[ltdstar]

Thanks for the great review and making me buy this lens when I already have a 77mm...oh well better than buying one from Zeiss...I was looking to get 20s-30s prime but I guess it'll be the next one...I wish I have more money

[pcarfan]

OK, this looks promising:


low-light

blown highlights, but girls

The first shot, and the belly-button shot


I feel like focus isn't being nailed on a lot of these - either that, or the lens is soft at a lot of apertures... But there are just enough teaser sharp shots to make me think that it might be a good, sharp lens...

Still waiting for the blow-me-away images, though.


.

In you thrid link, the last shot appears to be the 100% crop of the first image. If that is wideopen, then it is fantastic.

[pcarfan]

Thanks for the great review and making me buy this lens when I already have a 77mm...oh well better than buying one from Zeiss...I was looking to get 20s-30s prime but I guess it'll be the next one...I wish I have more money

Please post some images taken with your K20D, thanks.

[ilya80]

Thanks a lot for the review!

[blende8]

In you thrid link, the last shot appears to be the 100% crop of the first image. If that is wideopen, then it is fantastic.

It's f1.7 from the EXIFs.

[jsherman999]

In you thrid link, the last shot appears to be the 100% crop of the first image. If that is wideopen, then it is fantastic.

Yes, I noticed that later... But I think that's at f/1.7.

Please post some images taken with your K20D, thanks.

Code:

Dear Jay,

Thanks for your payment. We have received it.

Your order will be sent in the next 2 days. We will inform you once the item
has been shipped.

Regards,
Saha

For the best bargains in town:
http://stores.ebay.com.au/OnlineDigitalShop

I'll have one by next week, so I'll also post some images taken with a K20D. It won't be as thorough or as well written up as the excellent review tranq78 has done in this thread, but I promise to nail focus, unlike on most of those Korean forum sites

I'll make sure to shoot some subjects that will show off sharpness/color/contrast/bokeh/flare wide open & stopped down, Then after a month or so may put it up for sale in our marketplace for what I paid minus a fair monthly rental fee.


.

[Steinback]

@jsherman999: Hurray, I get to live out my LBA through somebody else (for the time being at least...).

[tranq78]

A few more comments from me.


1. Someone at DPR has found that the optical formula for this aspherical lens is very similar to that of the FA*85.

See the posts by Lucas Cavalheiro in this thread: New lens 85mm f 1.4 for Pentax! [Page 2]: Pentax SLR Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

Very interesting.


2. I have put a filter on my lens for added protection. It's a hefty brass Heliopan. The filter will add strength to the front plastic collar and give the collar added protection against impact.


3.

SLR?? Pentax ??

SLR?? Samsung ??

SLR?? Samsung ??

The first image in link 1 is soft like yours (but it is a misfocus as the kids shirt is tack sharp), the last link is quite sharp.

low-light

blown highlights, but girls

The first shot, and the belly-button shot

Aside from the obvious mis-focused ones, there are some sharp pictures. In particular the last link in pcarfan's post nicely demonstrates a great 3D look. The bokeh is not bad either.


4.

I feel like focus isn't being nailed on a lot of these - either that, or the lens is soft at a lot of apertures... But there are just enough teaser sharp shots to make me think that it might be a good, sharp lens...

Jay, I know you know this, but I'll point it out anyway in case others haven't thought about it.

The depth of field is razor thin on this lens, so there is a difference between a lens that is soft versus being out of focus. My brick wall photo at 1m/3ft is meant to (1) demonstrate sharpness (primarily) and (2) show that DOF is also razor thin at this distance (secondarily, but only if possible in case the DOF was even thinner than I thought). From the real pictures that others have posted, their copies are also sharp, when focused properly, that is.

OK, I'm getting off my soapbox now.


5.

THing is it needs to AF, it's pretty clear from the sheer volum eof OOF shots that manual focussing in the digital age is muvh tougher than it was with that bog ole' 35mm viewfinder.

To use an automobile analogy, autofocus vs. manual focus is like auto vs. manual transmission. It's easier to drive a car with an automatic tranny but once you've learned to shift gears yourself, a manual isn't that hard. (I like using autofocus too, by the way).

The biggest thing is, you get more control and you decide where to focus. Just like a manual tranny gives you more control.

Best of all your friends can't borrow your car... umm... I mean lenses, because they don't know how to use a manual!

Pentax keeps throwing 35mm to 55mm lenses at us, for the love of a god a cheap 85/1.8 people.

Isn't that what we already have with the FA77/1.8? I think the 77 is cheap because if it sported a Canon logo it will cost you a lot more $.


6.

Code:

Thanks for your payment. We have received it.

Your order will be sent in the next 2 days. We will inform you once the item
has been shipped.

Regards,
Saha

For the best bargains in town:
http://stores.ebay.com.au/OnlineDigitalShop

I wonder if Saha will reimburse my purchase after all the business he's getting?

[Alfisti]

To use an automobile analogy, autofocus vs. manual focus is like auto vs. manual transmission. It's easier to drive a car with an automatic tranny but once you've learned to shift gears yourself, a manual isn't that hard. (I like using autofocus too, by the way).

The biggest thing is, you get more control and you decide where to focus. Just like a manual tranny gives you more control.

Isn't that what we already have with the FA77/1.8? I think the 77 is cheap because if it sported a Canon logo it will cost you a lot more $.

That's fine and all but it needs to be AF for the market in question. $700 is expensive when competing marques have very decent 85/1.8's for a little over $300.

[pcarfan]

Yes, I noticed that later... But I think that's at f/1.7.

Code:

Dear Jay,

Thanks for your payment. We have received it.

Your order will be sent in the next 2 days. We will inform you once the item
has been shipped.

Regards,
Saha

For the best bargains in town:
http://stores.ebay.com.au/OnlineDigitalShop

I'll have one by next week, so I'll also post some images taken with a K20D. It won't be as thorough or as well written up as the excellent review tranq78 has done in this thread, but I promise to nail focus, unlike on most of those Korean forum sites

I'll make sure to shoot some subjects that will show off sharpness/color/contrast/bokeh/flare wide open & stopped down, Then after a month or so may put it up for sale in our marketplace for what I paid minus a fair monthly rental fee.


.

I am happy for you, and I can't wait to see them.

[Myoptimism]

It was a rather dreary day, but here are a couple more 100% crops, 1.4, 100 iso. These look sharper than the snapshot I previously posted, but this lens, at least my copy, is still somewhat soft wide open. It is plenty sharp for what I wanted it for though, so I am happy.
Also, I am looking forward to seeing what this lens can do in more experienced/capable hands, so I am going to follow this thread.

[jsherman999]

.


This is interesting:

Code:

Dear Jay,

You had purchased SY 85mm Lens through us. Unfortunately, at the time of
shipping, we found some manufacturer defects in the entire stock of Kit we
received and have had to send it back and get new ones.

We have express ordered for new stock which will reach us in 10-12 days.
Your order will be shipped soon after that. We are really sorry for this
delay, but we did not want to send you any damaged or faulty item.

Sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused but it was genuinely not our
fault. Thanks for your patience and understanding.

Regards,
Saha

For the best bargains in town:
http://stores.ebay.com.au/OnlineDigitalShop

Couple of things are apparent here -

1) Bad: Some QC issues with the lens

2) Good: Seller (Saha) is inspecting his inventory closely, took prompt action,
and let buyer know immediately. Result - buyer is probably assured of getting a
good copy.

I've emailed Saha thanking him, asked what the problem was specifically, and
will let everyone know what I find out - if you have this lens through Samyang,
Polar, etc, you may want to look for the defect Saha found.

But I'm pretty happy with this seller at this point. We'll see how things end up.


.

[soccerjoe5]

Pentax keeps throwing 35mm to 55mm lenses at us, for the love of a god a cheap 85/1.8 people.

I'm with you there! We need an affordable 85-ish/1.8 please. The FA35 and FA50 are fantastic, an 85 would complete the trio.

[ltdstar]

I got the same email from Saha...

[Alfisti]

I am yet to see one image that says "buy me" .. in fact they all say "keep the hell away sir".