It's been a few months since my last lens purchase, and that was primarily for film digitising rather than general shooting (a Sigma 50mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro). I didn't think I'd be buying any more for a loooooong time... mainly because I'm happy with the glass I own and use, but also because of the economic storm clouds looming. However, thanks to the eagle eyes of forum member @Kevin B123; - plus the sale of my DA*60-250 and HD DA1.4x rear converter - I was able to pick up a brand new HD FA31 f/1.8 Limited for just a small cash adjustment. I collected it from Wex Photo in Newcastle-upon-Tyne this morning
I haven't really had a chance to shoot with it properly yet, but I've set up AF fine adjustment for it on my K-3 (around -3 to -4 seems to work best) and carried out some brief tests for de-centering (it looks good). First impressions are positive... It looks and feels just like my HD DA Limited lenses, but with an aperture ring (which, as I'll be shooting it exclusively on my Pentax gear, will stay put in the "A" position). I thought it would be bigger than it is... I'm sure I'd read somewhere that it was quite a big lens, but it doesn't seem that way to me. Looks and feels good attached the K-3. Build quality is nice. Having read plenty of reviews and looked at many photos from the SMC version over the years, I pretty much knew what to expect optically, so there are no real surprises there - except to say, I don't think it will be replacing my Sigma 30mm f/1.4 Art, but sitting along-side it. Even just a few hours playing with the FA31 is enough to demonstrate how different these two lenses are... The Sigma is quite big and bulky, AF is silent but leisurely, resolution is incredibly good in the frame centre even wide open, but the borders and corners never catch up at any aperture. It has a real "signature" look, IMHO. The Pentax lens is smaller and more traditional in look and feel, screw-drive AF is very quick by comparison but has that screw-drive noise (which I don't mind), resolution wide open seems "OK" but it definitely behaves like an older film lens here, with f/2.8 onwards being best if centre resolution is critical. I like the out-of-focus rendering so far, but haven't played with it enough to draw any firm conclusions.
For the price I paid (especially after selling my other gear), I'm really happy to have picked this up. Time will tell whether it becomes a favourite, but either way it sits nicely with my HD DA Limiteds in providing a range of different focal lengths - and doesn't seem out of place with those crop lenses either