[angerdan]

The photos are rather uninteresting, since the only difference seems to be the HD on the inscription.

More official Ricoh images:

ricohimagingstore.com/media/catalog/product/cache/2cdd353491306922bf6e974210bcb22f/h/d/hdfa43mm_03_1_2.jpg

ricohimagingstore.com/media/catalog/product/cache/2cdd353491306922bf6e974210bcb22f/h/d/hdfa43mm_04_1_2.jpg
ricohimagingstore.com/media/catalog/product/cache/2cdd353491306922bf6e974210bcb22f/h/d/hdfa43mm_05_1_2.jpg
ricohimagingstore.com/media/catalog/product/cache/2cdd353491306922bf6e974210bcb22f/h/d/hdfa43mm_06_1_2.jpg

[house]

More official Ricoh images:

ricohimagingstore.com/media/catalog/product/cache/2cdd353491306922bf6e974210bcb22f/h/d/hdfa43mm_03_1_2.jpg

ricohimagingstore.com/media/catalog/product/cache/2cdd353491306922bf6e974210bcb22f/h/d/hdfa43mm_04_1_2.jpg
ricohimagingstore.com/media/catalog/product/cache/2cdd353491306922bf6e974210bcb22f/h/d/hdfa43mm_05_1_2.jpg
ricohimagingstore.com/media/catalog/product/cache/2cdd353491306922bf6e974210bcb22f/h/d/hdfa43mm_06_1_2.jpg

The person doing the recent product photos have really figured out how to make the silver look it's most glamorous. Same look as the official silver DFA* photos.

[Pål Jensen]

See them as classic vintage lenses that can be bought new and are fully functional with modern bodies. They have certain qualities that are hard to find in lenses. The finish and built quality is superb. They have the potential of outstanding optical output. The price is reasonable, if not downright cheap for what you get. What is not to like?

[BarneyL]

What is not to like?

People would like to see genuinely new things. There's nothing wrong with vintage lenses, but slightly modernized versions of them (with all their annoyances like screw driven AF without quick shift) isn't something people get excited about, especially when it means that there won't be any modern equivalent to them (in terms of focal length/max aperture ratio) anytime soon.

[jschoonj]

The person doing the recent product photos have really figured out how to make the silver look it's most glamorous. Same look as the official silver DFA* photos.

They look more true to life, which is probably most important for product photos.
I find the shots on the special site where they show them on the K1 most appealing though.

FA Limited | PENTAX Limited Lens Special Site | RICOH IMAGING

---------- Post added 23-02-21 at 13:34 ----------

I hope that the HD "upgrade" doesn't affect the colors rendition to still use these lenses on film.

Also a concern of mine. I've ordered the FA77 now because of that fear. And to keep color consistency with my SMC 43mm. HD coatings give slightly different colors. Not worse, just different.
The lens was out of stock but they say it should be in my hands before the release date of the HD Limiteds so I think I'm good.

[Mistral75]

Some retail prices at launch (in italics within brackets the current price of the smc version retrieved from Ricoh Imaging Japan's online store):

• HD Pentax-FA 31mm f/1.8 Limited: ¥137,800 (¥122,936)
• HD Pentax-FA 43mm f/1.9 Limited: ¥76,800 (¥78,936)
• HD Pentax-FA 77mm f/1.8 Limited: ¥105,800 (¥101,750)

• K-1 Mark II J Limited 01: ¥349,800 (K-1 Mark II: ¥258,500; K-1 Mark II Silver Edition: ¥269,500)

Source: Nokishita Camera

[angerdan]

• HD Pentax-FA 31mm f/1.8 Limited: ¥137,800 (¥122,936)
• HD Pentax-FA 43mm f/1.9 Limited: ¥76,800 (¥78,936)
• HD Pentax-FA 77mm f/1.8 Limited: ¥105,800 (¥101,750)

• K-1 Mark II J Limited 01: ¥349,800 (K-1 Mark II: ¥258,500; K-1 Mark II Silver Edition: ¥269,500)

Converted with Google, this results in following EUR price (in italics with 20% VAT added):

• HD FA 31mm: 1076€ (1291€)
• HD FA 43mm: 600€ (720€)
• HD FA 77mm: 828€ (994€)
• K-1 II J Limited 01: 2732€ (3278€)

---

Last edited by angerdan; 02-23-2021 at 09:47 AM. Reason: in italics with 20% VAT added

[phoebus]

Converted with Google, this results in following EUR price:

• HD FA 31mm: 1076€
• HD FA 43mm: 600€
• HD FA 77mm: 827€
• K-1 II J Limited 01: 2732€

Does the Japan price include local sales tax? (10% I believe)

EU sales tax is generally around 20%.. (No less than 15% by statute, but most states are within a couple % of 20%)

I've been yearning for the 43 for a while, if that price is real - I might stop putting it off. (About £565, if I use the calculation ((600/1.1) x 1.2)/1.16) to subtract Japan sales tax, add UK VAT and convert to GBP at todays rate..)

[house]

Some retail prices at launch (in italics within brackets the current price of the smc version retrieved from Ricoh Imaging Japan's online store):

• HD Pentax-FA 31mm f/1.8 Limited: ¥137,800 (¥122,936)
• HD Pentax-FA 43mm f/1.9 Limited: ¥76,800 (¥78,936)
• HD Pentax-FA 77mm f/1.8 Limited: ¥105,800 (¥101,750)

• K-1 Mark II J Limited 01: ¥349,800 (K-1 Mark II: ¥258,500; K-1 Mark II Silver Edition: ¥269,500)

Source: Nokishita Camera

Quite strange and precise prize differences.

[Andrea K]

Also a concern of mine. I've ordered the FA77 now because of that fear. And to keep color consistency with my SMC 43mm. HD coatings give slightly different colors. Not worse, just different.
The lens was out of stock but they say it should be in my hands before the release date of the HD Limiteds so I think I'm good.

True. On film, then without the magic of software, the HD versions of the same lens has a more cold/greenish rendition.

[jschoonj]

Does the Japan price include local sales tax? (10% I believe)

EU sales tax is generally around 20%.. (No less than 15% by statute, but most states are within a couple % of 20%)

I've been yearning for the 43 for a while, if that price is real - I might stop putting it off. (About £565, if I use the calculation ((600/1.1) x 1.2)/1.16) to subtract Japan sales tax, add UK VAT and convert to GBP at todays rate..)

Seeing as the official retail for the FA43 is € 799 on the local Belgian page (21% VAT) I highly doubt it.

[Jonathan Mac]

I'm not going to argue but I'd still maintain that having an aperture ring is better than no aperture ring. For some of us at least, it might not mean a thing in the world for you, and that's fine as well.

Ummm... then you are sort of implying that the lenses aren't "good enough" and the philosophy behind them should change? The design process of those lenses is well documented... and newer lenses would probably follow a different design philosophy (more about being sharp across the frame, a bit less about how hair texture is depicted, about how soft skin must look, and things like in-focus to out-of-focus transitions... etc)

Me, I'm imagining the 31 and the 77 with barely any CA and the 43 with improved bokeh from the rounded aperture blades... and I'm thinking this is going to be as close to perfect as it can get.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for aperture rings. The only FA Limited I have is the 43mm and I bought it because it makes the most sense for me as I can use it as a standard prime on film, which I still shoot, and it's still a flexible focal length on my K-3. On many of my cameras it will only work using that aperture ring, so it's essential for me. But most people who have FA Limiteds aren't shooting them on film, they're shooting them on DSLRs, whether FF or APS-C, and they're doing so most of the time in the standard auto or semi-auto modes, where that aperture ring becomes useless because of the crippled K-mount on those cameras. So having an aperture ring is nice, but for 90% of users it's totally useless.

Regarding being good enough and the design philosophy, I think that Ricoh could add quick-shift (zero size increase needed) and WR and a focus motor (very little size increase needed) without radically changing the design philosophy, and these lenses would then be pretty thoroughly modernised without losing their charm/pixie dust.

---------- Post added 23-02-21 at 04:53 PM ----------

Does the Japan price include local sales tax? (10% I believe)

EU sales tax is generally around 20%.. (No less than 15% by statute, but most states are within a couple % of 20%)

I've been yearning for the 43 for a while, if that price is real - I might stop putting it off. (About £565, if I use the calculation ((600/1.1) x 1.2)/1.16) to subtract Japan sales tax, add UK VAT and convert to GBP at todays rate..)

If you want a 43mm then it's a win-win: if the new prices are lower then great, and used prices will likely fall too. If they're the same price then then there'll likely be an increase in SMC versions on the used market as some users move to the updated HD version, and that will also drive down prices.

---------- Post added 23-02-21 at 04:56 PM ----------

They look more true to life, which is probably most important for product photos.
I find the shots on the special site where they show them on the K1 most appealing though.

FA Limited | PENTAX Limited Lens Special Site | RICOH IMAGING

---------- Post added 23-02-21 at 13:34 ----------



Also a concern of mine. I've ordered the FA77 now because of that fear. And to keep color consistency with my SMC 43mm. HD coatings give slightly different colors. Not worse, just different.
The lens was out of stock but they say it should be in my hands before the release date of the HD Limiteds so I think I'm good.

I like the super-specific definition on that site:

The 77mm: "Designed to faithfully depict the brilliance of shell buttons on a white shirt"

The 31mm: "Designed to capture extra-sharp images of subjects such as the tip of a branch of a leafless tree in winter"

[Wheatfield]

The one FA Ltd that appeals to me is the 77. The 31 isn't wide enough, the 43 is... not what I want.

Perhaps a black HD FA 77 and the K3-3 will be my 2022 gifts to myself and my photography hobby. It's kind of hard to rationalize the cost of the 77 when I already have an M 85 f2, though...

No it isn't. The M85 is an OK lens, nothing special about it, really. The 77 is a very different beast with very different imaging properties.
If you aren't planning on going full frame, the DA70LTD is virtually indistinguishable from the 77. It's every bit as good a lens, though it doesn't cover full frame. Where I live, it is $400.00 cheaper than the 77. It will also give you a bit more focal length separation from your 85.

[pres589]

Wheatfield: There's a value to me in having FF (or close enough) glass that also have aperture rings; I could use the 77 on my film bodies as well as the K5-II I own to day or the new APS-C body. 77 on crop seems like an awesome portraits focal length. Same as how I use my Sigma 28 on both film and APS-C.

If I wanted the DA 70, and I do think it's good glass, I would buy an SMC version for $300ish USD or less and get better starbursts with my savings. I agree that the M85 isn't the greatest lens although I like it well enough (more on film than digital) and really like the size of the thing. I bought it for the long-end of a three-lens travel lens kit and I think it does pretty well there (although my Tamron 90mm f2.5 macro gets more use).

I'm going to start a little fund for both the HD FA 77 and the K3-3 and hopefully by the end of the year I'll have both in-hand.

[robbiec]

Does the Japan price include local sales tax? (10% I believe)

EU sales tax is generally around 20%.. (No less than 15% by statute, but most states are within a couple % of 20%)

I've been yearning for the 43 for a while, if that price is real - I might stop putting it off. (About £565, if I use the calculation ((600/1.1) x 1.2)/1.16) to subtract Japan sales tax, add UK VAT and convert to GBP at todays rate..)

729 Sterling at the biggest Pentax dealer in the UK right now. You can sometimes pick up in the 400 or lower range 2nd hand on the UK site Pentaxuser.