Originally posted by clackers 'Limited' is sales speak for the quality of their construction - a lot of metal rather than plastic
And DFA means that the lens was designed for full frame (originally film, now the K-1) and crop (APS-C) sensors.
The DFA 100 f2.8 Macro WR should be designated Limited but unaccountably isn't.
Until fairly recently all the Limited lenses were primes, but there is now one zoom as well: DA 20-40 Limited. It's still the only Limited lens which is weather-resistant.
The * (star) range of lenses are another premium line in the M, A, F, FA, DA and DFA lens series (M and A series lenses are manual focus; the others are autofocus). The star lenses are designed for optical quality rather than compactness. The range includes both zooms and primes. Each of the star lenses in the DA and DFA series is designated as weather-resistant or "all-weather".
Originally posted by johnkrumm I was going to suggest the FA 50 2.8 macro too. The focus is surprisingly fast, and it's super sharp. I use that lens and the 31 limited the most, followed by the 43 limited. The 31 and 43 are very sharp in the middle, less so on the edges. The macro is sharp all the way across.
I saw an A-50 macro on a classifieds site recently, made the mistake of reading the glowing reviews, and it's been gnawing at me since. I gave away my DA 50 to a friend and my A-50 f1.7 is on semi-permanent loan - I loved both (on APS-C). The FA 43 was supposed to scratch that itch but it hasn't completely: when it's good it's very very good, but it's a bit precious about the right conditions - e.g. not great as a "vista" lens (flare, CA), or for small flowers (MFD is not short), IMO. And here's John saying he can find a place for 31, 43 and 50 Macro (albeit on the K-1 rather than crop).
50 is supposed to be for full-frame, right?? I hope someone with a K-1 will just buy it and put me out of my misery.