I adore this lens. It's not for pixel peepers as it's not clinically sharp like many modern lenses, but it renders beautifully. The colours, tones, and bokeh are all gorgeous, and the lens excels at ensuring that subjects "pop". It's sharper on the short end and at shorter distances; shooting at lon...

As to identification, differences between the 8- and 7-element versions. What I think is the best indicator is the contour of the rear element. Both versions bulge, but the 8-element bulges more (about 2mm vs 1mm). However, the metal which holds the element in place is curved on the 7-element and a...

Was looking for a lightweight zoom to take with me on hikes, and remembered this lens (I had it on my K7 years ago, although rarely used it). Now on full frame mirrorless it is easier to focus with the manual focusing aids, and (bearing in mind I want to use this for landscapes) any concerns about p...

I picked up this lens some time back for very specific purposes, so it hasn't seen a great deal of use as yet. I did use it to photograph the 2024 Eclipse event however. It's 600mm reach making it an obvious choice for such a rare occurrence. I wasn't photographing from the ideal location, so my bes...

There are quite a few third-party 24mm options out there and they are easier to find and cheaper to procure than the first-party ones like this, but they have generally disappointing image quality. I never liked 24mm on APS-C but when I changed to FF I found it was a very useful focal length and wa...

The Pentax HD FA 43mm f1.9 Limited is an updated rendition of the classic SMC Pentax-FA 43mm f/1.9 Limited, offering a blend of compact size, high-quality optics, and a unique focal length for Pentax DSLR users seeking a normal prime lens with elegance and performance. **Design and Build:** Th...

I was very skeptical when I made the decision to purchase this lens. I don't normally like fisheye, but seeing some of the results with this lens from other PF users as well as on Flickr, I decided to pick one up in excellent condition from MPB. I did a few test shots on both the K-5 IIs and K10D...

I'm not listing the price, as I acquired it a few years before the big film revival in a bundle with another lens and a Super Program and winder. I'd have no way of calculating what proportion of the price I paid was for this lens alone. This is a good, compact wide angle lens for daytime landscape...

Together with the older SMC FA 50mm/f1,7 this is one of my very favorite lenses. Except Bokeh and one f-stop less it is as good as the DA55/1.4 SDM but doesn't suffer the danger of SDM failure and has a much faster AF as well. I have 5 copies within the family (3 x F, 2 x FA) and all are as if sele...

Together with the older SMC F50mm/f1,7 this is one of my very favorite lenses. Except Bokeh and one f-stop less it is as good as the DA55/1.4 SDM but doesn't suffer the danger of SDM failure and has a much faster AF as well. I have 5 copies within the family (3 x F, 2 x FA) and all are as if select...