better than all 40's.

[Wheatfield]

It may be a valid conclusion as to a specific pair of particular lenses - I've noticed that they can vary a lot in image quality from one to another within a single model. I bought a DA *55 some years ago, and it was the sharpest lens I'd ever seen. The SDM crapped out so it went back for fixing, it was still pretty good, but then the "new" SDM failed as well. Back it went (to Japan, by the way). When it came back, it was the softest lens I had, and the autofocus was slow as black molasses going uphill in January. Same lens, sharp, then dull. So you can be sure that given automated assembly lines, there will be variations within tolerances. Some are really good, some are really bad, and most are average. Comparing a good 35 to a bad 40, even within tolerances may result in a legitimate perception that the 35 is better than the 40, though it's not a valid generalization - not a basis for the inference that all 35's are better than all 40's.

Well, ww have a couple if people who live half a planet from each other who either both got poor versions of the 40 Ltd and excellent versions of the A35 or, more likely, got fairly normal versions of each and noted the 40 is a bit of a potato compared to the A35.
The only person making any sort of inference that all 35mm lenses are better than all 40mm lenses is you.

[Madaboutpix]

Inspired by the strong feelings about the DA40 Limited expressed in this thread, my long-standing curiosity about that little thing, and my soft spot for underdogs, I decided to try my luck at sample variation and jumped on a high-serial number, near-mint copy of the smc version offered for 200 euros on eBay.

Who knows, maybe I will come away impressed with its IQ in such a small package. Up to now, I have liked all the other original DA Limiteds, and the DA40 would make it a whole set. If it should be underwhelming, I can and would send it back on the seller's 30-day return policy.

Now the warring factions should feel free to return to their trenches ...

[mikesbike]

Inspired by the strong feelings about the DA40 Limited expressed in this thread, my long-standing curiosity about that little thing, and my soft spot for underdogs, I decided to try my luck at sample variation and jumped on a high-serial number, near-mint copy of the smc version offered for 200 euros on eBay.

Who knows, maybe I will come away impressed with its IQ in such a small package. Up to now, I have liked all the other original DA Limiteds, and the DA40 would make it a whole set. If it should be underwhelming, I can and would send it back on the seller's 30-day return policy.

Now the warring factions should feel free to return to their trenches ...

I think you'll find it to be a very good lens indeed. It delivers uniformly very good to excellent results edge-to-edge across the frame, including at wide open aperture. Not many lenses can offer this kind of performance. Taking such performance along with the fact of its tiny size makes it truly special.

[Madaboutpix]

I think you'll find it to be a very good lens indeed. It delivers uniformly very good to excellent results edge-to-edge across the frame, including at wide open aperture. Not many lenses can offer this kind of performance. Taking such performance along with the fact of its tiny size makes it truly special.

Received my smc DA40 Limited today, in even better condition than advertised. This copy seems to have seen hardly any use at all. Of course, it's early days and I first have to put it through its paces. Cannot tell if it's as good as the OP's A35 F2, but it sure looks like more than a mere "novelty" or "body cap" lens to me.

Totally unobtrusive as the pancake otherwise is, the cats even put up with the racket that the screwdriven AF makes. At ISO 5000, microcontrast still seems to be snappy, and I haven't got any problem with the sharpness either (F6.3, 1/1000s, processed to taste in DxO PL5):

[Papa_Joe]

I like to know how you came to your conclusion....

Pentax SMC DA 40mm f/2.8 Limited - Review / Lab Test - Analysis
HD Pentax-DA 40mm F2.8 Limited Review - Conclusion | PentaxForums.com Reviews
SMC Pentax-DA 40mm F2.8 Limited Reviews - DA Prime Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database

[AfterPentax Mark II]

Pentax SMC DA 40mm f/2.8 Limited - Review / Lab Test - Analysis
HD Pentax-DA 40mm F2.8 Limited Review - Conclusion | PentaxForums.com Reviews
SMC Pentax-DA 40mm F2.8 Limited Reviews - DA Prime Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database

But did you put that lens on any of your camera's? The three links illustrate the experience of other people and you can not base your conclusion on that.

[Madaboutpix]

Just for the record: It has only taken 179 images with it on my K-3 to earn the smc DA40 Ltd. a permanent place in my kit. After covering the better part of a whole staff outing with it, I'm confident that my copy at least

• is optically and mechanically sound
• focuses fast and accurately (if audibly)
• is so tiny that people stay relaxed, hardly believing that you can take "serious" photos of them
• has no discernable decentering issues
• offers decent sharpness already wide open
• delivers excellent and even sharpness in the medium aperture range (without ever looking clinical)
• renders the colours and microcontrast you'd expect from a DA Limited
• is not a bokeh monster, but not as lost on bokeh as you might suspect an F2.8 pancake to be
• comes with the original screw-in hood, whch does a pretty effective job of preventing flares, although they can be provoked - a little more easily than I had initially hoped - by shooting directly into the sun

But if flare resistance is the only IQ area where the DA40 shows its age to some extent - smc is not HD, after all - I can live well with that. In fact, depending on the situation, those flares can even add some atmosphere and character to your images. Don't get me wrong, I deeply appreciate what cutting-edge coatings like HD have given us, but the irony of modern lenses being so good in that respect that we buy pricey black mist filters to make them a little less perfect and more cinematic is not lost on me, either.

The following were shot before and after the said staff outing (first two at F9, the third at F5; all processed lightly to taste in DxO PL5). Honestly, I can't see any mediocrity here:

[pearl.ish]

Just for the record: It has only taken 179 images with it on my K-3 to earn the smc DA40 Ltd. a permanent place in my kit. After covering the better part of a whole staff outing with it, I'm confident that my copy at least

• is optically and mechanically sound
• focuses fast and accurately (if audibly)
• is so tiny that people stay relaxed, hardly believing that you can take "serious" photos of them
• has no discernable decentering issues
• offers decent sharpness already wide open
• delivers excellent and even sharpness in the medium aperture range (without ever looking clinical)
• renders the colours and microcontrast you'd expect from a DA Limited
• is not a bokeh monster, but not as lost on bokeh as you might suspect an F2.8 pancake to be
• comes with the original screw-in hood, whch does a pretty effective job of preventing flares, although they can be provoked - a little more easily than I had initially hoped - by shooting directly into the sun

But if flare resistance is the only IQ area where the DA40 shows its age to some extent - smc is not HD, after all - I can live well with that. In fact, depending on the situation, those flares can even add some atmosphere and character to your images. Don't get me wrong, I deeply appreciate what cutting-edge coatings like HD have given us, but the irony of modern lenses being so good in that respect that we buy pricey black mist filters to make them a little less perfect and more cinematic is not lost on me, either.

The following were shot before and after the said staff outing (first two at F9, the third at F5; all processed lightly to taste in DxO PL5). Honestly, I can't see any mediocrity here:

Yeah, I am not going to sell either of them.