Originally posted by ogl I judge by Russian Pentax club. Not a lot users and many users changed FA35 to FA31 or Sigma 30/1.4. Or even to manual lenses.
As for me, 6 apetrure blades confused me many years ago...FA35/2 is not bad lense...It's sharp. But rather ordinary.
I guess it depends on your definition of ordinary...
Is it as special as the FA31? No. But the FA31 - currently at its lowest price since 2017 here in the UK - is twice the price of the new HD DA35/2 (and the latter will probably see small price reductions once initial demand has been met).
Is it as quirky as the Sigma 30/1.4 Art? Again, no. I own the Sigma and I *love* its rendering, plus it's faster, too. But it only covers the APS-C sensor format (not a problem for me), and at 30mm it's wider than the FA35, plus autofocus can be unreliable unless you're using the centre focus point. It's considerably bigger and heavier, too.
As for manual lenses, they vary hugely, of course. A Zeiss Distagon T* 35mm f/2 (arguably one of the best 35mm f/2 lenses optically) outclasses it in resolution, coma and probably out-of-focus rendering, but the CA levels become a little worrisome when stopped down to f/5.6 and smaller. And it fails dismally with autofocus performance
Of course, it's also much more expensive, even in used condition.
I don't think the new HD FA35/2 is going to set the photography world alight. It's just a mild update. But it takes a proven and quite popular full-frame lens with very good optical performance, improves on that with HD coatings, makes it more durable with the front element SP coating and a "crepe" body finish, improves manual focusing with a new ring, and does all that for half the price of a heavily-discounted FA31. It'll find its buyers, I'm sure
Last edited by BigMackCam; 02-02-2019 at 06:52 AM.