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02-18-2009, 08:24 PM   #76
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QuoteOriginally posted by ll_coffee_lP Quote
You're right..., but the FA31 is also a $1K CDN and MANY people own it. You can p/u the FA35 which is also awesome (like the FA50) for 1/3 that price.

c[_]
That's a good point (though i do feel it's a tad pricey). The 31 has proiven itself IMHO with less abberations and stunning corner sharpness, the 50 gonna have to be one heck of a lens.

02-18-2009, 08:27 PM   #77
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The Canon guy again and annother one, both in 1.4.
The third in 1.8.







Rainer

Last edited by TKH; 02-18-2009 at 08:45 PM.
02-18-2009, 08:35 PM   #78
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I've heard that it's not the size that matters, but the performance... :-)

QuoteOriginally posted by Alfisti Quote
Man a grand! I can't get over that price. You can pick up a 200/2.8 for that price ... madeness, utter madness.
02-18-2009, 08:41 PM   #79
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QuoteOriginally posted by TKH Quote
The Canon guy again and annother one, both in 1.4.
The third in 1.8.




Rainer
Wow did you pp this second one? The colour+contrast's awesome at 1.4!

02-18-2009, 08:41 PM   #80
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QuoteOriginally posted by Class A Quote
Could someone with more lens authority than I have please either confirm or dispel the statement that the 43mm is "one of the sharpest Pentax lenses ever"? I've seen one person state this but have never heard it before. Wouldn't the FA 50/2.8 macro or F 85/1.4 or FA 31/1.8 be stronger contenders for that title?
ClassA, I personally don't have any "lens authority," but if you look through the photozone.de reviews, I believe they have it (FA43) as giving the best results in their resolution tests. The macro lenses actually aren't at the top of the sharpness list. The sharpest Pentax's reviewed on photozone are the FA43(sharpest), FA31, FA35, FA77, FA50, DA16-45(wide end), and the DA*16-50(wide end).

Of course, that comes with a caveat. Those lenses reach sharper points at some point in their aperture range than all the other lenses reviewed on photozone, but some of them take a while to get there. For instance, the FA43's borders at f1.9 stunk up the joint. The FA77's borders don't really shine until f4. On the other hand photozone has this to say when assessing the sharpness of the DA40: "The Pentax DA 40mm f/2.8 Limited is indeed not as sharp as its direct cousins but frankly the difference is not really detectable by the naked eye." A pretty interesting statement about naked eyes if you ask me.

Photozone also rates the DA40 and DA70 higher than the FA43 and FA77 because of a more even performance in sharpness. Namely, the DA's start off better from corner to corner, though at their best, they don't reach the lofty heights of the FA's (before anyone gets excited and calls me an FA-ophobe, I've stated elsewhere that I've been disappointed with the build quality of the DA limiteds. Also, their bokeh is not as highly acclaimed as their FA counterparts). That said, the FA31 is the highest rated Pentax, optics-wise, because the sharpness is superb throughout the aperture range.

That's what some expert in Germany has said. Me, I don't know nothing.
02-18-2009, 08:45 PM   #81
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So far, from Rainer's pics, I'm very impressed with the f1.4 sharpness of this lens. I remain very disappointed with the bokeh though. That makes me sad. I really thought they were going to hit a home run with this thing.
02-18-2009, 08:49 PM   #82
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Totally agree--that's a great shot. Freaky, but great! Thanks again, Rainer.

I'm looking around for crap to sell...

QuoteOriginally posted by jake123 Quote
Wow did you pp this second one? The colour+contrast's awesome at 1.4!


02-18-2009, 08:49 PM   #83
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QuoteOriginally posted by brucestrange Quote
So far, from Rainer's pics, I'm very impressed with the f1.4 sharpness of this lens. I remain very disappointed with the bokeh though. That makes me sad. I really thought they were going to hit a home run with this thing.
Why's that? I find the bokeh pretty awesome
02-18-2009, 08:49 PM   #84
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QuoteOriginally posted by jake123 Quote
Wow did you pp this second one? The colour+contrast's awesome at 1.4!
All my pics are done a little Adobe Lightroom.

Rainer
02-18-2009, 08:57 PM   #85
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looks like a very good lens from the first glance. I like results from the last pictures taken at 1.4 and 1.8
Price is outrageous though, definitely not in my priority list for a year or too.
02-18-2009, 09:01 PM   #86
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QuoteOriginally posted by brucestrange Quote
The macro lenses actually aren't at the top of the sharpness list. The sharpest Pentax's reviewed on photozone are the FA43(sharpest), FA31, FA35, FA77, FA50, DA16-45(wide end), and the DA*16-50(wide end).
But they didn't test neither the 50/2.8 macro nor the A 85/1.4.


QuoteOriginally posted by brucestrange Quote
"The Pentax DA 40mm f/2.8 Limited is indeed not as sharp as its direct cousins but frankly the difference is not really detectable by the naked eye." A pretty interesting statement about naked eyes if you ask me.
"Interesting" is a nice way of putting it. It just depends on the print size and how hard you want to look.

QuoteOriginally posted by brucestrange Quote
Me, I don't know nothing.
You raised important points, though. One or two MTF-50 figures to describe the sharpness of a lens is a pretty crude characterisation. I applaud the efforts of photozone.de and think it is one of the best places to compare lenses but when it comes to real world behaviour of a lens there is more to it than a few measurement charts.
02-18-2009, 09:02 PM   #87
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QuoteOriginally posted by brucestrange Quote
ClassA, I personally don't have any "lens authority," but if you look through the photozone.de reviews, I believe they have it (FA43) as giving the best results in their resolution tests. The macro lenses actually aren't at the top of the sharpness list. The sharpest Pentax's reviewed on photozone are the FA43(sharpest), FA31, FA35, FA77, FA50, DA16-45(wide end), and the DA*16-50(wide end).

Of course, that comes with a caveat. Those lenses reach sharper points at some point in their aperture range than all the other lenses reviewed on photozone, but some of them take a while to get there. For instance, the FA43's borders at f1.9 stunk up the joint. The FA77's borders don't really shine until f4. On the other hand photozone has this to say when assessing the sharpness of the DA40: "The Pentax DA 40mm f/2.8 Limited is indeed not as sharp as its direct cousins but frankly the difference is not really detectable by the naked eye." A pretty interesting statement about naked eyes if you ask me.

Photozone also rates the DA40 and DA70 higher than the FA43 and FA77 because of a more even performance in sharpness. Namely, the DA's start off better from corner to corner, though at their best, they don't reach the lofty heights of the FA's (before anyone gets excited and calls me an FA-ophobe, I've stated elsewhere that I've been disappointed with the build quality of the DA limiteds. Also, their bokeh is not as highly acclaimed as their FA counterparts). That said, the FA31 is the highest rated Pentax, optics-wise, because the sharpness is superb throughout the aperture range.

That's what some expert in Germany has said. Me, I don't know nothing.
I'm no lens authority, but yeah that's where I got the idea of 55 contesting the 43 as "sharpest".

Note that in addition to questioning the site's testing, the absence of other contenders for "sharpest ever" (including various macros) means that this must be taken with a huge grain of salt.

My point is simply that if the 43 might be the "sharpest ever" (or even close) and the DA*55 might outperform it at its peak of 5.6-ish (not to mention to me looking pretty sharp wide open, at least at centre), then that in and of itself should be cause of more fuss than I've seen here over this lens. Even if some people aren't amazed at the bokeh, and even if it has some CA at 1.4

(Incidentally what lens has 1.4 and doesn't have CA at that aperture? Any Pentax? Perhaps some Zeiss/Voigtlander/other third party?)
02-18-2009, 10:48 PM   #88
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QuoteOriginally posted by soccerjoe5 Quote
Why's that? I find the bokeh pretty awesome
Well, I guess I don't like it for the same reason you do: we each have separate brains with separate ideas of what looks nice. I find it too busy in spots. That said, I'm still holding out for more examples, and I'm hoping the bokeh is better at 2 or 2.8.
02-18-2009, 10:57 PM   #89
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QuoteOriginally posted by Class A Quote
I applaud the efforts of photozone.de and think it is one of the best places to compare lenses but when it comes to real world behaviour of a lens there is more to it than a few measurement charts.
I agree with that statement wholeheartedly. The part about photozone and the part about the real world. Photozone is fantastic, and I pore over the reviews before purchasing. It feeds my LBA. But an example of the real world vs. photozone was my purchase of the DA21. I was sweating bullets because of photozone's findings on a lack of border-sharpness in the DA21 at 3.2 and 4. Well, I got it anyway, and I love the images I get from it even wide open. It has great contrast and for a wide angle, it has pretty good bokeh. I know bokeh is not really thought of as important in a wide angle, but to me it is. If an image already looks pretty sharp, what's left? There are other qualities that a particular lens can produce besides sharpness. To be fair to photozone, they do discuss these things a little bit, but I suppose they are not as easy to quantify.
02-18-2009, 11:12 PM   #90
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QuoteOriginally posted by TKH Quote
So I have to do what you want...

Here is a portrait in 1.4:

I named it: "This way to Canon please..."


Rainer
Thank you for taking time to do testing shots for us. I feel like being spoiled!

I am only worried about bokeh rendering in this lens

The background bokeh is neutral at best but this is a rewarding finding comparing to fa 50mm f1.4. I like the fact that most edges in the background are swirly and smooth.

Thanks
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