FA43/1.9 vs. K55/1.8--which is which?

axl · 06-08-2009, 04:13 PM

oh well, I'll keep looking...

séamuis · 06-08-2009, 04:17 PM

Originally posted by axl

oh well, I'll keep looking...

if I didn't 'need' my K 55mm 1,8 id be happy to part with that, but its a K mount obviously. I know that's of no help but I just thought id say it.

heatherslightbox · 06-08-2009, 05:17 PM

Originally posted by axl

oh well, I'll keep looking...

KEH has one:
KEH Camera: Pentax Manual Focus - Fixed Focal Lengths - 55 F1.8 SMC (52) 35MM SLR MANUAL FOCUS STANDARD ANGLE LENS

Don't let the BGN condition scare you off--I ordered my M28/3.5 from them, also in BGN condition and it arrived in excellent condition. All I needed to add was front and back caps and everything was good.

Keep checking Fleabay, as they do come up for sale every once in a while.

HTH,
Heather

séamuis · 06-08-2009, 05:25 PM

Originally posted by hwblanks

KEH has one:
KEH Camera: Pentax Manual Focus - Fixed Focal Lengths - 55 F1.8 SMC (52) 35MM SLR MANUAL FOCUS STANDARD ANGLE LENS

Don't let the BGN condition scare you off--I ordered my M28/3.5 from them, also in BGN condition and it arrived in excellent condition. All I needed to add was front and back caps and everything was good.

Keep checking Fleabay, as they do come up for sale every once in a while.

HTH,
Heather

actually 55 1.8's can be had on ebay pretty much every day of the week. as I said before, the 55 is an extremely common lens.

stevebrot · 06-08-2009, 08:03 PM

Originally posted by séamuis

actually 55 1.8's can be had on ebay pretty much every day of the week. as I said before, the 55 is an extremely common lens.

Ha! Ha! I have been trying to find one to complement a recently purchased KX body (awaiting delivery later this week) and the supply seems to have magically dried up! It seems that some persons, unknown, have been talking up the performance of that lens!

I may have to settle for a K 50/1.4 or 1.2 instead. (Yes, there are two K 50/1.2 on the 'Bay at this time...go figure...)

Steve

(Yes, yes, I know...I already have half a dozen fast 50s that would do quite nicely here...)

ovim · 06-08-2009, 10:08 PM

Is K-mount 1.8/55mm the same design as Tak 1.8/55mm?

edit: I looked it up and they are the same

CGJung · 06-08-2009, 10:58 PM

Tak 55/1.8 is a bargain, but IMHO the real bargain is Tak 55/2; many overlooked the later one. AFAIK, 55/1.8 and 55/2 essentially have identical optical design, with 55/2 have stop limit at f2, so it can be marketed with lower end camera.

séamuis · 06-09-2009, 05:03 AM

Originally posted by stevebrot

Ha! Ha! I have been trying to find one to complement a recently purchased KX body (awaiting delivery later this week) and the supply seems to have magically dried up! It seems that some persons, unknown, have been talking up the performance of that lens!

I may have to settle for a K 50/1.4 or 1.2 instead. (Yes, there are two K 50/1.2 on the 'Bay at this time...go figure...)

Steve

(Yes, yes, I know...I already have half a dozen fast 50s that would do quite nicely here...)

well to be fair, the K mount 55's aren't as common as their m42 older brothers. it should also be noted that the K mount version was the last of the 55's and since most people don't want to deal with an m42, the K mount version does get eaten up quite quickly. oddly enough I got my K mount 55 mounted to a KX.

heatherslightbox · 06-09-2009, 05:19 PM

I finally got a chance to try my test again, this time outside, tripod-mounted with cable release, using ISO 100 wide open (1.8 for the K55, 1.9 for the FA43). Other than conversion to JPG via Lightroom, no PP was done to the following images. What do you think? I've got my own ideas, but I'm curious to find out what you think before sharing mine with you.

Pixel peepers, have fun!

Heather

Shot 1:

Shot 2:

Shot 3 (not a crop, I simply moved the tripod closer to the brick column):

Raybo · 06-09-2009, 05:42 PM

I have to go with the second set of images, they look better to my eyes.

winglik · 06-10-2009, 12:22 AM

Interesting, This time the FA43 looks sharper and has better color than the K55 in all the pictures. the bokeh in the k55 still better than the FA43 But why such a big difference between indoor and outdoor?

creampuff · 06-10-2009, 03:26 AM

Without checking the exif, it is dead obvious which ones are from the FA 43mm Limited... the ones with the superior contrast and punchier colour. Those from the 55mm have cooler rendition and show some image softness.

Peter Zack · 06-10-2009, 03:58 AM

Originally posted by creampuff

Without checking the exif, it is dead obvious which ones are from the FA 43mm Limited... the ones with the superior contrast and punchier colour. Those from the 55mm have cooler rendition and show some image softness.

Agreed easy to see why the 43 is better here.

séamuis · 06-10-2009, 05:04 AM

the 43 is certainly sharper wide open, but the 55 has better bokeh. and couple that with a softer image the 1.8 will capture, I believe the 55 wins hands down for wide aperture work. I agree that the 43 renders better colours (at least from these photos) but they have very close full apertures and stopped down they will be pretty even. so Id still go for the 55. of course I have a 55 myself and would like a 43.

the bokeh on the 43 is terrible looking way to busy. reminds me of a russian lens. the 55 is smooth like butter.

**Just1MoreDave** · 06-10-2009, 09:08 PM

First, an excellent set of comparison photos. Thanks for the extra work!

Second, I took the FA43 images and resized them to get a better look at bokeh. I don't think the bokeh is as different as the original shots make it appear. The business partly comes from trying to compare larger vs. smaller. The K55 has the dreamy look in the second shot, as described by some users. The K55 shots seem to sharpen well in post-processing, though.

06-08-2009, 10:08 PM	#36
ovim Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Tre, Finland Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,229	Is K-mount 1.8/55mm the same design as Tak 1.8/55mm? edit: I looked it up and they are the same Last edited by ovim; 06-08-2009 at 10:18 PM.

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06-08-2009, 04:13 PM	#31
axl Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Nove Zamky, Slovakia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 7,183	oh well, I'll keep looking...

06-08-2009, 04:17 PM	#32
séamuis Banned Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Savannah, U.S./Baguio City, P.H. Posts: 5,979	Originally posted by axl oh well, I'll keep looking... if I didn't 'need' my K 55mm 1,8 id be happy to part with that, but its a K mount obviously. I know that's of no help but I just thought id say it.

06-08-2009, 05:17 PM	#33
heatherslightbox Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Gainesville, FL Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,599 Original Poster	Originally posted by axl oh well, I'll keep looking... KEH has one: KEH Camera: Pentax Manual Focus - Fixed Focal Lengths - 55 F1.8 SMC (52) 35MM SLR MANUAL FOCUS STANDARD ANGLE LENS Don't let the BGN condition scare you off--I ordered my M28/3.5 from them, also in BGN condition and it arrived in excellent condition. All I needed to add was front and back caps and everything was good. Keep checking Fleabay, as they do come up for sale every once in a while. HTH, Heather

06-08-2009, 05:25 PM	#34
séamuis Banned Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Savannah, U.S./Baguio City, P.H. Posts: 5,979	Originally posted by hwblanks KEH has one: KEH Camera: Pentax Manual Focus - Fixed Focal Lengths - 55 F1.8 SMC (52) 35MM SLR MANUAL FOCUS STANDARD ANGLE LENS Don't let the BGN condition scare you off--I ordered my M28/3.5 from them, also in BGN condition and it arrived in excellent condition. All I needed to add was front and back caps and everything was good. Keep checking Fleabay, as they do come up for sale every once in a while. HTH, Heather actually 55 1.8's can be had on ebay pretty much every day of the week. as I said before, the 55 is an extremely common lens.

06-08-2009, 08:03 PM	#35
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by séamuis actually 55 1.8's can be had on ebay pretty much every day of the week. as I said before, the 55 is an extremely common lens. Ha! Ha! I have been trying to find one to complement a recently purchased KX body (awaiting delivery later this week) and the supply seems to have magically dried up! It seems that some persons, unknown, have been talking up the performance of that lens! I may have to settle for a K 50/1.4 or 1.2 instead. (Yes, there are two K 50/1.2 on the 'Bay at this time...go figure...) Steve (Yes, yes, I know...I already have half a dozen fast 50s that would do quite nicely here...)

06-08-2009, 10:58 PM	#37
CGJung Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: St. Louis Posts: 92	Tak 55/1.8 is a bargain, but IMHO the real bargain is Tak 55/2; many overlooked the later one. AFAIK, 55/1.8 and 55/2 essentially have identical optical design, with 55/2 have stop limit at f2, so it can be marketed with lower end camera.

06-09-2009, 05:03 AM	#38
séamuis Banned Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Savannah, U.S./Baguio City, P.H. Posts: 5,979	Originally posted by stevebrot Ha! Ha! I have been trying to find one to complement a recently purchased KX body (awaiting delivery later this week) and the supply seems to have magically dried up! It seems that some persons, unknown, have been talking up the performance of that lens! I may have to settle for a K 50/1.4 or 1.2 instead. (Yes, there are two K 50/1.2 on the 'Bay at this time...go figure...) Steve (Yes, yes, I know...I already have half a dozen fast 50s that would do quite nicely here...) well to be fair, the K mount 55's aren't as common as their m42 older brothers. it should also be noted that the K mount version was the last of the 55's and since most people don't want to deal with an m42, the K mount version does get eaten up quite quickly. oddly enough I got my K mount 55 mounted to a KX.

06-09-2009, 05:19 PM	#39
heatherslightbox Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Gainesville, FL Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,599 Original Poster	I finally got a chance to try my test again, this time outside, tripod-mounted with cable release, using ISO 100 wide open (1.8 for the K55, 1.9 for the FA43). Other than conversion to JPG via Lightroom, no PP was done to the following images. What do you think? I've got my own ideas, but I'm curious to find out what you think before sharing mine with you. Pixel peepers, have fun! Heather Shot 1: Shot 2: Shot 3 (not a crop, I simply moved the tripod closer to the brick column):

06-09-2009, 05:42 PM	#40
Raybo Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 872	I have to go with the second set of images, they look better to my eyes.

06-10-2009, 12:22 AM	#41
winglik Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: NYC Posts: 258	Interesting, This time the FA43 looks sharper and has better color than the K55 in all the pictures. the bokeh in the k55 still better than the FA43 But why such a big difference between indoor and outdoor?

06-10-2009, 03:26 AM	#42
creampuff Veteran Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Singapore Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,953	Without checking the exif, it is dead obvious which ones are from the FA 43mm Limited... the ones with the superior contrast and punchier colour. Those from the 55mm have cooler rendition and show some image softness.

06-10-2009, 03:58 AM	#43
Peter Zack Pentaxian Moderator Emeritus Join Date: May 2007 Location: Edmonton Alberta, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 10,643	Originally posted by creampuff Without checking the exif, it is dead obvious which ones are from the FA 43mm Limited... the ones with the superior contrast and punchier colour. Those from the 55mm have cooler rendition and show some image softness. Agreed easy to see why the 43 is better here.

06-10-2009, 05:04 AM	#44
séamuis Banned Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Savannah, U.S./Baguio City, P.H. Posts: 5,979	the 43 is certainly sharper wide open, but the 55 has better bokeh. and couple that with a softer image the 1.8 will capture, I believe the 55 wins hands down for wide aperture work. I agree that the 43 renders better colours (at least from these photos) but they have very close full apertures and stopped down they will be pretty even. so Id still go for the 55. of course I have a 55 myself and would like a 43. the bokeh on the 43 is terrible looking way to busy. reminds me of a russian lens. the 55 is smooth like butter.

06-10-2009, 09:08 PM	#45
Just1MoreDave Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Aurora, CO Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,340	First, an excellent set of comparison photos. Thanks for the extra work! Second, I took the FA43 images and resized them to get a better look at bokeh. I don't think the bokeh is as different as the original shots make it appear. The business partly comes from trying to compare larger vs. smaller. The K55 has the dreamy look in the second shot, as described by some users. The K55 shots seem to sharpen well in post-processing, though.