| Author: | | Pentaxian Registered: November, 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 4,005 | | Review Date: December 24, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $975.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharpness, Colour rendering, Superb pictures | | Cons: | none | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 8
New or Used: New
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The lens is really sharp. The colour rendering is fantastic. Coupled with the K-7, the lens gives superb pictures. The image quality is really astonishing. The construction is sturdy and solid.
The hood does not bother me.
The relatively high price is definitely justified.
Edit: since, I used it with the K-01 and K-3. The FA31mm delivers outstanding pictures with both.
| | | | | | | Inactive Account Registered: April, 2008 Posts: 817 | | Review Date: December 14, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $635.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Bokeh, Sharpness, Colors, Build, Feel | | Cons: | Size | |
There's no new praise that can be given to this lens, so I will just outline the features that really stand out for me.
First of all, it's image quality is spectacular. Sharpness is great from 1.8, colors are accurate, and when bokeh is in effect it is smooth and silky.
The build quality of the lens is also spectacular. It is a solid, well-built lens that is well suited to any old, all metal film body, as well as new DSLR's. Manual focusing is a breeze, although not quite as nice as the K through A lenses I've used. However, I shoot film almost exclusively, using an LX, and I've never had a problem finding proper focus quickly and accurately with the 31mm.
On top of all that, I have found it to be an absolutely perfect walkaround lens on film. It is a bit too long for my tastes on digital, but it really shines on a high quality film body. The combination of moderately wide focal length and large max aperture makes it quite versatile.
The bottom line is that I am consistently amazed by the images produced using this lens, and it is currently my most used lens by far. I don't know if I would buy it at the price it currently goes for, only because I simply couldn't afford it, but if you can afford it you are unlikely to regret buying it. It is the last lens I would sell, and for very good reasons.
| | | | | Inactive Account Registered: January, 2008 Location: Sørumsand, Norway Posts: 59 | | Review Date: June 6, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $960.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, bokeh, colour | | Cons: | Hard to find one | |
Bought this lens almost 6 months ago. Sold my DA 40mm Ltd f2.8, my FA 35mm f2 and even added some money extra to buy this instead, and have never regretted that. Even though those lenses were good, this lens has it all and always perform outstanding. Sharpness, bokeh, colour rendition, fast (and it is sharp full open also). Besides these qualities, it is well built and is like carrying a jewel.
The lens hood is a bit awkward, but it has not caused any problems either. For me this is not a lens that I would often use filters on anyway.
| | | | | | | | Review Date: May 25, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $1,150.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, Small, Solid Build | | Cons: | None | |
Simply the best Pentax wide angle lens. Buy it, prior Pentax full frame comes out.
| | | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: July, 2009 Location: Montgomery, TX Posts: 66 | | Review Date: May 12, 2010 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Design and Build | | Cons: | price | |
One thing that needs to be kept in mind was this lens was designed for film cameras, and at that point it produces incredible results.
On the digital, its not as amazing, but that is probably why they made a DA version, right?
This is one of the lens you can let a nobody take a picture with on GREEN MODE, and the picture will still looks AMAZING!
| | | | | Inactive Account Registered: April, 2009 Location: New York Posts: 2 | | Review Date: April 6, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $1,000.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, Bokeh, Colors, Hi Resolution | | Cons: | None | |
Very Sharp from F2, Resolution very hi on full frame Canon 5D MII, also very well build
and looks great. For wide angel lens it's have top bokeh quality.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: March, 2008 Location: Israel Posts: 932 | | Review Date: October 13, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $850.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharpness, build, speed, size | | Cons: | Built-in hood | |
Got it brand new some years ago. Excellent lens all around. Sharp wide open. Creamy bokeh and in fact, it outbokeh's many if not most wide angle lenses out there. So this is a wide lens with distinctive yet very pleasing rendering.
The only nitpick really is the fact that the hood cannot be removed. Thus, one has to have 58 mm filters specifically for this lens, and filters of bigger size, such as Cokin system filters cannot be used. Not a big deal as a matter of fact.
Worth every penny of its price. Notably, it is excellent optically, covers full frame, yet it is lighter and smaller than similar lenses from other manufacturers, say Sigma 30/1.4, though Sigma is a bit faster.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: August, 2008 Location: Brazil Posts: 532 | | Review Date: July 1, 2009 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Built like a jewel, outstanding image quality | | Cons: | none | |
Perfect lens. The only real con is that I don't have a FF body to plug it to.
Some of my shots taken with it. I think they speak for themselves.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: December, 2006 Location: Sydney Posts: 719 | | Review Date: June 26, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $889.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Excellent buld quality, beautiful color rendition, great bokeh, not bad autofocus speed, useful FOV on APC. | | Cons: | Expensive, not sharp wide open as the 77mm Limited, PF even when stopped down. | |
The first lens I bought was assembled in Vietnam by HOYA Corporation which was engraved on the lens body and also written on the box. I was very unsatisfied with the resolition wide open and requested (B&H Photovideo) to be exchanged with another one which they did (always very happy with their service). The second one they sent me was made in Japan which was written on the lens hood in white letters and also written on the box. This one was just fine wide open, far from being as sharp as my 77mm Limited but still not bad.
More of my rant here:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/64415-fa-31mm-...-bad-luck.html
I agree with other people's opinion about color rendition and bokeh, it's just great.
Due to the few drawbacks this lens have, I would give it 9 out of 10.
| | | | | | | | Review Date: June 3, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $600.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharpness, Low-Light, Warm Colors, Solidly Built | | Cons: | None | |
I love this lens! It's the one I use the most so far. It has great warm colors. I can instantly tell the major difference in colors when I use the 31mm compared the much cooler 50mm M f/1.7.
Every time I'm in low-light, especially at events, this lens saves my A$$. I could use a flash, which can ruin the moment or make people blink or even annoy people - or I can use this lens that produces beautiful warm colors, and also perfectly natural, even colors with the proper white balance setting.
It does indoor lighting perfectly! It's a gem in indoor low-light!
I use it mostly in 1.8 and it is sharp as anything!
Under low-light, this lens almost acts as if it can see in the dark, because it will often produce photos that look like daylight/early evening! It makes the scene brighter than the human eye sees in low-light with the proper shutter speed, which is only around 1/16 to 1/2 of a second or so, give or take on how dark it is!
On a several second shutter speed, it almost can see in pure dark!
It's small, light-weight for being solid metal, can survive 5 foot drops, and is a must-have!
What more can I say?
I've never been disappointed. I'm really not sure how it can be better in the real-world. For this price range, I do not think they make better lenses.
This is more of a WIDE lens... so for super portraits with a blurry background get the 77mm... this 31mm has great bokeh, but varies for portraits and how far your background is. The DOF is super-shallow, so focusing can be hard until you get the knack, and close backgrounds won't give super bokeh if you're doing portraits. But that has to do with it being 31mm and more wide. That's why 75mm and up are more for portraits.
For these reasons it won't make every single photo WOW... but that's not the lens's fault. That's because it's only 31mm!
It's my workhorse right now.
Make sure you put a good, expensive UV filter/protector on it... why spend $600 to $800 and use a $10 filter? You must buy the good filters for this lens!
Again, this is a must have if you take your photography seriously, especially if you shoot at night or inside!
Ride Hamilton
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: February, 2009 Posts: 38 | | Review Date: May 21, 2009 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Image quality, build quality, compact and lightweight. | | Cons: | Built-in hood is not practical for cropped sensor FOV. | |
I got it just few days ago - and I 'm starting to like it more and more.
Although it has simple construction mechanically (screw-driven AF, no IF etc.) it still puts many modern lenses to shame - makes them feel like toys.
Invincible image quality as addition to mentioned above makes it a real classic and you start to understand why this little thing costs more than camera body itself. This lens can beat the best resolution of many other lenses easily even at f2,8.
Here is one summer moonlight shot.
Hood is pretty much useless with APS-C format and I have to make some custom setup for using the Cokin system - maybe some screw-on type of hood can also be a good idea, although it would look a little bit awkward...
P.S. One of my friends - long time Nikon-man - starts to swear every time, when FA31 comes up in our conversations - "why the hell don't I have a Pentax camera?"
P.P.S. Now the lens has a screw-on hood
 | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: March, 2007 Location: Nove Zamky, Slovakia Posts: 7,183 | | Review Date: May 13, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $520.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | contrast, colours, sharpness, bokeh, built quality | | Cons: | built in hood | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 10
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I couldn't believe my luck when I got this lens brand new for £342 (normal street prices are £699 and up).
Anyway, besst lens I own, period.
IQ is amazing. Sharp even at f1.8 (especialy at close range under 1.5m) great at f4-5.6 and then holds really well untill f22.
Built like tank, with great finish.
So why I deducted 1 point?
Built in hood:
a) ineffective (thus leaving lens prone to flare under direct sunlight)
b) prevents using Cokin/Lee filter
Anyway, if you can get one, get it. On APSC it simply doesn't get any better when you're after "normal" lens.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: July, 2008 Location: France Posts: 128 | | Review Date: May 11, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $700.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharpness, contrast, bokeh, build quality. | | Cons: | Quite useless hood, some CA on high contrast images | |
A bit disappointed by the presence of some CA/purple fringing on high contrast subject, this lens made me forgot all my other 35mm ... My first 35mm was a Flektogon 35/2.4, followed by an SMC Takumar 35/2. The FA-31 simply takes the best of these two lenses (the contrast and the sharpness from the Flektogon, and the color rendering and the bokeh of the SMC 35/2), added to a better resolution.
Since i bought it, i totally forgot the other 35mm in my gear. Its build quality is simply fantastic, the smoothness of its focusing ring has nothing to envy to the best Takumar lenses ever built (i use it almost in manual focus). Its image quality is simply superlative, maybe under-exploited with a 10MP-only body.
My only issues with it are the hood, which precludes the use of filters such as Cokin or Lee, and the lack of a better CA correction (purple fringing widely available when shooting high contrast scenes).
Finally, quite a must have, if you can afford it.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: February, 2008 Location: socal Posts: 1,575 | | Review Date: December 31, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $800.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | solid build, fast glass, nice bokeh | | Cons: | annoying lens cap, just didn't do it for me | |
I'm going to end up being a little bit of a naysayer, but twice I've tried 31ltd lenses and both times I've ended up getting rid of them. The first one was a rare (as far as I can tell) bad copy which just wasn't sharp. I tried another one 8 months later and while this was a fine copy with the wonderful build quality and beautiful bokeh, the lens just didn't do it for me. Part of it probably is unrealistic expectations, and the other is that I love to shoot my 35ltd and the 31 is a bit redundant (though faster with better bokeh). I love my 77 to death, and have considerably warmed to a 43ltd I just picked up. And in fact I shot the 31, 35 and 43 back to back with subjects that I know well, and the 31 wasn't head and shoulders above the others. Since the 35 does macro, I can live with the 35/43 combination in that FOV.
The other negative is the lens cover. Maybe it'll loosen up a bit over time, but I actually could feel the lens flex when trying to pop it off. I much prefer the cover and hood designs on the 43 and 77.
It is an amazing lens, and if you don't have something around 30mm and shoot in low light, it is a great choice. It just depends on if that focal length is something you "see." It turns out that I kind of want something either a bit longer or a bit wider.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: August, 2007 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 233 | | Review Date: December 26, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $780.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Excellent Color Rendition. Edge to Edge Sharpness. Beautiful Bokeh. Relatively Fast. | | Cons: | Built in hood is cubersome. Can be made to flare quite easily. | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 8
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K20, K30, K3
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To be honest, when I got this lens I was a little disappointed. I think the "legendary" status of this lens hyped up my expectations so much that no lens could actually meet my expectations. Given all the hype, I expected a lens that is as good at f1.8 as it is at f4, a lens that could take perfectly exposed pictures in near pitch darkness, etc. Of course, in the end, what I found was an excellent lens for the real world, but certainly no miracle worker.
This lens has the best colors of any lens I have ever seen. The edge to edge sharpness is unparalleled by any other Pentax lens except the macros. The build quality is like that of old. Beautiful cold metal and solid glass. Just holding it makes you feel like you can take a better photo. Bokeh is super smooth. The photos definitely have that magical 3-D feel to them. Sharpeness is exemplary at f4.0. The sweet spot on this lens is definitely at f4-5.6.
On that negative side, I don't think it is super sharp wide open. It is super sharp from f2.8 on, but at f1.8-f2.0 it is good, but not great. In fact my own observation is just like that of Photozone. f1.8 usable, but preferable to shoot at f2.8 on.
Another interesting thing is that I can find no discerable difference in brightness of the images at f1.8 as compared to f2.0. Even the camera meter shows no difference in the same light conditions. I have tried to test it in borderline conditions, but it makes no difference. The blades do close down a bit at f2, but the images look exactly the same. I think f1.8 might work with a FF camera, but on the APS-C cameras, you really glean no benefit. (Oddly, the difference between f1.7 to f2 on my FA50mm f1.7 is quite noticable).
Another problem I encountered quite easily is flare. I think this is mainly due to the large front element and the inadequate built in hood. The flare greatly reduces contrast and can cause those distracting circles in your images if you shoot generally facing the sun. I tried it with no filter (which improve things), but flare is still there. I think getting a separate hood for this lens is worth it.
Lastly, I do greatly enjoy using this lens. On a APS-C camera, it's a normal lens, but it is fantastically fun to use and the images do come out great (if you avoid the flare). The fixed focal length makes you think about composition more. Is it worth the $700-$800? Well, I think a significant portion of its value exists in the confidence and feel it imparts to the user in the sense that all lenses are tools, but holding a master crafted one really makes one aspire to create better works of art.
I think I would give it a 9.5 if I could because it really is an excellent lens, but given its price and the fact that like any lens, it has its strength and weaknesses, I can't quite give it a perfect score.
Update 1/12/17:
I have used this lens for a number of years on different cameras now. I feel it is important to mention that this lens seems to perform differently for each one. When I first got this lens, I was using a K20 and I must admit to not being super impressed with this lens wide open. K30 felt more or less then same, but using this with the K3 is a whole another story. It is blazingly sharp at f1.8. Perhaps some would say I needed to focus adjust it and it just wasn't properly adjusted on the previous bodies; I feel that the K3 with its superior autofocus for bright lenses does seem to make a big difference.
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